Posts Tagged ‘Natural Solutions To LD’

Rapid Recall System Works!

We at Little Giant Steps can toot our horn all day long, and some people won’t believe us!  So, we’ve decided to let others tell you!  Just click on the audio links!

A Typical Mom With Typical Children                                       

A Mom With A Child With Autism

A Mom With Three Sons

A Mom With A Child With Asbergers

It works in schools, at home, with gifted, typical, or challenged people!  Age nor I.Q. is NOT the issue!  It has to do with an area of the brain that needs stimulating, in the right way and that’s what Rapid Recall System does! Some adults have used it to free them from life-long brain inefficiencies that always causes us to process poorly!  We change the brain, so it works more efficiently and effectively, and it doesn’t get any better than that with math…. as the little girl says, “The answer just pops into my head!”

Parents, bring up your children…

in the way they should go, according to the Lord. We are complicated beings. We can be as good as gold, or as bad as evil. All of us were given free will to do as we choose.  However, there have been exceedingly helpful guidelines laid down that can bring about a glorious, and wonderfully resilient family life if we choose to follow them.  It has to do with how we treat each other, and how we choose to treat our children.  I recently ran across this passage and thought it may be inspirational to many who read this, regardless of your religious persuasion, it’s soundness prevails, because it brings us all together with a code of behavior that results in respect, harmony and love.

Little Giant Steps abides by these principles and teaches families to persevere when they are in the role of teacher.  We seek love, respect, honor and an adhering to rules that will help their children increase their learning abilities. It is such a delight to see the “problem” child move from being frustrated and uncooperative to one who gains curiosity, confidence and capabilities that were there, just under the surface, but untouched through developmental actions as are required for neuro-efficiency. See how they did when tested for progress and performance.

Ephesians 6: 1 – 4

This is titled “Children and Parents”.  It begins:  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”  It reminds children to honor their parents and none of this is new.  But it also carries a note to parents:  “…do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in  the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  Parents are to instruct children in the way of the Lord and children should listen and honor their parents.  God has set forth how we need to treat one another and both children and parents are accountable to God for how they treat each other.  As long as we remember that we are accountable for how we love one another and treat one another to God, we will be more likely to be careful and act with kindness toward each other.

Many times parents overlook the necessity to teach about honor and respect starting with toddlers, pre-schoolers, and beyond. Children, as all humans, by nature are pretty self-centered.  We want what we want, when we want it!  Parents are on the hook to teach civility, sharing, being patient, communicating, rather than exploding emotionally when we are frustrated, to be kind, gentle, and loving.

I was on the hook to choose the way in which we should go over and over this past weekend with my twin 4 year old grandsons. They are at an age where they would rather do their thing, than listen to instructions and obey.  We had a talk about being polite to one another, we had a talk about obeying and being respectful.  I had to explain about God’s ways and how he wants us to love and respect each other. I had to explain there were costs associated  with their non-compliance to our rules. They would loose privileges like riding their tricycles, or going swimming, etc.  I am so glad they are aware of the choices, aware of God’s code of conduct, and are gaining a sense that they have to be considerate to others.  However, I  must take the time to be considerate of them and take the required moments to “teach” them the way they should go. Otherwise, we both loose on a personal, community, state and national level!  What’s your choice?

 The Best Kept Secret in Education

 June 19, 2012, 8:00 p.m.

Please click here to register and receive your login instructions.

You might ask:

Why are my children struggling with schoolwork and in life?

Why can’t they follow directions or remember to do their chores or brush their teeth?

It’s not your child’s fault, but may be a symptom of a brain foundation problem called “poor auditory processing”.

Years ago people believed that the brain couldn’t change, that it was hard-wired and a person was just stuck with what they had. Now we know that with specific game-like activities, the brain can gain abilities just like a muscle can gain strength. In this webinar you will hear about the wide-reaching effects of poor processing, how to test for it and what can be done to improve this vital skill.

If you can’t make the live webinar, request the link to the recording.

NOTICE:  The second webinar had technical difficulties and Jan will re-record it, so you may view it at your convenience.  We’ll let you know when it’s available  Thanks for your patience.  It’s worth the wait!

For anyone who had problems with the first recording, we received this advice from AnyMeeting Support:

If any attendees attempted to view this recording without hearing audio and tried other web browsers without success, it may be related to a cache issue. In order to correct this, please have anyone who was affected to try clearing their web browser cache and their Flash cache. Please see the following URLs which will show the steps needed to clear cache:

Clearing web browser cache: http://support.anymeeting.com/index.php?/AnyMeeting/Knowledgebase/Article/View/22/0/clearing-browser-cache

Clearing Flash cache: http://support.anymeeting.com/index.php?/AnyMeeting/Knowledgebase/Article/View/268/0/how-to-delete-flash-cache

Next, have them try viewing the recording once again. It may be necessary that they refresh the recording once or twice while it plays to restore all audio.

   Webinar #2,      Be There!

 8:00 p.m. Thursday, June 14th, 2012. 

Register Now:  Office@LittleGiantSteps.com  Put Webinar 2 in the subject line, and you will be sent a link to join this excellent free webinar.  Here’s what you can expect to learn about:

Just like foundation issues in a building can cause all sorts of problems, foundation issues in a child’s brain can cause them to struggle to reach their full potential. Parents often wonder why their bright child has so many difficulties in school. They may even ask themselves, “Does my child have Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Low Auditory Processing or a form of Autism?”

Don’t brand your child with a label before exploring the “foundation” issues that can cause the symptoms you see. Become informed about how the brain works or often struggles to work. Learn practical skills that train the brain and unlock its full potential for a bright future for your child. If they’ve already received a label just know this, labels don’t have to last a lifetime! Learn how to make the change from “struggling” to “learning with ease”!

Free Webinars In The Comfort Of Your Home

Little Giant Steps is delighted to sponsor “a time of learning” for parents who want to see their child’s learning  made easy. If you’ve read our blog at all, you will know that not only do we serve those from babes to seniors in helping their brains become more organized and their thinking more efficient; we also increase academic scores for the gifted, typical, and learning disabled.  Some say, “We understood your worked with ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Autism, Down Syndrome, and other learning disabilities.” Yes, that is true, but we also recognize our techniques work just as well with those who have unique talents, but need better lower level brain organization, or who have difficulty with coordination, memory, behavior control, etc.  Humans come in all different flavors, if you will.

Since we work with the natural enhancement of  neuro-development, we can address universal human conditions in a variety of circumstances. It’s not magic, it’s all about development and increasing the communications between the brain and the body.  We assess the individual, both academically, and their neuro-developmental status, then an ND educational specialist will write a program to address those areas where function is lagging or non-existent.  By stimulating the brain and body, the activities address many of the brain and body systems; we create neuro-pathways and develop improved function.  Just like a guy who trains with weight training to gain strength; the neuro-educational programs we provide also develops strength and increased function in a broad range of skills.  Reading, Math, Comprehension, Organized Thinking, Increased Memory Function are the by-products of what we do.  When a person reaches their “grade-level” of function, then their brain and body will continue to serve their own individual quests in life. Humans continue to develop throughout their lives.  We are not static. We can go forward or backward, depending on what we do with our brains and bodies, how we nourish ourselves or our children, and the experiences we encounter.  Read what our parents say about the experiences they’ve encountered.

Please register for these webinars by emailing us: office@littlegiantsteps.com. Put “Webinar” in the subject line and the date you wish to attend.  You are encouraged to attend all, as the more information you have, the better you can utilize the information we impart.

Jan Bedell, founder of Little Giant Steps, was a teacher for 20 years, then she specialized in the “Neuro-Developmental Approach”.  She has a masters degree in education and is a master neuro-educational specialist. She has created curriculum for schools, and has made it her life mission to help humanity become acquainted with how learning can be easy, if the brain and body have the advantage of doing what’s needed to reach it’s highest and greatest potential.

Please feel free to join us for each Webinar.  You will go away better prepared to help your child, yourself, and excited about what you’ve learned. REGISTER NOW

There Are No Saints In Raising Children

Little Giant Steps is aware that traumatic events during early development can change to course of some areas of the brain.  We see this phenomena occur with our clients who have been exposed to verbal abuse, trauma and deprivation.  There are areas of the brain that respond to “Fight or Flight”.  When a child is threatened daily by an exposive parent who yells and hollers at them, their developing brains are impacted.  Typically, the result shows up as learning issues later on.  The trauma to the central nervous system is repairable, but a parent needs to be aware of the dynamics their behavior when it comes to younger children.

One way I can relate is, I still go ballistic over an event that is prevalent with children under age five.  What is the trigger?  Spilling drinks at the table!  Why does this send me into (as my son would say,) “The Red Zone?  I really don’t know for a fact, but I suspect it was something that sent my dad (who was no longer in our household after I was four years old) into a rage when I was little.  I have no recollection of any specific time it happened, I only remember the horrible feelings of “Fight or Flight”  he could produce in a heart beat. He had a very powerful demeanor and thank goodness I was the youngest and the only girl in the family, as I witnessed very harsh punishment occurring with my brothers. I do recall having a hard time learning anything during the tumulchuous time before he left.

I am not unique in this experience.  Whether parents stay together or divorce, a child suffers long lasting repercussions not only on an emotional level, but the development of all those connections stop when the “Fight of Flight” response is in play.  We all must be aware it is during the early years when the brain is  paring down all unused connections.  In fact, over 50% of the connections a baby is born with will be pruned from the system if left unused and what mother nature thinks is un-needed!

We All Have A History

The details of our history is not as important as the resolve to stop that vicious cycle that not only make us behave in ways we do not desire, because it has a critical impact on those little ones with whom we are to be an example.  If an adult is out of control, then the child will emotionally close down, but also learn to pattern his or her behavior after what they experience.

Several Ways To Go

First, just stop!  Counting to ten can be very helpful to get past that initial flash of rage, which most likely is way out of proportion to the incident and for the child.

Next, breath at least five deep slow breaths.  Get some blood to that brain of yours so you can think, rather than just react.

Finally, use your head.  Did the child accidentally spill the glass of milk? (Or, whatever was done that has you so disturbed.) In all the times I recall my grandsons spilling things, it was never malicious, therefore the corrective action needs to reflect a solution to the accident and a discussion about how you and the child might avoid it happening again.  In fact, it’s amazing if you will view this situation as it really is:  The child has a problem that needs some help in solving.  If you take on the ownership of the problem, nothing good can come out of that…. you’ve already learned how to avoid spilling things!  Understand?

Children Are Capable Of Solving Problems, If You  Help

Recount the (after you’ve gotten yourself over your rage) what’s happened.  Even express to the child how distressed you are, if you need to.  They can handle it, because they tend not to take on other peoples problems!  Then ask them to help you. Ask how they think we can stop the spilling?  Coach them to brain storm with you over this situation.  It can move you out of the place of just being in “The Red Zone” and releave the child’s fear of you and stop with the impulse of Fight or Flight response.  In fact, this kind of constructive problem solving can turn out to be a way to allow them to express their solutions very creatively.  Once, my grandson and I drew a picture together showing the spilt milk and what we were going to do.  It didn’t look like anything when we finished this “action” drawing, but he and I were both on the same side of the situation and solving something that made “Nana hit the fan”!  Try to be creative. Move yourself and the child into a constructive bonding experience, rather than an explosion which can last a life time!

 Accidents Happen

Daily I write about improving the academic abilities through the use of neuro-educational programs developed by Jan Bedell and Little Giant Steps.  What I’ve not shared is that our programs works for those whose brains have suffered trauma.  Today I’d like to share a story of my granddaughter who has always been considered gifted in school.  However, following an accident that occurred while attending the State Basketball Tournaments, not only was her brain hurt, but we were concerned for her life, as well.

Kelsey and 15 other kids with their parents were enjoying the annual High School State Basketball Tournament.  They all were staying at a large motel with an indoor swimming pool, and most of the group were relaxing around the pool following a day at the tournament.  After about 30 minutes, the parents noticed the kids in the pool were acting strange. Some were struggling to get out of the pool, some collapsed once out on the deck. They called for help, then the parents began to suffer from similar symptoms.  It didn’t take much after the firemen got there with the ambulances to determine all of these people were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.  All the kids and some of the parents ended up in the local hospital.  Kelsey, my grandchild, was one who stayed there three days, because she was so badly poisoned.  She was sent home on oxygen and her parents were told to keep an eye on her.  She was on oxygen for a month. When she started to feel a bit better, she really wanted to return to middle school, as she didn’t want to get too far behind in her studies.  Within two days of school, Kelsey began to panic, because she discovered she couldn’t think, her brain wasn’t functioning, regardless of how hard she tried.  This went on for a few more days, and we saw her becoming more frightened and confused, I suggested we get her in for an evaluation with Jan Bedell at Little Giant Steps.

The Road To Recovery

We drove to Texas and after the evaluation we discovered our beautiful Kelsey, who was an honor student in her first year in middle school was only able to process auditory and visual information equivalent to that of a 5 and 6 year old .  We were devastated.  Jan steadied us and said she’d seen children with similar brain trauma come back with the neurodevelopmental approach, and felt confident Kelsey could be restored to much of her original state.  She was young, healthy (except for this incident) and had a devoted family who could help to turn this situation around.  Jan wrote an individual neuro-educational program for Kelsey.  She recommended we take her out of middle school for now, as it was producing such enormous stress and a sense of total failure on her, enroll her in an online school NEW College Preparatory Academy, formerly Gateway Academy, and daily follow her Individual Neurodevelopmental Program.  If she struggled too much with the academics, then just work the neurodevelopment program.  She diligently followed the program for five months over the rest of the school term and summer. She re-entered middle school and to all of our delight, not only was she functioning back to normal, but her school testing showed she was even higher than before!  Needless to say, we praise God for his healing mercy, and we were so blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Jan Bedell, Neuro-Educational Specialist from Little Giant Steps (Jan teaches through webinars, too).  We couldn’t imagine these program activities would give Kelsey back all she’d lost and more, but it did.  Now, I know the real power of God’s design, and what a natural approach to working with the plasticity of the brain can truly accomplish.  We are so very, very blessed!  Thank you, Jan and Little Giant Steps!  CJ

 We welcome an ICAN associate to our blog today.  Cyndi gives great information, but develops skills, as well.

        Cyndi Ringoen, BA, BS Neurodevelopmentalist,  Copyright, 1999

The controversy between phonics and sight reading has been a long standing argument. Phonics usually wins out in homeschool circles. Despite a strong stance in favor of phonics, many parents find themselves at a standstill in terms of their child actually being able to learn the phonics and then read. It is fine to stand up for phonics, but if you can’t make it work, then it is time to learn more in-depth about the brain that processes phonics.

The brain has two main pathways with which to process information. They are the visual and auditory systems. Each of these has both a long and short term memory capacity. It is the auditory short-term memory that I would like to address in this article. When phonics was introduced many decades ago we lived, primarily, in an auditory society. The children grew up with family dinners, listening to radio and stories of the old days from their grandparents. Children in this rich auditory environment had the opportunity to develop excellent auditory processing ability (short-term memory). Today we live in a very visual society-the likes of Nintendo, VCR’s, T.V., billboards etc. None of these things is necessarily negative, but it contributes to the development of children with stronger visual processing ability and reduced auditory processing ability.

Phonics is an auditory learning system. It is imperative to have a sufficient auditory short-term memory in order to learn, utilize and understand reading using the phonics method. So, if a family is convicted that a child must learn reading by phonics, then they also must provide the opportunity for the child to develop a well functioning auditory short-term memory so that it can be utilized.

A two-year-old should have a short-term memory of 2, a three year old of 3, etc. up to seven years old. The average in our society for a 7 year old to adult is 7. In order to begin to utilize phonics beyond memorizing a few individual sounds, a child must have an auditory short term memory close to 6. If it is below this, you will see a child who can say all the sounds of the phonemes and possibly put a few together into words; however, at the end of the sentence or paragraph cannot understand what they have just read.

To test your child’s auditory processing ability, follow these instructions: In a monotone voice, slowly (at one-second intervals) give them either numbers or objects. For example: You say, “5…8…1…7” and have the child repeat these numbers back to you in the order in which you spoke them. The child must be able to say a 4-digit sequence back correctly 75% of the time on the first try to be considered at a short-term memory of 4. It is the same for each higher digit.

Children who have an auditory digit span of 4 may (with drill) learn all the sounds of the letters, but they will not be able to efficiently utilize phonics to sound out words. The reason is that short-term memory is a reflection of holding pieces together. For phonics to work you must be able to hold individual auditory pieces (sounds) together and then transform them into a word.

When a child gets to a digit span of 5, they will begin to be able to sound out words more efficiently. By the time they get to the end of a sentence and/or paragraph, the comprehension will be lost. It is not until a child has an auditory digit span of 6 that phonics begins being utilized in an effective manner. So if you are convicted to teach your child phonics, you must first exercise their brain and build good auditory processing ability. Do the above exercise several times a day for a few minutes; you will gradually improve the brain’s ability to process. Each gain of one digit is equal to a developmental year. It is an activity which will take consistency for improvement to happen.

To insist on teaching a child phonics before they are developmentally ready is to set the child and parent up for a lot of frustration and laborious struggle. Focus instead on using your time and energy on expanding the child’s auditory short-term memory. And some parents, once they understand the brain’s role in learning phonics, decide to utilize flashcards for sight words while they are building the processing ability. This enables the child to view reading as pleasurable, and then later adding phonics to build the reading skill.

In the world of neuro-development it is never too late, nor is anyone too old! Why? Because as long as we live and breath, the brain’s repairing ability is available through the neuroplasticity of the brain ~ a feature we are born with lives as long as we do!  What that means is that when we’ve suffered an insult to our central nervous system or our brain (it could be physical, chemical, or even severe emotional trauma) it can be fixed by utilizing activities that activate the repairing features of neuroplasticity which allows the brain to change. If there is disorganization (cognitive), or motor, or emotionality (fears, phobias, anxiety) all can be addressed with the new program called:   Memory & Motion.

Where does one begin to share about one of the greatest gifts God has given our family? Little Giant Steps has been part of our lives for almost 2 years and has truly changed our son’s life. Luke was 9 when he began the program. To understand the miracle LGS has been, you need to know a bit about Luke’s story.

From birth, Luke was not making the normal “mile stones.” Since he was our third child we knew what to expect. It was at his 9-month appointment we started a battery of tests to search for answers. His diagnosis ended up being mild to moderate Cerebral Palsy. The doctors shared that they did not know if he would ever walk or talk. Eventually, our son mastered both. From 9 months on, Luke has always had some form of therapy and he has slowly progressed. Then at age 4, Luke began to have complex partial seizures. These were controlled by medication. Luke went to our local elementary school and we were pleased with the care he received. But, he always seemed to take one step forward in mastering something, to take three steps back. We tried many various options, from repeating Kindergarten to trying more time in “therapy.” Nothing ever seemed to help…

In fourth grade, we moved and our new school was not able to accommodate his special needs. We were distraught to say the least. As we looked into other options, each one had roadblocks. Weeks before the new school year were to begin; a friend asked if I had heard of LGS. Unfortunately, we had not up to this point. Quickly, we watched a video, hopped around on the website and made an appointment to be evaluated. (To be honest, we had to be very creative in our finances and even at this point, God provided).

From the beginning, EVERYTHING about LGS has been exactly what we needed. Jan Bedell has been a tool in God’s hands to literally begin to transform Luke’s life in a few short months. Luke has struggled from day one with an array of challenges from physical to learning (dysgraphia, dyslexia, processing issues and at age 9, he still was unable to read). Once evaluated, we began our INP and within 6 weeks Luke was reading. His retention seemed to double, his tactile issues lessened and over all our son’s confidence began to change.

Recently, our journey has been marred with more challenges in regards to Luke’s health. Last year, he was diagnosed with a low grade, brain tumor. Sadly, Luke’s hippocampus was removed, along with part of his temporal lobe. We had to take a break from LGS and months ago begun the program again. While Luke is healing, there is clear evidence that his memory is hindered. Our hope is God will use LGS once again to do what no other program or therapist has ever accomplished.  So far, we see good progress.  I am not sure what would have become of Luke had God not placed LGS in our lives. It has done miracles in our boy…and we are forever grateful for Jan’s evaluations, Michelle’s constant contact, guidance, encouragement and Alyssa’s administrative gifts.