Barbara Arrowsmith Young

Background

About Barbara Arrowsmith Young

The genesis of the Arrowsmith methodology lies in its founder, Barbara Arrowsmith Young's, journey of discovery and innovation to overcome her own severe learning disabilities, a detailed description of which appears in her book, “The Woman Who Changed Her Brain.” The premise of the Arrowsmith Program is that cognitive areas that contribute to a range of specific learning difficulties may be improved through targeted cognitive exercises. The philosophy that the learner is not fixed, but can be modified through the application of the principles of neuroplasticity sets the Arrowsmith Program apart from the majority of other programs for students with specific learning difficulties. The Arrowsmith Program is capacity based, in that Arrowsmith Program’s goal is to change the student’s capacity to learn, rather than compensatory which tries to work around the problem. Strengthening these weaker capacities, it is hypothesized, increases the overall functioning of these specific cognitive areas, allowing them to be used more effectively for learning. Students with learning disabilities or specific learning difficulties traditionally have been treated with programs designed to compensate for their difficulties - students who have difficulty with handwriting, for example, would be taught to use a keyboard or voice recognition software or accommodated with more time to write exams. In addition to compensatory programs, students with learning disabilities are often presented with modified curriculum, an example of which is breaking the task(s) to be learnt into smaller components, often with more repetition. The goal of the Arrowsmith Program is to strengthen the learner’s ability to learn through a range of specific programs so that learning can proceed efficiently and effectively, significantly reducing or removing the need for compensations or modifications. Specialties: What Distinguishes the Arrowsmith Program? Assessment of student’s cognitive weakness and strength. Program of intensive / repetitive exercises targeted to specific cognitive areas contributing to learning difficulties. Monitoring and reporting by trained teachers in classroom environment to ensure students’ progress matches clearly defined individualized goals. 40 years experience delivering unique cognitive exercise programs designed to remediate learning difficulties.