Visual Processing Resource

Dr. Kenneth Lane wrote a wonderful book about visual processing issues and how to address them. You can purchase it at Barnes and Nobles for about $50.

Impulsitivy linked to specific region of the brain

This article  and the orginal research in the Oxford Journal suggests that the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex has less volumn in impulsive boys.  Could it be that we build neuronal pathways, build volumn, in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)  during IM, and could that be the reason why many IM students see gains in impulsivity after IM training? The Anterior Cygulate Cortex (ACC) and the amygdala also seem to be a piece of the puzzle too.  

Do you have any strategies I could use in the classroom that would support IM?

Rhythm and Movement are foundational to mental processing. Research shows that through IM's feedback based intense movement and rhythm activities, children can gain as much as two grade levels in reading! How does this seemingly unrelated timing and movement process impact reading, as well as math, focus, social skills, emotional stability, initiation, every aspect of a the person? The quick answer is: academic pathways are built on motor pathways. A child uses pre-existing motor pathways as reading pathways. You can take a 10 yr old child from the outback of Australia whose ancestors have never even seen a book (proof that there are NO reserved 'brain' pathways for reading) and a few months later this child can read. We are not hard wired to read. We are hard wired to run, climb, twist and move from left to right. Those motor pathways are the pathways we use to read. The better these movement as well as other sensory pathways work together, the better the child can do in academics. Teachers, you already know that at a subconscious level.

Kindergarten Girl Finds Success with IM

As time allows, I've been working on getting some video documentation of what IM does visually. In IM the physical, visual changes are blantantly obvious, but there are just as many emotional, social, attentional and academic changes. These visible changes represent some of the non-visible mental pathway changes that impact the quality of life. Below is a note from this kindergartner's mom when I asked her if I could post this video. Her daughter went through IM about 5 months ago.

"Posting this is fine with me. Thanks for asking. E---- is doing well. She does seem to have matured a LOT this year. It feels like she went from kindergarten to 2nd grade. She’s doing well in school. "

Maturation - that's the single most common statement that I get post IM, they just seem to be maturing, quickly! :)



Note - I'll mostly show the basic IM tasks as those are the tasks everyone is familiar with, a good reference point. Most providers, myself included, use a variety of tasks. My 'Basic' format uses the researched basic IM tasks for the most part. Sync, Core conditioning, Advanced and Visual Modes use other tasks for the most part. I mix and match tasks according to the child's needs.

Processing Speed located throughout the brain

Many individuals gain signifantly in the speed at which they complete tasks after IM training. This  study  may help explain why.