Does your child remember places visited, even from years ago?
Does your child remember details from movies?
Does your child learn best when they see and experience information?
These are the 3 questions we have found
most helpful in screening for the right-brained learner. The
right-brained learner is often very creative, a good problem solver,
and learns best when seeing and experiencing information.
Unfortunately, they tend to get labeled with Dyslexia, a learning
disability and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder).
Dyslexia Tests will often focus on phonics, phonemic awareness, auditory processing and attention -- all important issues.
Dr. Linda Silverman, an excellent psychologist from Denver, wrote in her book “Upside Down
Brilliance”
“Phonics
instruction does not need to be eliminated altogether, but sight word
vocabulary needs to be built first.
Then whole words or syllables can be compared and the pattern
recognition capacities of the visual-spatial learner can be brought to bear”.
The next three questions we ask are:
- Does your child skip words and lines when reading?
- Does your child have difficulty copying off the board?
- Does your child reverse numbers or letters?
72% of the right-brained learners we see have a significant tracking issue.
Visual
processing issues are very different than vision, which might measure
if a child can see a chart from 20 feet away. A good visual assessment
will also check for how their eyes track when reading.
Attention
issues or ADHD are often understood to be related to impulsivity or
hyperactivity -- which are two of the three forms of ADHD. The third
type is ADHD - Inattentive Type, which could best be described by our
next question.
Does your child have difficulty paying attention to that which is boring?
Right-brained learns can hyper-focus for hours on that which is interesting.
We have
labeled the right-brained learner, who also has tracking and attention
issues, as the Bulls Eye Kid -- because they are where these 3
challenges intersect -- for the Bulls Eye Kid, they will do best when:
- They are taught in a hands-on way
- The tracking and attention issues are identified and addressed
- They work with professionals whose expertise is helping bright right-brained learners, who tracking and attention issues
- You the parent learn how to coach and advocate for your Bulls Eye kids
25% of the right-brained learners we see have a visual processing issue - and no major attention issue.
25% of the right-brained learners we see have an attention issue -- and no major visual processing issue.
Close
to 50% of the students we see are Bulls Eye kids -- who are
right-brained learners and they have visual processing and attention
challenges.
If your child is a right-brained learner, has
tracking and/or other visual processing issues and has attention issues
- they are what we call a Bulls Eye Kid -- where these three issues
coincide. You want to consider Right-brained programs that capitalize
on your child's skills and programs that address the tracking, visual
processing and attention issues.
Mira Halpert M.Ed. and her husband Mark
lived through years of challenges with their right-brained daughter --
before they realized she was a right-brained learner, who could really
benefit from a right-brained program. Mira developed and now directs
the 3D Learner Program (R) and encourages you to check-out their
On-Line Right-Brained Assessment,
and then feel free to call at 561-361-7495