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 minds 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 or time as adults. But what happens if those concepts are not experienced correctly in childhood?

This is exactly what often happens to some of these early childhood building blocks with visual spatial thinkers. This happens because when the building block was forming the child’s mind was deep within their 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 was not complete and thus, as the child grows, ideas such as organization, written communication and time management become very challenging. 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 that are in accordance with reality. When this happens it gives the visual spatial thinker tools to succeed. We do this by recreating the early childhood concepts with 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. 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.