He chose the goal ‘to be better at handball’. I began to realise the reason he did not want to play was because he genuinely found ball sports difficult as he was not in control of his body. I decided to do a Brain Gym® balance with him. He was having so many of these involuntary movements, no wonder he felt so frustrated and avoided playing. His mouth or other hand would also move when attempting to hit the ball. Therefore, they are an inefficient use of available physical and mental energy. ‘Overflow’ movements are those that are not required to perform the task at hand. One day while we were playing handball, I noticed that he had a great deal of overflow of movements. It pained me to watch his constant disappointment. I could sense within him an underlying desire to play, but I could also see and feel the sadness, frustration and deflation of his constant ‘trying’, many games would end in tears. Yet every time, I saw resistance, a genuine dislike and at times complete avoidance. We even tried different types of sports, from catching, throwing, and kicking, to golf, basketball, handball, and soccer. I was aware of the importance of gross motor development through my studies, so I persisted and attempted time and time again to engage him. My son Evan was never interested in ball sports, he did everything he could to avoid them. It was truly powerful for this mom to see that, and for me to be able to help her notice the changes before and after in her daughter after just drinking some water! Prior to the water we couldn’t get her to give clear answers to our questions. She no longer was staring off into space but focused instead on her mom – and she started engaging her mom in conversation. I had her mom give her some water and all of a sudden there was this energetic child again – she stood up straight, not needing to lean against mom anymore. We called her daughter over to us and she immediately slouched heavily against Mom, stared into space, and wasn’t able to answer any of our questions. Of course, as usual, this mom immediately poo-pooed the idea as having any credence. I mentioned to the mom about drinking water and its benefits. The daughter started becoming unfocused without something to engage her mind and body. After working with her child today, I was chatting with Mom for about a half an hour, during which time her daughter had nothing to do. I have a doubting-Thomas of a parent – her daughter has been in therapy since she was born – about 11 years. She has transformed from a little girl who was often upset by the ‘smallest things’, to a happy child who is so much more energetic and confident in herself and her abilities.
After three or four sessions with a local instructor/consultant, this student’s reading and writing improved greatly and she has greater confidence in herself.
One particular grade two student was experiencing difficulties with her reading and writing, was putting a lot of pressure on herself, was often very tired and was finding it difficult to relax. Parents are telling me that their children are much happier and will even do the Brain Gym® exercises at home to help themselves to relax and cope with challenging situations. Many of the parents have commented how their children are progressing in many different areas including coordination, balance and confidence. After introducing daily Brain Gym® exercises, the results have been amazing. Consequently, many were experiencing learning difficulties and displaying very challenging and disruptive behaviour. In my class of children aged five to seven, many students were unsettled, stressed and angry. In over twenty years of teaching infants/primary school children, one of the most amazing ‘tools’ I have used in my classroom has been Brain Gym® exercises.