Fredericksburg Parent

20 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2021 Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt Q: What is your approach to helping children who are struggling in school? One of the most valuable things we do is our evaluation. This is some- thing I have created over the years as I have delved into the research on how we can train the brain to improve processing skills. We are looking at the whole person, their memory, attention, reasoning, how they think about what they see and hear, but then we also look at how their eyes are working, fine and gross motor skills, and then the academics. This makes us different from, say, a psychologist, where you might go to get a diagnosis of dyslexia or ADHD, or the school counselor, who will evaluate a student's eligibility for accommodations or special ser- vices. We are here to identify what is breaking down and use targeted brain-training strategies to improve it. INTERVIEWED BY EMILY FREEHLING Learning Enhancement Centers Q: Why are you passionate about this approach? It goes back to my career as a public-school special education teacher. One of the things that really broke my heart was that in order to accommodate chil- dren who were struggling, we would do things like read test questions to them so that they could pass and move to the next grade. This is done with the best of intentions, but at the end of the day, that child did not learn to read and is no better equipped to succeed the next year. Whereas the schools accommodate and modify the activi- ties for the student, we are trying to fix what is causing the problem in the first place. If memory is the issue, we work to strengthen memory and then work on comprehension. We are trying to correct the problem, not just treat the symptom. If they can't read, we aren't just reading the material to them. We are identifying the specific breakdown that is interfering with their ability to read and working to improve that area. That is the most important thing that distinguishes us from a typical tutoring center. When a child is struggling in school, it can be hard for parents to know where to turn for solutions. But when parents have that gut feeling that their child is struggling and they don't know why, one place they can turn is Learning Enhancement Centers. Since 2002, Learning Enhancement Centers of Spotsylvania County has been using research-driven methods to identify and improve specific brain processing issues that can lie at the heart of children's academic struggles. As our February Expert, Learning Enhancement Centers founder and executive director Christina Carson talks about why she is passionate about this work, and how Learning Enhancement Centers helps students. BRAIN-BASED Solutions to Learning Struggles BRAIN-BASED Solutions to Learning Struggles Solutions to Learning Struggles BRAIN-BASED Solutions to Learning Struggles

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