Links To Learning

May June Newsletter - Welcome to my new Website

APRIL/MAY NEWSLETTER 2009

Hard to believe that we are in into Term 2 already!!  By now most of you should have had some feedback from your child’s teacher on how they are coping with their demands of learning in our ever growing classroom environments.

For many children they really struggle to concentrate when there are competing sounds and distractions around them.  Most of these children are very intelligent individuals who have an exciting future ahead of them. It is quite often their immature Auditory Processing skills that make learning so challenging.

For as little a s$75 we can tell you where your child’s Auditory Processing development is, phone 8210 9477

Rebecca Waters is an Occupational Therapist in W.A. who completed her TLP Training back in 2006. Rebecca has since been providing TLP to compliment her  OT work . Below is a stunning testimonial that is a credit to Rebecca and demonstrates what a wonderful therapist she is.………..

Our daughter is now approaching the age of 10 and is in Year 5 at school, she was first identified with learning difficulties in Pre-Primary.  After moving to the area it was not until last year with the recommendation from the local school to have her assessed by Rebecca Waters of Function First that we hit the jackpot with both Rebecca's individual programs and the use of The Listening Program.

Now in the past in association with School Psychologists and assessments our daughter has been to Optometrists for visual assessment and completed a Visual Therapy program involving $,weekly visits and daily at home activities this along with extra school activities within school and at home.

Along with the emotional side of it all the past years have been hard and frustrating for my daughter as with all the effort there was little or no improvement, reading, writing, math's all of the basic necessities.  It seemed the last resort for some was to assume she was A.D.D, all this naturally also took a toll on us, the parents looking for assistance and seeing our daughter with high social skills, common sense and in all a normal little girl but "When would the penny drop, what will make the penny drop, what is the missing link,?." We knew her concentration was not the best and there was a problem also with simple instruction, "pack your lunch box into your bag, grab your jumper and hop in the car", without fail every day the jumper or the lunch box would be forgotten.  

Our daughter has now completed a simple assessment with Rebecca and we have also invested in purchasing The Listening Program of course at an expense but this is easily one of the best investments we have ever made.  The combination of these programs has changed our lives.  20 weeks, little effort, Great Success.

Rebecca's Occupational Therapy program was brilliant and an eye opener I left in tears after our first session knowing that at last this was it we have found the problem and the person to fix it.

We attended Rebecca's office fortnightly however our daughter's desire was to go everyday that in its self giving praise to a wonderful Therapist and program, we had some home activities mainly games stimulating thinking, memory, visual skills.  We all enjoyed family time after dinner playing the games.
The Listening Program, this is a daily 30 minute program, broken up into two
15 minute time slots involving sitting with headphones on listening to music, that's it.  Not so hard, I found it easy for our lifestyle to do it first thing in the morning as she was waking but still in bed and then last thing at night when in bed, Monday to Friday with weekends off.

We opted for the Bone Conduction Unit to hasten the process. Improvement was not immediate but not without delay and I cannot believe the truly amazing difference in writing, general understanding of concepts which has greatly improved Math's, reading and the following of day to day general instruction.   Our daughter is more confident than ever and is now rapidly closing the gap on years of past education.  The penny has dropped, Thank You Rebecca

Now we have begun our second 20 week session after a break of 2 months and we are keen and ready to go with it.  

I truly cannot recommend enough both Rebecca's professional services and The Listening Program,  the cost of the programs does not measure up to the cost of your sanity and your child's well being and development.
Don't hesitate just do it!

Jill Pember, Secret Harbour WA.,

 

 

Exciting Announcement regarding the Premium IPOD In honour of Autism Awareness Month we have a great announcement ABT has upgraded the  iListen Level One Premium and iListen Level One Premium Bone Conduction package with more music for prepatory listening and additional albums that the entire family can enjoy-  – for FREE!

SEE WHAT'S BEING ADDITIONALLY ADDED: • 1 hour Full Spectrum - Prelude 1 Speaker    • 1 hour Sensory Integration Classic • 2 hour Sound Health Premium Library Peak Performance Maximum Focus • 4 hour Music for Babies Library Sleepy Baby Cheerful Baby Peaceful Baby Playful Baby

Thats $260 Value! Now you can use speakers for your preparatory listening needs.

For further information and availability phone the office 08 82109477

February / March Newsletter

February / March 2009 Newsletter

Welcome back, I hope that everyone had the opportunity to enjoy some relaxing family time, and that your children have ventured back to school eager to face the new challenges ahead of them. For some of our children, despite our best efforts they continue to struggle. There are many reasons why a child is not reaching their full potential, I believe the most significant one is that the brain is not “set up” for learning. If this is the case, offering additional tutoring is not going to be terribly successful. You are approaching the problem from a top level as opposed to coming in at a foundational level and organizing the brain for efficient learning.


Assessments shouldn’t cost the earth………..

QUESTION: Why do we do assessments?
ANSWER: To try and determine the underlying cause of a problem.

I believe MANY of our children have Auditory Processing difficulties. They are bright children who really struggle to learn in the busy environment of today’s classrooms. If your child happens to be one of the thousands of kids silently struggling with this everyday (remember they know no difference) it can have a significant effect on, not only their learning but also their behaviour and attention abilities. Read through the checklist below, if you recognize more than 12 in this list it is well worth finding out for sure.

RECEPTIVE LISTENING AND LANGUAGE
This is listening which focuses outside the self, relative to what others are saying, or what is going on in the work, school or home environment. Mark the most appropriate option.

Difficulty staying focused
Short attention span.
Easily distractible, especially by noise
Oversensitivity to certain sounds
Misinterprets questions or requests
Difficulty in sound discrimination
Confuses similar sounding words
Needs repetition and clarification more than usual
Able to follow only one or two instructions in a sequence
Difficulty understanding discussions
Poor short-term memory
Poor long-term memory
Must read material several times to absorb content
Tires easily
Becomes sleepy when listening to speakers or reading
Seems that most people speak too fast

EXPRESSIVE LISTENING AND LANGUAGE
This is listening which focuses inside the self, including checking, monitoring and reproducing correctly what one hears, especially one’s own voice and speech.

Flat and monotonous voice quality
Speech lacks fluency and rhythm is hesitant
Difficulty recalling exact word usage
Sings out of tune
Difficulty with reading, especially out loud
Poor spelling
Difficulty summarizing a story
Stumbles over words

MOTOR SKILLS
This is listening to the body. These skills are related to the integration of several sensory systems, and involve balance, coordination, body image, and spatial awareness.

Inadequate sense of personal space and or physical boundaries
Atypical drive for movement and or touch
Uncoordinated body movement
Fidgeting
Clumsiness, including tripping and stumbling
Confusion of right and left
Frequent confusion about location and direction
Poor sense of rhythm and/or timing of movement
Poor athletic skills
Messy handwriting
Difficulty with organization and structure

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT
A wide variety of behaviors and attitudes maybe related to listening problems. Mark if any of the following apply.

Low frustration tolerance
Poor self-image or low self-confidence
Difficulty in making and keeping friends
Withdraws from or avoids social interactions
Inordinately tired at end of school day
Low motivation, minimal interest in school,
Tense and anxious
Difficulty setting goals and priorities
Difficulty with time concepts and punctuality
Tendency to act immaturely
Does not tolerate stress well

Remember if you recognize more than 12 in this list it is well worth finding out for sure.


As of January 2009 we offer two different assessments as follows:

1.Verbal - An Auditory Processing Test, Threshold of Processing Test, full verbal explanation of results given on the day. Cost $75
2.Written - An Auditory Processing Test, Threshold of Processing Test, full written report of results given, along with recommended listening schedule to use with The Listening Program for approx first 6 -7 months. Cost $150
Phone the office today to make an appointment and make this year a YEAR OF CHANGE!


MINDD CONFERENCE MAY 2009
I am honoured to have been invited to speak at the 2009 MINDD Conference in Sydney from May 15th – 18th. My presentation Auditory Processing and the impact of Ear Infections will give an understanding of Auditory Processing and its relationship to learning and language. It will also explore tonotopic organization within the brain and the impact that ear infections may have on Auditory Processing. For more information about this Conference visit their website www.mindd.org I look forward to sharing the outcomes of this conference with you in future newsletters……



What is MINDD? ...........MINDD Mission:

MINDD Foundation promotes an integrative approach to healthcare for the whole family with a focus on biomedicine, nutrition, neuro-development and allied therapies. We help practitioners and patients find effective treatments for Metabolic, Immunologic, Neurologic, Digestive, Disorders that often affect the mind.

Our focus is on paediatric disorders such as Autism, ADHD, Asthma, allergies, chronic illness, learning and language delay, and digestive and behavioural disorders. Research is showing that these children are coming from families with a history of brain-immuno-gut disorders such as allergies, digestive disorders, anxiety and depression.

The rise in childhood disease signals a need for preventative healthcare that focuses on cellular health by optimizing nutrient intake while minimizing toxins.


Australasian College of Behavioural Optometry
I have also been invited to speak at the 2009 Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists Conference in April 2009. This is yet another wonderful opportunity and I look forward to sharing with you in future newsletters all that I will learn through listening to other professionals that are speaking.

Until next time I leave you with this thought.......

A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.
Author Unknown.