Why Brain Gym?

Over the years, there have many thoughts and theories about raising children which have been put into books developed into treatments and debated about. Much research and many studies have been done to either confirm or deny these various trains of thought, many of which were initiated by observation or someone close experiencing a problem or difficulty.

In the 1960’s, Paul Dennison was a teacher and a reading specialist who was researching more effective ways to help both adults and children with learning difficulties. He later noticed that the struggling readers in his learning centers appeared not to have the same access to ‘whole-body movement and postural awareness’ as did the competent readers.

He observed that some learners used one-sided motions (writing) against the non-dominant side, instead of coordinating with it. He also noted that even the successful learners were often tense from using dominant one-sided movements, he then looked for a simple way to teach both coordination and differentiation of movement in the classroom.

Brain Gym activities were developed by Paul Dennison from his exposure and experience to and with the studies and interests he partook in.

Today we use Brain Gym to integrate the left and right sides of the body and brain which creates balance in the body.

This in turn helps with:

• Concentration and Focus
• Memory
• Academics: reading, writing, maths, test taking
• Physical coordination
• Relationships
• Self-responsibility
• Organization skills
• Attitude