Finding the “Disconnect”

Amelia came to LearningRx when she was 9 years old. 

Her parents shared: “Our daughter, Amelia, is a struggling learner. She has difficulty reading (she still sounds out nearly every single word, including two- and three-letter words), concentrating, sitting still when she’s thinking, and word recognition. It seems evident that there is a disconnect in her brain that is at the root cause of all these struggles. I want learning to be easier for her (right now her brain is working too hard to accomplish every single task); and I want her confidence levels to grow.” 

When parents describe their child’s struggles, they often use language like, “there is some kind of disconnect” or “my child is smart, but something is not clicking”.

The key to consistent and effective learning are strong cognitive skills.  However, if any of these skills are weak – memory, processing speed, attention, reasoning, etc. – it often undermines or mutes a child’s ability to excel academically.  

Many families seek a diagnosis like ADHD or dyslexia.  These can be helpful, but diagnoses are a label put on certain cognitive skill profiles.  The key is to identify the root cause.  Where is the disconnect?  What is holding your child back?

For Amelia, the first step was to administer an initial assessment at LearningRx.  Unlike many assessments that cost thousands of dollars and can take 4-8 hours, the LearningRx assessment is a fraction of the cost at takes 90 minutes.  More importantly, it provides actionable answers to a child’s learning struggles! 

Amelia’s initial assessment revealed weaknesses in long-term and working memory, logic & reasoning, auditory processing and processing speed. Tasks like reading, reading comprehension, problem solving, math, and attention were all difficult for Amelia. She did not need a diagnosis, Amelia needed these skills to be stronger. 

For example, her weakness in long-term memory and auditory processing made reading difficult.  Memory is a critical component to effective word recognition, spelling and reading comprehension.  Auditory processing is needed as this skill represents a child’s ability to process sounds. When auditory processing is weak, blending sounds and decoding is a difficult task.  This is true for students who have general reading struggles or are diagnosed with dyslexia. The key to unlocking her reading ability is to remove these barriers holding Amelia back.

Similarly, Amelia’s slow processing speed impacted her attention skills as her brain had to work so hard to complete a task, that she was not able to maintain this high level of energy and she would zone out or get distracted.  In fact, for most students who struggle with attention or are diagnosed with ADHD, processing speed is one of the most common root causes. (https://www.mentalhealthjournal.org/articles/the-promise-of-cliniciandelivered-cognitive-training-for-children-diagnosed-with-adhd.pdf)

Amelia completed her LearningRx training, and all of these cognitive skills improved significantly – most by 3 to 4 times where they were initially! Amelia’s IQ increased 16 points! More importantly, her parents are seeing huge changes. Her mom shared simply that “Amelia’s gains and improvements are amazing. Thank you, LearningRx!” 

If you have a child who struggles and seems to have some type of disconnect, it can be frustrating and confusing, but we can help. The first step is to schedule an initial assessment at the LearningRx Eagan location to identify the root cause. Call us today at 651-686-1066.