Breaking the Learning Barrier

Breaking the Learning Barrier: Eradicating Add, ADHD, and Dyslexia by Susan McCrossin

I thought this was very interesting and informative.  She wrote in such a way that I was able to understand a challenging and technical subject.  My attempt to summarize her main points will include lots of quotes as I borrowed this book from a friend and would like to have the quotes to refer back to in the future.

The premise of McCrossin's theories, and subsequent corrective Crossinology Brain Integration Technique, is that our brains can develop barriers due to stress or trauma that inhibit learning. "Certain types of emotional stress, especially early in life when the brain is still developing, can cause the amygdala (the brain's alarm system, which has the dual task of 'remembering' and alerting us to possible emotional/physical threats) to confuse real and imagined danger and make these alarm processes so readily triggered that normal learning is compromised" (3).  It's almost as if the brain is in a constant "flight or fight" mode and thus unable to retain new information.

"Scans have shown that, compared with individuals with normal brain activity, people with learning difficulties have decreased blood flow in areas of the brain responsible for specific tasks such as reading.  When the blood flow is restored to those parts of the brain through acupressure, the learning difficulties are corrected and the brain behaves normally.  BIT restores normal blood flow to information-processing and problem-solving circuitry in the brain" (12).

"When blockages exist in the brain's processing, information not only takes longer to process but some of it also 'evaporates' along the way.  When the blockages are cleared in the brain, information is able to transfer quickly and easily to auditory short-term memory, then to visual short-term memory, and finally to visual long-term memory without any stress or effort at all" (24).

"Learning difficulties tend to run in families, which, according to current scientific belief, is thought to mean they are genetic. . .(McCrossin's) theory--based on muscle testing thousands of clients--is that what is actually inherited is the emotional tendency to shut down part of the brain's functions if we are stressed at some point between birth and five years of age.  We are all subjected to various forms of stress as we grow up, stresses that cannot be avoided in even the most 'ideal' of families.  But people react differently to stressful events, and some shut down part of their brains' functions as an effective coping strategy.  This means the individuals don't have to deal with the stressful events at a time when they are, in fact, too young to put any kind of objective perspective on the situation. . .brain adaptations usually occur in response to a traumatic event before age five.  The brain shuts down the memory of a trauma in order to cope and function in life; such a response is an effective coping mechanism.  These adaptations cause neuronal pathways to become crossed at a functional, not a physical, level.  Once the pathways are normalized, the proper avenues for learning are opened up and made available" (27).

The corpus callosum (which connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain) is estimated to have approximately 200 to 500 million nerve fibers running between the two hemispheres.  Neurologically it functions much like a telephone exchange that allows a two-way flow of communication between the hemispheres.  Whenever the hemispheres are required to work together to produce an integrated function (for instance, in reading), that integration takes place in the corpus callosum. . .Learning difficulties result from the inability to access specific brain functions or the inability to effectively integrate them" (31).

"Crossinology's Brain Integration Technique addresses any deficiencies by restoring the necessary integration and timing of brain functions.  Treatment does not remove or change one's existing abilities; rather, it establishes connections that were previously disconnected and restores access to the functional areas of the brain" (36).

Crossinology's Brain Integration Technique uses kinesiology and acupressure methods and also incorporates the Acupuncture Meridian system, "which the Chinese said mapped the flow of energy throughout the body. . .and developed a method of manipulating the energy imbalances in the body" (62).

"The practitioner redistributes blood flow in the brain and reorganizes brain-wave patterns.  Pulse biofeedback, detected by the practitioner, indicates that this specific brain activity (activated by the specific acupressure holding) has been renormalized and that information is now flowing to the correct locations with the appropriate patterning or timing" (76).

The first step of treatment uses kinesiology, or muscle testing, for assessment.  "Treatment then deals with the brain's deep-level switching--the pathways that handle right/left, front/back, and top/bottom processing.  In deep-level switching problems, the brain becomes confused about the right and left hemispheres, which in turn create confusion in logic and gestalt processing.  Front/back switching results in difficulty with resolving issues from the past, and top/bottom switching causes difficulty with getting out of a purely emotional response in order to develop a rational response.  After switching pathways are addressed, treatment focuses on the degree of activation in the corpus callosum, so that the brain's two hemispheres can be used simultaneously" (77).

Results of BIT "include improved creativity, greater learning ability, enhanced behavioral attitudes, and better physical coordination" (7).

Other notes:
People with Gestalt dominance "have good physical coordination.  Gestalt functions control body awareness, balance, running, and orientation in space; therefore, a dominance of these brain functions tends to be manifested in good physical skills" (52).

Imprinting method with flash cards (This is used after a person has gone through the Brain Integration Technique as the brain is now ready to accept and process information it has previously been unable to store.):
"having the child look at a flash card, say aloud what is on it, trace the information with his finger, and take a 'picture' of the information by snapping his eyelids closed like the shutter of a camera.  The child is then asked to recall the math fact (or word) one hour, 24 hours, and a week after learning it.  If he recalls it successfully, the fact is in his memory for life" (15).

For more information, www.crossinology.com.