Written by Renee Anderson on December 13, 2019. Posted in Blog

Creating Success in School and Beyond

People have often asked me how our students are able to see such long-lasting and dramatic improvements in school when nothing else has worked. In today's post, I want to share with you a story about just that.

My sincere desire is that hearing this story will give you hope for your own student. Hope that there actually is something you can do that will not only help them succeed in school, but also build their confidence and realize their full potential!

If you'd like to read more about how our program differs from traditional tutoring programs be sure and check out my previous posts here and here.

Now on to Mike's story...

Mike's Story

When a parent comes to me and asks me if I can help their child with math, I often think about Mike.

Mike came to me at midterm of his freshman year in High School. After two years of struggling with math in Middle School (during which he had MANY tutoring sessions) he was still doing very poorly. After our initial evaluation, we discovered that he was weak in several key concept ability areas that involved mathematics. No surprise there.

However, what was surprising is that there were several concept areas of reading that were weak as well. Oh, he could read okay, just not as easily as he should. As a result, he didn’t like to read, therefore his vocabulary wasn’t as good as it could be. Several other reading areas that involved upper level comprehension were being affected.

No longer just "getting by"

Upon screening for sensory integration and focusing skills, we discovered some of the culprits. His eyes were not sweeping smoothly left to right and they didn’t land with ease on a target. Furthermore, his eyes were unable to focus tightly on small numbers or letters for an extended period of time without experiencing fatigue. When this happened he would become distracted, losing his train of thought and then frustration would set in.

A couple of months into his program he commented that it seemed like his reading was becoming easier. A couple of months later math began to come around. Now he was ready to grasp the concepts!

Much to his credit, he even decided to repeat a math course rather than electing to just do summer school, saying he really needed to understand the material, not just “get by.”

We have seen great improvement. (He has an A so far!) Needless to say his self confidence has greatly improved. He now sees himself as someone who is in charge of his learning!

Here’s what his mom wrote:

“My son is just finishing the program with amazing results. After two years in Middle School, doing very poorly in Math, I was very frustrated. He had several tutors and programs and he never seemed inspired by them. Since he started at Synap2it, we have nothing but good results. The patience, caring and confidence building are superior. My son has flourished under this program.Thank you again!”

-Dripping Springs parent

The Ultimate Reward

As you can see, taking the time to evaluate the "root cause" of the learning difficulty and taking time to build up the concepts, vision, and motor-sensory integration skills needed yields incredible results!

Instead of just saying, "I'm just not good at _________" and accepting this as their lot in life, students are able to see real, long-lasting improvement!

Helping students develop this kind of confidence, ownership over their life-long learning, and realize their full potential is, for me, one of the greatest rewards this program has to offer.

If you've tried everything else and are ready for lasting change, I'd love to talk with you and see how we can help! Click here to schedule a free consultation!

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Written by Renee Anderson on November 22, 2019. Posted in Blog, Career

Finding the Right Career: A Different Approach

Do you have a student wondering what career they should pursue? Are you helping a student apply for colleges and/or selecting a major, but they're just not sure what to pick?

Or maybe you're at a point in your own career where you're wondering if the career you're in is one for which you are most suited. Maybe you're dissatisfied with your current career or job and looking for like a change.

If any of these scenarios sound like you, we have good news! Synap2it! Learning Center has the tools you need to help you make successful career choices!

A Different Approach

Traditional career preparation or career counseling in schools typically involves three things:

interest
skills
opportunities

However, while the strongest emphasis is typically placed on interest, we add one more component to the discussion: learning abilities.

Learning Abilities and Career Placement

The learning abilities we assess using our program include: Comprehension, Memory, Problem Solving, Evaluation & Creativity. We also evaluate a student's figural, semantic, and symbolic abilities and determine which of these abilities is highest.

Similarly, over the years we have been able to analyze a large number of occupations in terms of the abilities a person would need in order to excel in them. We have obtained descriptions from government publications and then transcribed the tasks required into abilities defined by the Structure of Intellect system.

This analysis has allowed us to create a set of occupation profiles that includes the abilities needed in order to work in each career choice. We then use in this occupation profile in evaluating a student or adult's career interests and help them find the best fit for their specific ability profile!

Career Counseling and Prep with Synap2it! Learning Center. Here's how we're different

Here's How it Works

Students/individuals take the SOI assessment and have an opportunity to compare their learning abilities profile with the occupational profiles for their career of interest. The comparison indicates how well their current abilities profile fits their unique career choices.

What's even better, is that if a student's assessment shows their abilities are in need of being developed in order to succeed in a certain career, we can work with them to develop those necessary abilities!

Finding the Right Career Fit

For students, we strongly encourage SOI career counseling during their freshman year of high school rather than waiting until the traditional time of immediately prior to graduation. Although we can absolutely work with students and individuals past this point, we've found that starting early gives us the best results

It might seem premature to begin preparation at the freshman year, but if a student discovers that he/she needs to develop some of their learning abilities in order to successfully pursue their career choices, it is best to have 2-3 years to accomplish this preparation.

Many a career path has been derailed by not having sufficient time to prepare for the learning requirements that the candidate faces in the process of acquiring the skills and knowledge required for the occupation of their choice.

For example, a high school Senior may have an strong interest in becoming an architect, but discovers in college that the engineering aspects of the career are just too demanding for his/her symbolic learning abilities. Unfortunately, at this point, it is probably easier to change majors, so the budding architect is likely to go into something like graphic design – a decision closer to his current learning abilities than his long-standing career interest.

Alternatively, our goal at Synap2it! Learning Center is to help students and individuals develop the abilities they need to realize their passions, dreams and long-standing career interests...not just settle for a second choice.

Take the Next Step

As you can see, the approach we take to career preparation and counseling is different than what you see in most traditional settings. We evaluate, and take into consideration an individual's:

interests
skills
opportunities
AND learning abilities (Comprehension, Memory, Problem Solving, Evaluation & Creativity, Figural, Symbolic, Semantic)

As a result, we are able to match a student/individual with the best career fit for their current abilities AND help them develop any abilities they may need to excel in the profession they choose.

If you have a student in High School considering what career to pursue, or if you are dissatisfied with your current career path, we'd love to help you come up with a plan! Give us a call to take that next step toward a successful, rewarding career!

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Written by Renee Anderson on October 1, 2019. Posted in Blog

How are we different from tutoring services?

One of the questions that I often get from parents is, “How are you different from tutoring services?” So in this post I want to address some of the main difference between our approach and a traditional tutoring service.

The main difference between the approach we use at Synap2it! Learning Center’s and tutoring services has to do with going deeper to understand the root cause of the difficulty a student is having in school.

Tutoring services can be a wonderful solution if a student is having difficulty understanding the material in the way a teacher is presenting it, or if the student needs the material to be “re-taught” in a way that makes sense to them. However, what if a student needs to develop an underlying ability in order to even take in the material? This is the “root cause” approach we take at our center.

Here’s how our perspective differs from tutoring services:

We know that there is more to learning than that which occurs from the neck up. We take a “whole body” approach to learning in order to assess visual, sensory integration, and cognitive abilities and learn how we can help a student build a solid foundation for success in school and beyond.

We screen and assess 27 learning abilities necessary for a student to be successful in areas such as math and reading and have a systematic program to address any challenges identified.

We know there is a huge connection between the brain and the body (Sensory Integration). Sometimes, simply aligning the brain and body can make a HUGE difference in a students academic performance.

We screen for brain and body integration and have a program to improve these abilities.

We know that weak sensory integration interrupts a person’s ability to attend to information or instruction that is being given.

We screen and have a program to address brain and body so that a student is more able to take in the information they are taught in the classroom.

We know that Functional Vision, in addition to a standard eye exam, is key to a person’s ability to take in visual information and learn.

We screen for functional vision in order to determine if this could be the cause of difficulties in school. If it is, we have a program to address this and improve these abilities.

We know that upwards of eighty per cent of what we learn comes through the visual system. Sometimes a student isn’t struggling with learning as much as they are with functional visual abilities.

We screen for functional vision and have a program to address issues a student may be having due to weak functional vision.

We know not every person learns every concept in the same amount of time or in the same way.

We assess and create a customized program to address concept challenges and encourage strengths – no cookie cutter programs here! Your child will get exactly what he/she needs to address his/her unique challenges.

We know that it is essential to gain complete understanding of concepts upon which school curriculum builds.

We assess and have a systematic program that goes deeper than traditional tutoring in order to build the skills necessary for a student to be successful in areas such as math, reading, writing, and more!

We know that memory skills (of which there are eighteen different kinds), although fundamental to efficient learning, are not taught in school.

We assess and have a systematic program to address and improve memory for those who need it. This can be a GAME CHANGER for students who have struggled for years.

Lifelong Transformation

In addition to our unique brain + body approach to learning, one of the best things about working with students through this program is that once they’ve completed their program and developed these abilities, they’re done! They won’t have to keep coming back (and spending more and more money) to be “re-trained” or “re-learn” anything. Students will literally have these abilities in place for a LIFETIME.

If you’re ready for a different approach to helping your child succeed in school and beyond, we’d love to talk more!

Click here to learn more about our program.

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Written by Renee Anderson on April 25, 2018. Posted in Blog

7 Great Sports for Brain Development

We sometimes get this question about what sports are best for kids and their overall brain development. Here are a few sports we recommend to students for better brain development and even for improving their abilities for team sports later on!

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Written by Renee Anderson on February 23, 2018. Posted in Blog

What Standardized Testing Doesn’t Measure

This is the story of an extremely bright student who, although he was captain of the his nationally recognized robotics team, had all but given up the idea of higher education. He was one of those students that I say, "slips through the cracks."

Nothing about his performance in school would have qualified him for special education, and most people would have just passed him off as just an “average student” or a student that just “gets by.”

Without intervention these are the students that can end up failing to see their true potential.

Due to his inability to “get it” when it came to reading and writing assignments he had come to the conclusion that college just wasn’t for him. Because he was bright, he had figured out exactly what he had to do on assignments that didn’t involve writing in order to obtain a seventy percent passing grade. Seventy percent!

Obviously, he could problem solve but there was obviously something derailing his school work. Time was of the essence. He was already in his senior year of high school!

What Does Standardized Testing Measure?

The Texas STAAR program as well as any other standardized test measures the Essential Knowledge and Skills as determined by a state’s curriculum standards.

In other words, how well does a student remember the information presented through the designated grade level curriculum and how well are they able to interpret the questions written on the test and determine the right answer as presented in a multiple choice format.

Standardized testing DOES NOT measure THE IMPACT OF:

the ability to see a complete word from first letter to last
a students ability to classify and conceptualize multiple items
if a student is misreading beginnings and endings of sentences
if a student is able to conceptualize similarities and differences in meanings
if a student can readily recognize new words
the students ability to hold information in mind while “processing it at the same time”

Each of these areas are VITAL for a student to be able to take in the instruction that they’re given by teachers and actually learn the material they’re given. If these areas are not developed, a student will struggle and could “fall through the cracks”.

What Does the SOI Measure?

Standardized Testing Measure

The SOI system goes much deeper to determine the “root cause” of learning difficulties by identifying and helping a student improve up to 27 different “intelligences” needed to be successful in school. This, in addition to assessing motor-sensory integration and visual skills makes this program a more holistic approach for lasting change.

The listed abilities above are only six of the twelve different intelligences the Structure of Intellect system has identified as essential for the area of READING. Reading, as we know, also impacts Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, and Language Arts and many more endeavors.

As you can imagine, a student struggling with any one of these abilities will have difficulty learning the information presented in the classroom (no matter how good the teacher!) and therefore perform lower on standardized tests.

Many smart individuals with just one or two underdeveloped abilities that cause them difficulty, wrongly conclude that they are just “not smart” or “not college material” as was the case with the student I was working with. This isn’t the truth AT ALL!

So what can be done to help these bright students who are “slipping through the cracks?”

In the case of the student I mentioned earlier, we assessed his cognitive ability and found many areas of strength….and some weaknesses. Because time was short, we met and decided on a very intense program of perceptual training coupled with intense cognitive training for the areas of weakness (evaluation).

His goal was to get himself in a position to be able to succeed in college. With determination he persevered in the Synap2it! program throughout the school year, graduated high school, and is a now a successful student of engineering at a prominent university.

He continues to evaluate his options well and makes good choices.……AND has turned into an avid reader!

Standardized testing isn’t the whole picture

Although standardized tests can accurately measure some things, how sad would it be if we based our entire opinion of a student’s academic ability on the limited results of one test?

In the case of the student I had been working with, he may never have realized his potential and he might have closed the door on opportunities that could significantly affect his destiny!

So, before we make too many assumptions about our students and children based on what these standardized tests measure, let’s start by asking ourselves, “What DON’T standardized tests measure?” The answer may surprise you!

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-Dripping Springs parent

The Ultimate Reward

Instead of just saying, "I'm just not good at _________" and accepting this as their lot in life, students are able to see real, long-lasting improvement!

Helping students develop this kind of confidence, ownership over their life-long learning, and realize their full potential is, for me, one of the greatest rewards this program has to offer.

If you've tried everything else and are ready for lasting change, I'd love to talk with you and see how we can help! Click here to schedule a free consultation!

-Dripping Springs parent

The Ultimate Reward

Instead of just saying, "I'm just not good at _________" and accepting this as their lot in life, students are able to see real, long-lasting improvement!

Helping students develop this kind of confidence, ownership over their life-long learning, and realize their full potential is, for me, one of the greatest rewards this program has to offer.

If you've tried everything else and are ready for lasting change, I'd love to talk with you and see how we can help! Click here to schedule a free consultation!

Mike's Story

No longer just "getting by"

The Ultimate Reward

A Different Approach

Learning Abilities and Career Placement

Here's How it Works

Finding the Right Career Fit

Take the Next Step

What Does Standardized Testing Measure?

What Does the SOI Measure?

So what can be done to help these bright students who are “slipping through the cracks?”

Standardized testing isn’t the whole picture

How are we different from tutoring services?

The Missing Link to Learning

Classification: A Skill for Life

What Standardized Testing Doesn’t Measure

All of a Sudden

What’s the big deal about CFU? Ask Brian.

7 Great Sports for Brain Development

Finding the Right Career: A Different Approach