I went to Dinanne’s class called The Biology of Learning and Behavior not realizing just how much information I would glean.  The name wasn’t too intriguing but I had received so much information from her in the previous classes that I knew it would be worth my while.  And it was.

We learned that many times if a child’s “gut” is upset they may suffer from the following:

canker sores

stomachaches

leg pains

sugar cravings

food allergies (especially diary)

enuresis (bed wetting)

nervousness/anxiety

difficulty falling asleep

constipation

repeated ear infections

thrush, athlete’s foot, etc.

rashes, eczema

Some behavioral characteristics are:

mood swings

spaciness

anger/irritability/aggression

inconsistent performance (knows it one day, then forgets it)

inattention

memory problems (math facts, spelling)

inappropriate behavior (talking loudly, etc.)

depression (more negative than positive)

How does the gut become imbalanced?  Inside our intestines we have yeast and bacteria.  However, when we are given antibiotics or eat mainly carbohydrates and sweets we have a yeast overgrowth.  The yeast starts to kill the good bacteria and then manifests itself in some of the ways listed above.

Dianne used the example of a small boy who was in kindergarten.  He went home for Christmas break but when he came back after the holidays, he was pushing the kids and generally being a bully.  Since the boy had been fine before the holidays, Dianne knew something else was at play.  She found out that this child had had an ear infection while out of school and had been on antibiotics.  His gut needed to be brought back into balance.

Yeast feeds on sugar.  Have you ever proofed your yeast when making bread?  If you haven’t, it’s a very interesting experiment you could do with your kids while you explain what I’m getting ready to tell you.  In my experiments I used, brown sugar, honey, pure maple syrup and rapadura sugar (which is unprocessed).  Every one of these “sugars” produced a foaming action with the yeast.

Dianne explained that the same thing happens in your body with the yeast.  When you eat something with sugar, it feeds the yeast.  Good bacteria is killed and the bad bacteria grows.

Not only does antibiotics cause a problem in the gut but it also causes a decreased amount of Serotonin to be produced.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that relaxes the mind, instills a sense of well-being, helps handle stress, keeps mind focused, promotes good sleep, and helps your perceptions of life to be more positive than negative.

After hearing her talk I realized our own family has some of the symptoms she mentioned.  I have had a skin condition that starts as little bumps and show up on my hands.  It usually starts with one finger.  It’s very itchy and starts to spread in patches on my hand (nowhere else, just my hand).  I usually scratch until I’m bleeding.

My daughter has been showing similar symptoms but on her stomach and a bit on her arms.  She informed me, after hearing me talk about what I had heard, that these bumps had only showed up after she had been given an antibiotic to kill infection in a tooth that she was getting a root canal on.

What to do about this? Dianne gives the following recommendations.

Some Solutions to Rebalance “Gut” Ecology

Acidophilus (the good bacteria in the gut), given 3 times a day (always use a refrigerated brand – like Primadophilus by Nature’s Way)….. not chewable or liquid. Taking acidophilus one time a day won’t yield much change.  Continue for 3 months.

Grapefruitseed Extract Nutri-Biotics) tablets 3 times a day (if over age 6).  Give the acidophilus and grapefruitseed extract together, after the first week.  Continue for 3 months.  Increase water intake. Do not use the liquid or capsule form.

Reduce sugar and carbohydrates by increasing fruit, vegetables and protein.  Change snacks and breakfast food.  Boxed cereals, pancakes (even whole wheat) aren’t helpful.

A good book is Superimmunity for Kids by Leo Galland, M.D.

If your child has had multiple ear infections (more than 3), do a dairy free trial.  For 6 weeks, replace dairy products.  Dairy allergy is the most common reason for repeated ear infections.  In her books, No More Ritalin and No More Amoxicillin, Dr. Mary Ann Block gives more info.  Dairy allergy can cause a real focusing issue.

*Always check with your health professional before starting any vitamin or exercise program

You can also read this article by Dianne about The Biology of Learning and Behavior.

If you need clarification on anything I’ve written, please leave a comment.

Right brain thinkers begin to feel dumb if they continue to have difficulties throughout their school years.  Most textbooks (if not all) are written for left brain thinkers so it will take some searching to find books that you can use for your homeschooling adventure that will work for the right brain child who struggles.  Dianne says, “They love it when you show them how to learn so that things stick instead of slip.  Help them get in touch with the smart part of themselves.  When you learn to ‘teach to their strength’, they shine in home schooling.” 

What can I add to that?  That’s beautifully spoken and good advice for any type of student.  I’ve always been a proponent of working with your child and his abilities/interests and the way he learns.  Sure we can follow a standardized curriculum and it may work for your child but what about those children that learn differently?  We stress ourselves by trying to produce cookie cutter children when each one is an individual.  I know because I struggle with this myself.  I’m learning to not only believe this in theory but to practice it.

Textbooks are geared to help a teacher keep a class together and to make grading easier.  But how many of us today still pick up our textbooks for a good read.  No!  We go find a good book, written by someone who knows, loves and is passionate about their subject.  I think left brain thinkers would gain more from reading these kinds of books (living books) as well, instead of short snippets in textbooks.

I have definite feelings about this subject – can you tell?   My intention is not to offend but just to share another viewpoint that is not as often heard as the “traditional” avenue of schooling.

Just a note… Your child may learn better by doing things hands on or he may be an auditory learner.  Teach him the way he learns best but the child who struggles even when being taught to his strengths will still need to have the additional help that Dianne talks about. 

At Dianne’s workshop she gave us scenarios of children that were pretty bad cases – like the 15 year old that came to see her and still was unable to spell his last name.   She then would say, “Now, not every child will be like this but there are some.  These kids can be helped.  It may take a little longer than some but they can be helped.”  She was completely calm about it and very sure in her statement.  What hope she gave to those of us that have struggling learners. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I would really recommend her video Teaching the Right Brain Child.  You will learn a lot!

An interesting fact she shared was that 50% are left brain dominant and 50% are right brain dominant.  Not every time but very often it will skip to every other child.  If 1st child is left brain dominant, 2nd child will be right brain dominant and so on.  This was very interesting because it appears to be the case in our family.  Also, most of the time we marry the opposite of what we are (left brain, right brain).  We knew that, didn’t we? ha! ha!

Next time I’ll share with you the last class I took with Dianne on “The Biology of Behavior.”  Fantastic information she shared that I hope to convey to you as well.

She taught a few classes on how to recognize whether your child is a right brain or left brain child and how to teach the right brain child.  Here is an article from her website about Teaching the Right Brain Child.

Now for some notes of what I learned…

Some characteristics of right brain learners:

* Spontaneous

* Imaginative

* Intuitive (understands reading material, even if he doesn’t know all of the words)

* Visual (pictures, drawn or made mentally, make retention of material much easier)

* Sees the “whole picture” (gets concepts more easily than the step-by-step details; learns phonics more easily when picture and color are attached to the phonemes)

* Color and pictures help in learning

* Left eye dominance more common

* “Hands on” learner

Some characteristics of left brain learners:

* Likes structure

* Mathematical (easily learns math facts)

* Analytical (needs all the information in order to come to a conclusion)

* Auditory (oral repetition of math facts and spelling words greatly helps in retention of material)

* Sees details more easily (likes phonics and step-by-step process required in math formulas)

*Learns easily in black and white

* Right eye dominance slightly more common

* “Book and workbook” auditory learner

Our brains work from right to left, left to right and I can’t remember the 3rd way. (top to bottom??)  For a child that is having difficulty with spelling, writing, memorizing math facts, reading, etc., their brain is not making the connections from the right side of the brain to the left side.  You must then adjust your teaching method in order to help these children.

This is so important – we must give them visual Velcro.  This will help them in any area they are struggling with.  It is much more time consuming than having them sit at their desk struggling to complete their work on their own and draining their energy level but as Dianne Craft said, “I know you’ll do it because you love your children.”

What is visual Velcro?  It’s using things like color, pictures, humor and since boys have more difficulties than girls, it usually gross.  Think of how Hollywood would do a film and that’s how you would approach it with your child.  Color, pictures, humor, stories & of course, being a little gross. (blood, gas… – you get the idea)

The information that really grabbed my attention was when she talked about helping your child with their spelling…

Everyone has the ability to have a photographic memory but right brain thinkers even more so.  To help them with spelling you are going to develop the photographic side of their memory and teach them to take pictures of their words.

The simplistic version is to:

1. Print off the most commonly used words from the Internet & use words that the student has misspelled for the spelling words

2. Give him an oral exam since many times they know the correct spelling of a word, it is just when they write it that some of the letters get mixed up

3. You will make cards with each word that he has missed written in black marker BUT for the letters he/she has missed you will write those in COLOR.  (remember right brain thinkers like color)

4. Now you will draw pictures on the letters he has missed.  The pictures do NOT have to be related to the word, you’re just drawing a picture.  You can find an example here under #1.

Dianne says you will see 3 years growth in spelling using this method and that even the worst spellers will get this method.  To see the more in-depth way to teach spelling this way read this. This same link will give you more information for those who need help in Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary, Handwriting and Reading Comprehension.

If you go to this link, Dianne has a DVD for sale called Teaching the Right Brain Child.  If you are able to purchase any of Dianne’s DVD’s, I think you would find it very beneficial.  There’s something about the way she conveys her information that really makes it stick.

There was so much more information given to us that I am unable to share since I would be writing for hours, so I would recommend you read the links I have provided in this post.

I went to a workshop by Dianne Craft whose specialty is Special Needs and she also has become a nutritionist.  Her website is here at diannecraft.com.

Dianne was an excellent speaker, doing an incredible job sharing the knowledge she has learned in the last 35+  years helping children who have learning difficulties.  She was also quite humorous, keeping us laughing as we learned a great deal.  I highly recommend going to hear her if you ever have an opportunity.

The first three classes I went to were:

“Identifying and Correcting Blocked Learning Gates”

“Teaching the Right Brain Child Part I”

“Teaching the Right Brain Child Part II”

There are 4 learning gates to the brain and your child may have only 1 learning gate blocked but he could also have all 4 learning gates blocked.  You need to decide if what you are seeing is a maturity issue (meaning you just need to give him another 6 months before you try to teach him what he’s having a hard time learning – such as phonics) or if he’s a struggling learner.  Read these articles at HSLDA by Dianne Craft.  Is My Child a Struggling Learner? and How to Tell Why Your Child is Struggling.

Why do some children have to use more energy than others to write, read, focus, etc.?  It’s because they have an “energy leak”.  Think of a battery.  One child will have a task to complete such as copywork and zippity do da, they get it done no problem.  Their battery is still full.  Another child will do the same task and not only will it take them a long time but they’re exhausted by the time they’ve completed it.  These kids now have a low battery from all the energy they’ve used.  (I have a son that would look completely haggard by the end of a school day.)

Maybe their writing was sloppy and and you thought how lazy and unmotivated they were.  This is all part of the Visual/Motor (Writing) learning gate being blocked.

Does your child have reading reversals still? (on= no, was = saw, of=to)  This means they have a visual processing gate blocked.

Can’t remember multiplication facts? Easily misunderstands verbal information, phonics sounds don’t stick?  Auditory processing gate is blocked.

Impulsive behavior?  Inconsistency in performance from one day to another?  Forgets previously learned work much of the time?  Attention/Focusing/Behavior gate blocked.

All these things and others are reg flags that there is a problem somewhere.  You can see the whole list at HSLDA.

That’s all I have time to write about now.  Tomorrow, I’ll try to share about Teaching the Right Brain Child and what I learned about helping those who have great difficulty with spelling.

Has this been helpful to you in some way?  Please let me know.

Teresa Moon spoke on Public Speaking and Coaching Cultural Communicators.  Some of the things we heard were:  "Nothing we do is done without communication." and "Only 5% of Americans are ready and willing to take the public platform."

How often do we see people in public who cannot speak intelligibly, who only give mono-syllabic replies?  Or if they’re like myself they have to battle shyness and cannot seem to get those words out because their mind is in a half frozen state.  (That sounds quite severe doesn’t it?  But it’s the best description I can think of, so bear with me!)

What can we do to help our children be competent communicators?  We need to communicate a lot.  About everything!  Mrs. Moon told us about the Kennedy family whose dad would place a topic at each child’s plate concerning something in the news.  Each child had to gather information during the day on that topic, for discussion at their next meal.  As Teresa said, whether we agree with the Kennedy’s or not on their political stance or their lives, we have to admit they have been influential.

65% to 85% of all legislators have competitive speaking in their background.  Wow!  That really grabbed my attention.

An articulate youth stands out.  Practice at home requiring your child to speak intelligibly – not mumbling.  Give your child opportunities to practice public speaking.  A list of activities that Teresa gave were: 

4-H/Scouts

Retirement Communities

Small Group Presentations

Shut-ins

Contests

Libraries

Talent Shows (in previous years grown men would recite poetry with great feeling)

Coffee Houses

Teresa told a story of some kids who called their local library and said they would like to be a part of their literacy program.  The library allowed them to choose their own literature.  They came and gave an interpretive reading.  (I don’t know if it was only one child or a group.)  The librarians liked them so much that they asked them to come back for their Christmas program in which buses from the public schools came and dropped off children.  They were allowed, once again, to choose their own literature.  They chose to tell the story of Jesus.  As Mrs. Moon said, "How often is the story of Jesus told in a public library?"

And finally, cultural communicators are ambassadors.  Once we identify with Christ we are already communicating for Christ.  We represent someone else.  Cultural communicators do not communicate like the culture.  Instead, we communicate to influence the culture being careful that our "speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." 

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments