Today’s young children spend their first five years of life very differently than prior generations. Until just a few decades ago, babies spent the majority of their infancy in just two positions: nestled against their mother’s body and on the ground or floor. Both positions were key to good neurological organization. Likewise, until recently toddlers and preschoolers spent the majority of their time exploring and moving outdoors. Such experiences continued to provide more opportunities for natural brain development.

However, today’s young children spend a great deal of their early years in baby apparatus and sitting in front of televisions and computers. As a result, they may have missed key opportunities to develop lower parts of the brain. If so, these children enter school with a “disorganized” brain. They must now rely on the higher centers of the brain to compensate for what the lower parts of the brain are intended to do automatically. Such disorganization is often why so many children struggle with reading, writing, and paying attention.

The Brain Highways Program

Here’s the good news. If early brain development opportunities are missed the first time around, the brain has the capability to re-organize itself at any time in the future. But in order for this to happen, children need to participate in activities that focus on specific movements and sensations. This is core of the Brain Highways program.

We reintroduce key movements that enhance early brain development, neurological organization, sensory integration (vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile processing), visual processing, auditory processing, bilateral coordination, hand-eye coordination, and motor planning. We present a wealth of fun, easy-to-implement activities. We integrate such activities into the curriculum and daily life, and we always correlate those activities to neurological development. We teach parents and educators how to do the program. We provide products so that parts of the program are accessible to everyone. We address all kids—from mainstream children to those with Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, learning problems, and coordination problems.

In short, Brain Highways becomes “Plan B” if “Plan A”—the original, natural plan—did not provide children with all the basic brain-processing skills that they need in order to learn with ease and success.

Learn more about the Brain Highways program by using the menu at the top of this page.

The Brain Highways Program is based on the following:

• Every behavior tells us how a child’s brain is or is not organized. (See: Signs of a Disorganized Brain)
  
• Without knowing how specific behaviors correlate to basic brain-processing skills, we may misinterpret what we observe and, therefore, make inaccurate conclusions about children and their educational needs.
  
• A neurological network of basic brain-processing skills is supposed to be in place before a child enters school.
  
• This neurological organization has been greatly jeopardized by current changes in our lifestyle.
  
• A significant number of mainstream children are trying to learn and pay attention with cracks or holes in this foundation.
  
• Research has documented that is possible to go back and develop that which was missed the first time around.
  
  

In order to ensure that all children have a solid neurological foundation, Brain Highways incorporates “meaningful movement” and activities into the daily curriculum. Meaningful movement, per the Brain Highways program, is defined as moving while learning the curriculum by doing specific movements that address basic-brain processing skills. Such movements then establish and ensure a strong neurological network. At home, the movements are incorporated into daily routines.

The Brain Highways program also includes enriched sensory stimuli, providing children with opportunities to experience sensations that go beyond what they normally encounter in a day. For example, using a finger to write letters in shaving cream is an enriched experience, whereas writing letters with a pencil and paper is not. In addition to providing novel sensory activities, stimuli can be enriched by increasing the frequency (providing more opportunities to experience the sensation), duration (providing more time to experience the sensation), and intensity (providing more of the sensation).

Meaningful movement and enriched sensory stimuli are the basis of the Brain Highways program simply because movement and sensations are what develop the brain. When children have opportunities to build a strong neurological foundation, they become “primed” to learn with ease and success and, best of all, they are able to reach their highest potential.