Arrowsmith Program Exercises
Click on the + symbol to see which difficulty each exercise addresses.
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Messy handwriting, miscopying, misreading, irregular spelling, speech rambling, careless written errors in mathematics, poor written performance.
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Difficulty with reading comprehension, trouble with mathematical reasoning, trouble with logical reason- ing, difficulty reading an analog clock, problem understanding cause and effect, reversals of ‘b’-‘d’; ‘p’-’q’ (younger students and in more severe cases).
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Trouble remembering oral instructions, difficulty following lectures or extended conversations, problem acquiring general information through listening.
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Problem putting information into one’s own words, speaking in incomplete sentences, difficulty using internal speech to work out consequences, trouble following long sentences, breakdown of steps in mathematical procedures.
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Mispronouncing words, avoiding using words because of the uncertainty of pronunciation, limited ability to learn and use phonics, difficulty learning foreign languages, difficulty thinking and talking at the same time, flat and monotone speech with a lack of rhythm and intonation.
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Problem interpreting non-verbal information such as body language, facial expression and voice tone, weak social skills, difficulty perceiving and interpreting one’s own emotions, difficulty thinking, planning, problem solving non-verbally.
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Slow, jerky reading with errors, eyes fatigue when reading, problem navigating in the dark.
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Mishearing words and thus misinterpreting information, difficulty understanding someone with an accent, extra effort required to listen to a speech.
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Problem being self-directed and self-organised in learning, limited mental initiative, difficulty keeping attention relevantly oriented to the demands of a task necessary for completion, difficulty thinking, planning, problem solving, trouble seeing the main point.
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Poor word recognition, slow reading, difficulty with spelling, trouble remembering symbol patterns such as mathematical or chemical equations.
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Problem with associative memory, trouble following auditory information, trouble learning names of things such as animals, places, people, colours, days of the week.
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Awkward body movements, bumping into objects due to not knowing where the body is in space relative to objects, uneven handwriting with variable pressure.
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Lack of clear articulation of speech, some speech slurring.
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Trouble finding objects, problem remembering visual cues such as landmarks, difficulty remembering faces and recalling the visual details of pictures.
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Frequently getting lost, losing objects, messy, disorganised workspace, trouble constructing geometric figures.
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Difficulty understanding the mechanical properties of objects, problems constructing or repairing machinery such as taking apart and putting together a bicycle or repairing a car.
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Trouble understanding the proper sequence of steps in a task such as sewing, cooking or computer programming.
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Poor muscle tone which results in some degree of awkwardness and slowness of body movement.
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Finger counting, trouble retaining numbers in one’s head, difficulty making change, problem learning math facts, poor sense of time management, difficulty with time signature in music.
FAQs
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Imagine you brain is like the hard drive of a computer and it can’t read the software installed no matter how many times you press enter or okay . The Arrowsmith Program supports cognitive growth, like installing the correct software for the job, creating new neural pathways that help you process information.
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Short answer, yes! Like any new skill we learn if you put the work in you will definitely see results. Sometimes it’s not as fast as people expect and results differ from person to person. One client I had said the first thing he noticed was how much more confident he was speaking in public, his nervous stuttering stopped.
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No, the benefits don’t stop. Where you used to shut down because you couldn’t process the information you now actually want to learn. You become inquisitive. One client I worked with never asked questions about anything and then one days he came to class and asked “how do you make magnets.” This was a huge turn around, he was actually not only improving academically but he was thinking about things that interested him.
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The testing identifies 19 different cognitive areas and depending on each persons results and the cognitive areas that need strengthening (some cognitive areas take longer than others) and the commitment of the individual to their program, it all takes time. At the end of each year testing is done to see the progress made during the year and what areas have met the prescribed benchmarks. It does take time and from my experience the 3rd year of a full-time program really starts to show the most significant cognitive changes. That is not to say that it doesn’t happen more quickly for some individuals. The most important thing to remember is the end result is well worth the time and effort. It wont happen overnight but it will happen.
