Frequently Asked Questions About Learning Solutions Program

Will this program really work for my child? I’ve tried everything.
Why do Learning Solutions’ programs work?
How can I tell if my child has processing problems?
What are the causes of learning problems?
What role does self-esteem play in processing problems?
Are processing problems inherited or caused by environmental factors?
How can I tell if my child’s learning problem is caused by a teacher/school neglect or if it is a processing problem?
I think that my child is basically lazy and therefore does not succeed in school!
Is a lack of motivation the cause of learning problems?
My son is bright, has an adequate I.Q, and is no dummy, why can’t he get this.
I understood that I.Q. could not be changed, i.e., once a person has an I.Q. it would be that way for life?
How many people have neurological development problems?
Which students develop the fastest? Who should benefit from processing enhancement?
My neighbor’s daughter enrolled in a twelve week program. You recommended an eighteen week program for my son. Why does Learning Solutions have different length programs?
Why aren’t schools training processing skills?
How does this program compare to tutoring?
Why is neurological development provided one-on-one and not in groups?
How is your reading program different from other reading programs?
Are programs the same for all students?
My friend says that this program is a lot of work, why is this important?
I have had my daughter to neurological feedback, to the University for testing, and tutoring firms but nothing has helped. How are you different?
How soon will we see results?
Why don’t you use the typical diagnosis terms such as ADHD or dyslexia?
What do I do if my child will not work with me at home?

“Will this program really work for my child? I’ve tried everything.”

Yes, Learning Solutions of Utah's programs have a proven track record! There are four evidences of success: (See Our Success section for data)

Research based programs. You can depend on results of Learning Solutions’ programs because the programs we use are research based. Research based means that the exercises used have been tested, improved, tested until a desired result is achieved. You can depend on the outcomes.Programs have undergone years of research. Research based programs.
Testimonials. You can trust pages of testimonials given freely by parents who were once skeptical. They are eye-witnesses to the success of the program.
Experience. You will be happy to know that while a processing approach to learning problems is new to you, it is not new across the country or to Learning Solutions. Processing enhancement programs have been available to students in limited areas since 1990. These exercises have been available to Salt Lake valley students through Learning Solutions since 2002. Teachers and medical doctors are gaining confidence and making referrals.
Post-Test Results. Ask to see several recent graduate post-tests so you can compare their growth from the pre-test data. These results give you an idea of where your student can be at the end of the program.

“Why do Learning Solutions’ programs work?”

Ten points explain the sound theory and practices of Learning Solutions’ programs:

All Learning Solutions programs are based on the principles and techniques of fast neurological development. Students completing the program gain significant brain capacity expansion.
Programs are based on the best scientific research available in the country.
Learning Solutions always evaluates students before making recommendations for remediation.
Staff train those deficient target areas identified in the evaluation and also train those likely to make the biggest boost in learning performance. This procedure brings quick results.
Staff starts the training process at a level of performance comfortable to the students and enhances the deficiencies to a point of achievement.
Feedback. Students are motivated because they know immediately how they are doing. Each exercise gives immediate error correction.
Success. Students achieve the goals established in the evaluation.
Methods of instruction. A variety of training methods are used to maintain interest. All methods involve the student with little teacher lecture-type teaching.
Retention. Once the brain's capacity is developed and used, the student maintains that capacity year after year, life-long.

“How can I tell if my child has processing problems?”

A few indicators almost assure that a child has processing problems:

Achievement. Academic achievement lags peers of the same age. If students can’t keep up, then there is a problem.
Length of problem. If the achievement problem has been long term, then there likely is a processing problem.
Observation. If you know that your student works slower than other kids of the same age, or has inadequate memory, or can’t do two or three things at once (simultaneous processing), or can’t do a number of step tasks (sequential processing), or can’t hear the sounds of the language, or can’t play simple board games adequately, or solve puzzles, then you have a processing problem.
Medical professional diagnosis. If you have a medical diagnosis of ADHD, dyslexia, learning problems, or others, then there likely is a processing problem.
Testing. National testing is another way of knowing whether or not a processing deficiency exits. National tests show how far your child deviates from kids his/her age level.

“What are the causes of learning problems?”

Dr. Ken Gibson estimates that 85% to 90% of learning difficulties are due to poor underlying processing skills. These skills include:

Processing Speed. The brain must have the ability to process information at least as fast as his/her age group.
Working Memory. The brain must be able to hold information and retrieve it at least as well as his/her age group.
Visual Processing. The brain must be able to think visually by creating mental pictures. This task is important to reading, remembering and understanding straight text material. The standard is to be able to do this at least as well as his/her age group.
Auditory Processing. The brain must be able to hear and apply the sounds of the language at least as fast and well as his/her age group. This ability is the basis for reading and spelling.
Logic and Reasoning. The brain must be able to think in higher levels. It must see patterns, solve puzzles, pickthe best option, and complete sequences at least as well as his/her age group. This ability is the basis for math (a logic language) and writing.

“What role does self-esteem play in processing problems?”

A person’s self-esteem is formed by the reaction of important other persons around them. A mental filter is formed from these reactions. If the reaction is positive, a strong, positive filter is formed. If reactions are negative, a negative filter is formed.

The filter is important because when a child is given a task and when that task mentally reaches the self-esteem filter, the student will either do it or not do it based on whether the filter is positive or negative.

When a child has a processing problem, he gets a great deal of negative data, quickly realizes that he is not as fast (or as good on a number of variables) and therefore will decide not to do the task or do it half-heartedly. To cope with this reality, some students either check out of the system or become behavior problems.

Solving processing problems reverses negative self-esteem. The student finds success in the task, finds positive input from parents, teachers, and peers and internally develops a positive filter in his/her ability to do school work. Success is the surest way to build a strong positive self image.

“Are processing problems inherited or caused by environmental factors?”

There is evidence that processing deficiencies in skills such as processing speed and auditory analysis run in families. Slow mindedness, for example, often is found in families. This makes the problem an inherited problem.

There is also evidence that processing development is delayed by physical trauma such as disease, like spinal meningitis and cancer, that “captures the brain” at critical times when processing skills should be developing. There is also evidence that emotional trauma is a cause. Sometimes the cause can be related to early life deprivation. Learning Solutions has tested several children, who spent their first formative years in orphanages from Romania, Bulgaria, or Russia, and all have had very weak processing skills.

Whether the cause is physical or emotional (environmental trauma) does not matter. The important thing to know is that the undeveloped brain can be developed by proper mental exercises, with enough intensity, and patient repetitions.

“How can I tell if my child’s learning problem is caused by teacher/school neglect or if it is a processing problem?”

True processing problems originate pre-school, therefore these problems cannot be blamed on teachers or schools. If the problem is long term it is likely a processing problem. Because parents may not notice learning problems until their children start school and the brain is pressed to handle more than it is developed to handle, the temptation is to blame teachers or schools.

However, the importance of school environment can’t be dismissed. Research shows that if your child is enrolled in a low-achieving school or class, your child can fall to the achievement level of this school or class. And its visa versa for high achieving schools.

A child with a poor teacher can fall behind his/her age group. However, if your child falls behind other kids with the same teacher, then the cause is not the teacher. If a different teacher permanently solves the problem, then the original problem could be a teaching problem. Even in this situation, care must be made to not chart temporary gains as a blame on a former teacher.

The effects reached by tutoring also warrant careful analysis. If a tutor solves the problem, it may not determine a processing problem. Many children with auditory processing problems do much better one-on-one than in groups. Tutoring improvements just mask the real processing problem.

“I think that my child is basically lazy and therefore does not succeed in school!”

The word "lazy" is a negative word that hurts kids. It has been used too often when students do not succeed. It is an attempt to blame the child.

If a child has a processing problem, it will look like he/she is lazy. Kids who are slow or don’t adequately process what they hear or see, will have the standard symptoms of being lazy. Many of these kids do not “get the material” presented in the regular class room and the only reason parents and teachers can think of is that the kid is lazy.

Never think or call a child lazy until you have had a proper evaluation for processing skill deficiencies.

“Is a lack of motivation the cause of learning problems?”

We must start with the premise that children want to be successful. They start school trying and putting in effort. It is only when they find that school work is too difficult and they give up, are ridiculed, and become behavioral problems. They cannot do the school work because of processing problems. Processing problems spawn the lack of motivation and not the other way around.

“My son is bright, has an adequate I.Q, and is no dummy. Why can’t he get this.”

Dr. Ken Gibson explains this problem: “I.Q. is an average of various learning skills. A child can score high on some skills and low on others and therefore score adequately in I.Q.. However, if these low skills are in critical areas for reading, math, or other subject matter than a child with adequate I.Q can still not be able to read or do math.”

“I understood that I.Q. could not be changed, i.e., once a person has an I.Q. it would be that way for life.”

I.Q. tests measure many areas of processing skills. If a section of the I.Q. test is timed, then part of that section is measuring processing speed. The faster processing students will do better then slower processing students. If a section of the I.Q. test requires memory, then students with the strongest memory processing skills will do best. If a section of the I.Q. test requires logic and reasoning, then the student with the best logic and reasoning skills will do the best on the test.

Each of these processing areas can be improved by using the right exercises with enough intensity and repetition. I.Q. can be improved.

“How many people have neurological development problems?”

In its broadest definition, everyone has developmental deficiencies. When we can’t do things that others can, then we are deficient neurologically in those areas. All brains are not adequately developed in thousands of areas. A few can figure skate on ice, but most can’t. A few are good mechanics, but most are not. It is reported that Einstein, who arguably is one of the brightest of our age, could not seem to match his socks which most four year old girls can do with ease.

Some areas of processing weaknesses are more important to school work success than others. Not being able to match socks is not likely to affect a person’s ability to do school work. However, if a student has a slow processing speed, then this is a tremendous handicap to successful school work. When students have not achieved in school, at least as well as their peers, there is likely a processing problem. Every class room in the country has some of these students. The numbers collectively are enormous.

The fact that we all have undeveloped areas of the brain is not the surprise. The surprise is that if we require the brain to develop, through proper exercises and patient repetition, then it will expand and develop a competence in the area of training. Basic camp in the military is built on this premise. Sports training is an extension of the concept.

“Which students develop the fastest? Who should benefit from processing enhancement?”

Students with the best neurological development advance the fastest in that area of challenge. Students with the weakest development (those furthest behind) progress the slowest.

Is this fact important? Only if one assumes that we should train only the gifted in an area because it brings better results for the same effort. This is an elitist approach which America has long rejected.

If school boards determine a curriculum is necessary for the child, then that child should have the benefit of having neurological development that will allow him/her to succeed in that curriculum.

“My neighbor’s daughter enrolled in a twelve-week program. You recommended an eighteen-week program for my son. Why does Learning Solutions have different length programs?”

The Learning Solutions evaluation (pre-screening) of students determinesf the number and depth of deficient processing areas that affect school achievement. The more areas deficient and the more years deficient that a student measures, the longer the program needs to be to accomplish neurological development.

"Why aren’t schools training processing skills?"

Most school personnel have not been trained in the concept of processing skill development. They, for the most part, cannot test for deficiencies, do not discuss processing deficiencies with parents, and do not have the tools or resources to alleviate processing problems. If schools should find a processing problem, they do not have the programs, time, and training to alleviate it.

For the most part schools take a different approach. When students need neurological development training, the schools proceed to do the opposite to that which will solve the problem, i.e., they accommodate the curriculum to match the deficiencies. Instead of training the mind to perform, they water down the curriculum to meet the capacity of the brain. Special education and resource classes take this approach. Allowing students to slide through with “C” grades is another use of this procedure.

There is also a very practical problem to implementing this training in schools. Neurological development training takes a lot of one-on-one teacher time. It cannot be done in groups. School administrators cannot even consider this type solution, for it is too expensive. Budgets drive much of what is done in schools.

“How does this program compare to tutoring?”

Tutoring is a standard academic approach. Tutors teach from the text book or curriculum of study. They use the same methods of teaching, except it is a one-on-one, to help students close content gaps.

Learning Solutions' approach is entirely different. Learning Solutions first tests to determine a student’s processing deficiencies and the reason the student is having difficulty. All processing deficiencies hinder a student’s ability to complete school work satisfactorily. Once the deficiency is identified then a training program is designed and trained to remove the deficiency. Trainers use the principles of neurological development that increase the capacity of the brain. Through training, the capacity of the brain is expanded to meet the demands of school work. This expansion is not just applicable to one section, one course, or even one year. Once the brain is expanded, this improvement is enjoyed for a life time. Where the brain was once slow, it now performs at a much faster rate. Where the brain was weak in memory, it now has a much better memory capacity. A cognitive processing approach to learning problems eliminates the problem.

“Why is neurological development provided one-on-one and not in groups?”

Processing skill building is done one-on-one for two reasons:

Neurological development always starts at the student’s level of skill development. Each child is at a different level and requires individual attention.
All students are different in their response and progress to the training. During the training each student must be carefully monitored and challenged. The number of repetitions is tailored to individual weaknesses. The particular weaknesses of that student are trained out.

“How is your reading program different from other reading programs?”

There are many reading programs in the nation. As a state curriculum decision a number of years ago, Utah and California and some other states implemented Goodman’s sight recognition program. Students learn to read by guessing at words from the context of pictures. Eventually, the student is to memorize words that they see over and over.

Learning Solutions gives the students an understanding upon which they can read all English words in the language. It starts with understanding that the sounds of the language are the building blocks of words. The letters in the alphabet are the code of how to write the sounds. Students know many sounds naturally as they learn to talk. However, they don’t necessarily always use the correct sounds (pronounce the word) in a given word. Most don’t know the letters that represent the sounds. Learning Solutions builds both skills and increases the student’s use of the skill until reaching speaking speed. This system builds a foundation which allows students to segment all sounds of a word and blend them together for a correct pronunciation. When a student can do this, words are easily decoded for quicker reading. Knowing the correct sounds in a word also allows for correct spelling.

“Are programs the same for all students?”

The basic Learning Solutions programs contain the same mental exercises. All of the exercises have been tested and found to produce results. If exercises were made up as we went along through the program, they might or might not work to achieve the results desired.

Each student program is unique. The modules needed for each individual student are determined especially for him. Each module has between 8 and 12 levels. Students progress through the module levels at different pace and various degrees of difficulty. Each student stays with each level until the standard of the level is reached. This is individualized instruction at its best.

Frequently, modules need some modification for students with special needs. When this happens the exercises are modified, but the integrity of the exercise is maintained. Standards of speed and complexity of tasks are maintained.

“My friend says that this program is a lot of work. Why is this important?”

There are two parts to this question:

Parents have options about the proportion of the program trained by Learning Solutions and the part done by parents at home. The greater the proportion completed by parents the lower the cost of the program. Most parents are delighted to have the opportunity to practice the repetitions at home and reduce their cost. This is their choice. Learning Solutions will do the total program if parents wish, thus reducing their load.
Neurological development happens with intensity and regular repetitions. Learning Solutions’ programs are designed and tested to be done six hours a week - one hour a day, six days a week. The same development won’t happen if students do less.

“I have had my daughter to neurological feedback, to the University for testing and to tutoring firms, but nothing has helped. How are you different?”

Traditional help for individuals with learning problems has typically focused on one of four approaches:

Sensory therapy (vision, auditory)
Motor therapy (speech, occupational)
Psychotherapy (motivation)
Academic remediation (remedial reading, learning disabled programs, tutoring)

These methods may be effective in correcting a sensory, motor, or very specific academic problem, but they have had limited results in significantly improving learning achievement.

Learning Solutions’ programs are designed to specifically remediate the problems identified in the evaluation.

“How soon will we see results?”

There are three types of results. The first, “When will we see results for each exercise?”
Each exercise is developed so that students, parents, and trainers see results immediately. You always know how students are doing exercise by exercise.

The second, “When the program is complete, how will we know we reached our objectives?” The results of the total program are found through a post-test when the program is complete. Post-test results are compared to the pre-test evaluation. A report of improvement is developed for your student.

The third, “When will we see grade improvement or reading acceleration or …?” As a student applies his/her new processing skills, grades follow, reading improves, and attitude towards schooling surges. Learning Solutions starts working on application very early in the program. Students are constantly reminded to apply the materials by tracking improvements.

“Why don’t you use the typical diagnosis terms such as ADHD or dyslexia?”

The terms such as ADHD and dyslexia are labels, with limited value, and have negative connotations. Once labeled, a child suffers with that label throughout his school years. What do these terms really mean to parents and educators, and what can be done about it?

Learning Solutions delves into the "meaning" and the "cause" of each label. What causes ADHD? There are three main factors:

Slow processing speed. The medical field recognizes this as the main factor in ADHD. Common medications are central nervous stimulants that speed up the brain.
Auditory analysis.
Working memory.

Improve these three factors and attention deficit diminishes.

What causes dyslexia (reading problems)? To solve reading problems (that regular programs have not been able to fix), requires:

Faster processing speed. Read too slowly and the brain deletes what the student has just read.
More working memory. Deficient memory limits comprehension.
Excellent word attack skills. Students must know letter codes, including complex code, to read.
Skillful auditory analysis skills. The key skills include the ability to “hear” and pronounce sounds of the language, to segment these sounds, and to blend these sounds.
Improve these skills with enough practice of the right exercises and dyslexia disappears.

“What do I do if my child will not work with me at home?”

You have four choices to get the home practice (repetitions) done:

Make sure your child knows that home practice is a required part of the program. Home practice is not an option, it is a must. Give your trainer a heads up so that she can reinforce and reward this effort.
Reward positive home practice. Determine consequences if home practice is a problem.
Choose another family member, friend, or volunteer to do home practice with your child.
Have Learning Solutions do more sessions each week to cut the load at home. This increases the cost of the program, but is worth it if it gets the program complete.