Q: How do you help students deal with learning challenges?

A: Many students today are challenged with ADD, ADHD, autism, behavior problems, hyperactivity, impairments, learning disabilities, low IQ, lack of coordination, lack of focus, OCD, poor listening skills, stuttering and much more. While these are all complex issues and I am not a counselor, doctor, psychologist, or psychiatrist many of these labels are subjective based on evaluation and testing procedures. One of the biggest challenges is that once a student is labeled as “Learning Disabled” then that is what everyone expects them to be.

Students learn to become what he/she is constantly told they are. It is referred to as a “self fulfilling prophecy.”

Students learn to become what he/she is constantly told they are. It is referred to as a “self fulfilling prophecy.” Remember there is a lot of secondary gain that comes into play with the diagnostician, doctor, parent and student once these challenges have been identified. It can be very difficult to undo the process once the wheels have been set in motion. Be very careful and check out all the options and possibilities before you ever allow your child to be labeled and medicated for a behavior or learning condition. I know of one boy who was diagnosed with an anger problem and the school told the mom to get therapy and medication or he would be kicked out. The behavior was learned from an abusive father and needed counseling not drugs.

If you or even a sibling keep telling a child things like: an accident waiting for a place to happen, bad at math, clumsy, fat, poor reader, sings like a frog, slow learner, stupid, stutterer, tone deaf or uncoordinated you begin programming their conscious and unconscious mind in a limiting way. We all make decisions based on the identity set for us by our parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, coaches and other key influences.

Many times there are a multitude of emotional, mental, physical and situational reasons for a student to be out side the norm from an analysis perspective at any point in time. Many students are dealing with difficult and stressful emotional, mental and physical issues as well as environmental, nutritional, relationship and self image issues. Has there been an accident, bullying, death, divorce, family situation, head injury, move or trauma involved? Even a difficult delivery, mother’s pregnancy or infant issues can have a long term impact on development.

Could it be caused from bacteria, chemicals, contamination, hormones, illness, medications, mineral deficiency, toxins, vaccinations, virus, vitamin deficiency or other physical aspects? Is it possible that allergies, artificial additives or sweeteners, caffeine, chemicals, colorings, flavorings, heavy metals, preservatives, sugar or other nutritional factors may be involved? Be careful that someone does not jump to conclusions.  Many experts in one field do not have the experience or expertise to be aware of other contributing factors.

Many students are dealing with difficult and stressful emotional, mental and physical issues as well as environmental, nutritional, relationship and self image issues.

Many times they are identifying a primary factor years later that has caused a certain condition after the student has already been mislabeled, mistreated or medicated for years without success. Look for holistic and natural courses of action first to determine the true cause and contributing factors before gong down an expensive and potentially harmful path. Read all the labels and warnings before deciding on a treatment plan. All prescription and over the counter drugs have side effects and many are quite severe.

A great example is amalgam filings which have been recommended and used for years. Now many countries are banning them due to the harmful effects of the toxic mercury. The same is true for many of the medications and vaccinations given to adults and children which we believe are safe only to find out there are serious side effects. Many children have been prescribed medications that have horrific side effects that can harm them for life. Some even lead to depression and suicide so use extreme caution.

It is essential to prevent issues that can be avoided by using all the research and resources available. Consider holistic and natural diagnosis, therapy and treatment programs like chiropractic, energy psychology, homeopathic, naturopathic, nutritional, osteopathic and Tender Loving Care (TLC) before going down the conventional medicine allopathic approach. Do your homework and seek experts in a variety of different fields and look for solutions and suggestions outside the box.  These can offer benefits that are much less costly and more beneficial than the traditional diagnosis and prescription approach often recommended.  EFT and NLP have helped in working with anger, behavior, comprehension, emotional upsets, learning, listening, recall, stress, stuttering, testing and much more.

Too many times people are focused so much on the effects that they do not see the real underlying cause. Like the proverbial “not being able to see the forest for the trees” many people start jumping to conclusions before all the details are identified.  Remember a condition, diagnosis or learning challenge is not the result of a deficiency of a certain medication. Be sure to exhaust all other avenues first for dealing with what may well be an emotional, environmental, mental, nutritional, physical or relationship issue.  You and your children will be grateful and have greater peace of mind when you solve the challenge with holistic and natural methods rather than synthetic chemicals and compounds that mask the problems yet cause long term issues.