My eldest child was eight when he was diagnosed with a specific learning disorder - otherwise known as dyslexia. His skills in reading, writing and spelling were in the bottom 1-2% of his age cohort nationally. He was falling further and further behind as his brain just couldn't learn and remember any more words!
As a kinesiologist, I knew that I could help him. So I started researching and using my child as a guinea pig, these are the three things I discovered that significantly helped.
1.Primitive Reflex Integration
The first thing I did was assess my child's primitive reflexes. I identified that his Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) was not fully integrated. This primitive reflex, which is typically integrated by age 4-6 months, was really active in my boy. If this reflex is not integrated, it's indicated in difficulty reading, writing and eye tracking and can be a root cause of dyslexia.
I used gentle, targeted exercises to simulate cross crawling plus energetic corrections to integrate this reflex. This helped build new neurological pathways and improved his overall coordination.
2.Kinesiology deep level switching
People with learning disorders have deep level switching. Simply put, this is where information that should go to the left side of the brain goes to the right, and vice versa.
By using muscle testing and kinesiology corrections, I released his deep level switching. This allowed his neural pathways to rewire, restoring the proper flow of information. As soon as my child had this correction, we noticed a big change. It was like a switch was pressed and all of a sudden reading made sense! He was able to retain information and progress. His teacher also noticed a huge shift forward in his reading ability and he jumped from reading level 6 - 15 in just 2-3 months.
3.Eye Tracking and Eye Muscle Strengthening
One of the primary challenges with dyslexia is difficulty tracking text on a page. My child's eye focus would jump erratically, making it incredibly hard for him to read fluently along the line. He got to the stage where he could read one to two pages fairly easily but then this eyes were so fatigued, that he lost all ability to concentrate and focus.
To address this I used a combination of eye tracking exercises to strengthen the eye muscles and kinesiology corrections to release any imbalances relating to his eye muscles and tracking ability. This made reading much smoother and more manageable for my child. Now that his eyes are tracking effectively, we notice that he doesn't tire so easily. He is now able to sustain reading for much longer and complete his reader books in one session.
The results have been astounding.
"Reading just feels easy now!"
My child has come such a long way with his reading! Where he once struggled to read even a few sentences, now, a year after his diagnosis, he is reading close to grade level. His writing and spelling have also improved. Most importantly, he tells me that reading just 'feels easy' now. I'm so thrilled that I was able to help him overcome dyslexia.
It's wonderful to see his confidence grow! He no longer thinks of himself as 'stupid' and he can see what his hard work has achieved. It's not too much of a stretch that he'll one day see reading as fun!
If your child is facing learning challenges like dyslexia, I encourage you to consider the benefits of kinesiology. Please get in touch if you have any queries.
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