Trauma Treatment and SOI ALA-PLA Learning Therapy Part 3

AN ADULT DYSLEXIC: PART 3

Click here to read the first part of Juan’s story.

“Can you teach me to read?” Juan asked me three months ago as his psychotherapy came to a close. Because he was beaten and humiliated as a boy for his “dyslexia,” I first treated his trauma in therapy and then applied SOI learning therapy. He has now taken both the computer test (ALA-PLA) and the CR test (paper and pencil).

You may remember what his profile revealed: with the exception of auditory memory, Juan tested at the bottom stanine in every ALA-PLA subtest! However, Juan did not feel comfortable on the computer and could not understand the test directions well. So, we gave him the CR test, explaining the directions one-on-one as he retook each subtest. The test was administered by Jamie Katz, Advanced SOI Trainer and co-founder of Brain Bridge SOI Training Center in Manhattan Beach, California.

After 3 months of SOI Learning Therapy, Juan scored at the Gifted level in NSI and DMU! The DMU, unsurprisingly, is autobiographical:

“FREE AS A BIRD”

ONCE I WAS A BIRD AND FLU OVER A RIVER. I SAW THIS SEA MONSTER AND I APPROACHED IT BUT TRIED TO EAT ME. I FLEW TOWARDS AN ISLAND WHERE THERE WERE MORE BIRDS. WE FORMED A COLONY AND BECAME MEN AND WOMEN AND WE BUILT A CITY THEN WE BUILT BOATS TO FISH AND RAISED FOOD.

WHEN I DIED THE SUN PICKED ME UP AND WENT THROUGH A SERIES OF TUNNELS TO WAIT FOR MY RETURN TO LIFE. THERE WERE DOORS WHERE I ENTERED, BUT THERE WERE HILLS BUT I KEPT ON CLIMBING…

Thirteen of his scores have come up to the average level, most notably in symbolic, creativity, problem-solving, math and arithmetic. His overall weaknesses remain in the area of comprehension, and every category of reading: readiness, concepts, reading vocabulary, and overall reading.

Jamie will continue to work with modules, his CD, and his personalized workbook to bring up these lower (never developed) abilities. Dr. Mary Meeker would have called him a “NLC” (non-learning child) as she dedicated her career to helping those who learn differently.

Key points:

1. Make sure the testing is valid, and if you suspect a problem, re-test!
2. Use the Meeker Paradigm and start where the student needs to start!
3. Never give up hope!

written by: Valerie Maxwell, Ph.D., Psychologist