Kristin Thompson SPED 400 Professor Ashton 4:20-7:00

A Mind at a Time Reflection Paper Chapter 1: Introduction If we pressure our children to excel in things they just aren t wired for just for the sake of being well-rounded individuals, we risk their self-esteem and possible humiliation and degradation by their peers when they will inevitably fail, or at the least have trouble with, the tasks that they aren t wired for performing. This is not to say that we should shelter our children from challenges, or even doing things that they maybe aren t the best at; however, we do need to proceed with sensitivity when having a child perform in areas they aren t comfortable in. As far as specialized minds go, I feel that everyone has strengths and weaknesses in their various capabilities; but just because someone specializes in something doesn t mean that they can t do well or even excel in something that they weren t wired for. Regarding demystification, I think that children that are really struggling can benefit from it, but it might be harmful or even detrimental to a child that is succeeding in every aspect of his or her life. The demystification process, if applied to every child, could lead to over-labeling, which would cause more problems than fixing them. I believe that in Carson s case, the demystification process did him a lot of good, as it helped him realize his potential and also revealed areas he needed to work on. But if a child is not struggling, what good would it do to reveal negative aspects to him/her about himself/herself? It could cause a drop in the child s self esteem.

Chapter 2: The Ways of Learning Although this chapter covers many different neurodevelopmental functions and dysfunctions, I would assume that there are many more that are not mentioned in the book. Also, in a family with more than one child, I would not necessarily expect to see very similar neurodevelopmental profiles, as each child inherits different traits and characteristics, and all have very different and unique kinds of minds. That s not to say that there wouldn t be any similarities; as the genetic makeup is a large factor in the neurodevelopmental profile, one would obviously expect to see some similarities. But obviously different siblings will neither be carbon copies of their parents nor their other siblings. More often than not, I would think that the parents have more similarities with their children than the children have with each other, simply because each child inherits the genes from his or her parents. Although my brother and I were adopted, we both show characteristics of our birthparents. My legal parents met with my brother s birthmother, and they noticed that she seemed a bit slow , but nonetheless very kind and caring. 17 years later, my brother has been diagnosed with Autism, and is one of the kindest and most caring people you could meet. Perhaps this shows that, while perhaps academically slow, both people excel in social relations with others, and thus share similarities in their neurodevelopmental profiles. Chapter 3: Conducting a Mind: Our Attention Control System When trying to help a child that sees the big picture but has trouble with details, it may be helpful to funnel down the big picture slowly until you get down to the details. Also, when working with details, and subjects like reading, math, and writing, instead of using general subjects that are uninteresting and difficult for the child to relate to, choose something that is particularly interesting to the child, something they enjoy or know a lot about. Have them learn to read by starting out with books on subjects they enjoy. When learning math concepts, use examples that the child will relate to and find interesting. Allow the child to write about his or her experiences, hobbies, or anything the child finds

interesting or knows something about in his or her papers. In this way, channeling a child s preferences and abilities can be a great aid to their education. Similarly, if a child struggles with distractibility or daydreaming, perhaps we could channel these seemingly negative properties into something productive. If a child is daydreaming and seems to live in his own world, perhaps encourage him to pursue a path of creativity in his career, such as an artist, or even an architect. If a child is distracted easily, maybe they would excel at a form of multi-tasking where he could be given several tasks to complete and allowed to alternate between them until they are finished, rather than focusing on one thing at a time. Chapter 4: Remembering to Learn and Learning to Remember: Our Memory System While most schools place a major emphasis on memorization, most careers do not require people to memorize and keep track of a lot of information. It is my opinion that schools place too much emphasis on memorization, and instead should focus more on learning basic skills rather than recording facts. If a student is having trouble with memory, he may exhibit signs of frustration and disorganization, i.e. losing homework, forgetting when assignments are due, etc. By providing children with organizational tools, whether a daily planner or pneumonic devices to aid in their studies, it is possible to alleviate some of the stress that is associated with memory problems. Chapter 5: The Ways With Words: Our Language System Language plays a big part in the schools, primarily in courses such as reading, writing, literature, and social sciences. If a child is having difficulty with language, it is bound to affect his or her schooling. Typically, a child with language difficulties will excel in math and science classes; classes that do not rely heavily on language abilities. In school, language is used in a wide variety of ways: reading, writing, communicating with teachers and peers, etc. Outside of school, language is used mostly for communicating with parents and friends, and occasionally for ordering food at restaurants and dealing

with other people. If a child is having problems with language, he or she may display such signs as being shy, not wanting to talk in public, having low self esteem, not doing well in such classes as reading and writing, and any variety of other ways. On the contrary, if a child is very strong in language, he or she may be prone to being strong-willed, stubborn, and at times may be outspoken and offensive. Chapter 6: Making Arrangements: Our Spatial and Sequential Ordering Systems Children in school need to have a decent sense of sequential ordering and memory in order to succeed in math and science classes. If a child is having problems in math classes, telling time, or counting money, then the child exhibits a weakness in sequential ordering. Oftentimes schools place more importance on sequential ordering and memory, while adult life deals equally with sequential and spatial skills. While schools chiefly require children to memorize and deal with mathematical issues, adult life utilizes spatial ordering skills such as following directions, organizing, etc. Chapter 7: Mind Over Muscle: Our Motor System If a child is having troubles with motor skills, some signs may be manifested, such as not wanting to participate in activities like sports or playing musical instruments, hesitance in writing because of the inability to write legibly, and other such negative symptoms can occur. If such children are required to participate in sports, it could be detrimental to their self esteem. Failing in sports is a form of public humiliation dreaded by everyone; putting children with motor skill inefficiencies into sports will only complicate matters, and possibly make the child withdraw even further in his insecurity. Some teachers hyper-focus on unimportant details like pencil grip with children. I feel that however a child is comfortable with holding their pencil is the way that they should hold their pencil; trying to change that for the sake of some ridiculous protocol is pointless, and will only frustrate and make the child s life harder.

I believe that modest yet affective accommodations can be made to assist such students; while providing them with assistances like not requiring them to participate in sports outside of P.E., and making their P.E. teachers aware of their insecurities so they can provide perhaps a slightly modified physical education, we can aid these children and encourage them while not letting their problems become a crutch. Chapter 8: Some Peeks at a Mind s Peaks: Our Higher Thinking System While most students probably don t know the definition of what a concept is, I think that they probably have a general idea of the concept of concept, redundant though that may be. I m not exactly too sure about how important the understanding of what a concept is for children, so long as they seem to be able to understand the concepts themselves. If a child is having trouble with forming concepts and critical thinking, oftentimes they will do poorly on written tasks in school, working word problems in math class, and applying concepts to everyday life. Not every child is creative, and forcing children to be creative could just be setting them up for failure and humiliation. However, I do think it s important to try to foster some sense of creativity in every child, and encourage all children to find outlets to express themselves. Chapter 9: Relating to Relating: Our Social Thinking System Popularity and social acceptance is always a driving force in grade school. While children should be encouraged to get along proficiently with other peers, they most definitely should not strive to be popular in the sense of doing what all the other kids are doing, wearing what everyone else wears, saying what everyone says, and trying to be cool to fit in. Rather, individuality should be fostered and encouraged, and children should not be made to feel that they need to be popular to succeed in life. Some children may seem anti-social, and prefer to be alone. While this can be perfectly harmless, sometimes it can lead to destructive behaviors such as self-mutilation, drug and alcohol abuse, and

other negative activities. It is important to look at why the child is a loner. Is it because they feel they don t fit in? Is it due to some inefficiency in their academic skills? Or is the child simply independent and comfortable being by themselves? If a child is too socially successful, he or she may easily fall victim to the peer pressure that abounds in the popular crowd. To monitor this, parents should keep a close eye on who their child is hanging out with, limit their time online on social networking sites, and most of all, cultivate a close relationship with their child in which the child feels comfortable talking to the parents about problems that may arise in his or her life. Conclusion In summation of this paper, in all aspects of raising or teaching children, it is important to always try and understand the child s thinking processes, and try to accommodate any major issues in the most appropriate and non-crippling way. Also, I believe strongly that children should never be forced to do anything that will end up in their humiliation and degradation from their peers, as this can have detrimental effects on their fragile and developing self-esteems. With love and understanding, all children can succeed, but it is imperative that they receive proper support and understanding from the adult figures in their lives. Reflection I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would recommend it to all parents and teachers. It provides people with an understanding and knowledge of children that was previously unavailable until recent decades. With the insights this book provides, not only can we become better able to relate to children as parents and educators, but we are also better able to relate to people in general, as we can come to understand that all minds are unique and beautiful. For me, this learning experience has been priceless, and has opened my eyes to the world of the mind. I can now appreciate the little differences I see in the people around me, and even better understand myself through my strengths and weaknesses.