May 2010 - Clarksville Family Magazine

of her work or smart. This is a
symptom of a much larger problem.
If a discussion with your child
doesn’t seem to tell the whole story,
talk to the teacher and develop a
plan of action to stay informed of
your child’s progress. If this does
not result in the much needed
improvement, intervention into
your child’s education becomes a
critical necessity.
Homeschooling is now a very
reasonable option for many
families. Students do not have to
be secluded and are very well
informed and productive. Many
families are in great need of a
change with their child and her
education. Most students do very
well in a traditional setting and can
manage to move smoothly from
one grade to the next with little
or no need for intervention of any
kind, but not every child fits into
the majority. The important thing
is that your child feels confident
and knows that it is okay if they do
not think or learn like everyone
else. These children are among
our best and our brightest; we
should nurture them and give them
the opportunity to develop her
talents and abilities. How bland
would our world be without the
great inventors and thinkers that
certainly did not think like the
masses? When your child gives
the signals that all is not well and
running smoothly, he may be
asking for a well needed change.
If you are considering
homeschooling as an option, there
are resources for support with
tutorials and community resources.
The internet is full of information.
The important point is that you can
make the change to homeschooling
with confidence that your child will
benefit in ways you may have never
considered.
Has your child been diagnosed
with ADD/ADHD?
Evidence shows that students
with ADD/ADHD may benefit
from brain training as well as
neurofeedback. Neurofeedback
is a means of improving focus
and attention in both children and
adults. Researching this method at
www.maxwellclinic.com showed
some information that may be
helpful to families dealing with
these issues. As stated on their
website, neurofeedback (NFB)
“is commonly used for ADD,
ADHD, depression, anxiety, autism,
learning disorders, PTSD, panic
attacks, traumatic brain injury and
sleep problems. NFB is training
in self-regulation, and good
self-regulation is essentialy the
definition of good brain function.
This type of treatment may be
beneficial for children of all ages.
Just as physical exercise may be
expected to help people with their
body, brain exercise, here in the
form of EEG-NFB, may be expected
to benefit individuals mentally.
EEG-NFB has helped children with
attention deficits and other forms of
disruptive and disturbing behavior.
EEG-NFB has helped adolescents
who struggled with anxiety and
depression, and adults have
effectively addressed symptoms of
physical and emotional problems
such as migraines, PTSD, seizures,
stroke or traumatic brain injuries.
EEG-NFB training has been
extensively
studied by the
U.S. military
for improving
performance
and is often used
by individuals
looking to
enhance
performance
and abilities in
sports, business
and the arts.”
Unfortunately,
the majority
of ADD/ADHD
students are
of well above
average
intelligence, but performing below
average on academic work. That
alone is reason for a child to feel
a lack of self confidence. Making
the decision to look into some
non-medication based solutions for
this difficult issue your child deals
with on a daily basis could possibly
result in a huge change in overall
performance.
This type of treatment is ideal for
the homeschool student because
it allows her to work at her pace,
take her time to incorporate
the treatment into her flexible
schedules, and experience success
in her academics and therefore in
her confidence. It is certainly not
necessary to be homeschooled to
benefit from neurofeedback. The
summer is ideal for beginning this
type of program and seeing the
results while the pressure of school
is not an issue. This is a change that
may benefit both the child, and the
entire family as well.
Twice as Nice
Juniors, Young Men &
Kids 12 mos & up
Dianne York is owner/director
of Advantage Learning Center.
Questions and comments may be
sent to
educationatalc@gmail.com.
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