Darkness and light; Ebb and Flow.

Whatever happens in my life, there is something I must always to remind myself of constantly: everything is temporary. Nothing is permanent and that does not have to be a bad thing. For far too long now, I have been plagued by thoughts that can only be described as dark. All the while, I have managed to be grateful for my life and all the wonderful people and things that I am surrounded by. And…

Born with severe learning disabilities that caused teachers to label her slow, stubborn, or worse, Barbara Arrowsmith-Young read and wrote everything backwards, struggled to process concepts in language, continually got lost, and could make no sense of an analog clock. But through her formidable memory and determination, she made her way to graduate school, where she chanced upon research that inspired her to invent cognitive exercises to "fix" her brain. Now the Director of Arrowsmith School, the author interweaves her personal tale with riveting case histories from her more than 30 years of working with both children and adults to restructure their own brains.

"Our discussion of learning disabilities is a mental health issue. Indeed, it is a public health issue. Youth who struggle with learning disabilities become adults with learning disabilities, who are over-represented in many marginalized populations, and more vulnerable to risk-taking behavior and mental health issues than those without. There are many indicators, too many indicators, of the pressing need for further implementation of cognitive-based training as a standard in education.

We're pleased to introduce our renewed Arrowsmith Program Update.  We'll be issuing a new newsletter sharing our latest information, highlights and what's coming up on a quarterly basis.  Click here to download the current Spring 2013 issue: http://bit.ly/17tu2jw Expect our next issue in July, and please visit our form: http://bit.ly/16PSLNy  to send us your e-mail address if you'd like to subscribe and receive our update every 3 months in your inbox. 

Great interview with neuroscientist Max Cynader discussing how our brains work, and neuroplasticity on Fanny Kiefer's show.

A lovely Letter To The Editor from a parent whose son's life was changed through the Arrowsmith Program.  We're thankful to this family for their support!  "My son is currently in his second year of the Arrowsmith program. He was struggling in the public school system to the extent he was refusing to go. He was suffering from extremely low self-esteem, severe depression and was very angry. He felt no one understood him. As indicated in a previous article, people diagnosed with a learning disability are at or above average intelligence. Almost always there's more than one hindrance to learning in the traditional school environment. In my son's case he was diagnosed with auditory processing, visual processing, dyslexia, executive functioning, severe short-term memory problems, etc. He was in the reading recovery in the public school system for four years and still could not read. It is not just learning this affects, but everyday life: reading signs in stores, movie theatres, restaurants, etc.

Congratulations to Barbara Arrowsmith Young, recipient of the 2012 Alumna of Honour Award

The Arrowsmith Program, Arrowsmith School Toronto and Arrowsmith School Peterborough would like to congratulate Barbara Arrowsmith Young, founder of the Arrowsmith Program, and author of The Woman Who Changed Her Brain, on being selected as the 2012 Alumna of Honour by the University of Guelph Alumni Association. 

This award “recognizes alumni whose contributions to the community, science, education, business, industry and the arts are so significant that they bring honour to their alma mater and fellow alumni.”

Barbara completed her Undergraduate degree in Child Studies in 1974, and began her journey of exploring how children learn differently at the University of Guelph. This was a pivotal experience in shaping her life’s work. 

She is honoured to have been chosen for this prestigious award by her alma mater.