We’ve long had clients liken our Makoto Arena to Jedi training. Of course, in a Makoto Arena, a trainee is still holding a pole and using the body. It’s a great workout, but what if it were possible to move objects with the mind?

Early this fall, a device using similar technology to Play Attention is scheduled to go on sale worldwide. The Force Trainer by Uncle Milton Toys will provide the first vigilance training device for under $100—in the form of a Star Wars toy.

Vigilance, also called “central focus,” is the ability to keep paying attention without other thoughts intruding. It’s an important skill in school and life, but it generally suffers the more that a learner is exposed to fast-paced television, movies, and video games. The Force Trainer may help counterbalance these more fast-paced forms of entertainment.

As The Force Trainer debuts, Mattel will be coming out with a game of its own called “Mind Flex.” The Force Trainer and Mind Flex are not the same. The Force Trainer develops vigilance—a skill helpful to the classroom. It rewards alpha and beta brainwaves. Mind Flex trains a meditative state; it rewards theta brainwaves.

Do yourself and your child a favor: if you want to train a meditative state, use heart-rate variability biofeedback with a Stress Eraser or EM Wave—not Mind Flex. Unsupervised theta-wave training can far too easily reward detachment, instead of healthful relaxation. Skip Mind Flex.

The Force Trainer hasn’t yet been released. It’s possible its Star Wars theme may include New Age instructions, making the training device at best suspect for Christian youngsters. Keeping this potential concern in mind, if you’re looking for inexpensive vigilance training, The Force Trainer may certainly be worth checking out!

None of the following is to be considered medical advice—nor individualized, clinical, or therapeutic dietetic advice. As with any changes in exercise or diet, it is your responsibility to check with your primary care physician or other practitioner you trust before beginning.

1.   Begin consuming plenty of water (daily, at least 2 oz per year of life to age 24) and essential fatty acids (consider Nature's Way Fisol^®).

2.   Some people experience the pain of separation from friends or family as almost unbearable. They seem unaware of much in their environment yet are hyper-sensitive to slight stimuli. Many easily become addicted to alcohol, sweets, or drugs. If you see yourself or your child in any of these descriptions, reading Potatoes Not Prozac is an excellent second step. You can find more support at RadiantRecovery.com.

3.   If you want to investigate nutritional protocols further, it often makes sense to begin with a natural detoxification program using whole foods. This is much gentler on the body than most commercially available detoxification programs. It prepares the body for whatever protocol you'll be trying, and it gives you a sense about whether nutritional interventions are likely to hold promise: if you see difference in implement what follows, keep investigating! The following program requires a juice extractor. We do not recommend centrifugal juicers. We recommend either:

•   Green Star/Green Life makes the darkest, longest lasting juice. It takes about 10 minutes to clean after use. It's a good choice if you plan to juice every other day and store the juice in the refrigerator during the day between.

•   The Champion juicer also makes good juice. It takes about 5 minutes to clean after use. It's a good choice if you plan to juice every day.

Natural Detoxification Program:

a.   Continue to drink plenty of water; the juice below does not substitute for water.

b.   Avoid every source of caffeine—chocolate, coffee, soda, Excedrin, etc.

c.   Drink juice from the following daily:

•   Raw potato, particularly the small, red potatoes (eaten in slices or juices). Raw tarrow is also possible. Potato pulls toxins out of the body, especially through our mucus.

•   Carrots, which are high in beta carotene and help take care of free radicals during detox.

•   Parsley, which helps flush the kidneys. Celery and watermelon may also be used.

•   Beets, which help flush out the liver. Beets can also be eaten steamed (but not boiled) instead of in juice. Beet greens act synergistically with the bulb and help insure freshness. Milk thistle seed or dandelion green may also be used.

•   Fresh ginger root, which balances out the physical stench from garlic (below) and calms the neurological system.

•   Daikon radish, which also helps flush out the liver. Daikon radish can be especially good for those who struggle with motivation as a result of depression or low executive function.

d.   Eat fresh garlic, an immune booster.

e.   Add Perfect Colon Formula #1 to one glass of juice or water per day, as recommended in product literature.

f.   After each bath or shower, rub down briskly with a towel to help exfoliate skin, the third major detoxification organ. It is important to use towels that have been washed and dried without fabric softener or dryer sheets.

g.   Avoid scented soaps, scented laundry detergents, scented hair products, scented body washes, scented hair sprays or gels, plug-in air fresheners, spray air fresheners, scented candles, car air fresheners, and store-bought potpourri. These products commonly contain toxins, which most people ignore but which may nevertheless exacerbate neurological difficulties.

h.   Sleep in natural fabrics on natural sheets with natural blankets. The body's ability to reestablish neuroelectrical homeostasis in sleep is amazing. Sleeping in polyester pajamas on rayon sheets with acrylic blankets isn't conducive to this. Sleeping in silk or cotton pajamas on silk or cotton sheets with wool blankets is conducive to this.

4.   After doing the above for 7 to 10 weeks, here are three possible approaches to modifying diet:

Option 1

•   Get a formal diagnosis using subdermal allergy exposure and desensitization.

•   Then eliminate any known triggers. The primary benefit of this route is (a) quick turn-around time. The primary drawback of this route is potential exposure to very poor advice (see Amazon.com reviews re: Option 3, below).

Option 2

•   In the absence of a formal diagnosis, the surest way to determine allergens is to cut back on every common allergen, then introduce one new food every four days, recording any behavioral changes in a diary. If there are noticeable responses, leave the newly discovered allergen out of the diet. Resume the limited diet until you're recovered. If there are no noticeable responses, include the newly discovered allergen in the diet at most once every four days until this testing is complete, which generally takes about two months.

•   The primary benefits of this route are (a) low cost and (b) surety. The primary difficulties in this route are (a) the limited number of food choices available during the two to three months it takes to reintroduce various foods and (b) the extreme discipline required in eliminating every possible contaminant during the test.

•   If one doesn't eliminate all common allergens first, isolating which foods are causing which behaviors becomes exceedingly difficult. Was it the breading on the nugget that caused the problem? The corn oil that it was cooked in? The whey in the meat conditioner it was injected with? It's possible to notice major reactions, yet many times the problem is a host of minor reactions, rather than a few major ones.

Option 3

•   In the absence of a formal diagnosis of an allergy, it's also possible to try a specific diet for several months and evaluate changes. A very restrictive diet that will let you know if gluten-free/casein-free will help is called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. (Click here or here for more information.) If the Specific Carbohydrate Diet helps significantly, you may try introducing more foods after about six months. The above websites can help tremendously.

•   For good recipes and helpful historical insight regarding contemporary swings in dietary advice, Nourishing Traditions is a great resource.

•   Any cookbook by Bette Hagman is generally a winner in terms of baking, especially More from the Gluten Free Gourmet.

•   Finally, the God-Given Foods Eating Plan can be useful to dispel common misconceptions about what the Bible teaches re: diets, and The Diet Cure can be helpful to understand why common diet fads are often harmful. (Nourishing Traditions covers the latter, too—but it's a much longer book.)

•   If you have reason to suspect an allergy to wheat and milk, Option 3 may make the most sense for you. Of course, I'm not a nutritionist, so none of the above is medical or nutritional advice—nor should it be taken as such. If you choose Option 2, you may want to consult your primary care physician or a nutritionist to ensure you're getting sufficient nutrition.

  5. Once food allergies are known or ruled out, the following dietary modifications can be helpful:

•   Prebiotics (Limu Plus is excellent, albeit expensive due to multi-level marketing markup. Some combine it daily with Vemma Multi-Vitamin, another multi-level product. We don't sell either.)

•   Probiotics (Perfect Colon Formula #1 from is excellent and appropriately priced.)

•   Fresh fruit and vegetable juices several times a week.

•   Religious avoidance of known food allergens.

A single exposure of gluten may take 4-5 weeks to clear entirely clear the gut, and it may take 1-2 weeks for a single exposure of casein to clear the mucus—assuming a sinus infection doesn't develop from a milk exposure, in which case casein can take even longer to clear. Going off a gluten-free/casein-free diet for a "special occasion" has implications beyond the day of that "special occasion."

This entry has been expanded and moved here.

Illinois Christian Home Educators' Convention

This past weekend, Matthew was blessed to attend the annual Illinois Christian Home Educators convention, where he gave eight presentations while a co-worker and Gayle, Matthew's mom, encouraged others, especially moms.

[08/30/2007 Update: Much of the content of these talks has been refined and can now be viewed by clicking here. We have also removed Power Point Slides.]

Presentations 5 and 6 focused on Anxiety, Attentional Issues, and Autism Spectrum Conditions. Presentation 5 highlighted some struggles people with any of these often face, while Presentation 6 highlighted accommodations that can be made.

Local storms caused a power outage during the last part of Presentation 6, so some of the audio, including helpful instructions for those looking for more information on HANDLE, isn't on the Conference CDs.

Fluorescent lights were among several more easily addressed concerns I (Matthew) mentioned in Presentation 6. If we can be aware that some individuals on the autism spectrum perceive color differently; experience visual disturbances, headaches, and eyestrain; or have increased difficulties with attending, reading, and comprehending when working under fluorescent lights, we can try opening curtains, adding incandescent lights, and adjusting light levels up or down when we observe such symptoms. Unfortunately, I also added an off-the-cuff remark about Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL's) containing mercury that was in part false and could easily be misleading. I am hereby, to the extent that I can, retracting that off-the-cuff remark and pointing you to the Environmental Protection Agency's fact sheet on mercury in CFL's for more information. I'm also hereby thanking the astute attendee who kindly pointed out my error.

Other than the above minor mishaps, the conference—at least insofar as we were concerned—went well, and what the Lord laid on our hearts to share seemed to have struck a chord. Here is some of the feedback we've received:

Dear Mr. McNatt,

I truly enjoyed your teaching on autism parts 1 and 2 at the convention this year. They were insightful and helpful. I appreciate your knowledge and passion.

God bless…

I had the great pleasure of participating in your presentations all day Sat. at the ICHE Convention. Thank you for your wisdom, passion and keeping the info valid and scientific. You have helped us tremendously on our quest to welcome Christ into our work with our son. The info on your website is extensive enough to bring my husband up to speed….

Thank you and God Bless!

Dear Matthew,

I recently attended all of your workshops at the ICHE conference, and you kindly took the time to pray with me about our son … and concerns about his stuttering and handedness. Please let me know when the next appointment is available.

May the Lord Continue to Bless You…

I attended your seminars on Friday and am very curious, and hopeful.

Thank you for your time; bless you.

Hello Mr. McNatt,

I attended all of your talks and really feel our family can progress through some difficulties we are experiencing…. Our family absolutely loves the game What's That On My Head.

Thankyou for sharing your experiences, ideas, and recources at the conference!!

Thank all of you, really! It's a joy to hear what hope the presentations and booth-time provided. We look forward to meeting with you again soon.

Make sure to check this blog periodically for articles based on the conference talks, to visit our Calendar for dates of upcoming Community Information Seminars (RSVP required) and, if you'd like, to call the learning center to set up a one-on-one consultation.

Background

The McNatt Learning Center, Inc., as a licensed HANDLE® provider, recognizes the symptoms of ADD/ADHD but finds the label Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder misleading. We believe that few, if any, individuals have a deficit in attention. Rather, everyone generally attends to what we perceive as most important.

Take Mary, for instance: she has difficulties with vestibular (balance) issues, so she generally pays close attention to staying upright. Mary's body is aware of how her own inner ear, which gives her her vestibular sense, functions. Mary's body is not aware of how everyone else's inner ear functions; all Mary's body knows is that it has to work hard at making sense of the information provided by the functioning of Mary's inner ear. And Mary's body assumes that everyone else has to work hard at making sense of vestibular input, too. Maintaining a consistent awareness to our orientation with the world is very important, but because most students do so without thinking of it, parents and teachers don't always think to value staying upright—or to express appreciation to the student who works hard at doing so. Certainly, no one has ever praised Mary for shifting in her seat to give herself extra vestibular input and make sitting upright easier; instead, she's been told to sit still. Likewise, no one has ever praised Mary for looking at the wall or floor, so she can see her teacher in her peripheral vision and doesn't have to work so hard at focusing on her teacher—a function of the eyes and the inner ear. Instead, Mary's been told repeatedly, “look at me when I'm talking to you.” Mary can, but then—she knows from experience—she will generally pay so much attention to maintaining her focus that she won't actually hear what the teacher is saying. Mary pays attention, all right, but she's been diagnosed with ADD.

Other students pay attention, too: Joe pays attention to his most important needs. If he doesn't move, his low muscle tone ensures his back or hips will often collapse—and hurt. And hardly anyone—certainly not Joe—pays great attention to class when he's in pain. But Joe's been in pain so long, the sensations in his collapsed back and hip don't always register as pain anymore; they just register as “pay attention to me and move so I can be a little more comfortable.” Joe pays attention, all right, but he's been diagnosed with ADHD.

As a HANDLE® provider, the McNatt Learning Center, Inc., acknowledges that students struggle to pay attention. However, students rarely struggle from a lack of attention: instead, students generally prioritize paying attention to what they deem most important. Sometimes, students have never had practice paying attention, since they've rarely been asked to pay attention in a supportive context in which they can perform. Other times, students' misdirected attention hasn't been disciplined, so they have a habit of letting their attention wander, without consequence, to whatever suits their fancies. Often, however, students are like Mary, Joe, or other (actual) clients seen in the McNatt Learning Center, Inc.: they can pay attention, but they need help developing their sensory systems, so they can be free to pay attention to what they are being asked to pay attention to. These students may have what the HANDLE® Institute dubs Attentional Priority Disorder (APD)—a condition in which students prioritize paying attention to things other than what they're being asked to pay attention to in the moment.

The McNatt Learning Center, Inc., does not diagnose ADD, ADHD, or even APD. We help students deal with and, in many cases, overcome the symptoms. We help alleviate the causes of students' difficulties and, in so doing, sometimes erase the labels themselves—though we certainly don't promise to “cure” anyone of AD(H)D. We recognize learning patterns; we help correct inefficient patterns and help build efficient ones. We provide hope; we offer freedom. We do not diagnose medical or psychological conditions.

The ADD/ADHD Brain/Computer Analogy

To understand some of the rationale behind our approach toward attentional priority issues, consider this analogy between the brain and a computer:

When I purchased my X86 computer running Windows 3.1, it was extremely fast for what I asked it to do. Then, I loaded WordPerfect for Windows, Encyclopedia Britannica, Microsoft Paint, Centipede, and a pinball game on it—and its performance slowed down to a halt. I would start WordPerfect and expect my computer to pay attention to it—to show the information I was typing in, to keep the cursor lined up with my mouse movements, and to follow the commands regarding typesetting and tables when I issued the commands, not whenever it could get around to it.

I had, at the time, three choices:

1. Uninstall some of the software I wanted to use
2. “Overclock” the computer processor to force my computer to work faster than it was designed to work
3. Buy a new computer

Similarly, children with attentional issues generally pay attention to what is most important to them. Often, what's most important to them are the signals their bodies send them that say, “Keep me safe: pay close attention to smells, tactile (touch) sensations, and background noises,” “Keep me ready to respond: pay attention to muscle tone,” and “Keep me oriented, so my world isn't so confusing: pay attention to the inner ear.” Other times, when these perceptions are partially integrated, a body may say, “Where's my right and left?—things keep getting turned,” “How can I move only the muscles that need to be moved to complete a task, instead of wearing myself out moving lots of other parts, too?” or “Why can't the two sides of my brain share information more naturally and spontaneously?”

Most children with attentional issues, we believe, are prioritizing what everyone's body says is most important: safety and basic function. It's easy to assume these issues aren't present because children—like most of us—assume their way of perceiving the world is the same as everyone else's or, at least, that their way of perceiving the world should be sufficient to enable them to do what others do or ask of them. The difficulty is that, when a child with attentional issues is succeeding in paying close attention to these truly pressing issues, there isn't much intellectual space left over to pay attention to school work or directions at home. Sometimes, school work is such a challenge, the symptoms are seen most in school or during home work time; other times, a child “succeeds” in keeping his emotions bottled up at school and saves the meltdown—and utter lack of focus that accompanies letting go—for the safety of home.

Sometimes, children with attentional issues are able to pay attention to schoolwork and directions, yet they struggle to “fit in” with peers. These children use mental constructs, which they have built with great effort, to understand their perceptions and enable them to function. Unfortunately, these constructs don't always work—and when they fail, the child doesn't always know why the construct has failed. A construct that has taken hours, if not days to build can't be patched within even a lengthy 10-second window in everyday conversation. Thus, by the time a child feels he understands, he has missed the opportunity to show it. And if he elects to act without fixing the construct that guides his understanding, he can often expect to be rebuffed for his awkwardness and misunderstanding.

What those “outside” such autism-spectrum experiences may not realize is that even finding the weak point in a conceptual understanding can be too daunting, so individuals on the spectrum (including some with ADD/ADHD) may paradoxically throw out much of the construct and begin again, asking questions to try to understand the world around them. They truly want to better anticipate how others will act, so they can be confident of their own responses in advance. Unfortunately, developing constructs that can accurately predict human behavior can take 20+ years, sometimes a lifetime—and even then, the constructs are still incomplete.

Children with attentional issues or an over-reliance on conceptual constructs, along with their parents, thus face similar choices to those I faced with my computer, above. Only this time, the stakes are much higher:

1. Uninstall some of the software: Just as the software I had loaded was overtaxing my computer, so many of the activities that children are asked to do tax their systems. This can be true regardless of how much a child wants to do an activity or how worthwhile that activity (like schoolwork) ultimately is. Each new activity, like each new piece of software, is taxing. This option basically amounts to cut back on activities and expectations, at least for the time being.
2. “Overclock” the computer processor to force a computer to work faster than it was designed to work: A maxed out computer is, by definition, maxed out. However, it's sometimes possible to force a computer to use its processor differently—as if it really had a faster processor or a processor with more memory. Computer geeks have done it for decades, usually adding a special cooling apparatus so the computer doesn't get too hot and “burn out.” Sometimes, even with precautions, “overclocking” a computer can greatly lower its lifespan. Taking a stimulant medication, in the human world, is the equivalent to overclocking a computer: the brain is artificially sped up so its operator (the specially created child taking the medication) can process more. The great news is that in many cases, the child with attentional priority issues can, indeed, do more. The bad news is that many of these children, like overclocked computers, burn out or melt down from meeting demands their systems aren't yet developed enough to support. This option basically amounts to force the brain to work faster or, in the case of non-stimulant medications for AD(H)D, decrease the brain's ability to “shut off.”
3. Buy a new computer: Obviously, a person with attentional issues can't get a new brain—nor should they want to. God has wonderfully designed our bodies, including our brains, to develop and organize in response to our experiences. Some experiences, like most TV and video games, guide our neurological development in ways not at all conducive to classroom learning. Other experiences, like HANDLE® Activities uniquely chosen for each child, can guide a child's neurological development in ways that expand his abilities, actually increasing his potential. This option basically amounts to providing the brain what it needs to develop the abilities to pay attention.

What We Do

At the learning center, we help families with the first option as requested or deemed necessary; we specialize in the third: the services we provide actually expand client's learning potential.

In what ways would you like your own or your child's learning to be quicker?

How wonderful would it be for that learning to be easier?

And how many ways would it help to be more accurate—from the get-go?

Only you or your child can answer these questions fully. As you do, the McNatt Learning Center, Inc., is here to make your answers a reality. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact us.

Helpful Notes

In addition to receiving assistance through neurodevelopment enrichment and cognitive training, individuals with attentional priority issues may want to consider whether they should

Some individuals also report benefits from fresh, steamed corn; eating raw carrot and raw potato; consuming a high-protein, low sugar diet; and taking Source Naturals™ sublingual, orange-flavored Coenzymate™ B Complex with Coenzyme Q10. The McNatt Learning Center, Inc., provides cutting-edge educational services, including trainings that may help alleviate attentional priority issues. Any dietary modifications or supplementation, of course, should be done after consulting with one's doctor. The McNatt Learning Center, Inc., does not give any dietary advice, and nothing in this document should be understood as dietary advice, medical advice, or any diagnosis or prescription.

08/30/07 Update

[This entry has been expanded and moved here and here.]

What is Audiblox?

Audiblox learning readiness classes help elementary-age students prepare for rigorous academics and help struggling learners overcome difficulties with learning and logic. Developed in South Africa, Audiblox has been proven so successful for over 20 years in reducing the incidence of learning disabilities that its use is now mandated in the Free State of South Africa's most impoverished primary schools.

Why is Audiblox necessary?

Audiblox is a system of exercises that develops many of the foundational skills necessary for efficient learning. In ages past, many of these skills were developed naturally as children participated in natural sequences with the guidance of adults, including farming, baking, and listening to stories and expository preaching. The handwriting drills of the time, which emphasized sequential movement rather than the "trace & copy" workbook activities common today, also developed crucial learning skills. Then, many children also benefited from creating their own entertainment through music, informal outdoor games, and reading or being read to—all which, again, immersed them in sequences and required their attention and physical interaction.

Today, television and high tech play rob children of many of these latter opportunities, while broken families or hectic entertainment schedules rob them of many of the former opportunities. Peterson Handwriting, created in 1908 and long a leader in the field of "physical language," is now the only comprehensive, movement-based handwriting program for school-age children in North America. Today, as well, children are innundated by harmful chemicals in their air, food, water, clothing, and living spaces, to the detriment of their healthy development. No single clean-up program can possibly repair all the damage to students' learning environments. Meanwhile, we may never know why some children's learning is impaired, while their siblings with similar life experiences learn effortlessly by comparison: every child is both helped and also hindered by a unique combination of biology and background.

As parents and teachers, we do well to evaluate our choices in light of their effects on ourselves and our children. As imperfect servants, we also do well to help when we can, reserving judgment. We may never know why a particular child lacks foundational learning skills. We do know, however, that lack of foundational learning skills is a common cause of many students' academic failure, even those labeled as "learning disabled," "dyslexic," or "attention deficit."

What skills does Audiblox develop?

Audiblox teaches foundational learning skills, including

With just some of these abilities underdeveloped, students may struggle to read with comprehension, remember arithmetic, or understand mathematical concepts. Remembering and following instructions may also be difficult, and students may not understand natural consequences. Reading mechanics and spelling may be next to impossible. Students' individual struggles depend on which abilities they have developed and which they have not.

Audiblox Classes

The McNatt Learning Center, Inc., no longer offers Audiblox classes through the learning center. Matthew McNatt still heartily endorses Audiblox, especially for schools, and would love to see its use in grade schools expanded. He also looks forward to teaching Audiblox classes again, sans their reading component, perhaps through a local church or service center as scheduling permits. For more information on Audiblox, visit the Audiblox Website.