The scores you make on IM are huge indicators of your basic mental functioning, but they fall short in telling the whole picture. Yes, if a child comes in averaging over 100 ms, I know this child is working far harder than they need to in this world. Basic timing is a huge issue. But on the other end of the spectrum, some students can have AMAZINGLY low numbers and can still be lacking in some very basic mental processes. More IM can lead to significant mental processes still coming on line. The numbers don't tell the entire picture.
Yesterday I was visiting with a mom of a young young lady I'm working with, we'll call her Sally. Just a week or so ago for the first time EVER in her life, Sally expressed her own thoughts about what was happening in her own brain. This is called Metacognition, the process of thinking about thinking. This is an extremely important executive function of the brain, access to this skill opens up a new world to you. Metacognition comes on line frequently enough in IM that I am confident IM impacts this mental process. My son Brad, who was 17 years old when he began IM, had never been able to self analyze. What this looks like in real life is a child that when asked, what were you thinking, or did that medication help - they often answer "I don't know". They can not tell you what their own brain is thinking. Right after session 7 of basic IM, I heard his first comment of self analysis, "Mom I think I was able to focus 7 minutes at typing today before I became distracted." Maybe that doesn't seem like a huge statement but it represented a HUGE mental process that now was working. I was dancing with joy!
For Sally, now out of high school and at home given daily chores. Her first ever metacognition was about a week ago, when she was able to say, "Mom, when I'm doing chores (that I don't like) my brain just goes blank". Mom said Sally had NEVER said anything this self analyzing before now. Sally has completed 45 or 50 sessions of IM to date over 3 years and has been down into the single digits more than any person I've ever trained on one minute tasks.
Why did my son's metacognition skill come on line in 7 sessions, way before he was low enough to reach the single digits (the most elite level of IM) and Sally's came on line after 50 sessions including basic training, the hemispheric communication program called core conditioning, some advance training and now working on visual only mode- into her 4th format of IM. IM presents more questions than answers on occasion, I only know that if your child is struggling in one or more of the areas IM frequently impacts, then to keep moving forward in IM offers great potential, even if the scores show the elite range in basic timing. I'm excited for Sally's new found access to herself.
My son, over the last 8 years, completed over 5 formats of IM, I just kept working him until one day I finally said, I think that's all you can gain from this program. That's what I'm in the process of doing with this young lady, as she is out of high school now and still a bit lost as to what to do with her life. You must be able to self analyze before you can accurately entertain what to do with your future. For IM, 'the earlier the better but it's never too late' and now 'the more the better as long as there's need'.
It's been two months now and Sally's mom just reported another first time on line mental process. She had gained enough to be able to stay on task and work from a list to date, but had not been able to self initiate as of yet. She did not see something that needed done and just do it and she's 21 years old! She's been cleaning some homes with one of her aunts, trying to develop some skills for independent living. In the last month, she's twice come home and commented that she saw this needed done too and just did it, even though it wasn't on the list. Huge gain! If you can't self initiate, it's very hard to become independent. Brad, though he was VERY intelligent just did not self initiate pre IM. His ability to work from a list came on line during IM basic training but not his self initiation. That came on line about 3 months later with no more IM - one of those 'maturing' gains I often hear shared. Before his ability to self initiate came on line I almost always did some motherly prompting... do you have any homework? Did you remember to brush your teeth? (even at 17 yrs old for a kid that was 6th in his class- such inconsistencies!) Self initiation... YEAH!! Go Sally!
