PART 1

I want to give you some learning strategies that can help the visual-spatial (right brain dominant) child. Notice when you read these strategies how they would make learning more fun for any child (or adult)!

This information is from the work of Dr. Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D. Please take the time to visit her website, www.gifteddevelopment.com. Dr. Silverman is a licensed psychologist who specializes in working with gifted children.

One of the biggest problems for right-brain dominant children is that the school system does not meet their learning needs. We tend to present and teach information to the left-hemisphere only. Below is a list of tips from Dr. Silverman about turning on the right hemisphere. Try these at home or print this and give it to a teacher. Most school systems are about 20 years behind the current psychological research data. We can't afford to wait for schools to catch up!

How to Turn on the Right Hemisphere

1. Use humor whenever possible: Humor gets the right hemisphere into the act.
2. Present information visually. Use overheads. Draw pictures. Show them- don't just tell them. Have them picture it.
3. Use computers. Computers show rather than tell. They teach visually with no time limits.
4. Make use of fantasy. Provide lots of opportunities for students to use their imagination.
5. Use hands-on experiences: manipulatives, construction, movement and action.
6. Make it challenging. Challenge integrates the two hemispheres.
7. Use discovery techniques: finding patterns, inductive learning, inquiry training.
8. Put it to music. Let them sing it! Let them dance it! Let them chant it! Rhythm will be remembered.
9. Get their attention! Talk louder, faster, be more animated, us gestures. Do something silly.
10. Make them winners. Involve them in competition they are guaranteed to win: Read one more book than last week; Beat your record on times tables.
11. Teach to their interests: Find out what turns them on. What are their hobbies? What do they do after school? What do they want to be when they grow up?
12. Emotion works wonders. Use emotionally charged material. Show them that you care about them.

Dr. Silverman also stated at the Indigo Conference that if she could change just one thing in the school system to make it more fair for right-brained dominant children she would eliminate handwriting. Right brain dominant children always have terrible handwriting and are very fast at keyboarding. Making these children write "neatly" slows them down and gets them stuck, hurts their self-esteem and wastes their precious time.

(Interesting side note: It takes longer to write in cursive than it does to print. Cursive writing was originally taught to "young ladies" at boarding schools because it looked pretty. It is just a silly tradition…in my humble opinion!)

I hope this information helps you. Next week…more learning strategies for the visual-spatial learner and some tips about changing your local school and challenging the school board.

Love,
Karen


PART 2

I hope that you are all well. I am so excited by the emails that I have been receiving about the First Annual Indigo Conference. Many of you are recognizing your child as a right-brain dominant person. I pray that this information continues to give you guidance on how best to support and nurture your child.

One of the most interesting aspects of right-brain dominance that Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D. shared with us is that right-brain dominant children have an expanded moral conscience. These kids have a deep knowingness about what is right and wrong with the world and they passionately want to make things better. I have seen this in my own children at very young ages.

Linda shared with us some interesting examples of profoundly gifted children who had set up various workshops and websites to promote world peace. One inspiring young man, Greg Smith, who has appeared twice on the Oprah Show, is a peace activist who helping the world see that children can make a difference. Visit www.gregoryrsmith.com with your children and sign a pledge to boycott violent games and movies, and commit to using nonviolent means of conflict resolution.

Many of you have asked me how to make things better immediately for your children in the school system. Please note that I am severely biting my tongue as I share some ideas with you. It is unfortunate that the educational system tends to be far behind the educational research. Children suffer when schools don't change to meet their needs.

However, we have to deal with our current situation and I encourage you to enter into a supportive and nurturing relationship with your child's teacher. This may be difficult as you may have a deep attachment to the outcome of your particular situation.

Bring your child's teacher scientifically based information about children. Teachers don't have a lot of time or money to spend keeping up with current information. Present the information casually and don't use it as a weapon. Ask how you might help in the classroom to implement some newer ideas.

Gain support from the parents in your school. Bring in local speakers and parent educators who support your philosophies. By the end of next week, I should have a listing of practitioners nationwide who are available to work with you.

Invite teachers and the administration of the school to a forum where you can voice your concerns. This can be an informal luncheon or even just a casual meeting after school.

If things get really bad, remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Make your presence know at your child's school. The school system is set up to be consistent and stable. Squeaky wheels make things juicy. If you squeak loud enough, odds are that you will get some help, even if it is begrudgingly.

If you don't get the help you need in the school, the next step is to approach the school board. Find out when the school board is accepting comments and information. When you are dealing with the school board, be very professional. Present data that is strong and scientifically based. Give the board members slick packets of information. Bring many parents with you when you visit the board. Strength comes in numbers. Have supporting members of the community, like Indigo Family Coaches, pediatricians or like-minded therapists come testify for you. Send articles and editorials to the local paper to bolster support for your cause in your community. Trust me, you aren't the only who thinks that a 30% diagnosis rate of Attention Deficit Disorder is out of line!!

If all else fails, run for the school board yourself!

I hope that I am not being too radical here. But, these children are screaming for radical solutions!!

This week, I want to conclude the summary of Linda Kreger Silverman's work with a handout that she generously shared with us at the conference. Give this information to your child's teacher.

Dr. Silverman's website is www.gifteddevelopment.com. Her new book, Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner should be available any day now. I am sure the availability is listed on her website. This book would make a nice Christmas present for a teacher…

GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING VISUAL-SPATIAL LEARNERS

1. Present ideas visually on the chalkboard or on overheads. "A picture is worth a thousand words." Use rich, visual imagery in lectures.
2. Teach the students to visualize spelling words, math problems, etc. An effective method of teaching spelling is to write the word in large, colored print and present it to the student at arm's length, slightly above eye level. Have her close her eyes and visualize the word, then create a silly picture of the word in her mind. Then have her spell it backwards (this demonstrates visualization), then forwards, then write it once.
3. Use inductive (discovery) techniques as often as possible. This capitalizes on the visual-spatial learner's pattern-finding strenght.
4. Teach the student to translate what he or she hears into images, and record those images using webbing, mind-mapping techniques, or pictoral notes.
5. Incorporate spatial exercises, visual imagery, reading material that is rich in fantasy and visualization activities into the curriculum. Spatial conceptualization has the ability to go beyond linear thinking because it deals more readily with immense complexities and the interrelations of systems.
6. To accommodate introverts, allow the student to observe others before attempting activities. Stretch wait time after questions and have all students write answers before discussing. Develop a signal system during class discussions that allows introverts to participate.
7. Avoid drill, repetition and rote memorization; use more abstract conceptual approaches and fewer, more difficult problems.
8. Teach to the student's strengths. Help the student learn to use these strengths to compensate for weakness. Visualization and imagination are the visual-spatial learners most powerful tools and should be used frequently.
9. Allow the students to use a computer for assignments, and in some subjects, for instruction. Teach the student how to use a keyboard effectively.
10. Give untimed power tests. Students with severe processing lags can apply to take their college board examinations untimed if the disability is documented through IQ and achievement testing within three years of the exams and if teachers have provided extended time for tests.
11. Give more weight to content of the papers than format. These students often suffer from deficits in mechanics: spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, etc.
12. Allow the student to construct, draw or otherwise create visual representations of a concept as a substitute for some written assignments.
13. If a bright student struggles with easy, sequential tasks, see if he can handle more advanced, complex work. Acceleration is more beneficial for such a student than remediation.
14. Expose VSLs to role models of successful adults who learn in a similar manner. Many of the most celebrated physicists were visual-spatial learners. Biographical sketches of famous visual-spatial learners can be found in THE SPATIAL CHILD (Dixon, 1983), IN THE MIND'S EYE (West, 1991) and the spatial intelligence chapter in FRAMES OF MIND (Gardner, 1983).
15. Be emotionally supportive of the student. Visual-spatial learners are keenly aware of their teacher's reactions to them, and their successes in overcoming their difficulties appears directly related to their perception of their teacher's empathy.


I hope you all find this information helpful!

Love,

Karen

Karen Curry