Autism: What's Your Child Eating?

When it comes to autism, we often think about ways to cure the disease from the outside, and forget about factors as simple as diet. Dr. Katherine Reid, an entrepreneur, biochemist and mother of five, talks about the changes she made in her daughter’s diet and the improvements she saw.

1.      Dr. Reid first introduced nutritional supplements such as multi vitamin, B complexes, Vitamin D, magnesium, omega 3s and probiotics. Results? Her daughter increased eye contact and showed a heightened awareness of the outside environment, where she’d respond to her name and turn her head when other people spoke.

2.      On the second phase, Dr. Reid switched to a popular diet which many families whose children have autism adopt called the gluten-free casein-free (GFCF) diet.  In this phase, she removed wheat and other sources of gluten, as well as dairy products from her daughter’s foods. Within six months, her daughter’s social and communication skills had improved and imaginary play had been initiated. There were milder sensory perception distortions and she discontinued extreme repetitive behaviors.

3.      Finally, Dr. Reid rationalized that the improvements seen in the GFCF diet were due to lowering levels of reduced free glutamate, an amino acid that is excessively found in today’s diet, thanks to sodium. She incorporated the Low Glutamate Diet. Glutamate can be found in products like bouillon, calcium caseinate, citric acid, pectin, MSG and more. This excess causes chronic activation of different functions in the brain, related to autism and other neurodegenerative diseases.

After incorporating this final phase in her diet, her daughter’s repetitive behaviors disappeared, her social and communication skills became equal to her peers, her sensory perceptions distortions were no longer evident, and she showed an inquisitive, curious personality to her world.

You can watch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL4SD5f2toQ

About Dr. Katherine Reid:

Dr. Katherine Reid is an entrepreneur, biochemist, and mother of five. Through her research and trial and error, Dr. Reid determined that certain foods were associated with her daughter's autistic behaviors. She started a nonprofit business, Unblind My Mind, dedicated to helping others improve health through improved diet. We are what we eat, but what are we eating? Dr. Reid takes us on an intriguing journey of diet changes that diminished her daughter's autistic behaviors. She reveals an association between a common ingredient in the Western diet and many chronic illnesses that plague a number of countries. Dr. Reid tells the story that lead to her founding Unblind My Mind.

5 More Reasons to Encourage Your Child to Read

Happy Young Reader’s Day! Does your child love to escape by reading books? If so, that’s great news! It seems that for most kids nowadays, reading has become a long-gone tradition. Among all the television, Internet, phone apps and social media, books more than often take the backseat. But there are so many benefits of reading, including stronger empathy, higher intelligence, rewiring the brain and more.

You can see the original article here:  http://aplus.com/a/what-reading-does-to-your-brain-is-fascinating

1.      Reading rewires the brain.

At Learn 2 Focus, rewiring the brain is an important part of learning programs like Wilson Reading System and Interactive Metronome. Turns out, reading does the same thing! After 100 hours of intensive reading training, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University discovered that the white matter – which improves brain communication – in the children’s brains increased and they were ultimately able to read better.

2.      Reading in a foreign language can make your brain grow.

If you’re learning a foreign language, try reading in the language that you’re learning. A study by the Swedish Armed Forces Interpreter Academy discovered that there was significant size growth in parts of the brain that involved learning new material and spatial navigation. Reading in a foreign language improves vocabulary, gives new words context and reinforces memory.

3.      Reading about an experience is like you’re living it yourself.

Have you ever experienced becoming so immersed in a book that the characters’ lives and troubles became real to you? It turns out that our brain is responsible for that. A study on brain patterns showed that it doesn’t show any huge contrasts between reading about something, and experiencing it in real life. Kids therefore can experience vivid replicas of real life just by reading – thank you, fiction!

4.      Different reading styles create different brain patterns.

Do you skim, or do you closely read? The way you read actually shows different blood flow increase in your brain in different ways. So, next time you’re cramming for a test or skimming for a book report, remember your reading style can determine how you’re retaining information.

5.      Reading makes you more empathetic and smarter.

Folks who read literary fiction can understand other’s thoughts and feelings more than others who read nonfiction or genre fiction. Also, people who read score overall higher on intelligence tests. Reading is for smart people! But we all knew that already, right, bookworms.

Brain Technologies of the Future

What’s in the future for brain science? Great entrepreneurs like Robin Li, Paul Allen, Jeffrey Hawkins and more believe that brain science can transform 21st century lives for the better. I wanted to share this article by Murali Doraiswamy, which discusses five incredible and emerging technologies that could promise more in the future for brain science: mind mapping, brain-like computers, brain prosthetics, brain interfaces and automated brain testing. I wanted specifically to talk about three of these technologies.

1.      Mind mapping takes a close look at neural circuits, and how many scientists are starting to map the brain’s functional and structural connections. Mapping these circuits can help us understand diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. How? After mapping the circuits, you can see how the maps change in such diseases. I believe that this concept can apply to conditions such as autism, ADHD, ADD and dyslexia. What’s remarkable is that there are already brain scans that can detect early signs of Alzheimer’s plaque more than a decade before clinical symptoms appear.

2.      For patients with neurological conditions, brain-connected devices use interfaces that can be controlled by the brain. In this article, Doraiswamy talks about how the devices can be implemented in cars, where real-time sensors monitor the driver’s concentration. These sensors can even slow the car down if fatigue or distraction is detected. Mind-controlled drones already exist. This brain technology is useful in automobile, education, gaming and security industries.

3.      Automated brain testing can help doctors with diagnosis and prescribing medicines through portable devices and phone apps that can diagnose, track and even treat ailments. Today, there are programs such as the NeuroPace’s RNS Systems, which can continuously monitor electrical activity in the brain for early signs of a seizure. For athletes, helmets and neck patches can measure location, frequency and severity of concussions. New mobile apps allow patients to track their own cognition, mood and gait, and send reports about their brain health to their doctor. In a sense, IM-Home utilizes this technology, where I am able to find reports about your child’s progress through the brain-training program. I’m looking forward to the advancements to IM-Home and other virtual programs in the future.

You can read the whole article here:

https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/08/5-brain-technologies-future/

Minutes of Specific Brain Exercise Show Improvement in Children with ADHD and Autism

One of the most visible symptoms of autism is hyperactivity. You know what I am talking about – our kids can’t seem to sit still in class, constantly fidgeting and jittering, and they can’t focus on any task, let alone finish homework. Sadly, autism is a disorder that can make even the simplest tasks difficult, or at times, impossible.

The good news: Michael Merzenich, a U.S. neuroscientist who was part of the team who developed Fast ForWord, stated that a mere fifteen minutes of computer-based brain exercises every day could make children more alert within two weeks. In addition, he said that these exercises would have longer-lasting benefits than any kind of prescribed medication.

“It’s not just about trying … to cram information into their little brains,” Merzenich said. “It’s about ­improving the brain’s ­efficiency. Every child should understand they’re a work in progress and every teacher should understand that potential is built-in and you only lose it when you die. Children become disillusioned but if they understand their brain is plastic and they’re not stuck in a rut, that is important in turning on the lights.”

Training children to focus and listen through brain training interventions such as Interactive Metronome or Fast ForWord can help improve coordination, efficient processing, as well as attention.  These interventions can also help children with ADHD and dyslexia, and others who struggle with specific cognitive skills. The concept of brain plasticity is a hot topic in neuroscience and Merzenich believes that brain re-training could eventually become as common and important as physical fitness programs.

You can find the full article here:

http://www.newsinmind.com/general-news/brain-training-calms-children-with-autism-hyperactivity

Additionally, in case you missed a previous post about about some exciting new research in the world of autism, take a look here:

http://www.learn2focus.com/blog/2015/9/30/5-takeaways-from-autism-new-research-and-interventions

We're In the News!

As we’re winding down to the end of the month (Halloween, anybody?), I have some AWESOME news to share: last week, Learn 2 Focus’ press release was picked up by Hawaii News Now’s website, as well as by affiliates of FOX News, ABC, NBC and more. The article talked about how I am able to offer drug-free treatments for learning challenges, such as ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, autism, coordination and auditory processing disorders.

Thank you to my Learn 2 Focus ohana who have helped me come this far!

Read the whole article here:

Families worldwide affected by learning challenges, such as ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, autism, coordination and auditory processing disorders have a new resource for help. Honolulu based, brain training provider, Learn 2 Focus, offers virtual, drug-free methods for treating these conditions. The practice recently expanded its offerings beyond the Pacific Rim and the United States, making all programs available virtually, literally to anyone anywhere.

Tens of millions of children and adults suffer from ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Autism, and Auditory Processing Disorders. Pharmaceutical treatment is the standard of care, but there are other options. Learn2Focus provides breakthrough brain training programs that are proven successful and side effect free as an alternative to conventional pharmaceutical treatment. They provide drug-free autism treatment, help for dyslexia, treatment for auditory processing disorders, non-drug options for ADD and medicine-free ADHD treatments in Hawaii and the Pacific in their offices, and now, via virtual training, in any location. Learn 2 Focus’ programs work quickly to bring long lasting, beneficial change in children and adults with learning, processing, and attention challenges.

Learn2Focus’ protocols are unique and effective, and take the whole person into consideration. Protocols address both the root causes and the challenges of these conditions. The research- and evidence-based brain training techniques are easily administered at the Learn 2 Focus office, and now at home too.

Learn2Focus Founder Susan Sorensen says, “Virtual training is the answer for busy families. Frequency, intensity and duration are the key components in getting results; and now you have that wherever you are.”

Learn 2 Focus’ programs, such Interactive Metronome, Cogmed, and The Listening Program, are proven to quickly and gently strengthen and reset the brain’s executive mechanisms, all without any fear of the unwanted side effects that sometimes accompany medication. Results are long lasting, and experience has shown that these techniques are equally as useful for adults with ADD, ADHD, and learning disorders too.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/30324206/practitioner-offers-drug-free-treatment-for-add-adhd-autism-and-dyslexia

Close the Academic Achievement Gap - Don't Throw in the Towel!

Today, I want to take a moment to open up a dialogue about something I feel very passionately about. In my field, there is a condition in our public school system called an academic achievement gap. These are gaps in academic skills that occur between children who suffer from learning disabilities and children who do not, and these gaps continue to widen when intervention takes place later in their lives.

A 2011 study by the American Education Research Association presented that “a student who can’t read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by the age of 19 than a child who does read proficiently by that time.”

As a brain-training professional who cares very much about her students, this isn’t the kind of disheartening news that I like to share. But the truth of it is, when kids do not receive the intervention that they need as early as possible, these gaps continue to widen. According to most scholars, the turning point comes at third grade.   

“A child who has dyslexia that is not identified until the third grade or later is already thousands of unlearned words behind the other readers. There is a gap that might never close without intensive reading remediation at this point. The best intervention is prevention in kindergarten or remediation beginning in first grade.” – PRIDE Learning Center

I care about this issue because my role is to guide children and families on their way to overcome obstacles, whether it’s dyslexia, ADD, ADHD or other reading and learning disabilities. As many of you know, I started Learn2Focus because my children were going through challenges of their own. And it was hard work. It wasn’t fun all the time, and there were instances where going through the exercises seemed tedious – not just for my child, but for me as well! But we all know successes do not happen overnight. Neurological challenges are difficult challenges to overcome, and require long-term commitments from both parents and children.

 I remember a time when I was in an advanced certification program for my daughter's benefit.  My child was struggling and seemed to be getting nowhere - she wanted to give up - I wanted to throw in the towel. After spilling my guts to the instructor, she calmly said, "Susi, you can't force neurology.  You can be confident knowing you are providing the appropriate input.  Even when you can't see results, the brain is working at it's own pace to repair and regenerate."  And so after she gave me a pep talk, we continued.  Had we given up, my child would not be in the place she is today.

 I know firsthand how hard the journey can be. It’s easy to quit or to put intervention off, because life happens, kids balk, motivation has it's ups and downs. Yet, I cannot stress how important it is to start intervention now and continue its training exercises faithfully. I often say that success only happens if the child and the parent are both dedicated. As I mentioned in last week’s blog, our education system may have certain principles in place to support children who struggle to learn, but these are not in enough. It’s up to us.

But what happens if parents don’t discover that their children may have problems in time? How far behind does the child need to be before some families decide that it is time for an intervention?

The good news: With time, support and practice, our kids can get dramatically better, even if they may already be teenagers or even adults. These “gaps” can be narrowed, and disabilities overcome. It’s still hard, but it is possible for our children to improve. We just have to take that first step and I encourage you to take that step now, together, and stay dedicated for the end result.

If you are interested in learning more about this gap, take a look at the article links below.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2011/04/the_disquieting_side_effect_of.html

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/reading-problems-middle-and-high-school/

http://pridelearningcenter.com/2012/10/03/successful-reading-interventions-for-students-with-dyslexia/

Susan Sorensen

Dyslexia in Hawaii's Schools

We’ve talked a lot about dyslexia this month, and how brain-training programs such as Wilson Reading System can successfully help parents and children overcome reading and learning disabilities. But I wanted to take a different approach today and talk about how Hawaii’s public school system is handling dyslexia.

I was reading these Civil Beat articles from 2013 Part One: “Cracking the Code: Are Hawaii Schools Doing Enough for Dyslexic Students?” and Part Two: Private Schools Fill Gap for Hawaii’s Dyslexic Kids – But At High Cost.” Although these articles may not be recent, I think that they are still good, two-part series that investigates whether our public schools are doing enough to help students with dyslexia.

These articles make it clear that the issue goes beyond the local scale. Our federal law does not do enough for dyslexic children because there are no specialized interventions for different kinds of learners, despite the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Here’s a quote:

“The problem is that there’s a great deal of variability and inconsistency in providing for the interventions that students should be receiving,” said Rebecca Aldred, a member of the International Dyslexia Association’s board of directors. “Most often it does not hone down into the determination of dyslexia, and the treatment could be very different than what the children should receive.”

So what can schools start implementing education policies that support IDEA? The article suggests policies such as:

·         required distribution of informational handbooks

·         universal dyslexia screening and awareness campaigns

·         certified reading specialists

·         …and possibly most important of all, proper teacher training.

According to Aldred, most teacher preparation programs across the country don’t give their students the training they need to accommodate dyslexic students in the classroom. Today, the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board is currently considering whether to offer a literacy specialist license, which would extend responsibilities beyond those of a reading specialist to include specific comprehension skills, such as problem-solving and communication.

You can read the full articles in the links below. We still have a long ways to go, but change starts with you and I, as parents of children who have dyslexia.

·         Part One: “Cracking the Code: Are Hawaii Schools Doing Enough for Dyslexic Students?”

http://www.civilbeat.com/2013/04/18779-cracking-the-code-are-hawaii-schools-doing-enough-for-dyslexic-students/

·         Part Two: Private Schools Fill Gap for Hawaii’s Dyslexic Kids But At High Cost”

 http://www.civilbeat.com/2013/04/18783-private-schools-fill-gap-for-hawaiis-dyslexic-kids-but-at-high-cost/

Susan Sorensen

Keiki Success Spotlight: Meet Noah

Noah had just turned seven years old when I met him; he was a young boy struggling with a severe auditory processing disorder and developmental coordination disorder. His audiologist referred him to me for Interactive Metronome (IM) and Fast ForWord. During his intake, I learned that since he was six months old, he had been enrolled in intense feeding, speech, occupational and physical therapy. After 6 years of therapy, he had achieved low average speech and language skill levels, but his motor skills were still significantly delayed. His auditory and visual skills were at the same level of a three year old, and his overall muscle tone was very low.

His personality behaviors were also inconsistent. He was moody, clingy and showed a severe lack of energy because it took him so much effort to complete simple tasks. Noah presumed anything new would be difficult, so he refused to attmept new things because he feared failure.

We began with IM three times a week. The program involved pairing auditory with visual cues, practicing simple movements to give Noah a sense of success. We repeated short, simple motor tasks thousands of times – repetition helped him achieve success, and increased his confidence. We continued to work intensively on timing, sequencing and separate auditory and visual cues. After two weeks, he was able to walk up and down the stairs without a problem; before training, he had to hang onto handrails for each step because he was unable to coordinate his movements.  

After eight weeks, we added Fast ForWord and Forbrain for auditory processing, and in six months, his IM scores tested within an above average age range. He’s eight years old now and he’s part of afterschool activities like martial arts and basketball.   On the weekends he enjoys the beach and his new craze - surfing!  There was no motivator that could ever have convinced Noah to consider trying anything related to athletics before IM.  

His Reading Progress Indicator assessment after 16 weeks of Fast ForWord boasted a gain of 2.3 years, and according to his parents and teacher, he is processing and understanding much more efficiently both inside and outside the classroom..

Noah is now finishing up Fast ForWord and will soon begin IM again with a new focus, to work further on visual processing and reflex skills. We’re looking forward to seeing more of Noah’s progress! His parents are ecstatic and we are so proud of his improvement.  

Susan Sorensen

5 Takeaways From "2015 Dyslexia Research and Remediation"

In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, I’d like to share with you a webinar about new research on dyslexia and effective remediation efforts, by Dr. Martha Burns, a Joint Appointment Professor at Northwestern University. She’s an expert in the neuroscience of learning, language and communication; she’s authored three books and more than 100 journal articles on the subject. Here are my five takeaways from the webinar, and if you have some time this morning, take a listen:

https://scilearn.wistia.com/medias/harsihzzcp

1.     The Reading Paradox

Author Stanislas Dehaene wrote that we humans learn language naturally, yet we have to be taught to read. There are no special brain regions evolved for reading. So what helps us read? We have the capability to link visual elements to speech sounds and meanings through what we call “nodes” network in the brain.

2.     Literancy Enhances Brain Reponses

First, it boosts organization of the visual cortex. Second, it allows the entire left hemisphere’s spoken language network to be activated by written sentences. Finally, it refines spoken language processing by enhancing the phononological region.

3.     Literacy Involves Brain Specialization

And by specialization, we’re talking specifically about the visual word form area in the left hemisphere of the brain. Both children and adults who have dyslexia have node networks in their brains which are not as active as good readers’ brains, which show a well-developed visual word form area.

4.     Neuroscientific Research Works

Intervention programs like Fast ForWord or Reading Assistant shows improved behavioral performance, coupled with change in both brain function and brain anatomy. Also, intervention and training programs which involve both phonological and auditory tasks repeatedly gained remedial effects in dyslexia.

5.     Neuroscientific Research Lasts

Longitudinal effects show that intervention programs have long-lasting effects. Students in St. Mary Parish School District who ranked 55 percent in reading skills -- significantly below the 70 percent state average – began the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs in 2006. By 2011, the students in the district had rapidly closed the reading gap and were above the state average at 81 percent. 

Susan Sorensen

The Importance of Timing in the Brain

How many of you can keep time well? I’m not talking about good time management (although I certainly know how important that is!), but being able to measure time intervals. Many of my patients often struggle with this skill, which is why I’m want to share this exciting new article with you from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

But first, let’s take a step back. Why is good time measurement important? Yes, it can help us with musical skills – clapping on beat, playing the piano or rocking the drums. But it’s also critical for the simplest of skills, such as swinging a tennis racket, throwing a ball or even simply holding a conversation and paying attention.

And now, there’s new research by MIT neuroscientists, who have discovered how neurons in one part of the brain measure time intervals and how they can be accurately reproduced.

In a nutshell, these neuroscientists discovered that the lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) represents elapsed time. Firing patterns of neuron in LIP can coordinate sensory and motor aspects of timing, and as a certain task is repeated many times, people are able to eventually accurately measure these intervals.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“From these studies, [Jazayeri] discovered that people do not simply measure an interval and then reproduce it. Rather, after measuring an interval they combine that measurement, which is imprecise, with their prior knowledge of what the interval could have been. This prior knowledge, which builds up as they repeat the task many times, allows people to reproduce the interval more accurately.”

This is a great bit of research that might help you better understand how our programs work, such as Interactive Metronome  and In-Time. You can read the whole piece here:

http://news.mit.edu/2015/neuron-firing-patterns-underlie-time-measurement-brain-1008

Susan Sorensen

Part Two: Learn 2 Focus Reading Method Now Available!

For today’s blog post, I have some VERY exciting news to share: Learn 2 Focus Reading Method is now available!

On Tuesday, I introduced to you all to The Learn 2 Focus Reading Method. It’s a unique program which has incorporated the best techniques from other well known Orton-Gillingham and O-G influenced programs and blended them with alternative learning options. I love its multi-sensory approach, using research-based, sensory and tactile cues to help students master reading and learning skills.

As with all other interventions at Learn 2 Focus, we’ll begin with an assessment, to discuss your or your child’s obstacles. This is to ensure if Learn 2 Focus Reading Method is the right fit for you or if we could combine other solutions for a better outcome.

Results of Learn 2 Focus Reading Method:

·         Students with decoding deficits showed reading growth using our direct, multisensory, structured language teaching approach.

• Significant student gains in word attack, reading comprehension, total reading, and spelling.
• The program works for all grade levels.  There is no student too young or too old to benefit from the method. 
• The program effectively ‘closed the gap’ in reading skills for struggling readers.

If you’d like more information, you can visit our Learn 2 Focus Reading Method webpage, and then give us a call at 352-0116 to chat more.

Susan Sorensen

Part One: Introducing the Learn 2 Focus Reading Method

In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, I’d like to introduce you to a new program that I’m really excited to incorporate into Learn 2 Focus. It’s called the Learn 2 Focus Reading Method. It’s a multisensory program designed to increase language fluency and comprehension for children and adults who have language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.

How It Works:

Our method is based on Orton-Gillingham principles, which means it is a multisensory program focusing on the individual need of the student. Students with dyslexia need to master the same basic knowledge about language and its relationship to our writing system as any who seek to become competent readers and writers. However, because of their dyslexia, they need more help than most people in sorting, recognizing, and organizing the raw materials of language for thinking and use. Language elements that non-dyslexic learners acquire easily must be taught directly and systematically.The program uses visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile senses to help kids make connections between sounds and words. This builds the students’ encoding, decoding, and ultimately comprehension skills..

Like other solutions at Learn 2 Focus, such as Interactive Metronome, In-Time and more, our reading method builds skills over time in a particular order. Its curriculum is broken into short  steps or units, which may take up to two years to complete. But the results are amazing.

What Makes It Different:

1.      Materials may be simpler and more direct than the ones used in other programs. 

2.   The method targets students and adults who are not making sufficient progress in their current intervention and/or who have failed at other types of teaching strategies. 

3.      The Learn 2 Focus method uses multiple types of materials which can be specifically designed for older students. The older students get, the more advance the vocabulary becomes. Passages get longer and the subject material is also tailored towards the students’ age-appropriate interests.

4.      Learn 2 FocusLReading Method is an intense Orton–Gillingham influenced approash, taking at least 60 to 90 minutes per lesson. This is because we need more time to teach to mastery the  in-depth skills in each class to our students, such as letter-sound recognition, reading comprehension and spelling. In comparison, most other programs usually focus on one skill per lesson.

This is Part One of Two posts for my blog, where I will be sharing my thoughts on Learn 2 Focus Reading Method. Stay tuned for Thursday’s post to read more about the program! 

Susan Sorensen

5 Takeaways from "Autism: New Research and Interventions"

I’m so excited to share with you today this new webinar: “Autism: New Research and Interventions” by Dr. Martha Burns, a Joint Appointment Professor at Northwestern University. She’s an incredible expert in the neuroscience of learning, language and communication; she’s authored three books and more than 100 journal articles on the subject. Here are my five takeaways from the webinar, and if you have some time this morning, I highly recommend you take a listen!

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1.     One in 68 children is now diagnosed in Autism spectrum disorder – this is almost triple in number since 2000.

2.     New research is heading into the direction of synapse excitability and inhibition. Excitability transmitters allow the child to pay attention, while inhibitory transmitters allow the child to ignore things. If there is an imbalance in these synapses, the child may be hyper attentive or have trouble focusing.

3.     Research shows that repetition and practice prunes and sculpts our brain over time to develop certain activities and skills. If there is a part of the brain that is not often used, such as when a child tunes things out or lacks attention, then the pruning process is delayed.

4.     The key to intervention is regulating the brain by counteracting this imbalance and teaching the brain to do what we want it to do. If we allow the child to do what he or she wants, such as play on the iPad all the time, the child’s excitation synapses will keep getting stronger. This competes with language and social skills. Instead, we have to help the child achieve balance by not allowing the child do what he or she naturally want to do. This can be the hardest thing for us parents!

5.     Neuroscience-based interventions and individualized behavioral treatments are proven methods of treatment. For example, research by 34 professionals across the country who used Fast Forward showed an 81 percent increase in the child’s attentional skills, such as testing, computer activities, structured therapy, listening to stories and group activities

Susan Sorensen

8 Real Truths About Your Child's ADHD

I am often concerned with our society’s stereotypes about attention deficit/hyperactivitiy disorder, or ADHD. These general misconceptions are results of the media or are assumptions from specific cases, which may not be true for everyone. Read these eight facts about ADHD – it may surprise you!

1.      Medication Can’t Fix ADHD
Yes, treating ADHD with medication can appear to be helpful in certain cases – and it’s often the first suggestion a doctor will make. But it’s not enough. In addition to brain training programs, children can benefit greatly from emotional positive support from their parents and peers.

2.      High Energy ≠ ADHD
Our images of ADHD often come from celebrities who talk about having it, like singer Adam Levine or actor and game show host Howie Mandel. But many kids with ADHD are often quiet, in their own worlds and can even struggle to get up off the couch.

3.      Children With ADHD CAN Pay Attention

They just have trouble paying attention to the “right” things. They may spend hours playing video games, watching a movie or playing with toys. However, if something isn’t inherently interesting to them, it takes a huge amount of effort for them to tune in.

4.      There Isn’t Just One Brand of ADHD
Everyone’s traits, struggles and ability to cope are different. Some kids with ADHD are constantly popular, interesting and funny. Others have a hard time creating relationships…but can surprise you by showing care and support at the most unexpected moments.

5.      Intelligence Has Nothing To Do With ADHD
Kids with ADHD can grow up to be Harvard professors, stockbrokers, firefighters, housewives, shop clerks, business owners, writers and artists. The take away? ADHD says nothing about your child’s intellectual capabilities!

6.      ADHD Can Cause Short-Term Memory
They might remember certain important (or not so important) facts, but not what their teacher told them about 3 minutes earlier in class. Having a reminder system like writing things down can help.

7.      Many Children with ADHD Have Trouble Sticking To Healthy Routines
Ensuring a well-balanced diet, regular exercise and eight hours of sleep a night can result in better self-control and function. As a parent, you can help your child create these good habits so they can remain healthy in the long run.

8.      ADHD Is Treatable
The disorder affects children in multiple areas – at home, friends, school, relationships and more. But remember, ADHD is treatable and does not have to rule you or your child’s quality of life.

Susan Sorensen

Keiki Success Spotlight: Meet Kristina

Kristina came into my office three years ago – a bright, intelligent six year old who had Asperger’s syndrome, coordination disorder and anxiety. She took everything literally, so she had a hard time understanding jokes or humor in general. She was often defensive and assumed everything was a criticism. She was extremely uncoordinated and couldn’t tolerate what she perceived as failures, so she would more often than not, give up and stop trying.

I realized that the key to overcoming these problems was not simply to help her understand jokes and inferences, or learn to skip or catch a ball better. Instead, it was crucial to build up her self-confidence so that she would be willing to tackle these issues in a positive way.

Even for us, we all know that building up your confidence doesn’t happen in one day. It takes time. It starts with setting small goals and achieving little victories that we have to recognize as successes. With Kristina, she started with the Interactive Metronome (IM) program, where we met in the office three times a week for one month.  During that first month, I developed a program that was set for success – I made sure there was absolutely no opportunity for failure.  Her parents noticed positive changes within the first 2 weeks, and inquired whether she might be able to attend more frequently. Throughout the summer, she switched to an intensive session that implemented both IM and the Listening Program (TLP). At the end of the summer, we scaled down to a once-a-week IM, with virtual learning programs IM-Home and TLP at home. Her parents also requested Moyers Learning Ears to enhance her reading comprehension levels.

And I have to say, many kudos go to her parents – they were willing to do everything they had to, and followed the virtual programs at home properly. So much of the child’s success is credited to the parents, in how much they are involved with helping their child. Kristina’s parents did an amazing job.

As Kristina started to achieve success in these learning programs, her confidence soared! For the first time in her life, she was developing friendships at school. She was beginning to show signs of flexible thinking and huge improvements in her coordination. Each time I increased difficulty and task demands, and she was able to meet and overcome these harder challenges. She no longer retreated into her shell when something became difficult. While she already had good reading skills, the Moyers Learning Ears program enhanced her actual understanding and comprehension levels. Her tendency for flat affect and prosody skills dramatically increased, and she learned to easily visualize what she was reading.

Kristina is nine years old now and attending an international school in Germany. She no longer suffers from anxiety, and Asperger’s is a thing of the past. Kristina is well liked and has developed many friendships. She is ahead of her class in academics, plays soccer, is on the swim team, bikes with her family on the weekends and is thriving in her new environment.

Go Kristina!

Susan Sorensen

Executive Function/Decision Making: How Your Brain Handles Information

The minute you awake in the morning, executive function is at work in your brain.

You decided to do something.

You’re up, and in the shower, or you’re pressing the snooze button for a few more minutes of sleep.

How did you decide to do that? What is happening to allow you to decide at a moment’s notice how to handle your buzzing alarm?

We call it executive function. It is the “decision maker” in your brain.

Executive function and self-regulation skills foster your mental ability to filter out distractions, calculate and prioritize tasks, accomplish predetermined goals, and control your impulses. This is possible through key mental process and skills like:

• planning
• focused attention
• remembering instructions
• successful management of multiple tasks

Your brain must be trained to simultaneously, and instantly, handle a wealth of information correctly to function well with little outside direction.

Executive function governs your ability to work well with others, make healthy choices, and meet the demands of life and society.

Executive function and self-regulation skills involve three interrelated types of brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control.

• Working memory directs our short-term ability to recall and manipulate specific information. For instance, when moving from one activity to another, you need to remember what to do and how to complete that activity without constant reminders.
• Mental flexibility allows us to focus or shift attention, depending on various demands or situational requirements. This skill ensures that a proper response follows an unpredictable turn of events.
• Self-control is the ability to prioritize and halt impulsive actions or reactions. For example, a child needs to hone the ability to stop a preferred activity, or resist an action to let another child take a turn.

Each brain function must operate harmoniously with the others. Without coordination, a whole host of memory, attention and behavior problems may result.

What hinders the brain’s ability to process information and make decisions?

Executive function develops exponentially during early childhood, and significantly through the adolescent years too. Several factors could interrupt, impair, or delay development:

• insecure attachments or relationships with adults
• unsafe, unstable, or uncomfortable environments
• toxic stress linked to neglect, abuse, and/or violence

What promotes the brain’s ability to process information and make decisions?

Efforts by caregivers at home, educators, and now brain-training programs, are vital. Executive function requires practice to grow as a skill that will support a child’s life-long success. Several factors facilitate appropriate development:

• established routines
• effective social behavior
• the maintenance of supportive, stable relationships
• vigorous physical exercise that allows for self-directed action
• activities and environments that enable creative play, social connection, and coping skills

There is also strong evidence now to support the idea that intentional brain training supports and improves executive function. For the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, researchers wrote a publication titled, Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function:

“The healthy development of executive function skills can be supported with specialized practice and training…Thus, scientists and clinicians have begun to design and assess specific training programs aimed at helping young children who face difficulties with several aspects of executive functioning, particularly with attention and working memory. One laboratory-based approach that relies on computerized programs strengthens the neural circuits that control specific executive function skills through “staircase” training that adjusts task difficulty as a child’s performance improves.”

Executive functioning is not a skill you’re born with. You don’t have too much executive functioning or too little. You have, instead, executive functioning potential.

And it’s vital that you’re simply given the opportunity to maximize it.

Susan Sorensen

Stop Brain Drain and Get Your Child Back on Track for Academic Success

Summer is good for a lot of things. Time off. Time out. A break from all things rote and routine.

You decided to take the summer off for tons of fun…good for you…we all need down time.

Unfortunately, summer’s not so good for practicing tasks and learning targets that keep your child focused and progressing academically.

Now that school has begun, you may find your child has experienced the dreaded summer brain drain.

Statistics show that during the summer, most children lose about two months of reading comprehension, fluency, and/or vocabulary retention and nearly 2.5 months of math skills. Children are often ill prepared to start the new year with higher goals or expectations.

Are you concerned, but unsure, which steps will help to correct the problem?

First, don’t be overwhelmed.

But don’t simply wait for the report card either.

Learn 2 Focus can help answer the question “How do we get back on track?”

Next, seek out interactive programs that incorporate movement, rhythm, music, and sound.

Why? According to researchers, these training programs:

1. stimulate new neural pathways.
2. enhance learning capability.
3. increase information retention.
4. improve social engagement.
5. ease stress and anxiety associated with learning.

These benefits, readily available through evidenced-based brain training solutions at Learn2Focus, can help ease the return to the classroom. Brain training is extremely beneficial, alongside classroom efforts to get on pace with new learning objectives.

Consider the following programs:

• Interactive Metronome (IM) is an intensive brain-training program developed by neuroscientists to improve internal timing. Focus and coordination training come together, making learning fun and engaging while sharpening auditory, visual, and motor skills. Your child will want to learn. The listening and focus skills attained through IM’s unique game-like format are directly applicable at school. Confidence increases, as brain drain quickly gives way to an eagerness to train.

• InTime employs scientific research indicating positive social and emotional benefits, increased motor capacity, and stress relief attributed to percussion and rhythm. The rhythm-based music in the software heightens listeners’ attention levels, focus, and precision. The training is flexible, meant for any age. Used together, InTime and Interactive Metronome (IM) can effectively help your child get back into the rhythm of the classroom with fewer difficulties.

• Cogmed training enhances working memory, strengthens math and reading skills, problem solving, assignments execution, and conversation skills — all areas shown to suffer after a three-month break from school. Your child will benefit greatly from the personal attention afforded by the highly responsive software and one-on-one coaching. Participants report improved academic performance months after concluding Cogmed.

• Reading Assistant (RA) is a reading practice program, a computerized tutor of sorts, that can go a long way in supporting literacy skills. Brain drain is no match for cutting edge speech recognition software, and real-time response to your child, as he or she reads. Practice time is no problem either, as tutoring time can happen wherever a computer is available.

• The Listening Program (TLP) training is based on studies suggesting that music therapy promotes brain activity, assists communication, improves attention, and tempers sound sensitivities. All are excellent aids for helping a child hone classroom skills, and return to days at a desk. The use of acoustically-modified instrumental music via Waves™ multi-sensory audio system significantly reduces stress, sharpens focus, self-control, and learning. This type of practice will help your child rebound from several months of unorganized time and interaction.

Act now to train your child’s brain with a customized training program or combination of programs. Your child’s brain needs some solid instruction and a good workout, to put a stopper in brain drain, and restore his or her cognitive strength.

Susan Sorensen

"I Let My Mind Wander and It Never Came Back!" - Living with ADHD

Approximately 6.4 million children and teens, ages 4-17, have been diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder. And 4% of American adults also wrestle with the challenges of a wandering mind.

ADHD is real. People everywhere struggle to manage it every day.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) impacts the way the brain compartmentalizes, plans, times, and orders information. This often leads to cognitive delays.

ADHD is also linked to a host of these processing and behavioral challenges:

• Distractibility, inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity
• Frequent frustration or outbursts
• Controlling or pushy behavior
• Stubbornness
• Depression
• Social rejection
• Low self-esteem

ADHD sufferers need as much support as possible.

Children and teens, especially, need help navigating their world.

That’s where brain training and Learn2Focus come in.

Learn2Focus doesn’t want to see any child’s desire to learn, function, or interact with others suffer when there is action to take and brain battles to be won.

Recent research indicates that brain training systems, like the programs offered by Learn2Focus, are extremely helpful for rebuilding compromised brain connections.

Interactive programs like Interactive Metronome, (IM) supported by Fast ForWord software and The Listening Program, have been met with praise and strong recommendations from parents, students, and experts alike.

Let’s take a closer look at the safe, proven, non-medicated options available to you and your family at Learn2Focus right now.

• Interactive Metronome (IM), Interactive Metronome-Home (IM-home).This five-week, interactive software systemseems like a video game. It’s really a training program meant to improve brain timing. Through rhythm and coordinated response, IM regulates focus and attention. It retrains how your child interprets the world… a millisecond at a time. Soon, “out of synch,” zoned-out distractibility is redirected and impulsive energy reined in. IM helps your child keep pace with the world around him or her.

Wherever your child may be, you can connect him or her via the computer with customized therapy and consistent training. IM home is offered with the same excellent auditory and visual guidance systems available in the clinician’s version. You’ll simply have the added benefit of a more user-friendly, portable training system available for successful home use.

• Fast ForWord. Used as a valuable support to Interactive Metronome, this software addresses your child’s ability to correctly hear sounds and phonemes (distinct sound units distinguishing one word from another). Once your child practices processing sounds at increasing speeds, you may discover he or she is quickly able to overcome auditory issues, and capably absorb information at home and in school.

Through the Fast ForWord program, your child will be instructed along a learning path appropriate for his or her age and assessment level. As your child’s training progresses and abilities improve, so will instruction levels. Frustration and boredom will not be a problem, as you enjoy watching his or her confidence grow.

• The Listening Program (TLP). A mind with wandering tendencies needs a maintenance program of sorts. Basically, practice makes perfect. Through acoustically-modified instrumental music via theWaves™ multi-sensory audio system, the training process is made stress-free and engaging.

Used in a variety of settings, this versatile tool helps youth and adults alike manage the focus, self-control, memory, and learning problems inherent to ADHD. Symptoms are helpfully alleviated and managed by the software’s soothing approach, as users report improved comprehension during instruction or conversation, academic proficiency, and task execution.

Anyone with ADHD can benefit from brain training. Brain training provides the mental support and techniques that can make a huge differences in attention,comprehension, and anxiety.

You or your child are not at the mercy of ADHD.

Act now; train your brain not to wander too far, for too long.

Susan Sorensen

Accelerate Your Learning with Fast ForWord

What works for the body, works for the brain.

To get faster, you have to train better.

You have to listen well; apply and practice what you learn.

Intensity and intentionality are the way to go.

They are the way to speed up how much, and how well, you grasp knowledge… and how you grow.

Fast ForWord® brain training makes accelerated learning completely accessible to anyone who’s game.

In fact, this online software program plays like a game, but delivers training and skills practice so effective that it literally rewires your brain. Each session, you’ll find you perform better than the next.

Fast ForWord is an intensive, targeted program facilitating cognitive gains that are proven to last.

Fast ForWord® develops a variety of skills to help accelerate learning:

How quickly can you follow spoken directions or read a book?

• Fast ForWord® improves your processing rate, or speed and accuracy of information processing.

How well do you employ strong listening skills?

• Fast ForWord® supports your ability to focus and pay attention to detail.

Are you capable of storing information for long-term recall or short-term retrieval?

• Fast ForWord® builds both recall and working memory, for improved ability to follow directions, and distinguish incremental differences in sounds or words.

Do you often struggle to grasp information details and and how they work together?

• Fast ForWord® increases your ability to understand appropriate information sequencing, and what it means to the overall message or information source.

Is your learning hindered by ongoing issues with reading fluency and comprehension?

• Fast ForWord® teaches better sound discrimination and sequencing, which directly impacts a wide variety of reading skills, including comprehension, vocabulary and grammar for the better.

This is the only program that simultaneously addresses each of these skills, providing the fertile mental foundation for new ways of learning, and even overcoming existing learning challenges.

The Fast ForWord® program has been shown to result in progressive neurological changes. Developed by a leading educational company, Scientific Learning, patented technologies make the most of what we now know about “brain plasticity.” Neuroscientists at the University of California-San Francisco, and Rutgers University, investigated brain changes that take place when people learn, and what conditions amplify that learning.

They discovered that intensive, adaptive training can actually produce physical changes in the brain that enhance attention span, processing speed, and memory capacity, thereby accelerating learning ability.

Fast ForWord® will meet you where you are cognitively, and consistently push you higher.

This highly-touted, well-researched training system focuses on helping you hear and distinguish phonemes — the basic units of sound that comprise language-building blocks of language. You’ll begin training at very slow speeds and gradually work up to normal speech patterns, retraining your brain to process sounds rapidly, and in ways that will override previous issues or challenges that might slow your ability to comprehend language or learn well.

Fast ForWord exercises easily adapt to your current abilities, and challenges you consistently to maintain an optimal amount of progress and success. Program users work out their brains for 30 to 90 minutes a day, 5 days a week to see significant results. A Learn2Focus consultant is available for feedback and extra support.

In as little as 8-12 weeks, Fast ForWord can help you learn more than ever before, by strengthening the fundamental cognitive and reading skills that support all learning.

When your training is complete, you may find that your investment in your mind has provided you with a new set of life skills and abilities. You’ll absorb information more efficiently, pay closer attention, and recall more of what you were taught. Confident, lasting, accelerated learning is at your fingertips through Fast ForWord.

Susan Sorensen

Reading Assistant: Your Child's Personal Fluency and Literacy Tutor

Walk into any fourth-grade classroom right now for literacy time.

Listen to most of the children read.

You might not hear what you’d expect to hear.

The chapter books will hardly sound like page turners.

The stories may not exactly leap off the page.

Fluency and expression might be noticeably lacking.

In fact, from the sound of it, many children struggle with reading, just like your child struggles.

Why?

Maybe they’ve been diagnosed with a learning difference. Perhaps they struggle with a behavioral disorder. Possibly, children just aren’t able to get the individualized oral reading instruction in class that could really help them progress.

Whatever the reason, now is the right time to get your child some support.

So, what’s a parent to do when reading reinforcements are required?

Call in the best tutor and brain trainer you can find.

Employ the use of a qualified, effective, personal reading tutor.

A scientifically proven, technologically current, immediately responsive tutor.

One dedicated to the kind of support and results that will quickly turn reading woes into fluency wins, and comprehension confidence.

The Reading Assistant (RA) program is that tutor.

Learn2Focus offers quality brain training via Reading Assistant right now.

This interactive, online tool has been shown to improve and foster better reading, a higher level of vocabulary retention, and significant gains in comprehension through the help of innovative teaching methods. All supported by real-time interactive, corrective listening and practice. Signs of an excellent tutor by any standard.

Sound good?

Sound too good to be true?

Let’s take a closer look at what a quality tutor like Reading Assistant can do:

1. A quality reading tutor immediate addresses negative reading habits or consistent mistakes. RA is uniquely developed to use speech recognition in a way that corrects and encourages readers, while reading aloud. Every time. No opportunity to teach is missed or overlooked. You can be confident that your child is properly and consistently instructed.

2. A quality reading tutor is non-judgmental. Children who struggle with reading may already feel discouraged, deal with low-self esteem, or cope with social, emotional, and behavioral concerns connected to their academic issues. RA removes any stigma connected to reading and provides simple, straightforward guidance without judgment.

3. A quality tutor makes the most of your time.  Reading Assistant provides clear direction and automatic assessment. RA devotes the necessary, intensive practice time to reading, wherever you are. The kind of time required to make significant gains.

4. RA’s tracking system, and interactive nature, also make certain that you and your child know exactly what is being accomplished during that time.Soon, some of the tension surrounding homework and in-school assignments will begin to ease.

5. A quality tutor’s methods are proven. With a pair of noise-canceling headphones and a computer or tablet, RA has been shown to significantly improve reading fluency:

• In 2009, Marion County schools in West Virginia evaluated the impact of the RA program, combined with FastForWord, another helpful brain training tool. Sixty prospective fifth graders, labeled as having “partial mastery” on state assessment tests, improved reading comprehension by more than half a school year on average.

• During the 2010-2011 school year, 2,148 students in grades 1-12 were assessed before and after Reading Assistant use in a multi-site study.  Students showed an average improvement of nine months in reading levels, during just six months’ time.

Choose the tutor for your child that is always available, always providing quality, encouraging support, and scientifically backed by educators and researchers.

Reading Assistant transforms your computer into a supportive listener with the truly helpful feedback your child has been waiting for.

Susan Sorensen