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Holistic Approaches to Learning Problems with Steven Horne, RH(AHG)

1Copyright 2008 by Tree of Light Publishing, a division of Kether-One, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

HolisticApproachesto LearningProblems

Overview

• Part One: Nutrition and theBrain

• Part Two: Toxins and the Brain

• Part Three: Tools for SpecificLearning Problems

The BrainNeedsProper

Nutrition

Nutrition and Your Brain

• Brain is the most sensitiveorgan to nutritional deficienciesand imbalances

• Intestinal health influencesbrain function

• The brain is highly sensitive tochanges in blood sugar levels

Sugar and the Brain

• Brain uses more sugar than anyother organ

• Brain takes up sugar without insulin

• Pancreas regulates blood sugar toregulate amount of sugar for brain

• Too much sugar over stimulates thebrain, too little and the brain doesn’tfunction properly



Symptoms ofLow Blood Sugar

• Hyperactivity

• Lack ofAttention

• Depression

• TemperTantrums

• JuvenileDelinquency

• Bed Wetting

• Cold nose orlimbs

• Suddenshakiness

• Mentalconfusion

• Irritability• Cravings for

sugar

Food, Teens andBehavior

• Juvenile

delinquents areusuallyhypoglycemic

• Putting them ongood diet keptthem out of troublewith the law

Balancing Blood Sugar

• NO refined sugars, white flour,polished rice, alcohol orcaffiene, even fruit juice may bea problem

• Whole grains, protein, freshfruits and vegetables

• Small, frequent meals

Supplements forBalancing Blood Sugar

• B-Complex Vitamins withVitamin C

• Licorice root

• Spirulina and other algae

• Eleuthero root and otheradaptagens

• Mineral Chi Tonic

Breakfast

• Kids who skip breakfastperform better in school thankids who eat carbohydratesfor breakfast

• Best breakfast containsproteins and fats– Eggs, protein powder, red meat

– Coconut oil, butter, cream, avocados

Amino Acid Deficiencies

• Neurotransmitters are createdusing amino acids as a base

– Serotonin — Tryptophan

– Epinephrine — Tyrosine

– Dopamine — Phenylalanine

– GABA — Glutamine



Amino AcidSupplements

• Super Algae

• Spirulina

• Free Amino Acids

• Individual amino acidsupplements

• Protease and/or HCl

The Brain Needs Fats!

• Fatty acids are critical for brainfunction (Nerves are 50% fat)

• Trans fats may interfere withnerve functions

• Extremely low fat diets are notgood for mental health

Good Fats• Grass fed, organic butter

• Fish oils (cod liver oil)

• Deep ocean fish (wild salmon,tuna, sardines)

• Omega-3 supplements

• Coconut oil

• Flax seed oil

• Avocados & nuts

“Bad” Fats

• Partially hydrogenated or processedvegetable oils

• Margarine

• Shortening

• Commercial fried foods

• Animal fat from factory-farmedanimals

Brain Supplements

• B-complex vitamins

• Spirulina or other algae

• Cod liver oil or Omega-3

• Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E)

The Brain isChemically Sensitive



Toxins and the Brain

• Food allergies can affect brainfunction

• Heavy metals are a major cause oflearning disabilities and behavioraldisorders

• Other environmental toxins can also

damage the brain and nerves

Food Allergies CanContribute to

• Hyperactivity

• Restlessness

• Irritability and

fussiness

• “Fuzzy” thinking

• Aggression

Common Allergy Foods

• Wheat

• Corn

• Dairy

• Eggs

• Oranges

• Peanuts

• Beans

• Chocolate

• Shellfish

• Soy

• Tomatoes

Elimination Diet

• Go on a very bland diet (brownrice, vegetables, etc.)eliminating all suspected

allergy-causing foods

• Reintroduce suspected allerginsone at a time and observereactions

Heavy Metals

• Mercury

• Lead

• Arsenic

• Cadmium

• Aluminum

and others…

Learningdisabilities

Retardation

Memory loss

Behavioraldisorders

Nervousness andemotionalinstability

Mercury Can Cause

• Insanity

• Epilepsy

• Paralysis

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS)



Lead Can Cause

• Brain Dysfunction

• Reduction in cognitive abilities

• Reduction in IQ

• Personality changes

Supplements for HeavyMetals and Chemicals

• Heavy Metal Detox

• MegaChel

• Milk Thistle (Combo)

• N-Acetyl-Cysteine

• Essential Fatty Acids

Gastrointestinal Tract

• Breaks down andabsorbs nutrients

• First line of immunedefense against

pathogens (bacteria,viruses, fungus, etc.)and chemical irritants

Some Health ProblemsAssociated with

Leaky Gut

• ADHD

• Asthma

• Autism

• Depression

• Dull Thinking

• Fatigue

• Irritability

• Lethargy

• Memoryproblems

Supplements for Leaky Gut

• Fiber (Psyllium hulls, etc.)

• Kudzu/St. John’s Wort

• Cat’s Claw (Una d’Gato)

• Probiotics

• Digestive Enzymes

SpecificTools toEnhanceLearning



Workingwith the

Four Typesof Learners

Four Types ofLearners

• Auditory (Emotional/Spontaneous)

• Visual (Analytical/Thinking)

• Touch/Movement

(Active/Kinesthetic)

• Multi-sensory (Extremist/Innovative)

Emotional/Spontaneous

(Auditory)

Emotional/Spontaneous (Auditory)

Emotional/SpontaneousCharacteristics

• Open, flexible, spontaneous

• Decisions based on feelings

• Auditory learners, visualcommunicators

• Oh, Wow, Ooh

• Learn best by listening

Analytical/Thinking (Visual)



Analytical/ThinkingCharacteristics

• Skeptical, thoughtful, deliberate,analytical

• Decisions based on thinking

• Visual learners, auditorycommunicators

• Ah, Uh, Huh

• Learn best by reading, charts,pictures

Active/Kinesthetic(Touch/Movement)

Active/KinestheticCharacteristics

• Sensory, Empathetic, Balanced

• Make decisions based on gut instinct

• Visual/auditory learners (imitation),touch/movement communicators

• Mmm, Hmm

• Learn best through apprenticeship

Extremist/Innovative

(Multi-sensory)

Extremist/InnovativeCharacteristics

• Restless, Progressive, Dynamic,Discontented

• Vacillate in decision making

• Touch/movement learners (trialand error), visual/ auditorycommunicators

• Learn best throughexperimentation



Solving theMystery of

ADHD

Balance

Sympathetic Parasympathetic

Sympathetic

• Creates alert,focused state

• Tenses muscles

• Dilates pupils

• Increases bloodpressure and heartrate

• Inhibits digestion

• Excess causesnormal stress and

anxiety

Parasympathetic

• Creates relaxed,hypersensitive state

• Relaxes muscles

• Contracts pupils

• Decreases bloodpressure and heartrate

• Enhances digestion

• Excess causesADHD

Stress and Anxiety

Sympathetic

Parasympathetic

ADHD

Sympathetic

Parasympathetic

Nervous System Balance

• Sympathetic

– Increasedmental focus

– Increasedenergy

– Decreased

appetite

– Decreasedelimination

• Parasympathetic

– Decreasedmental focus

– More relaxed,“laid back”

– Increasedappetite

– Increased

elimination



Assessing the Balance

• Check pupil tonus

• Have the person close theireyes and get them to sniff

lavender oil and lemon essentialoil, observe their reaction

• Ask questions about behavior,digestion, etc.

AutonomicNervous System

• SympatheticDilates Pupil

• ParasympatheticContracts Pupil

Dilated Pupil(Mydriasis)

Large Pupil (Mydriasis)

• Emotional swings

• Fears, phobias, paranoia

• Poor appetite and digestion

• Adrenal disorders

• Open and susceptible

Contracted Pupil (Miosis)

Small Pupil (Miosis)

• Tendency to bulimia andanorexia food disorders

• Changeable, difficulty being stilland calm

• Anxiety and nervous disorders

• ADHD tendencies



Nervines to Enhance

Sympathetic

– Caffeine(Gurana, coffee,tea, chocolate)

– Chinese ephedra(Ma Huang)

– Bitter orange

– Licorice

Parasympathetic

– Valarian

– Skullcap

– Lobelia

– Passion Flower

– Lavender

– Kava Kava

Helps for Stress &Anxiety

• Eleuthero root and otheradapatagens

• Nervines like chamomile,

passion flower, hops, valerian,skullcap, etc.

• B-Complex vitamins

• Magnesium

Helps for ADHD

• Sympathetic stimulants likeephedra, kola nuts, green tea

• Citrus essential oils (lemon,

etc.)

• Adrenal supporting supplements

• Red meat for breakfast

• Iodine supplements

Other Helps for ADHD

• Check for food allergies

• Leaky gut syndrome is acommon problem in children

with ADHD

• Vaccine damage or heavy metalpoisoning may also be a factor

Helping theDyslexic

Child

Right-Left Brain

Right Brain• Intuitive

• Spacial

• Emotional

• Artistic

• Music

• Movement

• Dance

• Drawing

• Non-Linear

Left Brain• Logical

• Abstract

• Analytical

• Scientific

• Math

• Language

• ProblemSolving

• Sequential

• Linear



Brain Integration

• Left side of the brain controlsthe right side of the body

• Right side of the brain controls

the left side of the body

• Corpus callosum connects bothhemispheres and helps them co-ordinate their activities

Crawling helps the corpuscallosum to develop

EyeMovement

and theBrain

Eye Movements

• Looking right activates the left brain

• Looking left activates the right brain

• Looking up activates the back of thebrain

• Looking down activates the front ofthe brain

The Lazy 8 Three Forms of Dyslexia

• Kinesthetic

• Auditory

• Visual



Testing for PhysicalDyslexia

• Step 1: Check baseline strength.

• Step 2: Test looking at or thinkingabout X.

• Step 3: Test looking at or thinkingabout vertical parallel lines | |.

• Step 4: Test doing cross-crawls.

• Step 5: Test doing homolateralmovements.

Integrating theHemispheres

• Step 1: Say, “This person is ready tobe integrated at this time,” and test.If you get a weak result, you cannot

continue.

• Step 2: Determine which side aperson should look on while doingcross crawls

• Step 3: Ask the person to look up tothe correct side that tested strongand cross-crawl while humming forabout 20 to 30 repetitions until themovements seem smooth. Test,should be strong.

• Step 4: Have the person look downto the opposite side and count whiledoing the homolateral movement forabout 20 to 30 repetitions. Test,should be strong.

• Step 5: Have the person interlockfingers while imagining the brain isbeing integrated. Test, should bestrong.

• Step 6: Repeat the first five steps oftesting for physical dyslexia. Testthe person on the X and the lines | |.The test should be strong for the Xand weak for the lines.

• Step 7: Have the person cross-crawland look in all directions (up, down,right and left) and test. The testshould be strong. Have the persondo homolateral movements and lookin all directions. Then test. Thistest should be weak. If you getthese results, integration iscomplete.

Testing AuditoryDyslexia

• Step 1: Have the person turn thehead to the right and test, then turnthe head to the left and test.

• Step 2: Ask the person to repeat aseries of numbers backwards andtest.

• Step 3: Tell the person to spell acouple of words and test.



Auditory Integration

• If the person tests weak on any ofthe above tests, then auditoryright/left brain integration is needed.To accomplish this, do the following:

• Step 1: Say, “This person is ready forauditory integration” and test. If thetest is strong, continue.


• Step 2: Tell the person to massagethe neck and shoulders.

• Step 3: Ask the person to hold oneshoulder and turn their head all theway to the right and then all the wayto the left, three times in eachdirection. Repeat with othershoulder.


• Step 4: Tell the person to massage theears starting at the top and working down.

• Step 5: Have the person trace lazy eightswith the ear.

• Step 6: Repeat the tests for earintegration. You and the person beingtested should notice improvements.


• These exercises should be repeateddaily for at least 30 days and may berepeated whenever a person needsto “tone up” the listening,concentration and memoryprocesses.

Testing Visual Dyslexia

• Step 1: Have the person look in alldirections with the eyes only andtest each direction.

• Step 2: Tell the person to follow yourhand from right to left and left toright moving the eyes only and test.

• Step 3: Have the person readsomething and test.

Visual Integration

• Step 1: Say, “This person is ready forvisual integration for better reading”and test. If the test is strong,continue.

• Step 2: Have the person trace lazyeights with a chalk or a marker andfollow with the eyes only. Do witheach hand individually and then bothhands together.



Visual Integration

• Step 3: Have the person trace all theletters of the alphabet on the lazyeight.

• Step 4: Redo the visual tests. Thereshould be improvement.

• These exercises will need to berepeated daily for at least 30 daysfor best results.

More Information

• www.braingym.org

TutoringYour

Children

Time on Task

• Time on task is the amount oftime a student actually spendsfocusing on a learning activity

• Slow learners tend to spendless time on task

• Tutoring helps create focus,which increases learning speed

Your Child is NOT aFailure!

• Certain basic facts and skills have tobe memorized in order to succeed inschool

• These include basic reading, writingand math

• Most children who are failing inschool simply never mastered thesebasic skills

How to Teach Kids JustAbout Anything

• Demonstrate

• Imitate

• Reinforce



Demonstrate

• Only work on about 5-10 itemsat one time

• Show the problem, item to be

learned, etc. and demonstrateto the child the correct answeror behavior

Imitate

• Have the child repeat thecorrect answer or imitate thecorrect behavior

Reinforce

• Praise or acknowledge thechild’s correct imitation of theanswer or behavior

• Vary the form of praise, such as:– Good

– That’s right

– Correct

– Excellent

Negativity is NOTAllowed

• Negativity undermines thelearning process

• Never say anything like no,wrong, incorrect, etc.

• If the child makes a mistake orincorrectly copies the behavior,then demonstrate the correctanswer or behavior again

Math

• Use to teach childrennumbers, and addition,subtraction, multiplication

and division tables

• Put math problems on flashcards

Reading

• When demonstrating letters of thealphabet use sounds not names

• Teach phonetics (put letters thechild knows side by side and have

them pronounce their sounds oneafter the other

• Teach sight words on flash cards



Other Applications

• Teach children how to dochores correctly (washingdishes, mowing the lawn, etc.)

• Teach young children colorsand shapes

• Help children memorizeanything for school

Parting Comments

• Make learning fun and positive for children

and they will become lifelong learners

• Don’t let schools pressure you intodrugging your children

• Don’t let schools label or your children -labels become self-fulfilling prophesies

• Don’t trust schools to teach your children,participate in their education

• Don’t take grades seriously!

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