I am someone who needs quite and time to process information and really let it sink in. In fact, I can be angry and have to figure out why over time. Not that I think it's something else first, but I really don't know where it is coming from at all. No doubt some of you will think this is very strange.
In the past, I've associated this with being highly introverted. I am not at all shy, and it's not the same thing. Introversion is getting energy from being alone or with a small, trusted group (like 1-2). Extroversion is getting energy from being with people . . . often, lots of them! It's a commonly misunderstood concept.
At the recent conference, I learned a bit more about the delayed processing, however. Some types are recognized as learning disabilities or disorders. We've all heard of some of these. There are also some that are extremely common in gifted children - often called twice exceptional kids :) I learned about a new on last weekend, Dysgraphia. Put as simply as possible, it involves a difficulty for children to think and write at the same time. It has impact beyond writing, however. As the symptoms were laid out for me, I believe our daughter has that. I think I do, as well. Even more interesting, I hear about most of these symptoms in the parent room of our gifted coop all the time, but we tend to associate it with giftedness, frustration and boredom (since those are prevalent obstacles for us). It was fascinating!
There is scientific evidence for people feeling like they have whatever they hear about, and I know I am susceptible. I don't believe that is the case this time, however. I went to a talk entitled "Smart kids who hate to write." I am challenged with teaching writing to my daugher, even though she LOVES reading. Handwriting is frustrating for her, and I had thought maybe we'd just focus on typing and not worry too much about it. I hear about that a lot from parents of gifted children, especially. The assumption was that their brains move so fast that slowing down to write is frustrating and feels like a waste of time. I'm not sure that's it anymore.
Dianne Craft had a class of kids, mostly boys, who were highly intelligent (she stated IQs around 135) but were writing at a Kindergarten to 2nd grade level, even in middle school. She was trained in this and had a class full of them. At some point she stumbled across information that led her to a simple and profoundly effective system called "Writing 8" and "Right Brain Writing" by her. . . While it was a short talk and it sounds like new information is still coming in, there is a block of kids crossing the midline between right brain and left brain in some instances. Many of these kids have a different sides dominant in different areas. I happen to be left-footed and right-handed. After 15 minutes per day, 4 days per week, for 6 months to a year of this OT (Occupational Therapy), these kids were suddenly writing and lining up their math neatly and easily. They were able to work around it before, but it was taking extra energy, and they were catching and correcting themselves. Occasionally (or more), they were reversing letters, starting to write letters backwards or bottom up instead of top down, etc. Did I mention that she guarantees the program? Check it out online if you're interested - www.diannecraft.org.
My daughter does this. In fact, this morning, she had some very easy fill-in-the-blank writing work. She came to me and said, "I'm getting tired from doing so many sheets and it's hard to do my spacing." She has never said it like that before, but this points to dysgraphia, as well. My husband and I were actually pleased to hear it, as it confirmed our suspicions. No, we're not mean parents or just looking for diagnosis, and we will not be having her formally assessed. The public school systems don't recognize this particular challenge, I hear from a mother whose child was formally diagnosed - they are now homeschoolers. I digress. This situation is completely treatable and reversable. Part of my work inovolves random days with a tremendous amount of handwriting and I am almost worthless from fatigue on the days following this. I wonder if that could change for me. . .
Brain-training is something I'm fascinated with and have been as long as I can remember. The system involves retraining the connections in the brain to be more automatic and take less energy for some things most people take for granted. It goes beyong handwriting and math. Some of the boys she's worked with were suddenly fabulous at sports - it dramatically improved their hand-eye coordination. I have never been able to throw or catch in a way that didn't embarrass me. Some kids could suddently ride a bike - I know several children who struggle with this, including my own daughter. One child completely lost a stutter! For the small time investment involved, I'm excited to try it and see how it changes things for us. Then again, if our daughter moves even faster, it could get much scarier for me o.O
Remember how I said this goes beyond writing? Some of this concept has been developed from sports medicine. I'm finding sports medicine is showing up in all sorts of new (and appropriate) places in the last few years. The respect and impact this field has on others has been underestimated in the past, I believe. Exciting discoveries await us as its influence expands even further, I believe.
I hope you have a fabulous weekend and are blessed with some wonderful, deep-breath relaxing kinds of moments.
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