Posts Tagged ‘Reading Problems’

Solving Learning Issues Begins With Natural Stimulation To The Brain 

Listen to a mom’s comments with regard to #Little Giant Steps# Neuro-Educational Programs.  LGS relies on boosting the natural features of the brain (neuroplasticity) that allows for change, repair, creating of new connections so the child, teen, or adult can think more clearly, accurately and with speed. An increase in the ability to receive, comprehend, process, store and recall information is all a by-product of the LGS Neuro-Educational Programs.(age or I.Q. are not a factor, everyone can benefit from Neuro-Efficiency ~ an organized brain).  The brain is actually 97% connections and 3 % cell bodies.  We teach you, the parent,  to do fun activities that can make a difference like you’ll hear from this mother :

A Mother Reports On The Difference She’s Witnessed

A year ago, our 12 year old son was using 1 or 2 word sentences and motions to communicate.    He also had behavior issues and lack of attentiveness that kept him from being part of a regular classroom.  After using our Little Giant Steps Neuro-Educational Program since June, we are seeing amazing progress with our  son.  He is talking in details and wants to read the ingredient lists of his favorite foods and record them in my recipe file.  We can hardly keep up with his flood of words now.

 He is a lot more interested in people and has eye contact now.  We are more likely to get an answer when we ask him about his day at school.  He wants to play with his 9 year old  brother and neighborhood kids now.   We see a look of understanding in his eyes that we’ve never seen before.   This sounds just too good to be true, but it’s not.
 
When we finish the dominance trial in a few weeks, we are planning on taking him out of school to home school him using Little Giant Steps program as a base for learning.  Hopefully after a period of time he will have progressed so much that he can return to school and attend regular classes. 

We have found Jan Bedell’s Neuro-Educational Program helpful where others were not.  For that we are so grateful.   Thanks, C.C.  Lubbock, TX

P.S. ~ If a Professional Evaluation is not possible, then Jan has provided a way for you to see amazing results with LGS in-home-programs called Developmental Foundations (5yr. -adult), or Early Learning Foundations (2-5 yr.).  Check them out!  They won’t disappoint!

A White Paper You Need to Read

#Little Giant Steps’ #founder, Jan Bedell, M.Ed, M.ND (Master Neuro-Educational Specialist) boldly declares a statement of truth that can ignite a revolution against old school ideas and can set a young generation free from dyslexia. Jan produced a “White Paper: #Dyslexia#, The Neurodevelopmental Approach” when completing her masters degree. In 2009 she created  “Dyslexia ~ A Workshop For Parents” to help parents understand what can be done to eliminate the symptoms of dyslexia. It can be downloaded immediately.

Parents Can Be Equipped To Help #Dyslexia Be Eliminated#

Hear from a mother who knows how the truth has set her son free. The Neuro-Educational Programs available through Little Giant Steps has many success stories from real families who know the truth. Knowing the truth about the root causes of dyslexia can empower parents and teachers to blaze a trail through traditional mindsets and perhaps stop an epidemic of learning disabilities that currently claims the lives of one in five children. Does anyone care about these disheartened children? Will anyone help their struggling families? Is anyone brave enough to champion a life-saving effort?  Jan Bedell, mother of a mentally challenged young adult, has sacrificially labored for two decades to work with dyslexic children utilizing The Neurodevelopmental Approach  and has successfully addressed root causes of dyslexia. She has set them free from debilitating symptoms by using brain-based, scientifically proven methods that she makes available to parents, teachers, and tutors. Dyslexia is no longer a life sentence. There is hope! It’s up to you to change the course of your child’s life encounter with his full God-given potential and release him/her from the symptoms of this disabling learning issue: Dyslexia.

Jan Bedell is helping families. Jan Bedell has produced a scholarly piece as a way to introduce new information and evidence about dyslexia.  She’s prepared an article entitled, “Dyslexia: The Neurodevelopmental Approach” ~ a shortened version of the research paper.  If you wish to see the entire paper, please email cj@littlegiantsteps.com with Dylexia Paper in the subject line and I’ll send it all to you.  Thousands of families have been helped and are deeply grateful for your neurodevelopmental solutions.

 If Your Child Struggles With Learning, Get Auditory Processing Up, First

 I thought I’d share a good resource for you and your child from Little Giant Steps. As you know, we talk about auditory processing a great deal, because it is such a key to learning. (Get a free Auditory Test Kit and see if your child is functioning at grade level.)  If they’re not up to speed, then there are so many games you can play by “practicing” while playing games with your child.  Here’s an excellent “auditory game”: To start, call out at least 4 numbers (monotone voice, with 1 second between each number) then having them give the numbers back to you after you’ve completed the sequence.  It doesn’t have to be numbers, it can be colors, favorite things they like, food, games, etc. Remember the more syllables when using words will make it more difficult, so start out with just one syllable words if they struggle.  If they two out of three correct, then give then additional number (item) and see if they can process 5 successfully, if they can’t just keep practicing on 5 until they get it! There are two things we consider cheating while playing this game. 1. If they are “chaining” ~ that’s trying to group the numbers so they can remember (generally you’ll see them darting eyes, moving head in a rythmn). 2. If they are trying to use visualization (like they are putting the information they hear on a bulletin board in their head) ~ you’ll see they eyes go up and to the side. Both, chaining and visualization, are coping and compensating behaviors that they’ve learned to try to help themselves. To become proficient in auditory processing, they must do it right until they get it.  Then, you go to the next level. We do have a computer program called Sequencing in A Flash, which works with both auditory and visual processing (for all ages), but it’s not nearly as fun as playing a game with mom or dad!

I like to have it be interactive.  First I give a series, they repeat it back, then they give a series and I repeat it back. What’s the goal?  A child should be able to hold in short term memory the same as their age. For instance, a 1 yr. old, should be able to repeat “one word or number” back. A 2 yr. old 2, 3 yr.old ~ 3, etc.  When they get to age 7, or above.. a minimum of digits they should be able to repeat back is 7.  If you wish to carry on a good conversation, and interact with people and teacher meaningfully, you need to be able to process 8 digits.  If you wish to retain college level material, then you must be able to process at least 9.  If a child or an adult has the ability to get to where they’re processing at 12, they would be doing exceptional! The main thing, is to keep this journey to better processing fun while you’re doing it.  Make it a game… it can be a game you and your family will play for the rest of your lives, as you get together to re-live wonderful growing-up memories.  The best part is that playing these kinds of “auditory processing games” will keep your brain sharp and clear, your comprehension will be very good, and your memory will be kept in fine order regardless of age, or I.Q,!

If #auditory processing# is low for your child (which is more the case than not these days) you are affected globally – areas of reading, writing, comprehending, and motor skills. To increase auditory processing abilities, the activities must be “listening.” Here’s a great publication and CD for those important “listening” times. Remember, you or your child can listen while in the car, while playing on the floor – building castles, playing with legos, racing cars or dressing up the dolls!

Meet Axel. from The Little Giant Steps website:

 Remember, your child loves it when you will sit down and focus on them and any activity you can do together. Too many children do not have parents who understand the vital part they play in the neuro-development of their children. It’s crucial that you be interested, interactive and especially to have FUN with your child.  Don’t let another day go by without making a fun and beneficial time-out for just the two of you.  Your life will improve dramatically, along with your child’s!  If you are aware your child is struggling in learning. Try #Developmental Foundations#.  It’s program that can also be very fun. And it will address the functional areas of the brain that are interfering with your child’s ability to: Receive, Comprehend, Store and Recall Information!  Everyone wins with this program.  Just do it a couple of times a day for no more than 5 minutes~ and you’ll see changes you won’t believe when your child’s brain gets organized and begins to have the needed connections (neuro-pathways) that gives them neuro-efficiency.   If you have a pre-schooler (3-5), then #Early Learning Foundations# is what you will want to order. 

 Now, go have a fun weekend with your children!  Take an “Intentional Break” with your child: Play, Laugh, and Make FUN Memories that will last a lifetime!

It has been a long time since I’ve head such a report from a mother. Her son went from hating to read to ~ well…. I’ll repeat what she told me:

“There have been days when my son and I have come into conflict over his #Little Giant Steps# Neuro-Educational Program. He gets tired of doing the activities. Quite frankly, I get tired too, somedays! However, I must admit we are noticing some very positive results. Lately, he’s gotten interested in airplanes. I have noticed once in a while I’d catch him reading about airplanes – on his own! I thought I’d get him a really neat book on airplanes for his upcoming birthday.

We celebrated his birthday with guests over for dinner. Suddenly he was missing from the celebration. I started looking for him. I found him in his room with the door closed. I discovered him browsing his new airplane book! Reminding him of our guests, he was told to join his friends and family, as it was his party and he needed to be in attendance. There would be some time later to check out his new book.

We had a great time and it was very late when company left. We all headed for bed. As I was making my final rounds checking to see all doors were locked, I noticed a stream of light underneath his door. I opened it and here he was reading! I told him it was late, to turn out the light and go to sleep. Then I went to my room exhausted. I had just laid down when I realized I’d not turned off the coffee pot. Quietly I returned to the kitchen to take care of this final chore and as I passed his room – there was a noise. I looked and saw a diffused glow from under his door! Silently I opened his door and there was a tent fashioned out of his sheet. The glow was from a flash light. I tip toed over to his bed and slowly lifted the corner of the sheet to see what he was doing. Here he sat with his legs crossed, hiding so he could read! Amazed at this sight, I never said a word. I replaced the sheet, retraced my steps out of his room and pulled the door to the jam. As I made my way down the hall, tears welled up, because it was then I realized, “He’s reading and loving it…. he’s like a normal kid… curious and seeking information from a book!” I am so grateful we stuck with the neurodevelopmental program. It’s given him access to a world I didn’t know he’d ever experience! Thanks to Jan Bedell and all at #Little Giant Steps#, we are blessed more than you can imagine!”

 Evident Disparity Between Intellect and Motor Function

At Little Giant Steps  special children with Special Needs bring so many wonderful things to us. Often when we least expect it, they can tell us things that only when we’ve had time to gain perspective, does the “light” go on.

One of those teaching moments happened when my preschooler, who we would learn later, had severe Dyslexia helped the light to go on about the disparity I had seen since he was 3 years old between his intellect and his motor function. When I asked him about his struggle with his gross and fine motor skills, he replied, “I have trouble doing things because I have “fluffy hands”! It took me several years to figure out what he was really telling me. When I became aware of The Neurodevelopmental Approach his “fluffy hands” mystery was solved. The only way he could describe the lack of sensation he noticed that were different in his hands and fingers from other parts of his body was to tell me what he experienced, and his best description was “fluffy”. I came to learn that crawling (which he didn’t do much of) is a crucial step in developing lower level brain organization. Without developing strong neuro-pathways which carry signals from his limbs to his brain, the registering of clear tactile messages wasn’t happening.  The brain is made up of 93% connections and 3% cell bodies. So the early developmental experiences is what creates the neuro-connections or pathways in the brain and between the body! The goal of our early development is always to bring us to a state of neuro-efficiency.  This efficiency refers to the lightening speed of the brain receiving messages from the sensory systems in the body and then acting in concert with those messages, so we can function seamlessly with rapid responses and appropriate mental tasking. He was not sending and receiving these messages quickly and accurately, because the network of connections weren’t fully developed. Therefore his gross and find motor skills were seriously lagging.  His vocabulary was that of a gifted person, his ability to grasp concepts at an early age was mind-boggling, but he couldn’t read successfully, and doing any kind of writing, coloring, or other eye-hand required activities (gross or fine motor skills), well he was unable to respond with any organization, clarity, correctness in any shape or form.

Developmental Delays

I later learned he was suffering from Developmental Delays. I am glad to report it was not a life sentence! I learned how (with the help of a Neuro-Educational Evaluation and an individualized program like Little Giant Steps offers) to help my child through brain stimulating activities that would create the much needed pathways and improve the communication between the brain and body. I am so grateful for The Neurodevelopmental Approach! My child is totally functional because of it! In fact, today as an adult he daily serves people with his professional skills at his dental office!  Yes, he’s a dentist who performs advanced procedures such as dental implants, root canals, etc.  Receiving brain-based stimulation at age 10, saved him!  He now daily carries out his God-given potential by serving God, his family, and his community.

If  you have a child with Dyslexia here are two resources:  John’s Mom & The Dyslexia Workshop

If you have a child with Developmental Delays here is an excellent in-home program: Developmental Foundations

If you have a school you’d like to share our success with please share our Little Giant Steps Educational Services Site

Let us know how we can help at http://www.littlegiantsteps.com/ 

 Special Days For Special People

As we approach the Labor Day weekend, I am reminded how all of us arrive through the labor of our mothers. Then as we grow, both our parents (we hope and pray both will be involved with their children’s growth and development) begin a life-long teaching role. Little Giant Steps knows that for a child who suffers from learning issues, parents can make a significant difference as to whether their child moves beyond the difficulties they experience, or they stay in the realm of never experiencing academic success.

Is It Really A Choice?

Yes, in today’s world we have enough research and experience documented that shows “something” can be done to help a child, teen or even an adult move beyond their level of disability that in the not-too-distant past was thought to be a life sentence.  What is required of the parent is to commit is gaining new skills, knowledge and then working with their child twice a day for two minutes per activity until the symptoms of the disability no longer remains.  The length of time is unique to each child and is not all that predictable, because what the neuro-developmental programs do is to change the brain’s physiology. No one can predict how long it will take to repair, rewire or create new neuro-pathways in an area of dysfunction.  What we do know is that if you are faithful in working with your child you can create improved academic success.  Little Giant Steps has twenty years of experience of working with the Neurodevelopmental Approach and as these parents will attest, it works:

“This is working!!! We are seeing improvement upon improvement in Allison. She’s not my unreliable, unpredictable, immature little girl anymore, but has blossomed into a very responsible enjoyable 14 year old! I have also used our experience to encourage so many other moms. When God is in the middle of something (and He is in this) the blessings extend far beyond what we ever imagine. Thanks for your ongoing encouragement. It makes all the difference in the world.”

“I finally completed the boys monthly status report and I am mailing it out tomorrow, but, I wanted to share something with you that happened this week that is not on the report. Trent wanted to invite a friend over to spend the night, but we were in the car and the number was not accessible. I told Trent that he could call him on my cell phone and amazingly he remembered his friend’s home number, but that is not even the best part. His friend was at his grandparent’s home (who he stays with quite often). I asked Trent if he knew that number and at first he said that he didn’t, then, Trent said, Wait, I think I know it and sure enough it was the right number. My heart leaped for joy. Last year this 13 year old boy was doing good to remember his own phone number and now he is a walking phone directory. Praise God!!!!!! We have seen other signs of progress that I included on our monthly report, but this one was a dozy. I think God knew that we needed the encouragement to keep going and finish the race. Thank you guys so much.”

“Wow! Nate is really doing so well with academics now. He is learning his math facts, a new vocabulary word every day and his reading has just soared over the last few weeks. Now that his auditory digit span is up to six, he is able to sound out words phonetically.

The most amazing changes have occurred in the way he relates to people and life around him. We recently took a family vacation to Orlando, FL. It was wonderful – because of Little Giant Steps, my son was able to “cope” with large crowds, changes going on, communicated with people, and was socially interactive with people. He even found a friend at the pool – a little British boy that was his age that was there on vacation. A year ago, we went on the same trip (my husband goes to an annual conference in Orlando) and it was a total nightmare. Nate couldn’t deal with anything. It was an awful time. This time, he was just like any other “normal” child; instead of freaking out, he would say to me, “…mom, my feet hurt and I’m hungry…” which was a blessing to us. We purchased a behind the scenes walking tour Sea World – got to pet a penguin and a shark, got to feed stingrays and dolphins, we had lunch with Shamu, etc. He participated in all of it – an enjoyed it to boot! It was a great family vacation for us – thank you so much for helping us help him. I can’t thank you enough!”

 If your child need help, make sure next Labor Day finds him with a renewed confidence, skill sets that he thought he’d never have, and especially knowing he is very special and learning is easy.

First Step: 

 Get your child neurologically organized.

Little Giant Steps has been providing education for parents and teachers for many years, so they can assist their children to reach their full academic potential.  All learning begins with the brain. So, first let’s get the brain ready to learn. Everyone, regardless of age or I.Q. will improve in their abilities if their brain is better organized and neurologically efficient.

A child arrives in this world with many areas of the brain still developing.  One of the crucial stages of early development includes establishing the central nervous system so the brain and body get connected (we call this “becoming neurologically organized”).  When a child is neurologically organized, information can travel effortlessly between the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell).  When a child is neurologically organized, his movements are coordinated and he has age-appropriate fine and gross motor skills.

Most children become neurologically organized without any outside assistance.  God designed the human brain in such a way that when an infant begins moving, the brain receives the stimulation required to develop higher function.  Infants start out with very random and primitive movements, and then, as the brain develops, their movements become more complex.  It is the cross pattern movement of crawling and creeping that is so vital to a child’s continued progress and development.

If your child didn’t spend much time crawling and creeping, or if they skipped this important developmental stage, there is good news!  It is not too late!  Young children, teenagers, and even adults, can benefit by spending time every day crawling and creeping on the floor in a good cross pattern.  It just takes 2 minutes, twice a day each for cross crawling (like an army crawl) and cross creeping (up on hands and knees).  That’s just 8 minutes a day, five days a week!  Make sure the opposite hand and knee hit the floor at the same time (this cross pattern movement provides the proper stimulation to the brain).  The benefits will amaze you!  Improvement can be seen within 2 to 4 months in academics, behavior, social interaction, coordination of movement and other functional abilities.  It would be best to do these cross pattern activities for at least 6 months to ensure that the brain has received enough stimulation to make these positive effects permanent! 

See you next time with Step 2.  God bless.

The best way for you to know how effective Little Giant Steps’ programs are, is to show you. 

For our school test results of Little Giant Steps’ Neuro-Educational Programs, please click here

Here is what you’ll see that is tested:

LEGEND: (Testing methodology):

 *Math=WRAT Math Test

 *Rec.= WRAT Word Recognition Test 

*Comp.= Peabody Comprehension Test

 See our Little Giant Steps website.

Setting Up An Academic Foundation Is Essential

Can you imagine building a structure such as this one, pictured on the right, if you didn’t pay attention to the foundation?  Like anything functional, there must be a logical approach to the beginning of  building a skill set.  God, in his infinite wisdom, created us to have a period of building that lasts our entire lifetime. He also provided a way to set that building process up, and it is called development.  There are natural rules that must be followed in order to have optimum development. Little Giant Steps builds solid foundations upon which the academic lives, successful thinking and living will be built. We are game-changers for those who missed some of those developmental steps, regardless of the reason for it. We are neuro-foundation specialists!

The Foundation Has Massive Wiring

The brain and body must function efficiently together through solid and massive connections in order for us to establish the foundation upon which our five senses are developed and vast functions are built. Our thinking , remembering, and expression of the world and all the experiences we encounter rests on the learning foundations that began on the day we are born and continues throughout our lives.  What science has confirmed with the availability of brain scanning technology, is that function can be restored through the use of brain-based stimulation that does, in fact, create new neuro-pathways and can eliminate the symptoms of learning disabilities by “developing” a stronger and bigger foundation with strong and vital connections. The brain is 97% connections and 3% cell bodies. When there is trauma, deprivation of stimulation, absence of activities that produce the required developmental cues for normal growth and development; we result in having gaps – unseen gaps in our abilities to function successfully in the academic setting or in learning.

What Does Little Giant Steps Do?

Essentially, we are foundation builders.  When a child is struggling with learning, or is noticed to be slightly off the normal developmental track, parents notice.  In school, teachers notice, but no one typically is quite sure what to do about it.  If more people would know that these deficits can typically be easily remedied; they’d do something about it.  It is my hope and prayer that more people will hear our message and will be encouraged to investigate the Neuro-Educational Approach.  It’s a natural way to intervene in problems areas.  No drugs are needed, because we work with what God created ~ the neuro-plasticity of the brain. Our articles are an excellent resource to start in learning, gaining skills, and most importantly, to do something to help your child.  Read them, please.  We also have DVDs if you prefer to learn from videos on our store..

If A Child Shows These Signs, Then Let’s Get Their Problem Solved

• Is your child seems smart, but can’t seem to be successful in school?
• Are you seeing inconsistent recall from a “bright” child?
• Does your child seem to know something one day, but not the next?
• Is he or she able to carry out directions without getting all confused?
• Is your child messy and seems not to have any sense of organization?
• Does your child consistently do things but rarely completes them or even knows they are incomplete?
• Does your child lack logical thinking ability?
• Is your child unable to stay on task?

There are many signs and symptoms that goes along with a disorganized brain, low processing ability (auditory & visual), and mixed dominance.  These are the things we can fix by addressing the foundational dysfunction.  To see how we go about doing that please check out our evaluation services and read the articles: “Learning Disabilities” and The Neurodevelopmental Approach.  Then look at the positive results of our programs in the lives of many children and their families.

Stop the struggling.  Investigate our approach to solving their dilemma. Set them free so they and you can discover their true potential.  It’s there, but the wiring is not quite working efficiently. Little Giant Steps can fix that. 

Great Gains In Learning with LGS Neuro-Educational Programs

Little Giant Steps (LGS) has seen thousands of students from ages 5 to 54 gain functional abilities that allows them to learn with ease and discover their full potential.  “How?” You may ask.  It has to do with a paradigm shift in ones thinking, because we look at the brain first, then the educational materials to be learned.  They go hand in hand, but if you have brain that is disorganized, with low processing abilities, and mixed dominance is a problem, then learning is very difficult and for some it seems impossible despite how hard they try. Our system addresses the foundational issues of learning, which reside in the brain.  We assess where the low or dysfunction is (in relation to educational models ~ we work from an educational model, not a medical model) and it can be a person showing symptoms of dyslexia, autism, ADD, ADHD, PDD, or many other such labels.

Then we look at where the individual is regarding their neuro-development. From that  evaluation, a plan is written and directed by a neuro-educational specialist.  The plan will include neuro-activities to address the issues that are hindering their ability to learn.  As some of our clients have explained, “It’s like going from an Internet dial-up line to high speed.”  They begin to experience what it is like to have their mind and body communicate and function at lightening speed.  Their eye-hand coordination becomes unified, the hyer/hypo sensitivities are normalized, in fact, all systems get a tune up when the brain is functioning efficiently and the neuro-connections are increased.  Read our success stories.

How Much Time Does This Take?

Each individual is different, but we re-evaluate our students every four months.  It’s not surprising when we see a student go up a full grade level in four months, in fact most do better than that if they follow the recommended individualized program that’s been designed for them.  Here is a graph that will show you how a group of nine year old students did in a period of four months. Note the first bar in a series of color is the level where they tested when they started, the second bar are the results shown in four months.  They are tested in math (blue), reading recognition (red), and comprehension (yellow).  Each horizontal line
respresents a full year of school.  To see more testing results click here.