What is Brain Gym?

Movement-based program helps children with learning disabilities, ADHD & more

By Lisa Hanson
 

In a beautiful home, in an ordinary (yet beautiful) neighborhood there is something extrodinary happening. Pamela Formosa, a master level occupational therapist is helping a child reach his full potential through Brain Gym®, a movement-based learning readiness program.  Using goal setting, self awareness techniques and movement activities, Brain Gym helps a person to organize themselves physically, emotionally and cognitively to better enable them to learn and perform at their best. Pam has been working with children in a variety of ways for over 20 years but when she first learned about Brain Gym, 9 years ago, something clicked. Through this practice she found clarity and the ability to help children and their families maximize their potential and find happiness through the struggles of learning disabilities, ADHD, anxiety and more.

I had the pleasure of meeting one her clients. He eagerly greeted me with a handshake and a smile. He also introduced me to his Mom. Shane, six was referred to Pam through a counselor. Dorinda, Shane’s Mom came for an initial visit and knew then and there this was what her son needed. Although Shane has only worked with Pam for 5 weeks she is already encouraged by the progress she sees. “He is excited to come here and has benefited greatly from the relaxation techniques. I have become so interested by what I have observed here that I have signed up for a class with Pam to learn more about Brain Gym. I know this technique can benefit my whole family!” Pam’s class entitled Brain Gym 101 will be offered in her Hopedale home November 6-8th. As for Shane’s reaction to the “work” he has been doing - he just loves the games! With breathless excitement, I learned about body bowling, Space Buttons and Simon Says. “We have fun and laugh a lot!”

Pam’s number one goal through her work and the book she just published called, Fraid Not! Empowering Kids with Learning Differences is to spread the word about Brain Gym and its effectiveness. She wants families to know that there are ways you can keep your child focused, confident and empowered all while playing! Below she answers some questions about the amazing program.

 
P&K: What type of child benefits from this technique and why?

Any child or adult can benefit from Brain Gym. It is believed that Brain Gym stimulates and integrates the senses and improves processing between different areas of the brain. This makes learning more efficient.  Brain Gym also helps to reduce physical and emotional stress, such as frustration, that can get in the way of learning.



P&K: Do you have to be certified to use this technique? What type of training to you need?

The Educational Kinesiology Foundation offers a licensing program for those adults interested in becoming a Brain Gym consultant or instructor.  This program is open to any adult who wishes to formally teach Brain Gym.  However, many parents, therapists and teachers opt to take 24 hours introductory training – Brain Gym® 101 so that they can use the techniques at home with their children or in the classroom/therapy setting.  This course is the first course towards licensing.

P&K: What is a typical session like?

No one Brain Gym session looks the same as it is approached with an open mind.  Each session has a goal, opportunities for noticing or self awareness and movement activities.  As a Brain Gym consultant, I help guide the child to a goal that is meaningful to them, such as being able to catch a ball easily, staying calm during a test or even being able to problem solve when being bullied.  Most sessions are fun and often are playful in nature with a short relaxation time at the end to help with integration of the new learning.

Another wonderful aspect of the Brain Gym activities is it naturally invites parents and siblings to be a part of the process. Often sisters or brothers want to join in during the sessions because the movements are fun and not “work” oriented. The activities can be adapted to engage younger siblings, or be done as partners. Often music, scarves and art modalities are added in, making the activities more playful and fun. The more fun a person is having, the easier the brain and body can reorganize around our goals. One mother commented that the Brain Gym program has encouraged her and her son to engage in something positive together each day.

P&K: Share some of your greatest success stories.

One success story is about a 5 year old boy. He would become extremely angry when given any type of feedback regarding his performance. He would accuse his parents of not loving him, and stomp out of the room. This was hard for the family.

After several months of practice, and introducing non-threatening techniques, Steve now enjoys noticing successes and recognizing struggles, and is no longer intimidated by them. Using the Brain Gym concepts, Steve has been given tools to calm himself, and to better enable him to slow down, pause and tolerate stressful situations.  He is better able to notice when his body is not in control, and he is not listening well. With this new skill, he is now more successful with utilizing strategies to self regulate, and ultimately improve his performance.

Another story:

Socially, Emily, a 10 year old, was a very caring person, but struggled with friendships. She often would misread social cues, and say things that were out of context. Emily noticed when kids approached her too quickly on the playground, she felt like they were trying to hurt her. She instantly reacted by moving away or freezing.

In our sessions, we role played someone approaching her quickly, and noticed her response. Her whole body tightened up, she held her breath and pulled away. She said her heart was beating fast, and she felt scared. We then engaged in some Brain Gym techniques, some developmental movements on the floor, and we played. These techniques, when consciously used with her goal, enabled her nervous system to integrate again, so she was better able to organize incoming information.

The following week, Emily reported that she did not get frightened on the playground when her friends approached her, and she felt more in control. Soon after, other successes started happening for Emily, including being able to participate in sleepovers.

P&K: Your book is named Fraid Not. What is behind the title and what will your audience learn from it?

The title Fraid Not! came from my having witnessed many children go from timid, overwhelmed, frustrated and scared to becoming confident, strong and happy and not being afraid of all life has to offer.  In the book, I offer many inspirational stories demonstrating this.

P&K: If there was one message you wanted parents to hear from you today – what would it be?

Brain Gym is an easy, awesome program that can be life changing for both adults and children.   This stuff is not rocket science and anyone can do it.  The changes I have had for myself and have witnessed in others is profound. 

Resources

 www.braingym.org.

 www.pathwaystolearning.info