We Don't Just Tutor- We Train the Brain TM. ADDvantages Learning Center- Tutoring for Special Needs Children

ADDvantages uses programs that are scientifically based to develop the underlying skills of learning. These programs work by forming new pathways and connections in the brain, which increases the brain's capacity for learning. For those who learn differently, incoming information is not processed the way most of the population processes it. Is this wrong or bad? NO, it's just different. To complicate matters, the difference is invisible, there are no physical or visible signs. Therefore, many parents are baffled because those with learning differences are often average to above of intelligence and many are gifted! It has only been since the late 1960's and 1970's that we have begun to understand what makes intelligent people have such a difficult time learning.

What has only recently been discovered, in the last 30 years, is that learning differences, also called learning disabilities, have a neuropsychological basis. There is a breakdown somewhere in the way the brain processes information and "descrambles" it into something meaningful and useful. It's like this: if you are traveling on a highway and there is an accident (breakdown in the flow of traffic) you must take a detour. You will still get to your destination, but you may get stuck in traffic and take a longer route, but not without experiencing additional stress and frustration.

Likewise, for those who learn differently, incoming information is not able to be effectively and efficiently processed. The human brain controls, initiates, stores, and comprehends every facet of our lives. It is the computer chip of our body. We really do not think about the millions of things that it does and how it works until something does not work, just like our computer when we can't easily retrieve a file when we need it and know it is in there somewhere. So, you see, effective learning depends on a fully connected information highway in the brain. Think of your brain as a computer. The CPU (central processing unit) is hooked up to all kinds of devices. For the computer to run optimally (that is smoothly, quickly, efficiently, no delays) each device, every wire, every signal must do its job to communicate with each other in a sequence. What if something is wrong with the internal hardware in just one of these devices? What if the computer freezes or runs slowly? What if the keyboard misinterprets letters for symbols? You can easily see how even just one or two minute misconnections can cause the whole system to malfunction.

Just like a computer, the brain's job is to take incoming information from all of the senses, sort it, prioritize it, and retrieve as needed, using its wiring of billions of nerve cells called neurons. When the wiring is faulty or misfires, optimal learning cannot take place. We help find those detours and reroute the wiring for optimal learning.