Dyslexia Discovery

Damon Korb:  Meltdowns to Shutdowns 

In early November, 2010, Parents Education Network in San Francisco presented Damon Korb, MD, whose specialty is developmental and behavioral pediatrics. He is the Director of The Center for Developing Minds which provides care for children and young adults who struggle at home and at school.  This specialty clinic, located in the Silicon Valley, focuses on behavior issues, learning difficulties, attention problems, social skill deficits, Autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays and psychological disorders. 

Dr. Korb’s topic was Meltdowns to Shutdowns. He began with an encouraging statement.  Most children grow out of their meltdowns meaning that they have learned the skills they need to handle their behavior.  He went on to state that oppositionality is a normal behavior as the child matures. Beginning at birth, a baby chooses either to gaze directly or averts it. At 8 weeks a baby begins to initiate a “dialogue” showing what he or she wants. At 9 months, they want Mum.  At twelve months tantrums can begin.  At 4 years the child has confidence and will start wandering off and so it goes. 

According Dr. Korb there are four ways that oppositional behavior can be defined: by becoming familiar with a child’s temperament, environmental facts, a child being thwarted of a need and failure to learn pro-social behavior. 

Dr. Korb throughout his two-hour presentation kept returning to the importance of understanding the child’s temperament. He cautioned: if you are a parent set on a path that your child needs to take in life and it is in conflict with the child’s temperament, this is a recipe for oppositional behavior. 

When defining the child’s temperament he suggests considering several components: a) what is their rhythm to determine their regularity, b) how do they respond to new information, c) how adaptable are they, e) are they intense by nature? f) what is their mood pattern? g) what is their attention span – are they easily distracted, are they persistent and h)are they sensitive?  

He offered several temperament tips that increase results between a parent and child.  Remember to appreciate your child’s strengths, give positive messages about the child to the child along with lots of praise. Keep in mind you can help your child change behavior but not their temperament. Avoid criticism for things that are just about individual style.  Let your child know that you are listening. 

Environment factors revolve around the kind of environment parents are providing for their child. If a child is growing up in a stressed environment caused by marital discord, poverty, legal problems, mental health, depression, anxiety, drugs or alcohol it is most like that the child will exhibit oppositional behavior. He commented that he and his staff spend a lot of time working with parents, encouraging them to focus on their unresolved issues.  He cautioned: parents who are not managing their behavior be aware, your children will copy your undesirable behaviors.   

The third characteristic, thwarting of a need is both simple and complex. The simple: ensuring the child is being given food that serves him best, has lots of sleep and many hugs. The complex revolves in part around issues like – the need to provide regulations/house rules so that the child can learn how to regulate his or her life. In Dr. Korb’s family, dinner every night is at 5 pm and his five children are expected to be present. They have specific times when they are to be in bed. A special effort is made to control noise to avoid over stimulation. 

Dr. Korb made reference to Dr. Eric Erickson, a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst talking about his theory on social development. There are eight stages, four of which were mentioned during this talk:

1. Hope: basic trust is the first ingredient for an infant.  If trust exists at that age, the child is more likely to grow up believing what you say.
2. Will: autonomy versus shame and doubt.  This is tricky.  The toddler wants freedom and must be offered it and at the same time the child needs to learn how to limit him or herself.
3. Purpose: initiative versus guilt.  The kindergarten child needs to express creativity but can easily put into guilt if the discipline process is not consistent and generous.
4. Competence – Industry versus inferiority. Age 6 to adolescence. Self worth becomes an issue here.

 Failure to learn pro-social behavior.  Dr Korb was clear that the responsibility for the child to learn social behavior lies with the parents.  Setting criteria and keeping to it is essential for every aspect of the child’s life.  So, when the child doesn’t turn off the computer when asked, set the criteria and then hold to it.  Give warnings:  “You have five minutes more on the computer.  It must be shut down within five minutes.”

 If a child is given time out, when they re-join the activity find a reason to complement them.  Then, later when the issue is no longer a sore point, find time to discuss with the child what happened and re-iterate the criteria. 

Dr. Korb spent some time talking about behavior patterns coming from a learning disorder and offered several areas to consider:    

1. Executive skills. This function is controlled by working memory.  The child’s ability to organize and plan his or her life is a component.  They need schedules, lists, routines so the parent doesn’t need to nag so much.  They need to be prepared to handle change.  . 
2. Language processing skills. These children need to know how to communicate, how to express what they feel. This is essential for them to stay out of trouble. 
3. Find ways to send a message that celebrates the strengths of the child.

 If a child experiences a meltdown, recognize that it is a panic attack. Be with them helping them to find a way to calm down.  Once the meltdown is over consider the steps to take. If it’s a teenager who experienced the melt down, it’s time to consider where they are developmentally when they are in the behavior of melt down.  It may be necessary to back up with parenting to that level. Remember: to the child, it’s not about the meltdown it’s about everything that happened before the meltdown.  Later, when discussing the meltdown with the child, make an effort to diffuse the situation by offering collaborative problem solving.  In summary Dr. Korb said behavior problems are learning disorders. Meltdowns are 99.9% predictable. 

Dr. Korb recommended three books:

• Carol Gray’s Social Stories. These books describes a situation, skill, or concept in terms of relevant social cues, perspectives, and common responses in a specifically defined style and format. http://www.thegraycenter.org.
• Michelle Garcia Winner and Chris Abildgaard’ book  Social Thinking and Applied Behavior Analysis is one several publications addressing the needs of individuals with a broad range of social and communication challenges in their communities. www.socialthinking.com.  
• Ross Greer, The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children.

Attention Deficit Disorder Discussion Report

Friday, October 22^nd, Katherine Ellison, author of the recently published book, Buzz, was the speaker at Parents Education Network in San Francisco, CA.   A mother of a son who has ADD, her book vividly describes her family’s trials, tribulations and successes with the challenges her son faces. She was also very frank about herself letting us know that she, too, has the same brain aberration. 

A brief description of ADD culled from the field’s leading experts set the scene. The core problem is a weakness in the brain’s inhibitory system. She describes it as “faulty breaks”. The symptoms include impulsiveness, forgetfulness and distraction. 

Before reading a dramatic scene from her book, Ms. Ellison, a successful newspaper reporter and author, shared that Jack, her husband, and her two sons were torn apart with the tensions generating from challenges her oldest son, nine years old Buzz, faced. Writing her book was the only way she had to handle the family crisis. She described her inability to stop herself going into reaction, screaming at him, even spanking him when he said horrible things. Now, she understands that he was in his own world and didn’t see the cause/effect relationship of his comments.   

This drama heightened as she read a scene from her book, describing her efforts at 6 am to get Buzz up for his Spanish class, a class he enjoyed. Rising from bed, taking a shower, eating breakfast was chaotic ending in a verbal war between mother and son.  As Buzz exited, slamming the door, Ms. Ellison experienced an “ahha”. She realized she was bordering on not loving her son and was stunned!  She saw that her ADD and his were sparking each other’s worst side. She knew she had to be the one to change and turned her attention from her own distress and challenges with her ADD to her child. One of her strategies that had positive effect was finding ways to show Buzz that he was loved by her. This meant thinking twice before yelling when Buzz employed the “oppositional defiance kicker”. She reframed her feelings and took the advice of the writer, Toni Morrison: “Light up when a child comes into the room.”  At first, there was little immediate return. However, the more she released control the better the results. Slowly they were able to talk about what happened and sometimes he would respect her point of view if not accept it. 

Ms. Ellison enlisted her husband to become more involved and at this point her presentation Ms. Ellison’s invited her husband, Jack, a quiet, loving, somewhat distant husband to join her.  They shared they have clashed over different parenting styles on subjects such as TV, food, bedtime etc.  

The Ellisons then opened the morning session to questions.  Mothers and some fathers reported similar challenges and asked for advice. Topics covered a wide span:

• ADD kids have a hard time with social interaction Most agreed that friends of an ADD student from Grade 1 and 2 had long disappeared, no more play dates.
• Questions around the value of “consequences”: eg.” if you do this you will lose the use of your laptop” were brought to the fore. Most agreed that ADD kids are less sensitive to the concept of consequences and thus bribery doesn’t work.
• More often than not the discussion moved to drugs, Ritalin and others.  Are they effective, are they damaging?  It seems these mood changing pills enable the distracted child to be comfortable with her or himself and they became more open to learning.  However, there was no agreement on the long term effect.  Ms. Ellison’s son did use drugs for a time, but then chose to stop. This topic kept re-emerging with no resolution.
• There seemed to be a general consensus that private schools in Marin County are less effective in handling children with ADD than public schools.
• The Ellisons encouraged parents to invest time helping their ADD child find something he or she is good at.  This effort does pay off.  Buzz discovered pleasure with  tennis. He is now coaching tennis with little kids and his social interaction is improving.

 Throughout the  morning Ms. Ellison suggested.

Outsource homework.  You have enough to handle in the house and need space from the battles over homework.

Find a way to become an ally – if it means taking the child out for pizza.

Choose your battles, Let some things slide. 

Do your best to balance attention with all children in your family. Those not affected by ADD need to feel that they are being fairly treated.

Try meditation and neuro-feedback. At first she used bribery to get her son to the sessions. But, they had some success with both.

Most important is reconnecting with your child, finding a way to let him or her know you love them, get back to a point where you can hug.

 Finally, Ms. Ellison urged parents who have a tendency to ADD behavior to get tested for diagnosis.  Don’t continue investing energy in covering up.  And, then find a way to slow down.

 The two hour morning session flew by.  Ms Ellison’s book, Buzz, is published by Voice, Hyperion, New York and is well worth the investment.

Parents Education Network in San Francisco sponsored a talk on Assistive Technology in early October, 2010.  The speaker, Jan Tuber, is a staff member at Parents Helping Parents, a non profit organization based in San Jose, CA.  Ms. Tuber had an enormous amount of information to share.

 Assistive technology refers to a device, (any item, piece of equipment, product system) used to increase, maintain or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.  Ms. Tuber underscored the changing behavior of this broad field. New and updated products appear on the market unexpectedly. Keeping abreast is a challenge.

 General comments Ms. Tuber made for parents and teachers: 

• Don’t buy a product until you have sampled it by training on it.  Many people get excited about the potential of the product but lose interest fast if they have not committed to the training.
• Many developers offer their product for a testing period – often thirty days.  Take that offer and test the value of the product to your situation.
• Have a clear sense of the learning disability challenge to be served. Take the time to understand the student’s barriers to learning eg: does the student have memory or note taking or graphic challenges?   Then, match the learning style and needs with the tools.
• Teachers:  be sure to order assistive technology tools when books are being ordered for the year.

 Ms. Tuber had many websites listed in her handout that address different learning styles.  Some are listed below. She suggested a good way to start exploring assistive technology is with Low Tech Supplies.

 Low Tech Supplies: 

Filters, Lottie Kits, Reading Rulers, Franklin products, pencil grips, AT notebook, raised line paper, handwriting guides, highlighter tape, margin maker.  The following websites are valuable for research and potential purchase.

•  www.onionmountaintech.com  This site Ms. Tuber considers a “bible”
•   www.beacon-ridge.com
• www.mayer-johnson.com
• www.levenger.com
• www.therapyshoppe.com
• www.AssistiveWritingSolutions.com 

Audio Support

• www.rfbd.org:   (Recording for the blind and dyslexic). You can download their material to your computer.
• Victor Reader Stream
• iPod/MP3
• Audio/TTS: Classmate Reader
• www.humanware.com
• www.audible.com   This company has monthly subscriptions for materials that can be downloaded.
• Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. 

Graphic Classics

• www.amazon.co.uk
• Shakespeare Comic Books: www.shakespearecomics.com

              Edited original text in one color, and modern English text translation in another. Fully illustrated comic style presentation.

• Classical Comics: www.classicalcomics.com
• Original Text, or Quick Text versions
• Full color graphics
• No Fear Shakespeare: www.amazon.com,
• www.sparknotes.com
• Simply Shakespeare: Barron’s Educational series, Inc

 Tools for Comprehension:

• Intel Reader:               reader.intel.com
• Click,Speak:                http://clickspeak.clcworld.net/
• WordTalk:                   www.wordtalk.org.uk/ (Win)
• Readplease 2003: FREE or professional version (Win)   www.readplease.com, www.dyslexia-software.com
• Natural Reader: FREE or professional version, (Win)
• www.naturalreaders.com
• GhostReader (Mac):
• www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/ghostreader.html
• TexEdit Plus (Mac):
• www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9013 (shareware) 

Tools for Comprehension:  Comprehensive Text-to-Speech Programs: 

• WYNN: WYNN Reader, WYNN Wizard text-to-speech reader. www.freedomscientific.com
• Kurzweil 3000: Text-to-Speech reader
• www.kurzweiledu.com
• Read & Write Gold: Text-to-Speech reader
• www.texthelp.com
• Read: OutLoud:
•  www.donjohnston.com 

Tools for Writing:  Word Prediction/Spelling

• Word Q:                    www.quill.com
• Co:Writer:                 www.donjohnston.com
• WriteOnline:            www.cricksoft.com
• “Sounds like”-Spell, Write!   www.afh-net.com
• SpellCatcher: (Win/Mac)      www.rainmakerinc.com
• Ginger Software:       www.gingersoftware.com
• Breme Write Right:   www.bremesoftware.com
• Franklin Spellers:      www.franklin.com

Note: Onion Mountain has pens which don’t click.  However, some students need the click to keep them focused.

Tools for Writing: Talking and Portable Word Processors

• Talking Word Processor       www.readingmadeez.com
• Write:OutLoud                         www.donjohnston.com
• WordTalk, Free                         http://www.wordtalk.org.uk
• The Writer Fusion                   www.writerlearning.com
• Embedded in programs such as WYNN, Kurzweil, RWGold

 Note:  This approach works best if the student has aural challenges rather than written.

However, they need cognitive ability to see errors. It takes patience to get this technology working as the student has to learn commands as well as being willing to take the time to set the voice recognition component. 

Tools for Writing

• Inspiration & Kidspiration:           www.inspiration.com
•  Report Writer Interactive ( and Write it Live):  www.ftcpublishing 
• Paragraph Punch/Essay Punch:     www.meritsoftware.com

              Other programs address grammar, comprehension & vocabulary

• Draftbuilder: (SOLO                          www.donjohnston.com
• Livescribe’s Echo Smartpen:        www.livescribe.com/smartpen

 Finally, a comment about Parents Helping Parents.  Their signature Assistive Technology service, Techsploration, provides more details on Assistive Technology as well as an opportunity to experience the tools “hands on” through a guided session in their iTECH demonstration lab. To contact Ms. Tuber in San Jose call (408) 727-5775 or jan@php.com.

Summary of talk by Claudia Koocheck,  Head of School at Charles Armstrong, in Belmont, CA, Friday, September 24^th, 2010.

The first speaker of the 2010-11 PEN (http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org) Speaker Series in San Francisco, Claudia Koocheck, focused most of her remarks on the role of parents whose children are learning challenged. She speaks from first-hand experience as Head of School at Charles Armstrong, a much respected Northern California independent elementary and middle school for students with learning challenges. One facet of her responsibilities is meeting with parents on a continuous basis giving them support while challenging them to move into new paradigms to support their children through the schooling process.

Parent’s reactions after learning a child has a learning challenge.

Ms. Koocheck talked about parent’s shock after discovering that their child has learning differences. It’s a hard fact to absorb and especially true when parents have specific goals for their children emanating from the time of their offspring’s birth. The child they pictured is turning out not to exist.Parents become confused and upset. Ms. Koocheck understands as she helps them walk a new and unexplored path.

Need for parents to change and grow as they help their children

One of the first steps in this journey is encouraging parents to think beyond themselves and their needs.  Now is the time to accept their children as they are and to put emphasis in collaborating with the teachers to achieve the best results for them.

Most parents want an academic path for their child. This step may be achievable but not in the traditional way. A learning challenged child’s brain learns differently which can mean some kids don’t test well.

Often parents lay the fault with the academic environment mostly because they don’t know how to help their child. Sometimes parents resort to hiring a tutor or a coach hoping these steps will solve everything. It does, in some cases, but not the total answer.

Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset

A Fixed Mindset from a parent or child derails progress. This behavior can be best expressed when a parent is focused on how good their child is academically or more tragically, when a child thinks he or she is stupid because they can’t master the traditional schooling process.

The goal for parents and learning challenged children is to develop a Growth Mindset, one that opens doors to new approaches. It is much more important for the child to learn something in a class than to get the best grades.  This means focusing on the process, not the results. It’s about effort, not about the outcome. The child wants and needs to enjoy learning. It may come from an unexpected way like a child drawing pictures to understand what they are learning. So be it.

Hints for parents:

• Don’t ask “how was school?  Broad questions are difficult. Instead start with something small like “what did you learn in music today?”
• Invest effort in helping the child discover and move from some skill they are good at. Movement, music, art can be an effective tool to help a learning challenged youngster learn.
• Learning challenged children read information in a different way: through tone of voice, body language, etc rather than intellectual information. Ms. Koocheck gave an example of a child coming home from school, feeling sad and not having the words to say what is wrong. It may be that at school they realized as a result of the teacher’s behavior, not words, that they are different from everyone else. They are perplexed because but don’t know why.
• Keep reminding your child that he or she is smart by asking, “how did you do that?” This question gives the child a chance to digest what he or she accomplished while experiencing the joy of sharing the success.  Note: the phrase, “great job” doesn’t have the same affect. In fact, it may have the reverse. It may not be a “great job” in the traditional way of mastery and learning challenged children know that!
• Kids don’t know what they need until you show them. Give them options.
• Children have a challenge asking for what they want.  To make her point, Ms. Koochek used the analogy of an adult deciding he or she will ask for raise and all the fears and hesitancies that come with that decision.  The same is for the child.  Be sure to provide a safe environment for the child to open up. Then ask: “what do you want to say to me?” Remember: it is the parent’s responsibility to teach their child how to address another and to ask for what they need.
• After providing a safe environment consider these three possible communication tools to help a child share how they are feeling.

1. Sticky notes: one with a thumbs up and one with a thumbs down.
2. Face charts with many different emotional looks along with a description of each is each useful. Ask the child to point at the face on the chart that best describes how they are feeling at that moment.
3. Ask questions.  Ask the child to raise their hand when the response is correct.

The goal is to get to the point where the child develops a sense of ownership. It will only happen in a safe environment.  Remember the learning challenged child comes from a sensorial point of view.  They read body language and tone of view before anything else.

• Don’t correct the children’s homework.  If you do the teacher will never know where the child is struggling.

Dyslexic Simulation Process

As part of Ms. Koochek’s presentation she suggested parents learn what it feels like to be a dyslexic.  The Northern California Association of the International Dyslexic Association offers a dyslexic simulation process where parents can demystify themselves. The next simulation is Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, 9:00 am-12:00 pm at the San Francisco Day School, 350 Masonic Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118.  For more information go to www.dyslexia-ncbida.org.

Summary

Ms. Koochek had much more to say.  In summary, she encouraged teachers and parents to foster resilience in the child. The desire end results are 1) self motivation, 2) self direction, 3) self advocacy, 4) emotional well-being, 5) social connections and skills, 6) self awareness 7) Self control.

And, parents, remember, applaud teachers and their efforts. They want your kids learning and you happy.

Recommended books

Ms. Koocheck gave high marks to two books:

1. Mindset, The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, (2006), Random House Publishing Group, New York.   It describes how kids perceive themselves.
2. Brooks, Robert and Goldstein, Sam (2003), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in Your Life.  New York Contemporary Books/McGraw Hill.

First of all let me tell you a little bit about PEN. The acronym stands for Parents Education Network, PEN, a coalition of parents collaborating with educators, students and the community to empower and bring academic success to students with learning and attention difficulties.  If you live in the San Francisco Bay area and have children with these challenges, this is a lively group, well worth your time and energy.   http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org

PEN offered it’s last Speaker event of this season on Friday, May 14, 2010.  A panel of high school learning specialists shared their experiences of working with high school students who have learning and attention challenges.  The panelists and the institutions they represented were:  Susan Coe Adams, Marin Academy; Constance Clark, Immaculate Conception Academy: Karen Houck, Drew School: Denise Olivera, Gateway High School and Charles P. Roth, Bay School of San Francisco.  This is a summary of their points of view.

This discussion focused primarily on Grade Nine, though there were references to high school students in general. All of the schools are college preparatory.

Admission:  Some schools require documentation on the prospective students learning or attention challenges.  One school distills the documentation and develops a learning profile on challenged children. They have the student confirm the information on the learning profile and then the student takes it to his or her teachers as part of a self-advocacy program.  Some schools have workshops on study skills, how the brain works and time management at the beginning of Grade Nine to help the students integrate into high school.

Parents when interviewing a school would be best served by first checking the school’s website to see if the profile of the school fits their child.  Go to admission open houses and be sure to visit the resource center.

At the interview these are some questions that might be asked.  a: what services are offered including information on a resource program. b. what are the qualifications of the resource program staff.  c. how do teachers teach: lecture, visual aids etc. d. how is the child assessed: projects, homework, tests. e. How many students have learning issues? f. Can a student have a waiver for a subject?  g. how many students leave because of their learning difference. h. Ask  for contact information of parents who have kids with similar issues. Be sure to make a list of your questions and give them to the admissions director.

Most of the panelists felt that students with ADD or ADHD would be best served if they were given psychological testing. In similar kind, most of the panelists felt that a dyslexic student and their teachers would benefit from the information gained from an Educational Therapist.

 1.        Support systems: 

 Some schools have programs where Grade 12 learning or attention challenged students support the incoming Grade Nine students with like situations. This program seems very supportive especially for those Grade Nine  students who more recently learned about their challenge and are  embarrassed by it.  Peer support seems effective. 

Grade 12 students also mentor in chemistry and writing.  Learning how to plan and organizing material is often top on the agenda.

Learning specialists help students become advocates for themselves.  Some schools run training programs for this purpose.

 2.    Homework:

All of the panelist’s schools have homework which can vary from 2-3 hours for students with no learning or attention challenges. This can mean almost double the time for the challenged students.

Learning specialists need to re-inforce with the student that they will have to work harder. 

Some parents choose to have tutors help with homework. Others look to Books on Tape.   Parents and their kids need to plan how homework will be accomplished.  Some parents use bench marks. 

Most schools post homework on-line.

Computers:

Yes, they are useful tools. Parents need to control their use at home so that     homework time is strictly homework. One solution offered was having the student in the kitchen doing homework.

3.   Parents access to teachers, supervisors etc

One person in the school needs to become the central connection with parents. Information can be garnered from the Resource Specialist overseeing each grade level, sometimes a care team. Other sources are E-mail,weekly meeting of faculty to discuss students who are facing problems. 

One advisor has each of his challenged students send an e-mail once a week to his teachers checking if he is up to date with all his assignments.

4.  Most panelists seemed to agree that it is not realistic for a school to provide the following for learning and attention students:  modification of the curriculum, tutors, direct services, therapy, daily communication with parents about homework.   Remember: these schools are all college preparatory.

5.  Parents can support their children by a:  helping them become advocates for themselves, b. make sure they understand how they learn, c. provide a safe environment and build confidence finding ways for the child to be successful, d. encourage them to join support groups for themselves eg: SafeVoices for students http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org/safevoices, or Project Eye to Eye: http://www.projecteyetoeye.org

Challenges learning and attention students need to master during high school so they can be successful.  a. Executive functions:  planning and organizing material, handling effectively a daytimer. highlighting b. making transitions, c. finding ways to deal with dense text books, d. self advocacy, e. how to approach long projects.

 Book recommended:  Primal Teen, Barbara Strauch

Comment:  If I were a parent with a child who has recently discovered he or she is dyslexic I would be both grateful for this panel discussion and perhaps overwhelmed at the task before both the child and the parent.

First of all let me tell you a little bit about PEN. The acronym stands for Parents Education Network, a coalition of parents collaborating with educators, students and the community to empower and bring academic success to students with learning and attention difficulties.  If you live in the San Francisco Bay area and have children with these challenges, this is a lively group, well worth your time and energy.

In mid-March PEN Speaker Series welcomed Patricia Oetter talking on Sensory Integration:  Do we really need it?

She began her presentation defining the senses. Nerves can best be described through neurobehavioral organization. These sensory neurons work in tandem with our motor neurons.  Why?  We need to do something with the neuro-sensory part of our selves.

I referred to biologyreference.com for a little more detail.

Sensory neurons bring information about the world within and around the            body from sense organs to the brain and spinal cord.

Motor neurons carry messages from the brain and spinal cord out to the muscles   and glands.

An example: if a mosquito lands on a person’s arm, sensory neurons in the skin send a message to the spinal cord and then the brain, where the message is   understood, and a reaction formulated. The brain’s response may be to use  motor neurons to cause muscle contractions resulting in a slap on the skin.

Ms. Oetter expanded the usual definition of the senses: see, hear, taste, touch and smell, to include to:

• Vestibular system.  This sense contributes to our balance and our sense of spatial orientation.  It’s the sense that is about being in motion and knowing how to handle oneself.  She reminded us that children learn balance by falling down purposefully – it’s movement through space.
• Proprioception. This sense indicates where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other.

Ms. Oetter cautioned us to remember that our senses are continually providing information to the brain which means that in any given moment, a person may react in one way or another, depending on what sense is dominant at that moment.  For this reason she seemed to eschew placing too much emphasis on the phrases “hyper” meaning beyond or excessively or “hypo” meaning under or below normal.  She re-iterated for the teachers present: A student in a state of hypo-activity is just in a momentary state. Before you know it, the student may become hyper-active.

She talked about the intensity of sensation which is experienced through the duration of its frequency and pattern:  novelty vs repetition.   She explained that the neuro-chemistry inside our cells when turned up or down are a part of how we perceive something.   Our cells are turned up when we are not feeling comfortable or safe.

She had an interesting comment that touch is the key for vision:  If you don’t know what is going on with your vision, your body doesn’t know where it is.

She re-iterated several times her concern that boys in our school systems are lacking experiences they need for development.  The reason? It seems the schools learning systems are focused on a girl’s point of view.  As a result the experience of risk is diminished, an important component for young boy’s growth. She recommended three books that are helpful in raising boys:

Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph and Paul Stanish

Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan     Kindlon and  Michael Thompson,

The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do, Peg Tyre

Ms. Oetter made a sobering comment.  It takes 25 – 30 years of age before the brain is mature enough to handle the senses. It seems it takes that long for mylenation, the development of an insulation material to form a layer, usually around a neuron. This sheath is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. One of the components that ensures mylenation is the condition of feeling safe. She reminded us that boys, girls, young adults, all of us actually, need smiles and touch to find a way to feel safe.

There is so much more information that Ms. Oetter shared. However, now brevity is important.

I would like to comment on the value of these lectures sponsored by PEN. Over this last year I have attended most of them. As a dyslexic and hyperlexic these perspectives have been very useful to me. And, as each dyslexic/hyperlexic has different reasons for their challenge I know it is important to examine a wide variety of solutions. Each speaker gave me another clue into how I function or not. In Ms. Oetter’s case, over the last twenty years I have focused on my senses to understand some of my dyslexic behavior. I found her information most helpful. It gave me another point of view on the topic.

I just wish that parents and teachers challenged with children who have learning issues were in attendance in droves so they, too, could learn. These lectures are one of the best “buys” in the Bay Area.

Can exercise help the brain?  This was the topic of a recent lecture by John G. Ratey, MD sponsored by PEN.

If you wish to comment on this blog, simply scroll down to the bottom of this blog and hit comment.

First of all let me tell you a little bit about PEN. The acronym stands for Parents Education Network, a coalition of parents collaborating with educators, students and the community to empower and bring academic success to students with learning and attention difficulties.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area and have children with these challenges, this is a lively group, well worth your time and energy. Last spring, on the suggestion of one of their students, an all-day event for dyslexics was put together at the Giant’s Ball Park and 1,100 parents, students and others showed up. It was an amazing experience and much was accomplished. Yes, it will happen again, spring, 2010. Find out more at http://www.parentseducationnetwork.org/

Now to John Ratey. Well, all I can say is that I wanted to jump up and cheer, “Yes! yes! yes!”  because what he is promoting (real exercise that’s fun to do) is exactly what helped me.   My mother enrolled me in an exercise program when I was eleven.  I loved it.  My brain cleared and exercise made it easier for me to study.  This is a fun discipline I have continued since that time.

Well, Dr. Ratey and many others are working with school systems in the US to get this concept across. And it’s working.  No, the exercise is not football, nor tennis, etc, its 40 minutes a day doing one or more of aerobics/boot camp/ hip hop/games etc, etc.  They have discovered that play is an important component to academic learning.

Here’s what happening in schools that incorporate fitness-based programs.

1. Disciplinary issues decrease in some situations up to 30%
2. Kids are keen to come to school
3. Test scores go up, especially in math and language arts.

If you want to learn more go to www.JohnRatey.com. He has many books, but it seems that SPARK, “the new revolutionary science of exercise and the brain,” is the book that has the most details on this approach.

If I were a teacher or a parent, I would hasten to the bookstore to learn more. I know that his approach works. I am both dyslexic and hyperlexic and his approach has worked for me.

By the way, Dr. Ratey is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Finally, I will continue to evolve this site, including incorporating dyslexic and/or hyperlexic  information that others have to share.  Yes, I am looking for your ideas.  Send them via the Comments. below.