Less is More

Photo: fox.temple.edu

From a article entitled "I Can't Think!" published in Newsweek:

"The Twitterization of our culture has revolutionized our lives, but with an unintended consequence: our overloaded brains freeze when we have to make decisions. "

The article went on to discuss a recent study conducted at the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University. The following 2 paragraphs stood out to me:

"As the information load increased...so did activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region behind the forehead that is responsible for decision making and control of emotions. But as the researchers gave the [volunteers]  more and more information, activity in the dorsolateral PFC suddenly fell off, as if a circuit breaker had popped."

"The research should give pause to anyone addicted to incoming texts and tweets. The booming science of decision making has shown that more information can lead to objectively poorer choices, and to choices that people come to regret. It has shown that an unconscious system guides many of our decisions, and that it can be sidelined by too much information."

Our good decisions are sidelined by too much information. Every time I visit Twitter, or Facebook, and see the endless stream of links, promotions, thoughts, ideas, pictures, complaints, opinions & random words I want to just log out quickly; and every time I read an article such as this I put it in the framework of how it must affect our kids. How overloaded are they? How many kids endlessly text on cell phones-sometimes 3 or 4 friends at a time? How many are on My Yearbook, My Space, Meebo or Facebook for hours daily? How many go to school and are subjected to information and homework bombardment and standardized testing preparation, as their art, music and athletic programs are being cut out entirely? How many of these kids are being diagnosed with a plethora of conditions from ADHD to depression and put on medication because they can't make decisions, focus on or finish anything? Are they too suffering from information overload?

Understanding how the brain works will help us understand how to minimize some of the problems. The human brain has three forms of memory: Sensory, Long-term and Short-term.

Sensory memory is the initial contact for stimuli and lasts about 200–500 milliseconds after an item is perceived through one of the senses. The ability to hear instructions & remember them, or to look at an item, and remember what it looked like with just a second of observation, are two examples. Sensory memory is only capable of retaining information for a very short period of time.

In a study of sensory memory conducted by George Sperling (1963) the maximum capacity of sensory memory was found to be approximately 12 items, but that number drops very quickly (within a few hundred milliseconds). Because this form of memory degrades so quickly, participants would see a display, but be unable to report all of the items (12 in all) before they decayed. This type of memory cannot be prolonged by rehearsal or repetition which would explain why your child forgets the 3 or 4 tasks or commands you just rattled off to them.

Long-term memory is just like unlimited hard-drive space & can store much more information for very long durations (such as an entire life span).  We can remember social security numbers, passwords and telephone numbers for many years through repetition of use. Information retained in this way is said to be stored in long-term memory.

Short-term memory functions much like a very small RAM and is capable to hold only about five to nine (seven is an average) items at a time. Retrieving information longer than this will require it to be grouped together into seven units, or store it in long-term memory.

For example, given a random seven-digit number we may remember it for only a few seconds before forgetting, suggesting it was stored in our short-term memory. On the other hand, remembering your bank password, safe code, childhood phone number or address is somewhat easier due to repetition and commitment to long term memory.

We can use the results of the Temple Study and the knowledge of how our memory works to begin to clear out the verbal and visual clutter & communicate better with each other, especially with our kids and with our students. Its important for kids to learn this too. A good rule of thumb when giving instructions, delegating tasks, outlining steps to problem solving, or introducing yoga, karate, dance or exercise sequences to children or teens, (especially sensory or cognitively challenged) is that less is more. Aim to keep it to 1 or 2 items, (or 1-2 written or spoken words), per age of child, but no more than 7 at a time. Otherwise, you are very likely to trigger an overload and the emotions and upheaval that accompany it.

I show all of the students that I work with a very simple technique to combat this overload. Its a meditation, only I don't call it that. I call it Imagery or simply "relaxation". They can use it anywhere and anytime they feel like they need it- at home, school or anywhere. Essentially, they unplug & turn off everything electronic, and sit quietly thinking of a place (such as the beach) or an object (such as a starfish, flower or a sea shell) and I teach them to use their imagination to focus only on that one thing. (younger kids have an easier time using an object at first)

You can do this at home with your child before overload becomes a permanent problem. Keep a small collection of river stones, shells or other small toys or objects in a jar, and when a need arises for relaxation, have them take one of the objects out, sit or lie down & study it for a minute. Then, close their eyes and imagine it in detail. I've had my 'Hyperactive" students sit for up to 20 minutes doing this exercise. The kids ask for it (especially my teen girls) and they are asking for it because its something their taxed brains and emotions desperately need.

The growing human brain needs down time every day, like the lungs need air and the cells need water.

While technology can be a useful tool to bring people together and create collaborations that may not have been possible otherwise, please take care to use it responsibly and teach your kids to do the same. When it comes to communicating, less is more.


Related Articles:

The Myth of Meditation

I Can't Think!

* Use this link

to purchase our books on Amazon

.

Why Kids Should Eat Breakfast

Photo: familyfun.com 

Do you allow your kids to skip breakfast?

A recent Harvard study linked eating breakfast to higher math scores, decreased hyperactivity, and decreased anxiety &  depression. Food is fuel & breakfast provides the body with enough nutrients to keep energy up for several hours, which is one of the reasons why kids should always eat breakfast.

Children need proper nutrition at every meal, and it doesn't have to be boring or complicated. While Choco-donut holes, Pop-Tarts and Sweetie-Flakes are quick and easy, they are not the best choice. Children's taste buds get used to the sugar and their sense of taste distorted. So much so that natural foods don't taste "right" to them.

A sugary breakfast will jolt a young body into a hyper-active response to the sudden spike in sugar, followed by a sudden drop & decrease in energy that will leave them feeling tired, off balance, unfocused and cranky. The lack of nutrients and empty calories will make them crave more sugary foods, and they cycle begins over again. Stop buying the sugary breakfast foods and replace them with fiber rich healthier ones.

I know we give in when we ourselves are tired and not eating properly. Some are dealing with picky eaters and children with special diets or sensory preferences that limit what they can eat. Remember that giving in now because its easier will make the bad habits twice as hard to break later.

If you set an example & an expectation of good eating habits from birth, they will continue throughout childhood and into the teen years. Ideally, the body should have 4-5 smaller meals daily, about  2-3 hours apart, including a little bit of good protein in each, to maintain blood sugar and keep energy up.  With our busy lives, school and work schedules, sometimes this is not possible. That is why it is even more important to be sure that the proper nutrients are included in breakfast & in each meal or snack.

Some facts about breakfast:

Empty Calories: Kids who don't eat breakfast are likely to consume more junk food & empty calories throughout the day according to the Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health and Media.

Diabetes Risk: Children who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be diabetic than those who usually don't, according to the American Heart Association.

Weight Management:  A study by the National Weight Control Registry shows that eating breakfast helps regulate energy levels and maintain a healthy weight.

Hydration & Elimination: Breakfast helps to re-hydrate the body after 8-10 hours of sleep and it starts the daily elimination process that will remove toxins from the body's cells.

Concentration: According to the American Dietetic Association, people who eat breakfast are better able to concentrate and be more productive throughout the morning.

Stress Management: A study completed by  the Mindlab (based at the Sussex Innovation Centre, Brighton) found that regular consumption of breakfast is associated with lower stress levels and reports of better cognitive function & hand-eye coordination.

My daughter was never a "breakfast" kind of kid, partly because she doesn't get hungry until about 10 AM and partly because during school she rarely leaves herself enough time to eat properly & get herself on the bus. (We are working on time management this year!) Over the years I have come up with some creative and stress-free ways to get her to eat something healthy before she leaves for school. I purposely keep healthy items on hand and prepare them on Sunday night so she can grab and go during the week. Cereal is eaten on occasion and when we buy cereal its usually a higer fiber type rather than a sugary, food-colored variety. I don't buy a lot of juices with the exception of orange juice and cranberry juice, on occasion. My daughter generally will not drink bottled juices. I squeeze fresh citrus into our water and make fresh lemonade which she will pour into her water bottle and take to school.

Here are a few of her other favorites:

*I make extra french toast (or omelet) on the weekend so she can grab a portion and warm it up in the toaster oven quickly.

*I buy large containers of Vanilla or Strawberry Yogurt and she dishes out her portion and adds raisins, fresh berries, sunflower seeds or granola that I keep on hand. (I let her add a drop of honey if she needs something a little sweeter. )

*Fresh Watermelon and Strawberries are a favorite. I wash and cut the berries and melon for the week as soon as I come home from the farmer's market. She may or may not add cinnamon or yogurt.

*Apples (or Pears) and string cheese are another favorite. She favors apples and will eat them with the string cheese outside while waiting on our porch for the bus. I always have a variety of fresh fruit in a bowl on our table.

*Seedless Grapes. Easy and delicious. Pop them in the freezer for a cooling sweet treat.

*Whole grain wheat toast and nut butter. She pops a slice or two in the toaster oven and spreads a bit of natural peanut, cashew or hazelnut butter onto the warm toast. She also likes to sprinkle on some cinnamon for taste.

*Oatmeal and applesauce (or raisins) used to be one of her favorites but she doesn't eat it so much anymore. Avoid the instant variety as they contain extra sugar and preservatives. Quick oats take less than 5 minutes to make. Add a bit of applesauce or raisins and cinnamon for flavor.

*Tuna. (Yes you read it correctly) Tuna. My kid loves tuna. Sometimes she will just eat it out of the container. Yes-for breakfast. I let her because if she is eating breakfast on her own, even if its an odd one, well then I'm happy.


What are you making for breakfast?

Tell us in the comments below.

Related Articles:

What Your Child's Food Craving are Telling You

Keep Kids Hydrated

* Use this link

to purcahse our books on Amazon

.

In Case You Missed it: July 9 - 13, 2012

Photo: efilecabinet.com

Hello everyone!

Here is our Friday "In Case You Missed It" feature for you to enjoy and share.

I am happy to include links today to our two new S.M.Art Story™ book releases: "The Dragonfly's Adventure" and "Ocean Surf-ari".  A S.M.Art Story™ is an adaptive, yoga based curriculum that supplements learning, therapy and fun!   (For more detailed descriptions use this link. ) 

* (Use the discount code:  2XE7DFG4 and save $5 for the month of July only!)

And now, on to our links. Have a great weekend everyone!



A Core Curriculum to Create Engaged Entrepreneurs

Seeing Dyslexia as an Ability

Teaching Respectful Boundaries

Therapeutic Animals in Schools

Scouting: Working With Disabilities (Blog Talk Radio)

Protecting Your Kids From Junk Food

Teaching Self-Governance

Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child



Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com or visit us at: www.bodylogique.com




“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ~Rumi


 
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Yoga for the Profoundly Disabled Child - Part 2

Photo: walesonline.co.uk

Today's post is "Part 2" of Yoga for the Profoundly Disabled Child.

In part 1, I talked about letting go of any pre-conceived ideas of how yoga should be practiced or how it should look. As teachers, therapists and educators, we need to be willing to be flexible enough to forget our lesson plan and meet that student exactly where they are right now.

 (If you missed it, you can read Part 1 here.)

Here are the 4 basic steps that I use to determine how I might introduce yoga based techniques to a child who is considered 'low functioning" and who has a number of profound challenges:

Set aside fears & ideas of how it "should" be:
We all want to assist students to be more independent. We want to give people answers, relieve pain, educate people about the body and more. We want to have a positive effect on the people we meet and work with and feel like we are making a difference. Sometimes we have to get innovative to achieve this. Yoga is no different, so be bold and set aside the way you have been doing things, and your fear of doing something 'wrong". Its okay to change it, adapt it and make it accessible to your student. If you don't know how to do that, ask for input from a yoga teacher, therapist or someone else who has that knowledge. Educators, yoga teachers, paraprofessionals, OTs PTs SLPs, parents and families-we are all on the same side and should be working together. So breathe, calm the voices in your head and proceed with confidence that you will discover how to do the very best for your student.

Observe student interacting with peers or family and pick one or two goals to address:
Its better to select one (or two if they are able) goals to work on at a time. Overwhelming the student or yourself is not effective in the long run. You will have to cultivate patience. Ask yourself what the child's skills are and what are the most immediate needs. Sometimes you may have to look deeper and see the less obvious-maybe they cannot hold a pencil, but can they feel sensations on their skin? They can't move their lower body, but can they move their  upper? They can't move well at all but can they visually track?  Is their hearing and receptive language workable? Can they sign? Do they like music? If so what kind of music? What characters/toys do they like? How can you make this fun? Take all of these factors into consideration and write them down. Make it personal to them. Start with observing the most basic, primitive part of how that child learns and grows which is through the sensory system. The senses hold the key to building back up to body movements, cognitive understanding & social interaction. These skills do not have to be perfect, just visible. Every child can do something-no matter how seemingly insignificant, so start there. Look for what he can do. Keep looking until you find it.

Assess how to adapt and customize traditional (yoga) approaches for that student:
Assess what skills and abilities you have to work with & what you want to teach the student. Balance? Core Strength? Or maybe you need to start with more basic tactile or visual exercises. If you are working on postures & the student cannot stand, then change the postures and therapies so they can do it while seated. You can start in their wheelchair, then gradually build to a regular chair then maybe build to a therapy ball. Support them using your hands or bolsters & props until they are able to do the activities independently. (Remember that a child's "independent" might look very different than how your "independent" looks.)  Start slowly- 10-15 minutes at a time. Work up to 30-40 minutes. Break each step down & add new steps gradually to build up to more challenging games & tasks.

Assess effectiveness and make adjustments:
Ideally the activities you select should be fun & challenging yet not frustrating to the student. You have to ask yourself each time: "Is this too challenging or not enough? Is it working? How do I know its working?" Give it time & observe how the child reacts and responds to determine whether or not he is engaged and motivated to continue to work towards a goal. If not, you may need to make adjustments, either in the goal or in the steps you are using to reach the goal. You may have to observe things that you have never noticed before: breathing, (through movement of the chest), visual attention & pleasure (through *pupil dilation), skin pallor, vocalization, etc. and becoming a good observer will help you better determine if what you are doing should be continued or changed.


I mentioned above starting with the sensory system and I want to elaborate a bit on that. At our most basic core, we are sensory creatures. When we are born, we cannot do much in the way of thinking, moving or communicating. However, our sensory systems are at work constantly. The senses are the only way our nervous system receives information about our environment; the only way in which we become motivated to move & explore our world; the only way we learn about pleasure and danger; and the only way our brains and bodies continue to develop and grow. Its the same for disabled children regardless of the degree of functioning. There is still a sensory system at work, looking for stimulus. The more the senses are stimulated, the more neural pathways are formed in the brain and the more the brain/body learns. You cannot separate these 3 aspects- they rely heavily on each other as a complete system.

When designing a yoga program for children with disabilities, focus on what is practical and what is responsible. We cannot teach a child to talk, walk or stand in tree pose if the child's sensory system is overloaded, under stimulated or not integrated with the brain and the body. The sensory systems must be addressed first, then body movements, then cognitive learning, then (evolved) social skill learning. (This is basic neuroscience.) A huge mistake we make in recreation, education and therapy approaches is to not address the most basic neurological needs first, before we attempt to address those higher functions such as cognitive or social skills. When we skip over those more basic steps, it causes failure, de-motivation, undesired and even aggressive behaviors, and sometimes severely restrictive practices or unnecessary medication plans to be put in place. If you are thinking of introducing yoga, by all means, do so, remembering to keep this process and progression of skills in mind as well. Always meet the students where they are.

Yoga is one of the most complete sensory-motor activities we can utilize to work with children. It enhances all other therapeutic and educational approaches. It is possible to stimulate and integrate every sense in the body during a short 20-30 minute yoga session. (Read more about yoga and sensory stimulation here.) If a child has lower functioning skills and you cannot teach postures yet, then start with activities that will stimulate and integrate the senses.

(Please check with the student's parents, teachers and medical or therapy team to determine what sensory needs and challenges you should be aware of.)

Examples: (Adapt & change to meet & slightly challenge the child's abilities)

• Meditative instrumental music paired with visual tracking of a scarf, a feather or a flashlight beam projected onto the wall or ceiling: Move the scarf or flashlight to the rhythm of the music. Use a slightly up-beat rhythm to stimulate, slower rhythm to calm. Select something the child likes and watch for *pupil dilation to see if the child is enjoying. If they are able, allow them to move the flashlight or scarf. Have them alternate hands. This is one way to introduce meditation techniques. (Native American flute and drumming work well.)
• Pairing breathing with singing simple songs or mantras (words) : "Ommmmmm", " Peace", "Breathe" or any of the vowel sounds, is not only soothing, (sound and vibration in the body) but improves auditory processing, and breath control. Breathing is key to releasing muscle and mind tension and to begin a relaxation response. The longer the tone, the deeper the child has to inhale. The deeper they inhale, the more effective the breathing will be. (Deva Premal's Music works well. ) You can then teach them other breathing techniques using games. (More ideas using cotton balls on our You Tube Channel.)
• Pair a finger labyrinth with calming, instrumental music. Or have the child close their eyes and follow by sense of touch only. If the child cannot point a finger to use it, then guide them with your own hand over theirs. (Click here for printable labyrinths to start with). Glue the printable patterns to card stock, cover the dark lines with yarn, sand or plain glue and see if your student can trace the (smooth) path with eyes closed. (Allow student to glue and add yarn or sand if they are able.) A labyrinth has one path in and out. Its a great tool for teaching concentration and relaxation as well as tactile and visual stimulation.
• Other options include: aromatherapy techniques, mudra (hand yoga) & massage . When you are ready to start teaching postures, begin with restorative postures and work up from there to seated, standing, core, balance, etc.
• Above all, always make it fun!

There are hundreds of other usable ideas in this blog and on our website. As you come across ideas, start to think about how yoga can be broken down into its simplest form to address the needs of your students who may be seen as "unteachable", and those who may need the benefits of yoga the most.

If you have a specific question that this 2 part article did not address, or if you would like to schedule a workshop for your school, therapy center or organization, please contact me at: barbara@bodylogique.com


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*(Our pupils will dilate when the room gets darker to allow more light in, as well as when we take certain medications, but in the absence of these factors, generally speaking, when we’re experiencing pleasure, be it physical or psychological, such as seeing someone or doing something we like, our pupils will grow larger).



Other Resources:

Yoga for the Special Child  (Sonia Sumar)

Adaptive Yoga Curriculum Books  (bodylogique.com)

About the Sensory System (Science Daily)

What a Child's Food Cravings Can Tell You