Attention, visual-processing, and anxiety issues are common among 3D Learner students. Most experience at least two of these challenges, and many struggle with all three. We address attention, visual processing and anxiety in our 3D Learner Program ®. In this blog, we discuss addressing attention, visual processing and/or anxiety in a standalone program.
Available in Durham and Nationwide
3D Learner now offers live, in-person training at our Durham, North Carolina office for students throughout Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and surrounding communities.
We also offer Zoom-based training and parent support for families nationwide.
The tools we use are the Interactive Metronome ®, a virtual reality app to improve visual skills, and the Safe and Sound Protocol ®– each is described in greater detail at the bottom of this page.
An Integrated and Effective Way to Address Attention, Visual Processing and Anxiety Challenges
Since 1999, 3D Learner has used engaging, non-medication-based tools to help students strengthen these important areas. We respect that ADHD and anxiety medication and vision therapy may be appropriate options for some children. Our programs can provide complementary or stand alone ways to address attention, visual skills, and anxiety.
At 3D Learner, we address attention, visual processing and anxiety in a coordinated program, We can also address one or two issues, where appropriate,
The risks of not addressing these issue include:
- Homework time and stress increasing as you need to reteach what your child lost focus on in school
- Impulsivity and hyperactivity negatively impacting your child at school, in sports and with friends and family
- Errors on tests as one skips words and lines on when reading, math mistakes due to not lying up the numbers and missing positive and negative signs
- Much poorer performance in sports, martial arts, dancing and related activities
- Real problems with test anxiety and in other stressful situations
- A child who is less confident and who often underperforms
Four Stories That Demonstrate the Potential Benefits
Alan: From Behavior Problems and Struggles to Success
Alan struggled with attention, processing, and anxiety. Impulsivity was also an issue. He had difficulty paying attention at school, had many behavior problems, and was struggling academically, at home, and in baseball.
As we often do, we began by asking Alan what mattered most to him. His answer was baseball.
Alan told us that he frequently swung at bad pitches. His batting average was .275, and he had hit only one home run during the previous season. We asked what success would look like. He commented, I could raise my batting average to 350, hit 7 home runs and not get in trouble at school. We told him that we could help him do that and possibly do even better.
He was all in.
Connecting our training to what motivates each student is an integral part of the 3D Learner approach. Following his training, Alan had no behavior problems in school, his batting average increased from .275 to .390, and he hit 10 home runs. His reading speed improved 80 percent. He was much calmer in school and learned to control his impulsivity.
Most importantly, his parents described him as “a totally different kid.”
At 3D Learner, connecting with students, engaging them in the process, and producing meaningful change are an integral part of what we strive to accomplish.
Jennifer: Less Homework Stress and Greater Independence
Jennifer was a fourth grader whose homework took approximately 2½ hours every night. Her mother had to remain beside her throughout the entire process. When we discussed attention, visual processing and anxiety issues, mom confirmed that Jennifer has an attention and anxiety issue. She was not sure about visual processing.
She downloaded our Visual Screening Tool. As we suggested, mom completed the assessment and then asked Jennifer the same questions. Jennifer’answers revealed a bigger problem than parents initially suspected. That may well be because kids think everyone sees the world as they do.
Jennifer’s silent reading speed was 115 words per minute, which limited her efficiency and comprehension. She also became very nervous during tests, making it difficult for her to demonstrate what she knew.
Through Jennifer’s training—and our work with her mother—her homework time decreased from 2½ hours to 1¼ hours per night. Instead of sitting beside Jennifer the entire time, her mother needed only about 15 minutes to start her off and then check her work. Saving Jennifer over 6 hours a week and saving her mother over 13 hours a week.
Jennifer’s reading speed doubled, and she now loved to read. She became far less anxious during tests and in other areas of her life. She was more confident, capable, and independent.
Susan: Building the Sustained Attention to Finish Strong
Susan’s mom was impressed with how we had helped her son to improve his attention, visual processing and to reduce his anxiety. She asked if we could help her daughter Susan. Susan was a competitive swimmer. During a 200-yard race, she would often be in second place after 150 yards, but then lose focus and fade to sixth or seventh place. We asked her what her goal was and she said to win the Florida State Championship in the 200 yard race — which took approximately 2 minutes — indicating she lost focus the last leg of the race.
Her initial Interactive Metronome assessment showed that her attention declined after approximately 1½ minutes. Following her training, she was able to sustain excellent attention for 30 minutes.
Six weeks later, Susan won the Florida State Championship in the 200-yard freestyle.
Students often see significant changes after the training and what is even more helpful is that students and parents have shared that their improved attention has lasted for years.
Interactive Metronome is Not a Commodity
One dad who was bringing his son down for a week’s training indicated he wanted to do the Interactive Metronome Training in New Jersey. That was OK with us. When they came down to our previous location in Florida, dad reported he had seen no benefit from the Interactive Metronome Training. We asked what his son’s scores were before and after training. Dad indicated his son had been off by 252 milliseconds before training and 52 milliseconds after training. He asked, how does that compare to what your students accomplish? We informed him that we had never had a student do that poorly. We told him we would have expected his son to get down to 25 milliseconds (i.e. a student tries to match a beat and the system measures how close he is). After 5 sessions with us, his son got down to 23 milliseconds. When playing ping pong on the first day, his son was only able to hit the ball back 6 times. On the last day he was able to sustain a rally for 137 hits, until his dad said they needed to leave for lunch.
A couple of weeks later, his dad reported that homework time had decreased from 2.5 hours to 55 minutes. He asked his son what had happened and his son said, “it is much easier to do homework when you can pay attention in class”.
The Story Behind the Interactive Metronome and 3D Learner
Jim Cassily, the inventor of the Interactive Metronome called and told us we had the best results of any provider in the country. We shared our more visual approach, connecting and engaging with students, and our drive to get the best possible results. We asked Jim what his inspiration was for this product. He told us his mentor and college professor has told him to match the beat when playing the violin. Now with the personal computer, he could measure how close a person was and improve their results. Upon further questioning, his mentor was Julius Stulberg, the father of Mira Stulberg Halpert – the developer of the 3D Learner Program and the President of 3D Learner.
Jim commented that explains everything,
Professor Stulberg was the one professor who really cared about me.
Begin With a Stress to Success Conversation
Each of these success stories began with a conversation.
We listen to understand:
- Your child’s challenges and frustrations
- Your frustrations as a parent
- Your child’s strengths, interests, and motivation
- The changes you would most like to see
- Your child’s attention, visual processing and anxiety issues and how we can help
To begin the conversation,
call 3D Learner at 919-371-5295 or
click below to schedule a Stress to Success Conversation
Three Complementary Training Programs – The Tools We Use
1. Interactive Metronome® for Attention and Impulsivity
3D Learner has used Interactive Metronome training effectively since 1999. Its engaging, timing-based activities are designed to strengthen:
- Sustained attention
- Focus and concentration
- Impulse control
- Processing speed
- Coordination and timing
The program involves having the student listen to a constant beat, first trying to match it by clapping to a beat and hitting a hand trigger, then doing the same thing matching a beat and stepping on a foot trigger and lastly matching it alternating between one hand and the other foot.
2. Virtual Training App to Improve Visual Processing
This virtual-reality-based program provides interactive visual training designed to improve skills such as:
- Visual tracking
- Eye teaming
- Visual attention
- Depth perception
- Visual processing
- Hand-eye coordination
3. Safe and Sound Protocol for Anxiety
The Safe and Sound Protocol is designed to support nervous-system regulation through specially filtered music. Its goal is to help students:
- Feel calmer and safer
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Improve emotional regulation
- Become more available for learning
- Respond more effectively to everyday challenges
The training is often done over 5 to 7.5 weeks — doing a session twice or three times a week.
The Pathway to Success Starts with a Conversation
We listen to understand:
- Your child’s challenges and frustrations
- Your frustrations as a parent
- Your child’s strengths, interests, and motivation
- The changes you would most like to see
- Your child’s attention, visual processing and anxiety issues and how we can help
To begin the conversation, call 3D Learner at 919-371-5295 or click below to schedule a Stress to Success Conversation.
