Most early brain development disorders now come under an umbrella called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One in every 68 children is said to have some form of it. These disorders are more prevalent in boys (1 in 44).
It is critical that the parent/teacher begins an intervention program with these children immediately. The earlier you begin the more success you will have. Too often parents send so much time with doctors and tests that this incredible “window of opportunity” to take corrective measures is missed.
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
How do children learn? Scientist and educators tells us how children learn and process information for the rest of their lives depends on how we stimulate their brains in the early years, ages 0- 5. When we stimulate the brain of the young child and the neurons fire often enough, a permanent connection is formed. Connections used regularly become stronger and more complex. Connections not used are pruned away. The brain is built on a “use it or lose it” basis especially in the early years. The more connections, the more work the brain can do. It is called hard-wiring the brain. These early years are the greatest learning potential of a person’s life and the foundation of all future learning.
Case Study
Over the last 20 years, we have taught children who had various degrees of Autism at the Be Smart Kids Center. They were not drilled. They only received the lesson once a week for 30 minutes. I remember one case in which I am extremely proud. He had just turned 3 when he came to me in 1998. I always say that he taught me more than I taught him. He had no speech except for whining, had glazed over eyes with no interaction to any other person, walked on his tiptoes bringing his feet up very high when he walked, and did a lot of flapping with his arms. He would sometimes put his hands over his ears and scream. I would think time and again that he would not be able to accomplish something but I kept going. He proved me wrong in every instance. This child graduated number one in his high school and is now attending college.
The same process that I used is available to you. The Be Smart Kids Learning Process has instructions and tutorials for each weekly lesson. It is important that you do the computer-based product because the interaction between the computer, adult, and child will produce the best results.