Although education systems have progressed over time, there is still much to be improved upon when addressing learning difficulties. There are, however, alternatives to working with learning difficulties. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change in response to training and experience, to grow dendrites—the branch-like structures on the cell body of the neuron which receive signals coming from other neurons—to make new neural connections, to strengthen existing connections, to grow new neurons, to increase neurotransmitters, all of which fundamentally change the brain’s capacity to learn and function. This can happen throughout one’s lifespan. Currently, the strategy that is still adopted by most schools to compensate for a specific learning weakness is to rely on another area of strength. For example, if a student struggles with auditory processing, visual support patterns are used to work around the problem—provided that the student’s area of strength is visual. Alternatively, a student may struggle with understanding concepts, i.e. they cannot independently see relationships between ideas and thus understand at a conceptual level. To compensate for this weakness, the teacher maps the concepts in a way the student will comprehend.

This is today’s reality of the educational approach paradigm. As a result, when some students leave school, they realize how difficult it is to navigate the world—be it at work, in social life or in complex situations where no accommodations or modifications can be made.

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young began working on an alternative program to help those with learning difficulties in 1978; she has been recognized as one of the pioneers of the practical application of neuroplasticity. Barbara’s journey was one of discovery and innovation to overcome her own severe learning difficulties. For the past 40 years, the approach has provided cognitive programming to children and adults to strengthen their cognitive deficits. This capacity-based approach goes beyond what traditional educational methods provide, such as compensation, accommodations, and modification. Instead, it focuses on what is precisely contributing to the learning struggles, addressing the root cause of the problem. Individuals engage in exercises designed to target weak capacities and improve functioning across processes of comprehension, visual and auditory memory, attention, sequencing, non-verbal thinking, and other aspects of learning and communication. Through time, children and adults can change their ability to learn, improve their social perception, and participate meaningfully in school, the workplace, and at home.

To effect neuroplastic change some specific conditions must be put in place. First, the cognitive exercise must target and stimulate the cognitive function that has been challenged. The next condition is called effortful processing; this means that the stimulation must be challenging enough to engage the learner. Lastly, there is a need to sustain engagement to, in turn, increase the capacity.

It is essential to first identify one’s cognitive profile—his or her specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses. A detailed assessment process determines which cognitive exercises each student needs to work on until the weak areas function properly.

Ultimately, children and adults can improve cognitive deficits, increasing their ability to learn independently. The goal behind neuroplastic change is to help those struggling with specific learning difficulties to realize their dreams and experience the ease and joy of learning.

“Every man can, if he so desires, become the sculptor of his own brain.”

Neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate, Santiago Ramon Cajal (1852-1934)

“Neuroplasticity and Education” was originally published in the fall 2021 edition of The Courier, magazine of the American International Women’s Club of Geneva.