Submitted by Gloria A. Ortiz, MS, LPC intern
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Difficulty completing assignments | Less difficulty with assignments |
| Difficulty reading at grade level | Within two months, increased reading level from 4.3 to 5.5 |
Maggie is an 11-year-old female who is currently enrolled in 6th grade. Maggie is very active physically but has difficulty completing assignments. She is enrolled in the 504 program at school and receives accommodations for testing and completing class work. Up until this year, Maggie’s work was very repetitive.
"It was noticed that Maggie was struggling because she could not follow though tasks that were not repetitive in nature. Maggie has a hard time reading in her grade level. Her current reading level is at a 4.3. Maggie has speech difficulties as well and receives speech therapy three times a week. Maggie just had last ARD meeting where her goals for reading were not yet met."
During first meeting, it was discussed the use of electronics and how it can affect concentration. Mother agreed to monitor Maggie’s use of electronic devices. With the “symptoms” Maggie presented I decided to stimulate all reflexes. Indeed as suspected, all of her reflexes were unintegrated.
"Maggie was initiated with basic movements [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] for 3 weeks before other movements were integrated. During the first three weeks, Maggie herself noticed changes. Maggie noticed homework not being so hard, as well as having more time to look through her assignments slowly. Maggie’s teacher even sent a note to her mother stating how quick Maggie was going through her homework, in comparison to just a month before."
At three weeks, it was decided to initiate STNR [Symmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex] along with FPR [Fear Paralysis Reflex]. It was immediately noticed the effects on FPR. One week after initiating FPR Maggie had joined a student club, where she became a leader. Maggie’s’ confidence had boosted tremendously and everybody had noticed in school. Maggie does not like loud noises, she is always seen with her hands over hear ears trying to cover the noises being made. An integration movement done with her was using the k27 points, before going to school in the mornings.
We saw a difference with the communication she was having with mother and sister on the drive home. It was tremendous the amount of changes we saw with Maggie in such a short time. The 5-Step balance was created in order for Maggie to select what goals she wanted to work on. Maggie’s goal for the 5-step process was to raise her reading level by at least one full point, making it a 5.3. Her statement was “I will raise my reading level to a 5.3.”
The motivation demonstrated by Maggie seemed contagious, in fact, her motivation was such that she read two chapters from a book she had sitting on her bookcase. As demonstrated above, Maggie’s responses were positive responses. In fact her response was so well that after two months of movements her reading level did increase to a 5.5. Maggie was so proud of herself for her improvement, she even told her classmates what she was doing to “do better.”
What I learned from this experience is the power that motivation has for children. They feel so good about themselves that their goals become easy to overcome.
[Edited for length and clarity; emphasis added]