HOME-BASED LEARNING BREAKTHROUGH PROGRAM HELPS TREAT THE SYMPTOMS OF LEARNING & ATTENTION DIFFICULTIES

Below is a background story that explains the Learning Breakthrough program. Also, please visit www.learningbreakthrough.com for more information. If you would like to speak with Weisman or Dr. Belgau and learn more about this simple, affordable and effective treatment for Dyslexia and other learning disorders, please let me know and I will be happy to arrange it. Thank you. Michael P. Berger Account Executive Reeves Laverdure Public Relations 561-391-8717 (phone) 561-750-6818 (fax) mberger@reevespr.com

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (PRWEB) May 15, 2003 -- Government statistics show that 25 million Americans-or 10 percent of the population-are functionally illiterate. The primary cause is dyslexia, a learning disorder resulting from a difficulty in processing language. Neurologically based, it is characterized by problems with reading, writing and spelling.

The most common of all language-based learning disabilities--affecting at least one out of every five children in the United States--dyslexia is the leading cause of reading failure and school dropouts. Contrary to what most people think, dyslexics are usually of average or high intelligence.

Florida entrepreneur Louis Weissman, who has personally experienced the frustration and impact this often-debilitating disorder can have on a child and the family, has done something about it.

The result of his efforts may enable millions of children and adults with learning difficulties to better manage and cope with the problem using an affordable, home-administered remediation program.

As background, for 2-1/2 years Weissman researched most every aspect of the learning sciences to understand the conditions and seek answers. His goal was to find a program that would enable individuals with learning difficulties to succeed in school, on the job and in daily life with family and friends.        

There is clearly a lack of consensus of not only the causes but also of how to help those with learning difficulties," Weissman said. Its not surprising that parents are so confused and have to search hard for real help. "However, throughout his exhaustive examination of the treatments and therapies, an intriguing recurring theme began to emerge.

As part of his diligent research, Weissman spent a significant amount of time in Britain at a learning disorder clinic that had recently been the subject of a great deal of public interest. The center administers extensive tests and then provides each client a home-based remediation exercise program that was said to be helping thousands. The Tonight Show with Trevor McDonald, the premier investigative news show in the UK, aired a 30-minute program about this centers work. The show followed three dyslexic individuals brought to the center by the producers, and reported the dramatic improvements obtained after six months of performing the home-based exercises Newspapers and radio broadcasts throughout the UK praised the centers work, making bold statements such as possible cure?" and dyslexia may be eradicated within 10 years."

In 2002, the results of a much-anticipated independent research study of the effects of this home-based program, conducted by two prominent professors from Exeter and Sheffield Universities, were accepted for publication in Dyslexia, a scientific peer-reviewed journal. The study followed two groups of under-performing middle school children for six months, all receiving the same school support but with half performing daily exercises at home provided by the learning disorder center. The findings were astounding.

There were substantial and significant improvements in reading age. This study showed that performance on national literacy tests indicated substantial and significant acceleration of progress, allowing the children to catch up with their peers. There was significant improvement in dexterity, reading, verbal and semantic fluency. Scores were better for reading and comprehension than the specific phonics based reading intervention for children of the same age in the 2000 National Reading Panel Study, even while the exercises at home did not include any reading at all. Certainly larger scale research will be welcome to confirm these findings. Nonetheless, the results do show that the exercise treatment was effective in improving cognitive skills and literacy performance.

But accompanying this good news was the problem of how to make a program such as this available to those in need worldwide.

The cost of undergoing the program at the British clinics, and soon to be offered in the United States, is approximately $2000-a significant cost for the millions of individuals living in households with average and below incomes. Undaunted by the situation, Weissman continued his research and discovered that the home-based exercise program provided by the British clinic was, according to the independent study, based on the longstanding principles of balance training developed by Dr. Frank Belgau and published as The Learning Breakthrough Program (1982). It turns out this program and its various components have been used by parents, teachers and developmental specialists for many years.

The theoretical and practical components of Dr. Belgaus work kept surfacing during my research as a real possibility of help to those suffering the effects of learning difficulties," Weissman said. According to editor comments in the journal that published the study, the technique may be of widespread value within the school system." This is in line with Dr. Belgaus beliefs that The Learning Breakthrough Program can also benefit average and gifted children.

It didnt take long for Weissman to develop a relationship with Belgau, a pioneering American educator and former Director of The Perceptual Motor and Visual Perception Laboratory at the University of Houston, in order to make The Learning Breakthrough Program available to a mass market.

The recently updated Learning Breakthrough Program is now available @ www.learningbreakthrough.com <http://www.learningbreakthrough.com> for $289 plus shipping, and contains all the equipment, training exercises and instructions needed.

In the early 1960s, Belgau began conducting experiments in the area of human balance and its relationship with intelligence and learning. Working in the classroom with children who scored well on intelligence tests but had significant difficulty learning to read, Belgau found success by doing balance stimulation exercises on The Belgau Balance Board, which he invented. He formalized The Learning Breakthrough Program in 1982 and began teaching and providing it to teachers, parents and various education professionals.    

The beneficial effects of Belgaus principles are now further supported by the remarkable results of the recently published research showing that simple, daily, easy-to-use balance exercise training can have positive effects on learning and performance ability," Weissman said. Science is finally catching up with what he has observed and professed for years."

The Learning Breakthrough Program, developed and fine-tuned by Dr. Belgau during the past 30 years, consists of a variety of simple physical activities performed as the individual balances on the Belgau Balance Board, a central component of the program. There are numerous other pieces of equipment, instructions and videos included as well. The 10- to 15-minute exercises, performed ideally twice daily, help refine and extend the integration of the two hemispheres of the brain and the various components that deal with spatial relations, timing, visual processes, movement and balance. There is a direct relationship between the attainment of higher levels of balance and the potential for improved cognitive and literacy performance. You can think of the effects of this program as similar to upgrading a computer processor and memory.

A nine-year-old boy who showed remarkable improvement in the program noted that the exercises are like games. He found it hard to believe that these seemingly fun activities were helping him," Weissman said.

Interestingly, improved balance requires the brain to react faster. Faster reaction time is a factor that may improve ones ability to focus and pay attention. Measuring reaction time is one of the tests some physicians use to help diagnose Attention Deficit Disorders (ADD/ADHD) and improving reaction time is one of the intents of prescription stimulant treatment such as Ritalin. The Learning Breakthrough Program may be a drug-free additional therapy for ADD/ADHD when used under the supervision of a physician. Attention difficulties play a significant role in poor academic and social performance.

Making The Learning Breakthrough Program affordable and readily available to all who could benefit is truly revolutionary," Weissman said. Parents and educators have reported seeing remarkable improvements in language skills over a very short period of time, usually in just a few months. Something as safe and easy to use may be of great value to so many youngsters and adults who despair of ever mastering the basic language skills they must have for a productive and satisfying life."

With learning difficulties and illiteracy so prevalent in a country such as ours, it is imperative that we make every effort to relieve the associated pain and suffering. The Learning Breakthrough Program may help make this possible."    

For more information, visit the Website at www.learningbreakthrough.com, or call 888-853-2762 (8888-LEARN2).

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