Brain Gym Exercises and Children with Learning Difficulties (Part 3)

Thankyou for taking the time to read these Brain Gym Exercises success stories.

1. Jenson 3 months - overlarge head, delayed sitting due to head lag - commando crawled at 6 months
2. Josh aged 8 ADHD - stopped mouthing objects, improved behaviour, concentration, fine motor skills
3. Nicole 11 months - Down Syndrome
4. Matt 10 - 30 months increase in reading age
5. Share your brain gym success story

As a Specialist Peripatetic Teacher and later as a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) in a mianstream primary school (children aged 7-11) I've used these simple movements to make a noticable difference to the learning, development, confidence and self-esteem of hundreds of children.

The results are based on a programme using only 2 of the many Brain Gym Exercises.
Use them too with a young child or toddler as part of your play routine:

• for daily exercise
• promote whole brain learning
• develop their co-ordination
• reach their milestones
• share a physical activity with them

What could be simpler? No tools, no equipment... very effective use of play and bonding time

Parents want their children to be happy and to achieve.

Parents of children with special needs themselves in ongoing battles with bureaucracy and officialdom.

Perhaps you are already some way down that path of acquiring a 'professional diagnosis.' ...and after that diagnosis comes the question of what programmes can be put in place to effect progress.

Are you aware that there is something YOU can be doing with your child, yourself, in the meantime that will really make a difference.

Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Disorders and non-specific learning difficulties, can all be helped by performing 2 simple exercises daily for a short period of time.

These modest case study references offer hope and success. Much of the work we do as individuals could be helpful to others. Thanks to the world wide web, we now have the means to share our experiences more fully.

Brain Gym Exercises. The Programmes

These simple programmes, supervised by the parents or teachers relate solely to the use of Cross-crawl and/or Rhythmic or Lazy 8s as detailed on the Happinesspages Brain GymŪ Exercises page.

As is customary the names have been changed.

Jenson's Story...back to top

Jenson was born in June 2008 and weighed in at 9lbs 5 oz. He was not a happy baby and was difficult to handle. Their elder son was only 16 months old when Jenson was born.

He was breastfed on demand for the first 5 months. Despite this he arched his back and cried continually after feeding and on waking.

You can see from the picture on the right his banana-shaped whole body posture and inturned ankles.

Mum continued to support his head when lifting or sitting for some months and he had a couple of sessions with a physiotherapist, who said he would be late to sit up.

Then one day a shop assistant commented on his stiff neck. It suddenly became even more real. That was when mum began the cross-crawling. Not especially often, just when changing his nappy, four counts on each side..and he absolutely loved it.

Here he is at just 9 months old, he is crawling fully, pulling himself up to standing and can walk using this favourite toy.

AND he really is the happiest baby you could ever meet, always, always smiling, laughing, and chatting. He has achieved/surpassed all his milestones.

Adapting Cross-crawl Exercises for Your Child.

Here is one adaptation of the cross-crawl exercise for young children or those who cannot balance well or cannot copy cross-crawl when standing.. Notice: it practises crossing the midline of the body. This is normally a developmental stage.

Step 1 Right hand to left knee	Step 2 Hand back to waist or hips	Step 3 Left hand to right knee

With the younger kids it is a good idea to sing or count along too.

Nicole. Aged 11 months....back to top Down Syndrome. Physical skill level - Sitting Up. I do not remember ever meeting Nicole, but a friend put us in touch by telephone and mum was thrilled with her progress and sent me this update after a couple of weeks. Nicole's Brain Gym Exercises Programme. Cross-crawl performed by mum on Nicole. Reported results. Nicole particularly liked to be cross-crawled in water. After only 10 days of cross-crawling Nicole was bringing her knees up under her to take some weight on her knees towards a crawling action. Nicole's maternal grandmother commented on her progress although she was not aware that mum was doing the cross-crawl on Nicole. At a later developmental check, the hospital were impressed with Nicole's concentration. Nicole was then being encouraged to reach with the opposite hand for items placed on her feet.

Matt. Aged 10..back to top Literacy and maths difficulties in school I don't have much information on Matt. His results were reported to me by his class teacher. Matt was not on my specialist teacher caseload but the teacher was desperate for some way to help him that was manageable within the class. Matt's Brain Gym Exercises Programme The programme was carried out in school by the learning support assistant attached to his class. He performed cross-crawl 3 times weekly for 2 minutes and Lazy 8's for one minute on paper before EVERY written activity including maths. Results over period of 4 months Reading improvement (2 different tests) shown by 14 months increase in reading age further 16 months increase in reading age His written work moved on from a single line of writing to a complete page, more appropriate in style and content for his age.

Brain Gym exercises have provided similar results for hundreds of children with whom I have had the privilege to work.

Some people believe things have to be complicated to work. The principles of Brain Gym Exercises may seem like gobbeldygook to the uninitiated, however when you really take a close look at child development it becomes very logical.

In a similar, but different vein - one of human potential - A great friend of mine actually 'coached' her severely disabled son to walk at around 3 1/2 years old by enlisting the help of a huge team of volunteer helpers to 'repattern' his brain.

To find out more about that You might like to take a look at the work of B.I.B.I.C - The British Institute for Brain-Injured Children.

BACK to Brain Gym Exercises Part 2

Share Your Brain Gym Exercise Success Story

We'd absolutely love to hear your brain gym success story. Please don't be shy - share it with happinesspage visitors NOW so they can be inspired too.
Please write your story, comments, feedback, share your Brain Gym experiences, tips or adaptations below. Happily, together we can make a difference!

Sincerest wishes,

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