Neurodivergence & Giftedness
We offer a correction to the cause of your challenges, rather than simply tools for managing behaviors and symptoms associated with Autism, ADHD, dyslexia+, SPD and other learning differences.
The GIFT of Autism, ADHD and dyslexia+ is in their minds. Their gifts help them literally see and manipulate math, body movement, physics, music, etc inside the unlimited capacity of their mind’s eye. In this case, information is processed all together like a mind map, put into 3-dimensional pictures and analyzed with/against previous experiences. We call this ability Visual spatial thinking.
About 20-30% of our population has the ability to process information in this way. The rest of the world are linear thinkers. They process information in sequential order, put it into categories and analyze it. Most educational systems are built on a foundation of linear processing.
Visual Spatial thinkers, while gifted, can have challenges working in the linear world, and especially in that of the educational system. Math, reading, writing and even planning all require the ability to see/do things in linear sequence. This is where Janell comes in.
Although they do not often realize it, visual spatial thinkers have the incredible ability to use both their natural visual spatial thinking brain and their often needed linear brain. Janell teaches clients how to switch between these 2 distinct neurological pathways so that visual spatial thinkers can turn on their linear processing brain when they need to do linear tasks. Once our clients can switch back and forth, their challenges begin to diminish.
Being able to control how they are using their brain is a tremendous start in overcoming challenges that many visual spatial thinkers face, but it is only the beginning. From the time each of us are born we begin to experience the world around us uniquely. We learn as infants that we are our own person, separate from others. Through experience we learn the concepts of cause and effect and even how to feel the passage of time. There are about 43 different concepts (building blocks) that each of us develop simply through our life experiences from early childhood. If these concepts are formed in accordance with reality they will give us the framework we use to do things like create our daily routines, dress appropriately for the weather, and get to our jobs on time as adults. But what happens if those concepts are not experienced correctly in childhood?
This is what often happens to some of these early childhood building blocks with visual spatial thinkers. It happens because when the building block was forming the child’s mind was deep within the creative visual spatial thinking part of their brain and was not fully aware of the reality around them. When this happened the building block that was forming was not created in accordance with reality. It was created but the information used to create it was not complete and thus, as the child grows, ideas such as organization, written communication and time management may become difficult or even impossible. We call this altered reality disorientation. The challenge arises because the person simply does not have all the tools they need to complete the task. The more building blocks that are incompletely formed in early childhood the greater the number of challenges the visual spatial thinker will face as they grow up.
The great news is that there is a way to recreate those incomplete building block experiences so that they are formed in accordance with reality. When this happens it gives the visual spatial thinker the tools they need to overcome their challenges. They learn how to move from a state of disorientation to a state of orientation within their minds. This process involves recreating early childhood concepts using clay. Clay is used because it, like the visual spatial thinker's mind, can be created and formed 3-dimensionally.
Visual spatial learners use clay to re-create a real world experience of concepts or words that were not fully created in their past. The clay allows them to “see” the word or concept as a picture both in reality and in their mind. Once they are able to see it, the word or concept can then be defined, understood, and ultimately mastered by applying it in the real world. The concept or word becomes a new building block within the foundation of their learning and experience: replacing the previous incomplete block along the way. The more the new experience of a word or concept is used the stronger that building block will become. This is different from memorizing or studying an idea because it changes the foundation from which that idea arises. It is not merely an intellectual idea but a new experience in reality.
Learning specialists like Janell are trained and gifted in guiding visual spatial thinkers through this process, helping them to use and see their immense gifts while simultaneously overcoming the obstacles they have faced. The process is so natural that the learner seldom realizes that so much has changed within them. Challenges simply seem to disappear as if they had never existed, because, in reality, the things that caused those challenges have been removed.
Imagine the brain is like a band of highly trained musicians with each thought, feeling and action being a different instrument in that band. We know that each instrument playing together in tune and harmony with one another produces a sound that is pleasing to our ears. But sometimes all of the parts of our brain are NOT working together and creating harmony because they don’t have the tools they need to do so.
Now imagine if unbeknownst to you, the listener, some of our trained musicians were instructed to play their instrument without music, some were to play while wearing ear plugs and yet others while blindfolded. When the conductor raised his arms and that band began to play, you know it would sound terrible. The trumpets might be out of rhythm, the drums too loud and the flute might not be playing at all.
To you, as the listener, when you heard these musicians trying to play together and not succeeding in what they were meant to do it would be a very natural reaction to want to “fix the problem.” You might think to yourself the the drummer needs to be taught to play more quietly as it’s outbursts are disruptive to our ability to hear the other instruments, The flutist needs to be taught to engage with the other instruments in the proper way and time, and the trumpet player needs to have the basic concept of musical beat explained more simply so they can grasp the concept of rhythm. This is how many traditional autism/ADHD/dyslexia programs approach these challenges.
But what if instead of trying to “fix the problems” you gave the drummer tools to hear, and the trumpet player the sheet music so he could play, and the flutist light to see? If each musician hadthe tools he or she needed to play their instrument they would play it well. Remember they are highly trained professional musicians. They are not broken or deficient, they simply need the right tools to perform at their greatest potential.
And that is exactly what learning specialists like Janell are all about. We offer a correction to the cause of your challenges, rather than simply tools for managing behaviors and symptoms associated with Autism, ADHD, dyslexia+, SPD and other learning differences.
How Disorientation Undermines Conceptual Understanding and Why It Is Important To Correct?
Disorientation and distorted perceptions are not just symptoms of autism, ADHD, dyslexia+ and other learning differences—they fundamentally disrupt a child's ability to grasp essential life concepts. For these people, disorientation often becomes a habitual state, enabling them to create vivid imaginary worlds. However, this altered reality can also hinder their understanding of cause and effect, time, sequence, and order, which are critical for functioning in the real world.
Overcoming ingrained habits of disorientation takes time and consistent effort. However, with the tools provided by Janell, people can stabilize their perceptions and develop an inherent sense of time. As they begin to experience the world consistently, they gain the ability to think and act in harmony with others, paving the way for improved academic performance, social interactions, and overall well-being.
The Effects of Disorientation on Perception and Reality
Perception shapes reality. For a disoriented person, perception becomes distorted, creating an alternate reality that others around them do not share. This disconnect has far-reaching effects:
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Lack of Consequence Awareness
In their alternate reality, cause and effect are nonexistent. Without recognizing that actions lead to outcomes, the person struggles to understand consequences and make connections between their behavior and its results.
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Distorted Sense of Time
Disoriented people experience time inconsistently—a minute may feel extraordinarily long or impossibly short. This prevents them from developing an inherent sense of time, a skill that typically emerges by age seven. Without this sense, they cannot progress to understanding sequence or order.
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Deficits in Sequence and Order
Sequence—understanding the logical progression of events—and order—differentiating between structured and chaotic situations—depend on a stable sense of time. Disoriented people miss these fundamental building blocks, leading to disorganized thinking and behavior.
Why Disorientation Leads to Social Challenges
Disorientation also disrupts a person's ability to interact appropriately with others, often resulting in behaviors associated with ADD, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
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Distorted Sound and Vision Perception
A person may hear instructions inaccurately or perceive visual tasks incorrectly, leading to mistakes or inappropriate responses. Frequently, the person shifts their attention elsewhere to reorient, abandoning the original task altogether.
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Time Sense Distortion
A person with a distorted internal clock may feel they are moving faster than others. This creates challenges like impulsivity and difficulty waiting their turn, as the concept of sequence and order feels foreign to them.
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Balance and Motion Issues
Disoriented people often feel as though they are moving even when stationary. To counter this sensation, they may engage in fidgeting behaviors, such as tapping or rocking, often without realizing it.
The Solution: Orientation and Concept Mastery
Because a person cannot modify behavior he/she is unaware of, the person must be given the tools of orientation
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Orientation Counseling and Dial-Setting
Orientation counseling helps the person regain accurate perception of his or her energy levels. Through Dial-Setting, the person imagines a regulator or thermostat to adjust their internal clock and energy levels. This technique fosters self-regulation and awareness of others' "energy dials."
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Mastering Consequences
Using this program, the person learns the principle that every action results in a reaction. This understanding is critical for connecting behavior to outcomes and developing socially acceptable responses.
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Progressing to Time, Sequence, and Order
Once the concept of consequence is mastered, the person can move on to understanding time, sequence, and order versus disorder. Clay modeling and other hands-on techniques provide a tangible way to internalize these abstract ideas, gradually building the person's ability to organize thoughts and actions.
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