*TESTIMONIALS*

November 19. 2015

At the beginning of class last year, I hesitantly sacrificed 10 – 12 minutes to do the Maintaining Brains Everyday exercises.  I soon found out that I was not sacrificing one moment of time!  Not only were we exercising, but we were getting through the entire lesson cycle!  My students were more focused and able to remember what I was teaching them!  I noticed improved reading, spelling, and handwriting as well as an overall improvement in their classes.  Teacher’s started commenting on how much better they were doing in class and wanted to know what we were doing differently.  But most of all, the student’s themselves were excited to share with me the changes in themselves.  They noticed a huge difference from the inside out!

But what I am amazed about this year is that it all “stuck”!  My students are much easier to teach this year.  I remember saying, “I can teach them to read, but I don’t know if they will ever be a good speller!”  That too seems to be changing.  At least now, they can remember the rules and why they have to apply them.  Last year, I also incorporated Kathy’s Phonemic Awareness using a metronome with my class.  They loved it because they could see how they were improving and were able to do things at much higher speeds.  Now, whenever we move from one kit to another, we spend very little time on phonetic spelling and can go right to situational spelling and word formulas. 

Carol Crawford, CALT

     (read below to see the students' own observations) 

“I started implementing some exercises immediately with my daughter who struggles with dyslexia. The changes we have seen in her are incredible. Thank you soooo much! A teacher married to a psychologist in Austin, MN”

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fifth Edition, a specific learning disorder with an impairment in reading as these characteristics:

• Impaired word reading accuracy
• Impaired reading rate or fluency
• Impaired reading comprehension

Dyslexia on the other hand, has the following characteristics:

• Problems with accurate or fluent word recognition
• Poor decoding
• Poor spelling abilities

But when it comes to your child, does the exact label matter as long as your child gets the help necessary? Probably not. What we know is that our child struggles with reading and without help, may have difficulties throughout life.

So what happened?

You child probably never has been able to read, and probably didn’t develop the capacity to learn to read easily. Therefore, this is a developmental issue, which means that the child’s brain did not get set up completely in infancy. Some things are missing, causing blocks to learning.

So what can be done?

Let’s start at successful reading and go backwards. A good reader can recognize sight words easily, decode (sound out)  unknown words easily, and spells accurately. In order to recognize words, the vision system must be working well. If it is not, glasses may be required or possibly vision therapy for other visual issues beyond acuity, such as being able to copy off the board, read without skipping lines or words, and not seeing double.

But don’t run off now to find someone near you, since there are other things you can do first to make the vision therapy less expensive, less timely, and more comfortable for the child. Read on!

In order to decode well, the child must be able to see the letters, but also the child must be able to blend the sounds of the letters together, segment them (break them apart) and manipulate them (add in sounds, delete sounds, move sounds). This skill is known as phonemic awareness (being aware of phonemes/sounds). The child might have an auditory processing disorder, especially if he often says what or mispronounces words. The diagnosis can be made by an audiologist, and listening therapies can help with this. Also, listening therapies can help with anxiety, attention and even vision.

But don’t go now and look this up until you have continued – there are other things that you can do first to help listening therapy work better and last. Most of the therapies work for only a short term. I’ve seen the effects last much longer when combined with other things.

Do you know when the visual system and the auditory system are being matured? In the first year of life during various stages that infants go through. I have my clients replicate those stages first before doing other therapies, or in combination with listening therapy. Then, the therapies work well, quicker. These stages are called primitive reflexes, and to get through the stage well, we call it integrating the reflexes.

So, to overcome Dyslexia the quickest, easiest way, you can follow this plan:

1. Get the product "Dyslexia: Recognizing, Screening and Treating"
2. Primitive reflex integration using "Maintaining Brains Everyday" (Included in Dyslexia: Recognizing, Screening and Treating)
3. Listening therapy as needed
4. Vision therapy as needed
5. Phonemic Awareness instruction (Included in Dyslexia: Recognizing, Screeining and Treating)
6. A good fast reading program – consider Reading Reflex by McGuiness

The exercises were performed last year- This year’s

5th and 6th Grade Student Observations

Better focus, sleep better, reading and spelling improved, better on school work!  Michael T 5th grade

Read better and faster, stopped all nightmares! Zach J 5th grade

Focus better, reading and writing improved! Gabe B 5th grade

Reading and spelling improved, I like reading now!  Jonathan H 5th grade

Helped me go across the page better! Sebastian M 5th grade

All grades improved from 60’s to 80’s and higher, helped all around!

 AJ 5th grade

Concentration, reading, and spelling are better! Jimmie 5th grade

Helped with focus, reading speed, and now able to remember 7-9 numbers in a row.  Brayden S 6th grade

Improved my focus, math, reading, and my spelling is much better too.  My handwriting is smaller and neater.  Grant P 6th grade

Helped with focus, reading and spelling.  Neko S 6th grade

I am focusing more.  My reading, spelling, and handwriting are improved.  Alex C 6th grade

Are you interested in using a coach who is trained in this? Go to http://www.brainadvancementteam.com/locate-a-coach/

Do you think you would like to become a coach? Go to http://www.brainadvancementteam.com for more information.

Hi Kathy,

I wanted to first thank you so much for your dyslexia program! It is laid out so well and easy to use.

I just screened a student who has struggled with reading and staying focused with visual tasks.

I screened her for dyslexia before I was aware of your screening and she passed fine. However, when I screened her vision and working memory using your program and you-tube videos, she shows visual issues and also working memory weakness.

The mother has been doing the reflex exercises with her for a little over 30 days now and wants me to do the Equipping Minds cognitive part for her. She will do the vision and auditory parts.

Thank you for your help! You have been a blessing!

Lisa