http://www.thedoctorstv.com/videolib/init/5734

During my screening, I always screen for visual issues, including Irlen Syndrome – when people see various visual distortions that are helped by colored gels or lenses, such as those seen in the video. Not everyone is helped by the color, because there is no silver bullet, but when they are, it is dramatic.

Just this week, an 8 year old girl noticed that the double vision she was seeing stopped when she used certain colors. I recommended that her parents copy her writing work onto colored paper, use colored overlays for reading, and go to the nearest diagnostician for lenses. Because of the cost, I don’t recommend the lenses unless the parents can invest the money, and the child sees double most of the time.

In the video, one of the disturbances was a swirl effect. One of my best friends sees this, but it goes away when she uses the overlay. She also noticed that when using an eReader, like the Nook or Kindle, the effect is lessened, and when putting the overlay on top of the eReader, it is the best. Now she can read so much faster and retain what she reads easier.

But note that if the grey color makes one’s eyes hurt or the distortions are worse, an eReader will not help.

Long ago, I had screened a little girl who described that the text moved down the page without an overlay. The color that worked best for her was the Goldenrod, an orange color. Later in the assessment, I was testing her reading level with the Woodcock-Johnson Reading Battery. We were getting toward the end of the test because she was missing words when I noticed she was rubbing her eyes, blinking, and moving very close to the words. I realized then that she could probably sue the overlay, so I put it on top of the test, and she proceeded to get to at least another year higher in her reading! At that point I knew that if I was not using a person’s color in the screening, that I was testing how well they could see black text on white paper, rather than the reading level. Now, I always use colored paper for written tests and overlays for reading tests.

To purchase Irlen Overlays or find the nearest diagnostician, go to www.irlen.com.Research on Irlen Syndrome is found on http://irlen.com/index.php?s=research

For more on Dyslexia, go to the International Dyslexia Association website at http://www.interdys.org

Finally, to overcome this type of Dyslexia for good, vision therapy is highly recommended. Although the overlays and lenses help many people, it is an accommodation, not a therapy. Once the glasses are off, or the overlay is removed, the problem remains. Vision therapy, which is about 80% effective, works well to correct the problem. It takes months, however, so during that time, Irlen overlays and lenses are great!

More on vision therapy at www.COVD.org.

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Or your child has been labeled ADD, Dyslexic, Dysgraphic, or learning disabled but you want her to be successful in life and wonder if she will be able to get off the medication and work without the help of an aide.

You want to get down to the actual cause of the problem, but are not sure of where to find the resources. There are so many articles to read but few get you to the trainings and therapies that will actually help. Plus, you don’t know who to trust – some of the therapies are very expensive, but do they actually work? You need to know before spending the money if it will help your child specifically.

Over the last 12 years I have been working with children and adults to help them overcome their struggles, and in doing so have found a couple truisms:

• There is no silver bullet
• No single therapy helps all people, because we are so individual in our make-up
• Most people need more than one therapy because we are so complex
• There is a hierarchy of therapies that determine the best sequence of therapies for the best results

In order to get a full screening of your child, be sure that all of these areas are included:

• Diet and exercise
• Inquiry about stress, anger, depression, etc.
• Neurodevelopment especially the primitive reflexes
  • The most important reflexes are those that contribute to school-related struggles for the development of vision, auditory processing and handwriting
  • The reflexes are:
    • Moro reflex
    • Palmar reflex
    • Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex
    • Spinal Galant
    • Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex
    • Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex
    • Sensory Motor Development including:
      • Balance
      • Gross and fine motor planning
      • Sensory integration
      • Auditory processing
        • Hypersensitive hearing
        • Articulation and pronunciation
        • Phonemic awareness
• Visual processing
  • Tracking
  • Convergence
  • Peripheral vision
  • Double vision
  • Irlen syndrome
  • Cognitive development
    • Memory
    • Processing speed
    • Attention
    • Visualization
    • Logic and reasoning
    • Academic achievement
      • Reading
      • Math
      • Writing
      • Most importantly – a plan of attack for remediating each of these areas. The plan should include an estimate of length of time in each therapy, estimated costs, referrals to the professionals who deliver the therapies, and flexibility for the family in terms of cost and time.

There are not many professionals in the country who deliver this service. I am available for screenings in the Capital District of New York State. If you know of other professionals who do similar screenings, please contact me at kjohnson@pyramidofpotential.com so I can add them to my resources page.

I have created a DVD and workbook – the Pyramid of Potential Testing Module – to help people test for most of the above so they have access to help no matter where they are in the world. Users are then responsible for finding the closest professionals.

How a struggling child gets tested is less important than finding what is causing the struggles and what to do about it. There are many roads to the final destination – success and independence!

For even more information, go to www.devdelay.org

The Pyramid of Potential was based on my two year journey with my child through many trainings and therapies. Before we started, she had severe learning disabilities.  She would not have graduated from high school with a diploma that would have let her attend college. She had other labels, too – Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Central Auditory Processing Dysfunction (CAPD), borderline ADD/ADHD, and visual development issues. By the end of the two years of therapy, her IQ was raised by 20 points, she was out of all her remedial classes, and her math teacher said it was “miraculous!” She currently is in college, on the Dean’s List with no accommodations, drugs or tutors.

In the past 8 years, I have been helping students and families with their own journeys to success.  Time and again I have seen two truisms: no two students are alike, and there is no silver bullet. However, the journey has similar elements, and those elements have been put together into the Pyramid of Potential.

In order for the brain to develop, and new connections to be made for permanent learning, you must start with proper nutrition, and low stress. Proper nutrition includes low sugar, omega 3 fatty acids, and sufficient protein at every meal. Low stress is important because trauma or highly stressful situations can damage the connections in the brain.

Neuro-development for kids who struggle in school happens by re-creating the early stages of development to open the pathways to the higher cognitive portions of the brain. This is done through simple physical exercises that take less than 15 minutes a day.  These exercises integrate the primitive reflexes that babies are born with.  For example, if the Moro reflex is not integrated, a person may have hypersensitive hearing and would do brain excercises to integrate this reflex.   More information can be found at www.pyramidofpotential.com/ pyramid-of-potential/neuro-development.

Once the pathways have been opened, the sensory motor system can be more easily remediated. If there are auditory issues, sensory integration issues, or dyspraxia (poor motor control), working with an occupational therapist who deals with this and who gives listening therapy can really help. Speech and language pathologists know how to help with the auditory issues as well. Vision therapy is given by behavioral or developmental optometrists. If vision therapy is still necessary after occupational therapy, the length and cost of therapy is reduced by completing the OT first.

Once the neural pathways are opened, and the body is better put together, cognitive training is the next best thing to do. This trains the brain to do the skills necessary for academic work that may be lagging, such as memory, processing speed, attention, and logic. The training must be intensive and daily for several months in order to make permanent increases in IQ.  However, the intense training is absolutely worth it when you see a two year increase in a deficient skill within three months of training.

As a parent who saw her child become successful and independent, and as an educator who wants nothing less for each individual, I hope to see a future where all people can work toward their potential.

Kathy Johnson, MS Ed is an Educational Therapist from Ballston Spa, NY who gives a workshop titled ”Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, & Dysgraphia: Brain Development Causes and Remediation” More information about the workshop locations and times can be found at www.PESI.com.

First, shuffle the deck thoroughly. Then start the timer and as quickly as you can, sort the cards into different suits. Do this 3 times each day for the next 3 days, keeping track of your times. Then, for the 3 days after that, time yourself to see how quickly you can sort the cards into red or black piles. Do this also 3 times a day for 3 straight days.

Remember, you need to practice improving brain speed every day for about 30 days in order to see improvement that will stick! This is boot camp for the brain!! It can work for anyone of any age. Don’t settle for average or slow processing speed! It is easy! And you can do it!!!

I will give more activities in the next few days, so stay tuned.

I’d love to hear how you are doing – comment to this page with your scores, and we can compare!

How does it reduce employability? What employer is willing to hire a bright young graduate who will take 50% longer to do the job than some other applicant?

I understand that educators want to get their students through high school and graduated so that they can go out and make their mark on their world, but giving extra time due to a student’s slow processing speed reduces their chances in the real world. What these educators may not realize is

Processing Speed is very easy to increase!!!

We know that IQ is not static. We know that we can make changes in the brain. Take a look at Congresswoman Gabby Gifford’s story to realize just how much a brain can be rewired. Then you realize that increasing processing speed should be easy. It is!!

In order to make new connections in the brain that stick, follow these directions:

1. The new skill must be practiced daily
2. Continue until a “habit” or new connection is created, say 4 weeks or so
3. The practice must be challenging: too easy, and it is not a new connection. Too hard, and frustration creates disconnect.

So, you want to increase processing speed in the next month so you can start of 2012 a new faster model of you. You do not have to do the exact same activity every day, since that would be downright boring! So, I will give you a new activity every few days. To keep on top of this, “like” my Facebook page and you will get updates (www.facebook.com/pyramidofpotential). Or, come back every couple days for new activities and updates from me. Please comment in either place. Our comments will help inspire us to complete this speedy month!

Yes, me too! I am going through this with you! Our first activity is also our pre-test. At the end of 30 days we will have our post-test: January 1, 2011.

Copy the following paragraph into a blank Word file. Make sure the text is 14 point size, save and print it out.

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You will need a timer and a pen or pencil. Start the timer and circle all the e’s on the page as fast as you can and write down the time on it. This is your first test. Never again, until the post test, will you circle e’s. For the next two days, choose a different letter and circle all occurrences of that letter; track your times. Do this 3 times each day.

I got 1 minute and 38 seconds. I’m not the fastest, so you may have beat me! Comment with your score – especially if your score was faster! Include your age, too. I’m…. um…. almost 55.

If your eyes started hurting or you were distracted by noises, then your slower processing speed is due to something else. I’ll address that in a later post!

Have fun!!

Christie Sharp

Guidance Counselor
Woodlawn Elem. School, KY

Want to remember people’s names at the New Year’s bash?

Here is a list of things to do. But first, remember that in order to make a new connection in your brain – in order to create a “habit” – you must practice every day for 3 or 4 weeks. Don’t slack off! Makes notes in your calendar! Work together with a friend!OK, you get the idea. Here is the list:

1. Turn on the TV or radio. Listen for the length of 1 sentence. Turn down the volume and repeat the sentence. Too hard? Start with a few words. Too easy? Count to 5 after turning down the volume before you repeat the words. Start wherever you are, then stretch yourself!

2. When listening to your ipod, use only the right ear bud. Your language center is generally in your left hemisphere of your brain, which also controls the right side of your body. So to get a fast connection to your language center, you will take a month to change your dominant ear to your right ear. All of the listening therapies are weighted to the right – you are working that brain connection by listing only with your right ear.

3. To keep this strong and to map your brain for good auditory processing, you need to integrate the spinal galant reflex. WHAT?!? OK, you need to go back to brain development 101 – you know, in the first year of life when your brain was getting set up. You were also setting up your sensory system, including your auditory system. To give it a big boost, you will do very slow snow angels on the floor. Yup, like when you were a kid, only MUCH slower. One slow angel per minute. Honestly. And you will do 3 of them. Yup that’s what I said. It takes just 3 minutes a day, every day – to work.

So, this takes about 5 minutes a day. And you will impress people with your new-found memory. AND you will impress yourself. Who says we lose our memory when we get older? Hey, myself? I’m just getting better! As a matter of fact, I only just started remembering people’s names in the last 9 months. I do slow angels almost every day. Just ask my husband, what’s his name.

Want to know more? go to http://www.pyramidofpotential.com/shop/snow-angel-module/

So, you must be wondering how I can help someone read for so little money. By using a small device that is cheap or you can make yourself, to help the students hear themselves as they speak and read.

Phonics Phone

The device is made of plastic and looks like an old fashioned telephone. As the students speak into it they can hear themselves very clearly and helps them acquire phonemic awareness. While speaking, the students must speak in a whisper or very quietly because otherwise, it’s too loud in their ears! Because the students are listening to their own voice, their attention may improve; plus, if they are not very good readers, it helps provide some privacy.

Go to http://www.righttrackreading.com/phonicsphones.html to read an excellent article about these “phones” including

• why they help with reading, activities to use in teaching reading skills,
• how to use them for other activities and subjects, how to make one out of PVC pipe,
• how to get 6 free sample phones, and
• where to order Phonics Phones, Whisper Phones and Toobaloos.

Have fun!

I eat no gluten and have been gluten-free for 3 years because of the fatigue I experienced from eating it. I can eat gluten-free cakes and brownies, but have found I no longer crave them. I eat rice pasta which tastes pretty good! Just don’t ask my picky 17 year old – he thinks gluten free means taste free! LOL!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184556/?tool=pubmed

The details are below:

Objective:

A possible association of celiac disease with psychiatric and psychological disturbances such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been reported repeatedly. The objective of this study was to observe whether a gluten-free diet could alleviate the behavioral symptoms in patients with celiac disease and ADHD.

Method:

Sixty-seven subjects aged 7 to 42 years (mean = 11.4 years) with ADHD were enrolled in the study in South Tyrol, Italy, from 2004 to 2008. Hypescheme, an operational criteria checklist that incorporates DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria, was used to assess ADHD-like symptomatology. Additionally, blood serum levels of all subjects were assessed for possible celiac disease by examining antigliadine and antiendomysium antibodies. A gluten-free diet was initiated for at least 6 months in celiac disease–positive patients with ADHD.

Results:

Of the 67 patients with ADHD, 10 were positive for celiac disease. After initiation of the gluten-free diet, patients or their parents reported a significant improvement in their behavior and functioning compared to the period before celiac diagnosis and treatment, which was evident in the overall mean score on the Hypescheme questionnaire (t = 4.22, P = .023).

Conclusions:

Celiac disease is markedly overrepresented among patients presenting with ADHD. A gluten-free diet significantly improved ADHD symptoms in patients with celiac disease in this study. The results further suggest that celiac disease should be included in the ADHD symptom checklist.