Learning Enablement

[brite]

Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia, ADHD/ADD, Aspergers Syndrome are common learning disabilities.
It seems that by maximising the efficiency and coordination of a part of the brain, the cerebellum, through an exercise programme;
it makes things automatic,
instead of having to think about it,
freeing up more of the brain's processing power.

Has anyone been on this programme?
Have you heard about it?
What do you think the potential of this programme is?

http://www.dore.co.uk/

 

[Ryo]

This is the first time I've seen this and I find it interesting. After reading some of the case studies, I think the client's improvement may be due as much to having individual attention/support/encouragement as anything to do with the cerebellum. I'd imagine it would help build a sense of achievement to complete the exercises too, after years of being unable to achieve in school. One of the case studies said this: "For the first time in her life she was able to see that she wasn’t the failure she had been labelled earlier in life." Labels can have a big impact on people, especially children.

 

[hush]

This is the first time I've seen this and I find it interesting. After reading some of the case studies, I think the client's improvement may be due as much to having individual attention/support/encouragement as anything to do with the cerebellum. I'd imagine it would help build a sense of achievement to complete the exercises too, after years of being unable to achieve in school. One of the case studies said this: "For the first time in her life she was able to see that she wasn’t the failure she had been labelled earlier in life." Labels can have a big impact on people, especially children.

Definitely, and tell a child or make them think they're "sub-par," and it could create a self-fulfilling prophecy - do the opposite, support them, and the same is true. Even if no one directly tells the child that, there's plenty of other sources out there that indirectly do it by being rather clear with how they view the competency and potential of someone who has a learning "impairment," or how they view the impairment itself. Sometimes, all you really need is one word of encouragement for them to latch onto and to motivate the children/individuals towards success.

 

[Norton]

It's not clear what is meant by "cerebellar efficiency."

A skeptic says, "show me the data," and would be convinced only by sufficiently powered, controlled studies published in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. Scientifically, absent such controlled studies, case studies don't count.

 

[udremeei]

Sometimes, all you really need is one word of encouragement for them to latch onto and to motivate the children/individuals towards success.

I'm mildly dyscalculic, and I can't tell you how true that statement is.

Math classes were so frustrating for me that I was often tempted to just walk out.

To give you an example of what things look like from my end:
The teacher writes a problem on the board, explains step by step what's going on, and I understand perfectly.
She does several others, and I can understand her logic and how to do things very well.

However, if I go to write out a math problem, and try to solve it the same way she did, I make a mistake somewhere along the way. My 7's become 2's, my 3's become 8's, my 4's become 9's- or I just swap numbers around, like 678 becomes 786 somewhere along the line, and I won't realize until I'm done with the problem and have the wrong answer.

What's strange, though, is that I can teach other people how to do the same kind of math problems. People used to come to me for help, because I understood the process perfectly well and could talk them through it- but couldn't go through it without messing up the numbers on my own.

The few times I had teachers who took an interest in me, I was able to progress much more quickly than when I struggled around on my own. Can't imagine what it's like to have someone dedicated to you to work with all the time...

Curiously, I have hardly ever had issues with swapping letters around like that. I actually pick up foreign languages with little/no problem, and can only remember having written letters backwards/wrong a handful of times in my life. I imagine this is something everyone does at some point.


I honestly can't say what the efficacy of a program like this would be, though. The idea of exercising taking away my tendency to change numbers around seems.. far fetched, at best.

 

[brite]

It's not clear what is meant by "cerebellar efficiency."

A skeptic says, "show me the data," and would be convinced only by sufficiently powered, controlled studies published in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. Scientifically, absent such controlled studies, case studies don't count.

Scientific studies have been carried out and can be accessed through the Dore website.

 

[brite]

I'm mildly dyscalculic, and I can't tell you how true that statement is.

Math classes were so frustrating for me that I was often tempted to just walk out.

To give you an example of what things look like from my end:
The teacher writes a problem on the board, explains step by step what's going on, and I understand perfectly.
She does several others, and I can understand her logic and how to do things very well.

However, if I go to write out a math problem, and try to solve it the same way she did, I make a mistake somewhere along the way. My 7's become 2's, my 3's become 8's, my 4's become 9's- or I just swap numbers around, like 678 becomes 786 somewhere along the line, and I won't realize until I'm done with the problem and have the wrong answer.

What's strange, though, is that I can teach other people how to do the same kind of math problems. People used to come to me for help, because I understood the process perfectly well and could talk them through it- but couldn't go through it without messing up the numbers on my own.

The few times I had teachers who took an interest in me, I was able to progress much more quickly than when I struggled around on my own. Can't imagine what it's like to have someone dedicated to you to work with all the time...

Curiously, I have hardly ever had issues with swapping letters around like that. I actually pick up foreign languages with little/no problem, and can only remember having written letters backwards/wrong a handful of times in my life. I imagine this is something everyone does at some point.


I honestly can't say what the efficacy of a program like this would be, though. The idea of exercising taking away my tendency to change numbers around seems.. far fetched, at best.

I'm in no way an expert on this! However, part of dyslexia and dyscalclia is the reading and writing letters back to front or substituting the wrong alternatives. Which is part of reading. Done by the eyes. Eyes which need to focus, converge. Eyes which need to smoothly track back and forth across a page. Two eyes which need to coordinate with each other. So, eye exercises which aid that sounds logical to me, and a simple solution.

 

[brite]

This is the first time I've seen this and I find it interesting. After reading some of the case studies, I think the client's improvement may be due as much to having individual attention/support/encouragement as anything to do with the cerebellum. I'd imagine it would help build a sense of achievement to complete the exercises too, after years of being unable to achieve in school. One of the case studies said this: "For the first time in her life she was able to see that she wasn

 

[udremeei]

Well, the thing is, I read quite a bit as a child. I tested somewhere near "college level" reading ability when I was in fifth grade. So the tracking motion of my eyes (I'd have to think) wasn't the issue there. Sometimes things are just mis-wired in your brain, you know?

I kind of think of it the same way that some people, when they see a really bright, sudden light, tend to sneeze. It's just a crossed wire somewhere inside.

*However*! If it's getting results for these kids, and it means that they won't have to live their entire lives being utterly frustrated by even the simplest writing/mathematical problems, then I'm all for it. Maybe there's something to it, I don't know.

 

[GracieRuth]

It's not clear what is meant by "cerebellar efficiency."
.

I've read about this before in other contexts. Basically MRI studies show that people who are smarter actually use much less of their brains than those who are dumber. So it is basically a mistaken notion to assume that "using more of your brain" would result in increased intelligence. Rather, the model is one of efficiency: the person who performs the task with the least cerebral effort is the smarter one. It's like driving from A to B. The person who drives there with a straight line will get there much faster than the one who deviates to points X, Y, and Z along the way.

I used to be a special education teacher, so if anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask. I'm also the mother of an autistic child. Basically the various assundry learning disabilities are miswirings of the brain. It's like trying to get from A to B and running into detour after detour. The fascinating thing is that sometimes in trying to get around those detours, you find interesting places by mistake: many children with learning disabilities often have hidden talents.

When you consider everything that can possibly go wrong between conception and the formation of the adult brain, isn't it sort of miraculous that so many people do as well as we do?