Brain School Howard Eaton, Ed.M. Stories of Children with Learning Disabilities and Attention Disorders Who Changed Their Lives by Improving Their Cognitive Functioning Glia Press Vancouver, B.C. Copyright © 2011 Howard Eaton. Arrowsmith Program® © Brainex Corporation¹ All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. “Building Herself a Better Brain,” from The Brain That Changes Itself, copyright © 2007 by Norman Doidge. Used by permission of Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Eaton, Howard Brain school : stories of children with learning disabilities and attention disorders who changed their lives by improving their cognitive functioning / Howard Eaton. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-9867494-0-7 1. Learning disabled children—Education—British Columbia. 2. Attention- deficit-disordered children—Education—British Columbia. 3. Cognitive learning. 4. Social learning. 5. Remedial teaching. 6. Eaton Arrowsmith School. I. Title. LC4706.C32B75 2010 371.909711 C2010-906473-9 Editing by Arlene Prunkl Interior Book Design by Fiona Raven First Printing 2011 Printed in the United States of America www.HowardEaton.com Glia Press Publishing 204 - 6190 Agronomy Road Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3 www.GliaPress.com 1. Arrowsmith Program® is a registered trademark of Barbara Arrowsmith Young. To my wife, Karen Orth, who is a remarkable mother to Chris, Sean, and Lin, and who inspired me when we first met to finish my university education. I am so fortunate to share my life with you. Instead, consider the possibility that any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain, and that even the least gifted may, like the poorest land that has been well cultivated and fertilized, produce an abundant harvest. —Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), Spanish neuroscientist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1906 Contents Acknowledgements . ix Introduction. xiii PART I – The Journey 1 The Boy They Called Persistent . 3 2 “My Boy Is Not Slow”. 19 3 The Woman Who Helped Andrew Build a New Brain. 35 4 Brain School Opens—with Controversy. 49 PART II – The Stories 5 The Awakening Brain . 61 6 The Girl Who Read to Avoid Socializing . 87 7 The Valedictorian. 111 8 Dyslexia and the Arrowsmith Program. 135 9 The Irish Dancer. 159 10 Is It Really an Attention Problem?. 177 11 Can IQ Change?. 197 12 She Inspires Me . 209 PART III – The Outlook 13 Arrowsmith and the Future of Education and Neuroscience. 227 Appendix A. 245 Appendix B. 249 Appendix C. 250 Index. 251 Acknowledgements This book exists because of Barbara Arrowsmith Young. She has helped over three thousand children with learning disorders over the last thirty years. Over those years she developed nineteen cognitive functioning remediation exercises that have been studied, researched, refined, and implemented to improve the lives of these children. I have been fortunate to learn from her insights into neuroplasticity and learning disabilities. Arrowsmith Young has shed a new light on developmental possibilities for children with learning disorders. Her work is creating a dramatic paradigm shift in the field of learning disabilities and attention disor- ders. Following the lead of Arrowsmith School in Toronto, at Eaton Arrowsmith School we have begun to work with a few children with acquired brain injuries, and we are seeing promising cognitive function- ing improvements in these children. Thus, Arrowsmith Young’s work could one day transfer to other professions concerned with cognitive functioning remediation. I will always be grateful to my parents for their determination in seeking out early intervention for my dyslexia. My mother and father steadfastly refused to listen to my elementary school teachers regarding my chances of finding academic success. As well, my mother’s parents, Grandma and Grandpa Bissett, provided financial support for me to attend one of the best private schools for boys with dyslexia in Bucks County, Pennsylvania—the Kildonan School (now located in Amenia, New York). My parents also mortgaged their home to further cover the private school tuition and boarding fees. Most parents and grandparents will do anything to get their children the right kind of educational sup- port, and mine were no different. In addition, the tutors and teachers who gave me hope and a sense of ix possibilities are always on my mind. In particular, Sue Wyness and Jane Unger, Orton-Gillingham tutors, taught me how to read. Diana Hanbury King, the founder of the Kildonan School, provided an educational envi- ronment that allowed me to flourish and believe in myself as a student. I am so grateful that she had the passion and resilience to start one of the first schools for children with dyslexia in North America. Over the past twenty years, my understanding of the field of learning disabilities, attention disorders, and neuroscience has also been developed by the following friends, colleagues, or experts in their respected fields of study: Dr. Loring Brinckerhoff, Dr. Robert Brooks, Dr. John Ratey, Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz, Sharon Begley, David Shenk, Dr. Edward Hallowell, Richard Lavoie, Stanislas Dehaene, Dr. Mel Levine, Dr. Max Cynader, Dr. Adele Diamond, Dr. Don Maiette, Dr. Donna Lehr, Dr. Norman Doidge, Dr. William Lancee, Dr. Carl Kline, Leslie Coull, Dr. Michael Merzenich, Dr. Gabor Mate, Desiree Wilson, Daphne Beams, Dr. Jane Garland, Helen MacDonald, Rick Stuible, Sarah Howard, June Green, Marilyn Wardrop, Ken Langford, Sandra Heusel, Ron Pearson, and so many others. My apologies to those I inadvertently did not name. In order to start Eaton Arrowsmith School I also needed the support of parents. One of the most passionate and dedicated parents was Michele Thom. I am very thankful for your encouragement during the first four years of the school. My administrative and teaching staff at Eaton Arrowsmith School/ Vancouver, Eaton Arrowsmith School/Victoria, Eaton Brain Improvement Centre, and Magnussen School provided me with a large amount of time to write this book. They all have such talent that I had full confidence in the children’s progress and well-being. These intelligent and dedicated individuals include Mark Watson, Sarah Cohen, Jason Cruickshank, Alexandra Dunnison, Mark Bleasdale, Sandra Heusel, Rose Atkins, Karen Ho, Naoko Yamaguchi, Peter Heusel, Louise Richardson, Katherine Quitzon, Erin Kim, Carrie Boutilier, Luciana Johnson, Simon Hayes, Natalie Poirier, Leah Meinhardt, Jean Coyle-Roach, Jenna Garrat, Sarah McArthur, Kelsey Hanna, Jessica Panjer, Daniela Francis, Paul Williamson, Celina Johnson, Adrianne Poulos, Amy Wong, Meagan Trayers, Danielle Unger, Roger Brunson, Kristin Harbut, Judy O’Donnell, Eric O’Donnell, x Brain School Melanie Sidney, Camelia Kasirer, Leanne McNivin, Angie Ho, Swiya Nath, Victoria Tool, Fiji McAlpine, Alvin Bonifacio, Amy Spralja, Jyoti Pawar, Pinder Dhesi, Erin Poettcker, Jennifer Poole, Shannon Mitchell, and Miriam Leo Gindin. I am not one to have time for many friends. Working with families in need of support and guidance can take large amounts of time, and I want to devote the time remaining in a day to my own family. I would, how- ever, like to express my deep gratitude to my good friend Alan for being such a great supporter of my family and work. As well, Henriette Orth, my mother-in-law, has been a constant source of inspiration for me. Her inquisitive mind and generous spirit have helped me to believe in myself during my struggles to complete post-secondary education. She has been a role model for me ever since I met my wife over twenty-six years ago. To the rest of my family—Renee, Daphne and Tony, Peter and Sarah, Jenny and Rob, and all their children—thanks for being there. I am grateful for the guidance and editing of Annette Goodman, chief education officer of the Arrowsmith Program. Annette’s keen knowledge and insight into the Arrowsmith Program helped shape the chapters. I have never been overly concerned with grammar, syntax, or style in matters of the written word—something many people with dyslexia contend with. Thus, without the additional editorial assistance of Louise Richardson, Rose Atkins, Alexandra Dunnison, Sandra Heusel, Karen Ho, Luciana Johnson, and interview transcriber Karmen Ho, this book would never have reached publication. They have all spent many hours reviewing my writing and making the necessary edits to improve the readability of this book. Additional gratitude goes to Arlene Prunkl, the professional editor who further honed the manuscript and gave it its final structure and polish, and to Fiona Raven, who contributed her superior artistry to the book’s design. My father, Howard Eaton, Sr., has been a great inspiration in getting this book completed. It began as an idea two years ago at a meeting in Santa Barbara, California, where my father lives. We met at the University of California Santa Barbara campus with Bob Nishi, a brilliant colleague and friend of my father’s, and Bob’s daughter Kira. Over several days, the brainstorming sessions produced the initial concepts behind the book, Acknowledgements xi and the project was underway. Each subsequent month, my father would send me encouraging e-mails, and I am thankful for his persistence in supporting this book. In addition, he spent hours suggesting changes, additions, and formatting the manuscript. Thanks, Dad, for your con- stant encouragement! I am also fortunate to have a wonderful wife who understands my deter- mined focus on helping children with learning disabilities and attention disorders. Karen, thank you—I love you, always. To my children, Chris, Sean, and Lin—you mean more to me than anything in the world! Finally, my gratitude goes to all the children and families whose stories fill this book.