Barbara Arrowsmith Young’s amazing story will change the way you think about learning and the mind.
In Year 1 at school, Barbara was diagnosed with having a ‘mental block’: she wrote everything backwards, constantly got lost, had problems processing information, and was physically uncoordinated.
She overcame her own learning difficulties through a series of cognitive exercises and went on to gain a degree in Child Studies at the University of Guelph, and a Masters degree in School Psychology from the University of Toronto (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education).
Barbara’s initial studies found that children who received more than 10 hours per month of remedial intervention for learning disabilities achieved more poorly, at the follow-up stage, than those receiving less intervention. It became obvious to Barbara that something more needed to be done.
This led to the creation of the first brain exercise to improve learning capacity. Now, the Arrowsmith Program works on 19 cognitive areas to strengthen learning function, which she uses to this day at the Arrowsmith School in Canada, and in the Arrowsmith Program, currently used in 38 schools in Canada, the US and Australia.
To find out more about Barbara’s research, go to http://www.barbaraarrowsmithyoung.com/profile/
Barbara wants us to imagine if the Program was available to all students who struggle with learning difficulties. Her vision is simple — to help those struggling with learning difficulties to discover the joy of learning and to live the life of their dreams.
The Brisbane Writers Festival will host Barbara Arrowsmith Young at TAFE Queensland South Bank campus (formerly South Brisbane Institute of Technology), 66 Ernest Street, South Brisbane on Wednesday, 2 July at 7 pm. For tickets, click here!