Stimulates Brain Development by song

What is The Gifted Learning Project? by ... song and music
In 1999, a group of advocates for people with learning disabilities unified to bring better resources to schools, libraries, parents, and the public. The group formed a unique twist, not focusing on the challenges of the individual, but on the strengths that is used to overcome the challenges.The Gifted Learning Project is a grassroots, nonprofit (501(c)3) organization started and operated by people with learning disabilities and/or with immediate family members whom have learning disabilities. No board member receives any pay -- all are volunteers. We work from our hearts because we understand what it is like to have a disability. We feel that having a disability is like modern art. No two people see the same picture, so why should we assume that all people learn the same? Learning is like a tailored suit; it takes a while and is unique to the individual. To learn, you must use your gifts, and so we have the Gifted Learning Project.

On the one hand, gifted students with learning disabilities can draw on their gifts and talents to compensate for their disability. With support, understanding, and some instructional intervention, many are able to overcome their academic difficulties and go on to productive, satisfying careers and lives. On the other hand, because they are able to draw on their strengths, for many students the disability is masked while the "drag" on their academic performance prevents them from consistently achieving at high levels. Thus, they are often not identified and continue to be a severely misunderstood and under served population. When gifted students fail to achieve their potential, whatever the cause, our nation loses a great deal of talent.

Who we help

The highly verbal 5-year-old who can't master the alphabet.
The bright, creative 7-year-old who's behind in his reading skills.
The talented teenager whose mediocre grades are blamed on lack of motivation.
The college student who scraped by in high school and now feels overwhelmed.
The adult that can't fulfill their dreams because they can't fill out a job application correctly.


What these otherwise bright, sociable young people have in common is a disability that makes learning in the "usual" way difficult. Dyslexia, characterized by problems with learning to read, remembering what was read, spelling, may be noticed as early as kindergarten or may never be diagnosed. Because it interferes with the ability to learn the typical way in school, dyslexia can impose frustrations on students, teachers and parents.
An international team of researchers conducted a study of dyslexic university students in Italy, France and England, which compared their brain scan images and reading skills, according to an article by The Associated Press. The study, released in the journal Science, allegedly found that English-speaking populations have twice as many dyslexics as those in countries with less complex languages. English-speaking dyslexics reportedly have a more difficult time when learning to read due to the more than 1,100 written ways of communicating the 40 sounds in the English language, according to the article. Experts estimate between 5% and 15% of Americans experience dyslexia to some degree.
What is Dyslexia? Let’s start at the beginning and progress. "The word dyslexia is Greek, ‘dys’ (means poor or inadequate) and ‘lexis’ (means words or language)" ("About Dyslexia", Online). Dyslexia is a learning disability characterized by problems in expression or reception, written or oral language. Many problems emerge from reading, writing, spelling, speaking or even listening. Dyslexia is not a disease; it has no cure. Dyslexia describes a different type of mind, more often than not gifted and productive. Dyslexic people learn differently. Dyslexia is not the result of low intelligence; intelligence is not the problem. There is an unexpected gap that exists between learning aptitude and achievement in school or their job. Another misconception is that dyslexics are lacking in the behavioral, psychological, motivational, or social areas. Others think that dyslexia is a vision problem; people seeing words backwards. Dyslexia results from a difference in the structure and function of the brain. People with dyslexia are truly unique each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Many dyslexics are creative and have many unusual talents in areas such as graphics, art, electronics, mechanics, architecture, athletics, and music, engineering or even drama. Dyslexics most often possess talents in the areas that require visual and motor memory. Their problems with processing language distinguish them as a group. Meaning dyslexics have problems translating language to thought or thoughts to language.
Trouble With Words
A common assumption about dyslexia is that it is characterized by reading words in reversed order, i.e., "was" looks like "saw." While this type of problem can be associated with dyslexia, the disorder cannot be explained simply as seeing letters backwards. Difficulties making the basic connection between symbols (letters) and their sounds mark dyslexia.
When most children learn to read, they use typical "decoding" skills: recognizing letters on sight and learning the sound each letter makes. Then they begin to figure out (decode) what the letters will look and sound like when they are put together to form words. For people with dyslexia, the decoding process may be a challenge for several reasons. They may be unable to differentiate between certain sounds (such as "p" and "b"), or they may see the letters spaced incorrectly, like this:
Thew ord sare notsp aced cor rect ly
Thewordsareallpushedtogether
The Dyslexic's mind thinks in pictures and wants to make a shape out of everything they see. This was useful in the case of Walt Disney who was dyslexic and could use these pictures to draw his world for us. People with dyslexia may be able to hear and see perfectly well, but what they hear and see looks different and sounds different than it would to most people. Approximately five to ten percent of school-age children have some type of learning disability.
Typically with dyslexia, there is a wide gap between IQ and school achievement. Often, the dyslexic child's ability to think creatively and abstractly is quite good, but his basic reading and spelling skills are weak. Sometimes they have the felling as if they are thinking in German, speaking in French and writing in English. The word is a picture in their minds, the sound it makes is a feeling in their months and writing a word is picture they draw, note not write. Making connection between all three is sometime hard for the dyslexic.
A child with dyslexia who observes peers reading and making progress may feel "stupid" because he can't keep up. And as he continues to experience failure in the classroom, his self-esteem may take a beating. Educators emphasize the importance of identifying a learning disability as early as possible, so the child can begin to learn in alternative ways and achieve a degree of success in school.
Diagnosing Dyslexia
Schools, community-based psychologists, and many hospitals offer testing of children who appear to be at risk for a learning disability. Candidates for testing include children with at least normal intelligence who are not doing as well in school as predicted by standard intelligence tests. The comprehensive evaluation for a learning disability involves a series of cognitive, linguistic, social/emotional, and academic tests. Note: testing should not be done to simply decide if the student should be grouped or placed in special education, but the child should be tested to see what ways the child learns and what the child needs. Once a diagnosis is made, a treatment plan can be developed. Treatment, or helping the child find ways to learn, requires the close cooperation of parents and teachers and may also involve reading therapists or tutors. It's important to verbally tell the hat being tutored or taking extra classes is not meant as a punishment. Instead, it is meant to help the child fulfill his dreams in life. This is to help them fulfill their dreams in life. Fortunately, the majority of children with dyslexia are able to learn strategies and techniques that allow them to stay in the regular classroom. The least restrictive environment is usually best. However, special education placement is sometimes necessary for the child to get the help he needs to work with and around the disability.
Learning Strategies That Work
Compensatory strategies provide ways for the child to get around the effects of dyslexia. They include audiotaping lectures or texts, using phonics, positioning the child in the front of the classroom to better observe his teacher, and using a computer with spelling and grammar checks and also a reading program to read back what the child writes. Remediation is a method of teaching that allows the child to get the information he needs in a way that he can learn. There are three components to remediation:
1.Teaching small units
2."Over-teaching"
3.Multi-sensory presentation
By presenting small units of information, the child can better concentrate on and master difficult material a little bit at a time. For example, word families are introduced, such as the "at" family - cat, fat, mat, etc. The child learns to think about the sounds of the letters and the shape his mouth makes saying those sounds. The information is taught in a meaningful context several times, more so than would seem necessary. The over-teaching component is important. The repetition helps the dyslexic student, who tends to "lose" information quickly.
As the child is saying and reading the words, he is tracing them as well - getting the "feel" of the words. Visual displays are included with verbal instructions. Hearing, saying, seeing, and touching the learned material provides multisensory reinforcement. It is sometimes difficult to determine a dyslexic child's precise area of deficit. Multi-sensory presentation teaches to all the senses in hopes that faster learning is accomplished. It's extremely helpful for parents to learn and practice these techniques at home as well.
Spelling Success
Because the dyslexic student, even with appropriate intervention, often finds school a struggle, the development of his healthy self-image is at risk. For that reason, parents are advised to focus on activities at which the child excels, such as sports, hobbies, or collecting. Music, art, drama, or volunteering also may help the child feel special. Experts agree that dyslexia is not necessarily an impediment to success; many dyslexics are in fact gifted in some way. Dyslexia often provides that extra drive, that spark of creativity, that comes from developing different ways of thinking and working around a system.
There are many famous people who have achieved remarkable success in spite of, or perhaps because of, their disability. They include some of the most imaginative thinkers of our times: Winston Churchill, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison. Entertainers Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cher have dyslexia, as do athletes Nolan Ryan and Bruce Jenner. Just because a child has dyslexia, it doesn't mean his parents or teachers should have lower expectations for him. The artists, athletes, scientists, and statesmen mentioned here were all able to achieve great things despite their "trouble with words." When looking at modern art, no two people see the same picture. So why should we assume that all people learn the same. Learning is like a tailored suit, it takes a while and is unique to you.
A letter from a mother Friend........"Mark hated school. Although extremely bright, he didn't do well there. He had a difficult time conforming to the structured and rigid ways of his teachers. Mark had looked forward to the new school year. A fresh start in a new school, surely his "new" teachers would understand his uniqueness and things would be different! But things weren't different. Mark quickly perceived that this year was more of the same rigged standards that he didn't fit into. Mark lost all Hope that things could ever be better. In the early morning of August 28, 1995, less than two weeks into the new school year, Mark hanged himself in the park near his home. The family had done all the "right" things for Mark, they sought consoling for Mark's depression and felt he had made great strides in overcoming this darkness that frequently accompanies people who are "different". When Mark felt there was no hope that things would ever be better, he gave up.. His mother confided to me that if she could go back she would be more vocal to the school in addressing Mark's unique needs. An educator herself, the mother had tried to work through a system that is frequently slow and reluctant to respond.. Today the mother is a outspoken advocate for the rights of gifted students." - they need hope....giving not taken...
THE URGENT NEED FOR MORE DYSLEXIA RESEARCH
It is estimated that as many as 15 percent of American students may be dyslexic. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
It is estimated that more than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
It is estimated that the cost of illiteracy to business and the taxpayer is $20 billion per year. United Way, "Illiteracy: A National Crisis"
50 percent of American adults are unable to read an eighth grade level book. Jonathan Kozol, Illiterate America
Approximately 50 percent of the nation's unemployed youth age 16-21 are functional illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
60 percent of America's prison inmates are illiterate and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. U.S. Department of Education
15 percent of the population has specific reading disorders. Of these 15 percent as many as 1/3 may show change in the brain structure. Albert M. Galaburda, M.D., Beth Israel

Stimulates Brain DevelopmentBy Certified Music Therapist….. song and music