Execu-Sensory & Neuropedagogy Educational Consulting Services: Recent Episodes
None
The book, Smart but Scattered by Richard Guare and Peg Dawson defines the Executive Function skill of Working Memory as: The ability to hold information in memory while performing complex tasks. It incorporates the ability to draw on past learning or experience to apply to the situation at hand or to project into the future. The significance here lies in the ability to hold information in the memory FROM previous learning schema while performing complex tasks to apply the learning to a future project or learning that may or may not have the same qualities required from an earlier learned concept but can approach with the sieved information.
In light of how layered and fast-paced the interactions can be with the push toward generated artificial intelligence, from person-to-person output to productive work, the academic, lab-defined working memory which we are all used to as expressed by Smart but Scattered are influenced by numerous societal factors, and a shift in demands. Let’s begin to explore here what first is and has remained the same with the development of working memory before delving into what is new.
Researchers Cheng, C., & Kibbe, M. M. (2024). conducted a study on Children’s use of reasoning by exclusion to infer objects’ identities in working memory. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 237, 105765. They emphasize that to achieve cognitive goals in the face of incomplete information, a learner can use logical reasoning to make inferences about what they don’t know based on what is already known. Reasoning by exclusion therefore is a powerful means of resolving representational uncertainty without needing to exert excess physical effort (such as walking over to the other dish and lifting the lid) to do so. Successful reasoning by exclusion requires children to rely on working memory, however, their working memory is severely capacity-limited and undergoes substantial developmental increases in capacity between infancy and late childhood (Cheng and Kibbe, 2022, Cowan, 2001, Cowan, 2016, Cowan et al., 2015, Kibbe, 2015, Leslie et al., 1998, Pailian et al., 2016, Simmering, 2012).
On the one hand, the ability to reason by exclusion about uncertain/unknown object locations or identities may impose greater demands on working memory than simply storing representations of a known array of items. This is because reasoning by exclusion tasks often require children to store uncertain or unknown representations in working memory, and then update those representations once they receive the relevant disambiguating information. The researchers also claim that the reasoning-by-exclusion process itself may incur some cognitive cost above and beyond the costs of updating working memory because children may need to expend cognitive effort to make inferences about unknown information from known alternatives. Inferring unknown object properties from known alternatives therefore may be more demanding and more error-prone than storing known information in working memory, and as the working memory load increases children’s reasoning by exclusion abilities may be more limited, creating an inverse relationship the younger the child. Under this possibility, reasoning by exclusion might not impose significant additional demands on working memory, and reasoning by exclusion should not be negatively affected by increasing working memory load (or indeed, reasoning by exclusion may even become more reliable as working memory is taxed), and we would be unlikely to see improvements in reasoning by exclusion abilities as working memory capacity increases with development and age.
What we would model for children even in this hyper-digital age is to practice skills of inferencing and exclusion inherent in repetition of skills-based conceptual learning in contrast to procedural learning alone for generalization of the working memory capacity. Literacy learning is especially rich with such an introduction to concepts, as explained in the study,
THE ROLE OF FICTION IN IMPROVING THE INTELLECTUAL POTENTIAL OF STUDENTS by Rakhmonova Dilfuza MakhmudovnaTeacher of Pedagogy department Bukhara State University.
The researchers say that a child’s passion for reading, and constant interest in reading is formed from experiences in the family. Early exposure determines a child’s internalization of the basic habit of reading. Many teachers guarantee that the success of developing an interest in reading poetic literature among elementary school students depends on the participation of parents in encouraging genre exposure. Children require a “reading text-rich environment” to focus children’s attention not only on the plot but also on the intellectual methods of the language of fairy tales, stories, elegy, and other works of poetic literature. Over time, children develop a preference for literary works and a poetic taste which develops the layers of working memory language. Research has shown that reading works of art always performs cognitive, aesthetic, and educational functions and forms the child’s emotional sphere, moral and aesthetic ideals, views, and attitudes. Knowledge of literature is of great importance for developing a child’s creative inclinations. Reading fiction stimulates the creative imagination, allows the imagination to work, and teaches children to think in images. Reading develops cognitive interests and broadens one’s worldview.
Educators, psychologists, and philologists are worried that in this hyper-digital, post-COVID-19 learning environment, the utilization of books is being replaced by non-literary digital content and computer products. Poetic literature serves as a tool for multifaceted development: it develops memory, speech, and creative imagination, teaches children to think in images, and expands their vocabulary and worldview. Also, figurative memory develops and improves working memory and stability of attention, mental activity depends on it.
The interaction with literary contexts allows children to develop imagination and hold scenarios in their consciousness, laying the foundation of explorative activity, curiosity, general culture, and knowledge. Then how do working memory components develop further after or parallel to the continuing literacy exposure and interaction? The answer is to then encourage the cooperative functioning of the three core executive functions (inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility), which develop significantly across childhood and well into adolescence (Wiebe & Karbach, 2017). They are excellent predictors of learning outcomes and academic performance (e.g., Johann & Karbach, 2021), and in turn, they are impaired in many developmental and learning disorders (e.g., Barkley, 1997, Brandenburg et al., 2015). The fact that working memory was significantly associated with problem-solving performance confirmed our expectations and is in line with previous research (Greiff et al., 2016, Viterbori et al., 2017).
Schäfer, J., Reuter, T., Leuchter, M., & Karbach, J. (2024). Executive functions and problem-solving—The contribution of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility to science problem-solving performance in elementary school students. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 244, 105962. investigated the individual contribution of inhibition, working memory, and cognitive flexibility to science problem-solving performance in elementary school children. They found that structural equation modeling showed that working memory and cognitive flexibility individually contributed to problem-solving performance, whereas inhibition did not. Maintaining task requirements and dynamic object relations (working memory) and switching between different problem-solving phases (cognitive flexibility) are essential components of successful science problem-solving in elementary school children. Inhibitory processes may be more relevant in tasks involving a higher degree of interference at the task or response level.
This finding suggests that working memory enables elementary school children to keep track of task requirements, previously applied strategies, and dynamic spatial interdependencies between different task-relevant objects, of which literacy exposure could be a factor in the interdependence of the interaction with cognitive flexibility. These object interdependencies are based on rule-based principles of turning direction and turning speed of connected gears and of ways to stabilize building block constructions (Schäfer et al., 2024a).
Now when we speak about children up to this point, we have been referring to neurotypical learners. For neurodiverse students especially those who may have developmental language disorder, early exposure to literary texts and dynamic spatial play components may not be sufficient to spark the natural nurtured growth of wholistic working memory. To be specific there are verbal short-term memory (vSTM) and verbal working memory (vWM) components that need to also be included in the training of these children for daily life and tasks to be performed independently.
Bachourou, T., Stavrakaki, S., Koukoulioti, V., & Talli, I. (2024). Cognitive vs. Linguistic Training in Children with Developmental Language Disorder: Exploring Their Effectiveness on Verbal Short-Term Memory and Verbal Working Memory. Brain Sciences, 14(6), 580. found in their study that far-transfer memory effects can actually occur for children with DLD (meaning, language therapy can affect vSTM and vWM) in addition to direct and near-transfer memory effects. Far-transfer memory is the ability to apply knowledge or skills acquired in one context to a different context or domain, while Near-transfer memory is the ability to apply existing knowledge in one context to another because of related or identical elements. Both are extremely important components of working memory in language for all children and adults.
These data also show that the combination of different treatment methods and especially the treatment type order during their research may be a significant matter in improving deficient memory abilities in DLD. Specifically, while the children whose intervention was driven by language-first benefited more from receiving the language therapy first improving their verbal STM, the children whose intervention was cognitive-first benefited more from receiving the cognitive therapy first improving their verbal WM. Apparently, performance on vSTM tasks may be more closely related to linguistic demands than that on vWM, and linguistic demands are expected to be more complex and mastered the older the child becomes in the formal educational environment. The memory of language syntax however relies heavily on how developed a child’s cognition which as they found influences their verbal working memory.
With the challenges in linguistic expression, there are also effects of memory underdevelopment or impairment with social functioning within peers and within the learning communities the children belong to. Bullard, C. C., Alderson, R. M., Roberts, D. K., Tatsuki, M. O., Sullivan, M. A., & Kofler, M. J. (2024). Social functioning in children with ADHD: an examination of inhibition, self-control, and working memory as potential mediators. Child Neuropsychology, 30(7), 987–1009. posits that behavioral inhibition and working memory difficulties have been linked with social functioning deficits, but to date, most studies have examined these neurocognitive problems either in isolation or as an aggregate measure of social problems, and none has considered the role of self-control. Thus, it remains unclear whether all of these executive functions are linked with social problems or if the link can be more parsimoniously explained by construct overlap.
Their study consisted of fifty-eight children with ADHD and 63 typically developing (TD) children who completed tests assessing self-control, behavioral inhibition, and working memory; parents and teachers rated children’s social functioning. Examination of potential indirect effects with the bootstrapping procedure used in the study indicated that working memory mediated the relation between group membership (ADHD, TD) and child social functioning based on teacher but not parent ratings. Behavioral inhibition and self-control did not have direct relations with either parent- or teacher-rated social functioning. These findings point to important differences regarding how executive functioning difficulties manifest at school compared to home, as well as the specific executive function components that predict ADHD-related social difficulties.
Another viewpoint on the different manifestations of how working memory manifests between neurodiverse learners versus atypical learners may also be explained through the Attentional Control Theory or ACT, an extension of the Processing Efficiency Theory or PET. The Attentional Control Theory (ACT) posits that, while trait anxiety may not directly impact performance, it can influence processing efficiency by prompting the use of compensatory mechanisms, which apply to both types of learners. The specific nature of these mechanisms, which might be reflective, is not detailed by the ACT.
Cécillon, F., Mermillod, M., Leys, C., Bastin, H., Lachaux, J., & Shankland, R. (2024). The Reflective Mind of the Anxious in Action: Metacognitive Beliefs and Maladaptive Emotional Regulation Strategies Constrain Working Memory Efficiency. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(3), 505-530 conducted a study to explore further the relationship of ACT and emotional dysregulation and mental states as they affect working memory.
Participants engaged in two working memory exercises: the digit span task from the WAIS-IV and an emotional n-back task. Their findings indicated that anxiety, metacognitive beliefs, and maladaptive ERSs did not affect task performance but were correlated with increased response times. Several regression analyses demonstrated that a lack of confidence in one’s cognitive abilities and maladaptive ERSs predict higher reaction times (RT) in the n-back task. Additionally, maladaptive ERSs also predict an increased use of strategies in the digit span task. Finally, two mediation analyses revealed that anxiety increases processing efficiency, and this relation is mediated by the use of maladaptive ERSs.
These results underscore the importance of the reflective level in mediating the effects of trait anxiety on efficiency. To explain these differences, the Processing Efficiency Theory (PET) posits that trait anxiety does not necessarily affect performance accuracy (effectiveness) in a task, but rather the speed and cognitive load (efficiency). In other words, for individuals who are predisposed to experiencing anxiety, the cognitive cost and speed of processing a task may be greater [5]. The theory proposes that anxious individuals allocate additional processing resources to implement compensatory strategies designed to improve their performance. According to Owens et al. [6], this advantage is possible for individuals with cognitive resources—such as high working memory, in their study—to compensate for or cope with the negative effects of anxiety. This is how Attentional Control Theory (ACT), an extension of the PET, predicts that the repercussions would be more likely to manifest when cognitive functions requiring attentional control are engaged [7,8]. It is possible that this emotional interference captures participants’ attention more strongly and leads them to make more errors when processing contrasting emotional stimuli. This interpretation may explain the higher frequency of total omission errors compared to emotional omission errors. The emotional alternation of responses may increase the cognitive load and engage participants’ attentional resources more, thereby facilitating the production of responses. These findings highlight the complexity of the interactions among emotions, attention, and decision-making. Commission errors may be influenced by emotional interference, while omission errors may be influenced by the emotional salience of stimuli.
Working memory therefore is directly influenced by an emotional state, especially as seen here when in a negative emotional state of anxiety. This would not be surprising then that the negative emotional states would also affect the rest of the physical body while learners become older and have increasing cognitive demands from their immediate environment.
Khandan, M., Ebrahimi, A., Zakerian, S. A., Zamanlu, M., & Koohpaei, A. (2024). Assessment of sleepiness role in working memory and whole-body reaction time. WORK found that even with experts recommending 7–9 hours of nightly sleep for adults and college-aged individuals,3 insufficient sleep poses significant challenges and health risks across all stages of life.6 Young adults experiencing insufficient sleep face both short- and long-term adverse health effects. They also found that lack of sleep affects neural activity in the frontal and parietal cortices, which are important areas for working memory.14 In some studies, problematic sleep, the possibility of negative behavioral consequences such as risk-taking due to the harmful effect on the development of cognitive functions of working memory,15 and the reduction of sleep duration and sleepiness with an increase in calculation error and a significant relationship have been reported by reducing working memory capacity.16 Moreover, with the restriction of sleep time, adolescents showed a decrease in attention, executive function, cognitive memory, positive mood, and greater sleepiness than the control group. In addition, in the control group, the processing speed increased as a result of repeated observation and learning, while in subjects with sleep restriction despite two periods of sleep recovery, their performance was still worse than that of the control group.17 On the other hand, reaction time is believed to be a good indicator of the speed and efficiency of mental processes and is a ubiquitous variable in behavioral sciences.18 In another study on college students, Xie et al. showed that poor sleep quality was related to depressed mood and independently predicted a decline in working memory capacity.36 The results of their study also showed a significant relationship between working memory and reaction time of the subjects. Wilhelm et al. supported the hypothesis that working memory performance is necessary for maintaining arbitrary bindings between stimulus representation and executive response.37 Importantly, Bahner et al. noted in 2006 that working memory can be a predictor of job performance, including this aspect of risk and occupational error while performing the assigned tasks or according to the simple reaction time reported.38
Aside from working memory being influenced by literacy, neurodiversity, emotional states, and sleep, the rest of the physical activity experience of a learner contributes to the development of this EF skill.
Baniasadi, Tayebeh (Marjan), Comparison of Executive Function and Working Memory among Children with High and Low Levels of Physical Activity (June 29, 2024). International Journal of Education and Cognitive Sciences Volume 5, Issue 3, pp 11-17 conducted a cross-sectional design was employed, involving 269 children (128 girls) aged 9 to 12 years from regular schools in Tehran. Participants were selected using convenience sampling. Executive functions were assessed using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), working memory using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fifth Edition (WISC-V), and physical activity levels using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27, with descriptive statistics calculated and
independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare cognitive functions between high
and low physical activity groups.
Their results indicated significant differences between the two groups, suggesting that higher levels of physical activity are associated with better executive functions and working memory. Specifically, children with high levels of physical activity demonstrated significantly better executive functions (M = 53.67, SD =7.89) compared to those with low levels of physical activity (M = 56.79, SD = 8.22), with a t-value of -3.12 (p = .002). Similarly, working memory scores were higher for children with high levels of physical activity (M = 110.24, SD =14.78) than for those with low levels (M = 104.72, SD = 15.61), with a t-value of 3.58 (p = .0004). By demonstrating significant differences in executive functions and working memory between children with high and low levels of physical activity, this study underscores the importance of promoting physical activity among school-aged children.
Alternately, Zhao, Q., Wang, X., Li, F., Wang, P., Wang, X., Xin, X., Yin, W., Yin, S., & Mao, J. (2024). Relationship between physical activity and specific working memory indicators of depressive symptoms in university students. World Journal of Psychiatry, 14(1), 148 supports the positive correlation between physical activity and increasing working memory efficiency. Physical exercise is closely associated with depressive symptoms and working memory. Previous cross-sectional studies have found that physical activity is significantly negatively correlated with depressive symptoms[23,24], and the higher the level of participation in sports, the lower the risk of depression detection[25]; Physical activity can also improve depressive symptoms by improving working memory. Evidence shows[41] that physical exercise can provide sufficient nutrition and energy to the brain by increasing neurotransmitter content, promoting glial cell regeneration, improving synaptic plasticity, effectively regulating neurotrophic factor concentration, glucocorticoid hormone levels, morphology and structure of specific parts of the central nervous system, as well as the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and at the same time increasing brain plasticity and improving working memory. Furthermore, physical exercise increases the area of grey and white matter in the prefrontal, parietal, and temporal lobes[42], induces structural changes in the hippocampal volume and the vascular system[43], and significantly increases the number of newborn neurons[44], which, in turn, improves working memory capacity.
To conclude, a wholistic working memory capacity is influenced by early exposure to brain EF skill training using literary, physical activity, play, and positive emotional experiences throughout the learner’s lifetime, with specific intervention necessary for neurodiverse learners targeted to develop verbal working memory along with other EF skills.
In young children, the schema of their quality world usually revolves around a caregiver or a person who they consider as important in the development of their identity. Their interests initially mimic from imagining that they are versions of the adults they are surrounded by until they are exposed to wider environments, peers, language, media, … Continue reading Fragile Flexibility (EF Skills Series) →
If there is a human condition that is written most about second to human emotions, it would be that of impulse. Motivation powered by Dopamine and sped by Acetylcholine (AcH) is not necessarily supported by the higher-order skills that the Frontal Cortex is known for when impulse gets in the way. For example, when a … Continue reading Response Inhibition in the 21st Century (EF Skills Series) →
In the dissection of the word rebirth comes the prefix re- which means anew or afresh, while birth means the beginning or coming into existence of something, As many monikers have been given to the resumption of the midst of Covid-19 regulations and the slow burn of the worldwide pandemic, re-birthing is the closest single-word … Continue reading Here We Go: School and Work 2.0 →
So, a pandemic hit, and the emergency brakes were pulled on humdrum living. Suddenly it is the freezing phenomenon that dominoes among communities, families, and economies. And just like that, the hard stop provides an unwilling reflective experience for those who had to be around the circumstances they were dealt with, especially the trio of … Continue reading The Pro-Socializing Phenomenon: Relearning Our Habits →
As much as there have been many suggestions and studies on how to cope with the pandemic using multi-modal means, such as apps, vitamins or physical exercise, or even new hobbies and food adventures. And that is on the upside of things. Coping skills when the cards are stacked against your favor hyper focuses on … Continue reading A Review on Brain’s Health →
If there was a significant challenge in the 2020 pandemic-effected pause, it was the specific moment in time that it locally hit in a person’s city, town, household and the circumstances that that were in the immediate surroundings. If one was traveling with the masses via public transportation at the moment the mandated lockdowns occurred, … Continue reading The Faculty of Executing Wellness →
It could have been said that the more articles or studies written these days about surviving the Pandemic have also been tied to surviving the emotional thresholds in whatever types of living situations people have been suspended in time with. Separate from the natural response to the Covid-19 viral infection and symptomatology, there is the … Continue reading Learning is Social and Emotional (Especially in a Pandemic) →
Thank you to those who attended in Austin! We hope to see you in other conferences soon!
Execu-Sensory & Neuropedagogy Session 2: The Body Expansion Date: December 14 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Venue: NYC Charter School Center – Training Room 111 Broadway, Suite 604 New York, NY 10006 United State Participants are expected to familiarize the utilization of a teaching and learning human body as a medium between the … Continue reading EVENT: The Body Expansion Seminar →
We have now a new member of the ESNP Consulting, Jacqueline Frey! She will be our Educational Consultant and Lecturer. For more information on Jacky, please find her bio in The Consultants.
The traditional learning environments in the 21st century prides itself in training to focus on the prize (usually meaning college), ignore lesser and more instinctual needs (such as horseplay with peers), and ultimately push themselves to the learning rigor that is expected of students who ascribe to the school’s philosophy. Thing is, part of … Continue reading Survey Says: Kindergarten and The 5 Year Old →
Has it been a year already? NO! It can’t be that long since the last post! After over a year of not writing, we are BACK! We have been busy with projects of immense application of Execu-Sensory and Neuropedagogy principles around numerous families (and cities), we have taken back to the sharing and contributing our … Continue reading TRUE STORY: The Hiatus is Over! →
A CASE STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSORY PROCESSING SKILLS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT WITH A 14 YEAR OLD WITH ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY AND ELECTROGRAPHIC STATUS EPILEPTICUS IN SLEEP (ESES) Authors: Dechantal C. V. Montano, OTR/L, Sara T. Naegele, MS Ed, Ronald C. Savage, Ed.D. Introduction Children with acquired brain injuries face an array of cognitive, … Continue reading See this case study published online at the International Brain Injury Neurotrauma newsletter for June 2015! →
I walked over to the shell-shocked boy. He was in his 3rd grade ELA class but it was evident that he was not concentrating on the lesson. “Are you alright, Peter?” He shrugged his shoulders, but he didn’t look at me. His face was turning sullen, and it was becoming clearer to me that it finally … Continue reading True Stories: “There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go. ” – Tennessee Williams →
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation May/June 2015 – Volume 30 – Issue 3 – p E61–E116 doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000150 Original Articles: Abstracts North American Brain Injury Societys 12th Annual Conference on Brain Injury Silver, Jonathan MD; Ziejewski, Mariusz PhD 0018 A Case Study on the Relationship Between Sensory Processing Skills and Academic Achievement in a 14 … Continue reading Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation Abstract May/June 2015 Publication! →
So got the latest iPhone and accessories? That will definitely speed productivity and social connections. Do you have children who are electronically savvy with these devices? Depending on who is doing the research, there may be a mixed bag of OOOHS and OH NOOOs. Here we explain. Most of our speedy, high tech devices are powered by … Continue reading Electromagnets and the Servings of Hope →
The computerized calendar shows grey dots everyday of the week. The day starts at 7:00 am and ends sometime around 9:00 pm; perhaps with 30 minutes for lunch, an hour for dinner and sometime in between it all for commutting from one obligation to the next. Sound familiar? This over-scheduled schedule not only belongs to … Continue reading Play, Just to Play →
Think of one place in the world that is still completely silent. Deep ocean perhaps? That must still be relatively silent. Is there any country in the world that is silent? In 2011, the Finnish Tourist Board released a series of photographs of lone figures in the wilderness, with the caption “Silence, Please.” An international … Continue reading Silence. →
The small independent all-girls middle school in New York City bustles with activity at 8 am on a Tuesday morning in April. I am immediately greeted, “Good Morning…”Hi”…when I walk into the building. It is the first day of the English-Language Arts New York State Test–a day that has been kept in the back of students’ … Continue reading State Testing, Tuesday Morning →
Let’s say you watch a movie in a theater where the protagonist is caught in what we would consider an abusive situation. Specifically, the hero is required to work through two situations: one bad, the other worse. Neither situation is a choice that will make the hero better, however there doesn’t seem to be any … Continue reading The Burned Out State of Mind →
Stop. Listen to a song, podcast or have a conversation with a friend—for 30 seconds. That is about the length of time a child with severe attention issues is able to focus on any given piece of information coming from one sensory source at any given moment. Regardless of whether the time felt long or … Continue reading Attention (is to Thinking) and Sustenance →
Flipping channels, Dr. Phil comes onto the main screen and has a mother and daughter in opposite angles to him. The problems seemed to be typical psychological, reality-show formula: mom is overprotective of her teenage daughter, teenage daughter ‘rebels’ and begins a long distance relationship with a man 10 years her senior (who also happens to … Continue reading Learning’s Many Costs, First Quarter 2015 Edition →
This is the start of a new section in our writing…we want to share what we have found in our professional travels to be poignant, humorous, or strange. Others may just be plain appalling or sad, however whatever the case may be, they are share-worthy. This piece we will call “At 12:30 PM.” Second … Continue reading True Stories: At 12:30 PM →
It is 7:30 a.m.; you’re in your classroom, preparing the materials for the day. The classroom is quiet except for the music in the background–it’s become a routine you started a few weeks back to ground you in the day. No one ever told you teaching would be THIS hard. How does time pass by … Continue reading You. Don’t. Know… →
There is probably no parent in the world who tells their child not to follow their dreams. The encouragement given by a parent, as well as their approval, is what drives ambition and focus on young children even in parallel play and pretend play: occupational, dress-up games, role-playing games, and imaginary games, Pre-School turns into … Continue reading When the Mind is Confronted with the Hardest Yes and the Easiest No →
In the previous article, we discussed the science behind sensory processing skills, the brain centers involved, and the signs and symptoms of the modulation disorders. We also mentioned that the most efficient ways to encourage development of these skills was through a sensory diet targeted toward executive function skills. In this article, we shall break down … Continue reading User-Friendly Interpretation on Sensory Processing Science and The Learner’s Consciousness: Part Two →
“The defining characteristic of pessimists is that they tend to believe that bad events will last a long time, will undermine everything they do, and are their own fault. The optimists, who are confronted with the same hard knocks of this world, think about misfortune in the opposite way. They tend to believe that defeat … Continue reading An Anti-Prescription to Learned Helplessness →
Children Learn What They Live By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D. If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn. If children live with hostility, they learn to fight. If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive. If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves. Many children spend more waking … Continue reading Children (Both Big and Small) Learn What They Live →
For every generation of parents who have school age children, there is a theme that binds parents from the past to present: either there is too much homework, or too many extracurricular activities. Modern life has sped up the pace incredibly, especially in metropolitan cities around the world, making the demands after the school day … Continue reading The Balancing Act Homework and Extracurricular Lives in School-Aged Children →
Thank you to the parents of East Harlem Scholars Academy in New York, NY for coming to a seminar today on campus. This brochure was provided to them by one of ESNP’s therapy partners to the parents as a quick reference to help their children at home. If you would want to use this free … Continue reading Please Share This Resource With Parents →
When a bright eyed and idealistic teacher walks into the classroom, she does not have any pre-conceived notions that the mission statement of the school will be vaguely if at all reflected in the daily battle called teaching. The act of teaching is a juggernaut of sorts: between the principals, the administrators, the board members, and/or the politics — … Continue reading Special Education: Redesigned and Redefined →
It is definitely the heart of winter, mid-February, and we would be lucky if we had a week that didn’t have frigid temperatures, snowfall and blizzard-type winds, and long nights. Compared to the spring and summer seasons, winter in the northeastern hemisphere of the United States challenge even the happiest of people — weather conditions … Continue reading T’is the Season for Depression, And How to Shake it Off →
Sitting at a table at Tillie’s, my favorite, independent Brooklyn café, I find myself easily distracted. The people are much more interesting to watch than my work is to complete. A guy of about 23 years walks in. He’s nearly 6 feet tall, very thing, longer, thick wavy dark hair—in a word attractive. I decide … Continue reading Love with the Brain, the Mind and the Body →
Big buzz words, both of them in the title of this article. One featuring a significant process of the Pre-Frontal Cortex, and the other, affectation of awareness from the entire brain, based upon the driving of the Pre-Frontal Cortex. However, let’s simplify the language of Metacognition and veer away from the “thinking about thinking” cliché … Continue reading Metacognition is to Mindfulness (Not Everyone Can Always Teach…) →