By Interactive Metronome - February 27, 2015

IM Training Puts Harris on the “Write” Track

IM Training Puts Harris on the “Write” Track

Harris is a bright 14 year old boy, but was easily distracted, even in a Home-School environment, and had difficulty knowing how to start a new task. The family suspected there was an undiagnosed ADHD issue. It also was noted that Harris was dysgraphic.

The initial LFA assessment showed a high score of 214 (severe deficiency) and a low score of 57 (average); however, most of his LFA scores were in the average and below average ranges, so we planned to work through the 14 session program. Harris was easy to work with, he enjoyed the sessions and was motivated to challenge himself. After less than two weeks of IM, he went through some difficult days with neurological reorganization causing him a setback. It was taking him several hours to accomplish tasks that he could usually accomplish more quickly and the work he completed was not done well. His focus was off and he even seemed to lose some of his basic math skills.

Thankfully, after a week or so he bounced back and was soon pushing forward with even stronger improvements. At session eight we began incorporating additional visual and auditory distraction. For example, I would require him to read out loud or answer questions while keeping the beat, and I would create visual distractions by flipping playing cards, moving things around or tossing a ball while he worked.

Early on I asked for a writing sample and noticed it took Harris quite some time to write a seven word sentence. Thirteen days later I had him write a simple six word sentence while I timed him with a stopwatch. It took him 50 seconds. Twenty one days later I had him write the same sentence and he was able to do so in 41 seconds. Twenty more days passed and it was time to complete the program and take the final assessment. I wanted to get one last measurement and so I had him write the same sentence again. This time it took twenty seconds; that’s a 60% improvement in less than two months!

At the final session, Harris completed a self-assessment and scored himself as improved in focus and concentration, multi-tasking and coping skills. All of his LFA scores were in the superior range. Some of the goals Harris accomplished included the following: reduction of math homework time from 2.5 hours to less than one hour; reduction in a.m. routine from one hour to 15 minutes; improvement in reading concentration; reduction in time it took to clean his room.

Though he was not coming to IM sessions to improve his athletic abilities, his personal trainer noted that he was able to complete parts of his training program much more easily, and showed more concentration.

His mother had been keeping notes on his progress throughout the program. In her final comments she stated that her son is now much more equipped to handle stressful situations as a result of IM, that he is able to maintain a pleasant attitude and not get frustrated, and that he now has a new underlying sense of calm and the skills to positively impact his present and his future.