Brain Coach Tips

Special needs require special focus. Many parents must focus a great deal on their child with special needs, and rightfully so. Yet, how does the situation of having a special needs sibling affect the other children in the house? All family members of children with ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, developmental delays, CAPD, Autism, syndromes, and genetic disorders of all types are affected by these complicated issues. Are there particular ways that parents can help their other children through the ups and downs of daily life with a special needs family member?

In this episode, Dr. Jan brings in a special guest, an adult sibling of an individual with special needs.  You will enjoy this candid discussion of what went right and what could have been better for these siblings, one with moderate/severe special needs and one gifted/typically developing.

Your awareness will be heightened as to what the siblings are going through in such cases and how to open the lines of communication to improve life for all involved.  Be informed of the need for long range planning and options that might be available. Above all, be encouraged by the character development that God produces in the midst of hard things.   Dr. Jan says, “As a parent of an individual with special needs, I wish someone would have had this discussion with me when my children were growing up.”

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The post Siblings Of Special Needs Kids appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Podcast #212

What does exercise have to do with joy? Being joyful is a result of exercise and can help our mood and stamina. In this episode, Felice explains her findings – what has worked for her and what she still struggles with in her exercise routine. Many of you are now motivated to exercise. And, for that I am grateful. Now I need motivation from all of you. Post your exercise stories in the comment section below.

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Another label has emerged for individuals that are having learning challenges – it’s CAPD. CAPD stands for Central Auditory Processing Disorder and is also referred to as APD or Auditory Processing Disorder.  There are different aspects of this “disorder” that negatively affect a person’s ability to function fully.  Symptoms include:

This label, like other labels in our educational system, is a symptomatic label.  That means if there are enough symptoms on a checklist, the label is given.  As always in NeuroDevelopment, the question is: what is causing these symptoms to occur? Our society’s practices are the culprit again!  In this episode, Jan Bedell, the Brain Coach, will provide a broader understanding of CAPD and its far-reaching effects.

If you know someone that has trouble following directions, staying on task, reading with a phonics approach, or comprehending what is said and read, this podcast can offer some real answers.  Many times the same symptoms that are associated with CAPD are also experienced by individuals that have or are suspected of having ADD, ADHD, dyslexia and other learning struggles.  This podcast will discuss how low auditory processing presents challenges for every sector of our society.  It will also include ways to improve the inefficiencies found in the symptoms of these labels. By learning how to improve these inefficiencies, you can help your child’s auditory processing improve greatly!

 Don’t miss the handout attached here with links to pertinent resources.

The post A New Label on the Block – CAPD appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Ear infections are painful, but who knew the extremely far reaching effects of fluid on the inner ear, which is often the result of ear infections? The Brain Coach, Dr. Jan Bedell, will go through the cascading negative consequences of ear infections.  Children with small ear canals, like many of those with Down Syndrome, are highly susceptible to developmental delays because of this reoccurring illness. Learning challenges, ADD, CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder), tonal processing and other auditory processing issues can result from not having clear input to the brain because of distortions that exist with fluid in the ears.  You can relate to this distortion if you think about how it sounds when you are swimming and you go underwater.  Dr. Jan will explain how this fluid and infection in the inner ear affect development of balance, motor skills, articulation, muscle tone and even eye convergence.  Learn ways to release the ear canal fluid naturally and what to do as a preventative measure to avoid ear infections.

An introductory discussion is also included pertaining to the significance of auditory processing as it relates to a  person’s ability to hold pieces of information together for comprehension, ability to follow directions, read with phonics and more.

Don’t miss the handout attached here with key points from the podcast and links to pertinent resources and discounts.

The post Far-reaching Effects of Ear Infections appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

This week, the discussion focuses on how the brain is resilient and can be healed from the effects of trauma in a person’s life. Dr Jan will be joined by a colleague, Ruth Young. Ruth has been a NeuroDevelopmentalist for 15 years, is a pastor’s wife of 37 years, and an author of many article on the NeuroDevelopmental Approach and a great study guide, Release From Fear. Ruth was a victim of childhood abuse and knows firsthand the healing effects of the NeuroDevelopmental Approach in her own life as well as those in her practice. She will share how this approach can have an amazingly positive effect on those who have suffered traumas from any of the many causes, including adoption, abuse, neglect, fever, surgery, vaccinations, and pre-mature birth to mention a few.

Many families that adopt a child later find that their child behaves oddly or reacts in an overblown way to typical everyday life events that are hard to understand. The brain’s number one responsibility is to keep us alive; it will do anything, even to the point of compromising itself, to accomplish that goal. The good news is that the brain can be regenerated and healthy parts of the brain can take over the function of the damaged part. It just takes specific stimulation to the brain over time to make that happen. In this episode, you will learn some positive steps you can take to help yourself or the people in your life who may have experienced trauma.

Don’t miss the handout attached here with key points from the podcast and links to pertinent resources and discounts.

The post Healing from Trauma appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

A syndrome is a group of symptoms that collectively indicate or characterize a disease, disorder, or other condition considered abnormal. There is a large range of negative effects in a person’s functional ability with and within each syndrome.

Brain injury can occur from genetic anomalies, birth trauma or accidents at any time during a person’s life. The reason NeuroDevelopment can help your child with a syndrome or brain injury is because the focus is on the root cause of functional or educational challenges.  It helps parents and professionals understand the importance of specific stimulation to the brain to improve abilities.  Whether your child has a brain injury or a syndrome like Charge, Down, Williams, Angelman, Fetal Alcohol or one of the other numerous syndromes identified in the world, there is hope and help for a better life.

Dr. Jan, aka the Little Giant Steps Brain Coach, shares her story about her oldest daughter’s journey from low abilities to significantly improved function, far surpassing the abilities expected of a person with her IQ.  Learn how you can be equipped to home school your child with special needs in a more effective way.

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The post NeuroDevelopment Can Help Your Child with a Syndrome or Brain Injury appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Have you wondered if it is worth the battle to get your children to hold their pencil correctly? An instinct deep inside nags at you about the importance of this skill, but you are so tired of saying, “Hold your pencil right!” Often you are tempted to give up because you are not absolutely sure that it is that important. This week the Brain Coach will share with you why so many children today are struggling to hold their pencil correctly and what you can do to change this situation for your children.

Foundational skills and muscle development in our hands are key to easily holding a pencil or eating utensils correctly. Whether you have a child with a learning struggle (such as dysgraphia), one that is challenged because of a syndrome, one that is typically developing, or one who is gifted, this podcast will provide specific direction on how to make handwriting easier for your child.

Specific instructions and resources are included in this week’s handout with Links to information that I talked about and discount codes are also provided.

The post I Said, “Hold Your Pencil Right!” appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Spelling is an important skill for school and life. Many parents are baffled as to why some of their children are good spellers and others are not.  This seems to occur even when children are taught with the same reading program.  Some educational professionals advocate spelling using a phonetic approach.  The challenge with this line of thinking is that there are several ways to spell many of the English sounds.  For instance, phonetically, you would spell the word for a small ship – boat or bote but only one is the correct spelling.  Phonetically you could spell the pronoun for a girl as hir, hur or her.  All would be correct phonetically. From a NeuroDevelopmental Approach for Life’s perspective, one prerequisite to consistently spelling correctly is the ability to visualize (see in pictures).  You also need the skill of visual discrimination, i.e. the ability to see slight differences in very similar words.  The good news is that these foundational skills can be developed and it doesn’t take another spelling curriculum to do it!  In this week’s Brain Coach Tip, Jan Bedell of Little Giant Steps will help you understand these and more foundational skills required to be a good speller. 

The handout attached here will provide key points from the podcast and links to pertinent resources.

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The post Essentials for Spelling appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Thank you adoptive parents!  You are all heroes for taking on the challenge of raising adopted children!  You know that heroes go through hard things to get that “hero” recognition and I would dare say that most, if not all of you, qualify as having done hard things. Many of you were prepared for the difficulty that adopted children go through and hoped that love would be enough, especially when the child was adopted at a very young age and sometimes right from the hospital at birth.

In this Brain Coach Tip, you will learn what happens to the brain when there is trauma.  All children that are adopted have gone through the trauma of abandonment and rejection at the very least (even if they were adopted at birth) and often much more trauma than that.  When there is trauma, there are chemicals released in the brain to allow the person to stay alive but these chemicals cause damage to the neural circuitry. This damage can cause emotional, behavioral and academic struggles. The good news is that the brain pathways that were damaged can be rebuilt with specific stimulation.  God can do miracles and often does, but typically to regain overall health after trauma, love just isn’t enough. This week, learn about resources that can help you address some of the root causes of these issues to gain a happier, healthier individual. 

The attached handout will provide links to pertinent information and discounts where applicable.

Visit our Sponsor:  Little Giant Steps

The post Adopted: Isn’t Love Enough? appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

The label of autism can strike fear in the heart of any parent.  One of the most confusing aspects of autism is how the level of functional ability can vary to the extremes. This wide array of the effects has caused people to refer to this as a “spectrum disorder” or refer the individual as being on the Autism Spectrum.

If you are anything like I was when I found out my child was developmentally delayed and had a low IQ, you just want to know how to help your autistic child function better. That was my prayer, “how do I help Jenee’ function better, to unlock her fullest potential and not just accept a label as a “life sentence” of the possibilities for her future?” That prayer brought me to The NeuroDevelopmental Approach.  This approach looks for the root causes of the symptoms of any label.  It equips the parents with a plan of activities to address those root causes at home. The result is that the symptoms diminish and sometime fully disappear. 

Autism is a multi-faceted diagnosis that included such symptoms as processing delays and sensory integration dysfunction, as well as metabolic (chemistry of the body) root causes and more.  This podcast will give an overview of these issues and direct you to resources and information to both inspire and equip you to create positive change for the individual in your life that may be on the autism spectrum.  The good news is that it is never too late to help to change a person’s functional ability.

Don’t miss the handout attached here with key points from the podcast and links to pertinent resources and discounts.

The post Autism Solutions appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.