Neurodiversity: Rapid progress from focus to comprehension

Are you waiting for a diagnosis and an EHCP for some children in your school or even in your classroom? It will take time - maybe a year. Perhaps what you really need for a particular child is an extra pair of hands, a therapist, an amanuensis, or a reader. And in the meantime, as you are waiting, there is an expectation that you, the competent teacher can manage to suppress the child's flareups or potential triggers and teach a class of almost thirty children at the same time. It’s an incredible ask.

Wouldn’t it be great, if you were not constantly reminded of this child’s diminished life chances.

Wouldn’t it be amazing, if the sensitive and neurodiverse children in your class responded so well to an intervention that they were no longer dysregulated in class?

Would you love to start your day without anticipating the disruptions and distractions of children who struggle to focus and sit still?

What if you had an approach that made the children feel calm, peaceful and happy within minutes? And it improved phonological awareness, reading fluency, and comprehension?

Rhythm does this. It taps into the deeper layers of our nervous system and helps us to feel that we belong through a natural phenomenon known as entrainment - which helps with keeping time with everyone and everything in our environment. Entrainment is a cornerstones of our biology. For instance, our circadian rhythm follows the ongoing cycle of darkness and daylight and this single example applies to the majority of living species. Think of the way sunflowers bend to catch the intensity of the sunlight. Look at the way birds, animals and fish move together instinctively and collectively. Entrainment also brings safety and belonging, whenever there is a sense of threat or challenge.

Rhythm for Reading brings children and young people together

The programme uses entrainment as the main approach. It is effective in special schools for neurodiverse young people and also in special schools for students with severe learning difficulties. And of course the programme also helps children in mainstream schools. Children as young as five, who are struggling to keep up with phonics in class can access the Rhythm for Reading programme, and so can 'nonverbal' children and young people with communication differences.

The therapeutic role of music

Therapeutic uses for music are found all around the world in every cultural tradition and these predate modern scientific study. Neuroscience is catching up. Recently, researchers have found that behaviors consistent with neurodiverse children become less stereotypical following a certain form of musical intervention. The children and young people become more confident and improve in their social skills and communication. Ten years ago, neuroscientists identified that the therapeutic effect of music stems from a multi sensory approach - as the movement centers of the brain are richly connected with the areas that process human emotions and reward. This is why musical interventions help with anxiety, physical and emotional pain, sleep disturbances, depression and difficulties relating to feelings around social engagement. Rhythm in particular, has proven benefits in language acquisition, attention on tasks and speech control, whilst another study showed that neurodiverse children who took part in a music intervention were less likely to be bullied by neurotypical classmates (Cook et al., 2018).

A toolbox of principles

I hear from parents all around the country that they are waiting for an assessment for their child’s specific learning differences or special educational needs.

For these children, there is a sense that their potential is locked up and trapped until someone can explain what will work for them. As waiting lists are very long, teachers are left wondering how best to support them and teach the class. And of course these children want to learn. They want to feel that they can achieve and succeed too. Maryanne Wolff author of the wonderful book, Proust and the Squid says,

Children struggling to read aren’t going to be helped by a one-size-fits-all approach that is so typical in many schools. Rather , we need teachers who are trained to use a toolbox of principles that they can apply to different kinds of children.

Children with learning differences struggle in the classroom and also feel different from their peers - so the support they need would ideally support academic and social development at school.

Learning differences and gifts

In recent years, leading figures in fields such as music, sports, creativity and entertainment have spoken up about their learning differences and experiences at school. Imagine for a moment an elastic band being pulled back further and further and then suddenly released. This is just an analogy, but it kind of captures the intense and really unsettling tension of feeling that you do not fit in and then the propulsive effect that follows when they are able to express themselves in their unique way.

In this post I describe the struggles of inspirational individuals and their incredible achievements. If you would like to learn more about the effect of Rhythm for Reading on children with learning differences, then you will enjoy the 10 minute video which ends with personal accounts from 'Alex' and 'Caleb' and their teachers.

If you would like more information please sign up for 'Why use music instead of words?' webinar or ask a question on the contact page. Webinar dates: 1st and 8th May at 4.00PM

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