iN THE RIGHT!

Incorporating

WANTED

AMAZE!

Don’t

Dis Me

iN THE RIGHT!

WANTED -AMAZE -Don’t Dis Me

Health and Wellbeing for Right Brain Students in a Left Brain World

In the right! delivers a health, resilience, and enterprise programme specifically targeted to the needs of students who are challenged in a conventional academic environment.

What does the programme deliver?

  • Naturopathic consultationto establish comprehensive client history and rapport.
  • Laboratory hair sample analysis to identify nutritional status.
  • Optimisation ofnutritional status via diet and, where necessary, supplementation.
  • Practise of relaxation techniques andmeditation as a lifestyle measure.
  • Resilience building and treatments for reducingacutestress or anxiety.
  • Motivational visits from successful right brain dominant (RBD)role-models.
  • Incentive and Reward trips following exams.
  • Entrepreneurial mentoring and collaboration.

How is the programme delivered? 3 Optionsover 30 weeks:

Wanted: Whole person Health and Wellbeing for schools and colleges.

Wanted&Amaze: Health, Wellbeingand Enterprise for schools and colleges.

Amaze: Online service for parents and adults throughout the year.

How much do the programmes cost?

Wanted: Day: £700 Half day:£400 plus hair analysis/supplement costs.

Wanted/Amaze: Day: £900 Half day: £650 plus hair analysis/supplement costs.

Amaze: Initial Consultation:1.5hr£80 Follow Up Appt:1hr£60plus costs.

Who delivers the programme?

Wanted:Pauline Moran BSc (Hons) Naturopath. Olga Lourenco, IT & Admin

Wanted/Amaze: P.Moran, Entrepreneurial Creative Team, RBD Mentors

Amaze: P.Moran, Marketing, Communications & Engagement Consultancy.

How will the outcomes be measured?

Wellbeing Questionnaire. Research, Hair Analysis retesting.

Alliances:

Biolab, London. Foresight, Somerset.

Commercial Advisors:

Liverpool Vision, Liverpool University, School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Pauline Moran BSc Hons‘Hope Street Naturopath’ Tel: 0798 992 7701

Liverpool Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2011

Children and Young People Page 5

When children from Liverpool were asked

what things they often worry about,

the top three responses were:

■School work and exams (49%) tick

■ What to do after year 11 (41%) tick

■Beinghealthy (26%) tick

When asked to indicate

what would maketheir lives better,

the top three responseswere:

■ More places to spend timewith my friends (41%)

■ More interesting school lessons (34%) tick

■ More help to plan for my future (32%) tick

Liverpool Child population 2011=103,ooo Dyslexia @10%min=10.5oo children

iN THE RIGHT!

WANTED -AMAZE -Don’t Dis Me

Heeding the advice of Mark Twain who declared that ‘People use statistics the way a drunk uses a lamp-post - more for support than for illumination’, US research suggests 10-15% of the population is dyslexic. UK statistics place the figure at between 8-10%, 4% being severely so.

Author Ron Davis refers to ‘The Gift of Dyslexia’, whilst many students, and dyslexic adults, might prefer to describe it as ‘The Graft...’ Davis also found that;

‘...the stress and invalidation typically encountered during the school years compound the problem...loss of self-esteem causes many dyslexics to adopt ingenious methods to hide their learning disability.’

As well as ‘learning difficulty’, dyslexia has also been described as, amongst other negative connotations, a ‘minimal brain disorder’, and a disability which is ‘suffered’, necessitating ‘diagnosis’ after which support and assistance of variable effectiveness is available – if lucky. If not so lucky and if not identified – exhibiting dyslexic features can result in punishment and exam results which do not accurately reflect a student’s true ability. Both responses can damage.

Dyslexia might best be described as a ‘studying’ difficulty as, in the appropriate educational environment, many dyslexics thrive and succeed. Some dyslexics, including the keynote speakers at the Global Entrepreneurs Conference Liverpool 2012, Richard Branson and Michael Heseltine, prefer to find their commercial feet and first market-place at school. Successful personalities as diverse as Alan Sugar, Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, John Lennon, Cath Kidson, Jamie Oliver, and Ferdinand Piech, VW Group Chairman, are also dyslexic.

ITR! considers students recognised as dyslexic to have an innate and different skills set which can be disadvantaged and disabled by orthodox education. They have a different ability - or diffability rather than disability – which, if not catered for, can result in them becoming disenchanted, disaffected, and disenfranchised.

Increasingly Dyslexia is becoming associated with right brain dominant (RBD), creative, functioning – not only in the conventional sense such as art, design, music, and performance, but also in thinking, commerce, and science - such as in medical diagnosis, endowing an ability to see the whole person rather than the reductionist parts - plus a gift for trend prediction, innovation, and original problem solving.

Einstein, himself considered to be dyslexic, declared that ‘Imagination is more valuable than knowledge’. RBD innovation combined with left brain dominant (LBD) structures and strategies is what moves society forward. In the current economic climate it is useful to be minded that between 20%(UK) – 35%(US) of entrepreneurs are considered to be dyslexic. Many more might be RBD.

ITR! views RBD and dyslexia positively – as a way of being. ITR!does not correlate an ability to read with an ability to achieve. Sadly, RBD skills and attributes have historically been undervalued, even suppressed, when what is required is a balanced approach to education where different skills are facilitated in different ways rather than a ‘one size fits all’ provision – which clearly doesn’t.

Increasingly, in the current technological age there are many ways – audio and visual – to accommodate and overcome this issue, and there will likely be many more in the near future. Until then, what can be a stressful education climate for students generally, and for RBD/dyslexic students especially, needs to be addressed. The ITR!WANTED-Amaze initiative does so by taking an innovative ‘whole person’ approach - offering emotional, mental, and physiological support to facilitate optimum resilience, creativity, success and, crucially, appreciation of Self.

ITR! will be seeking to engage local universities in research to measure the progress of this initiative and its future implications on choices and opportunities in education.

“Logic will get youfrom A to B

Imagination will take youeverywhere”

Albert Einstein “Dyslexicsareteople poo”Anon “If you can dream it, you can

do it.”Walt Disney

Project: ITR!WANTED

LEFT BRAIN FEATURES / RIGHT BRAIN FEATURES
  • Words
  • Logic
  • Black/White
  • Numbers
  • Sequence
  • Analytic Thought
  • Lists
  • Critical thinking
  • Languages
  • Science/Math
/
  • Images
  • Intuitive
  • Colour
  • Rhythm
  • Imagination
  • Daydreaming
  • Dimension
  • Creative Thinking
  • Holistic Thought
  • Art/Music

It is possible to identify the preference between right and left brain dominance a student tends towards. Many right brained students encounter difficulties studying within the current education system.Some will have been assessed as dyslexic.

Experiencing difficulties with spelling is a common feature of dyslexia. What is less well known are the difficulties encountered around issues of organisation, both in the construction of written coursework and in the management of personal space, belongings and time.

Parents, teachers and even fellow students are mystified by the apparent inability of intelligent, eloquent, and otherwise capable students to be in the right place at the right time with the right books and materials required for a particular class, tutorial, or even exam. The students themselves experience confusion and frustration at their inability to study in spite of their clear ability to learn.

There remains a stigma attached to the label of Dyslexia, an inaccurate and unnecessary negative connotation, whereby it is often associated with impaired intelligence when often the reverse is true.

Some students are unaware that their negative academic experiences are as a result of a different learning style and see themselves as a round peg in a square hole (they are rarely square!). They can mistakenly be labelled lazy for which they feel at fault and/or defensive. This can sometimes result in behavioural difficulties.

Whilst approximately 10% of the population are assessed as dyslexic, it is recognised that more than 70% of young offenders have literacy issues. ITR! believes that addressing these issues in a more holistic way would have a positive impact on these statistics and is therefore committed to a preventative approach.

Whilst schools often provide academic and study support, what can be overlooked are the emotional consequences and vulnerabilities such study difficulties create. All of these experiences can impact negatively on students’ emotional and mental health.

ITR! addresses the stress experienced when trying to function in what can feel like an alien environment. ITR! is committed to enhancing the educational experience of students in an innovative, creative and caring way. ITR! believes that, one day in the not too distant future, the practise of teaching right brained children in a left brained manner will be seen to be as barbaric a practise as forcing left handed children to write with their right hand.

ITR!WANTEDDELIVERS: Health and Enterprise

Whole Person Health Approach

  • Assessment and correction of students’ nutritional status – via dietary adjustment or remedial micronutrient supplementation. This will not be done in a scattergun manner using insufficient doses of often poor quality multivitamin and minerals but will be individually tailored to address micronutrient and/or enzymatic insufficiency identified via laboratory executed hair analysis.
  • Practise and tuition in relaxation techniques such as meditation, Tai Chi, and breathing exercises which can be used individually as well as in a group. These techniques can be vital in times of stress such as prior to exams, but also act as a means of enabling students to be more comfortable and reflective with themselves, and with others. These techniques can assist with forming a supportive bond within groups. Participants will be encouraged to ‘buddy’, to mentor and inspire, the following year’s cohort.
  • Inspirational and motivational RBD/dyslexic speakers from the world of business, arts, sport and entertainment. These speakers are keen to share their inspirational experiences and to reassure RBD students that the qualities they have which can be, or feel, challenged in an academic environment are often those which will be their strengths in their career and professional role.
  • ‘Incentive and Reward’ trips prior to and following exams. ITR! has identified a number of venues and events which would support and reinforce the ITR! practises in group bonding, relaxation and Self-reflection. Locations include Dartford in Devon, Galicia Spain; and Cabella Italy.

Innervate to Innovate Enterprise

  • The ITR!WANTED enterprise initiative will provide students with the opportunity to establish self-employment and a CV in areas which will include:

IT - Marketing and App design; Textiles - fashion, accessories,up-cycling and rugs; Graphics -greetings card design and paper gifts;Music - Recording and creating own record label with access to rehearsal rooms, recording studio, a music promoter and agent.

  • Collaboration will be facilitated with local entrepreneurs and businesses so that each student has the opportunity to leave college having established their own enterprise with ongoing access to their appropriate business mentor; networking groups; and Entrepreneurs Hub. Students will be encouraged to access awards; outside funding sources; and design competitions in order to market their enterprises.
  • Students’ enterprises will be marketedonthe developing local, and national, inter-school AMAZEwebsite with a percentage of profits contributing towards the cost of ‘Incentive/Reward’ trips. Marketing externally will also be encouraged and facilitated.
  • The initiative is delivered by a team of young, innovative, enthusiastic entrepreneurs with a passion for business who believe all barriers to success are surmountable. Motivational talks are delivered by mature, inspirational business people, primarily from the Liverpool area, who overcame their own academic challenges and progressed to establishing numerous successful and diverse commercial ventures.

WANTED POSTER

a welcominginvitation to the project

which will include all the positive/negative

dyslexic/RBD features that can result in actual exclusion or feelings of being unwanted.

This will be designedannually by the students for the following year’s intake establishing a student fellowship and mentoringnetwork

Project: ITR!/AMAZE

Discovering that you or your child has different educational needs can be a bewildering experience. Navigating the myriad of services on offer can be harrowing and stressful.

AMAZEtransforms what can feel like a maze of provision into an amazing discovery of creative solutions.

AMAZE is an on-linesupport facility providing local, national, and international services. It will also signpost users to local health and wellbeing practitioners for those preferring face to face contact. The website will feature mostly video/audio content and the minimum of written copy.

AMAZE works with you, your child, and their educational establishment to provide anindividually tailoredand integrated programme of nutritional support and wellbeing provision which is easily accessible and empowering to all involved.

If nutrition and emotional needs are not addressed they can undermine all other approaches to resolving literacy and study difficulties. Impaired educational experiences can result in disruptive behaviours or academic apathy in otherwise bright and intelligent students. The resulting personal and collective loss to a high functioning and creative workforce could be immense.

AMAZEProcedure: Users access the site to obtain hair sampleanalysis which identifies individual nutritional status.

Hair analysis results are forwarded to an AMAZE practitioner, a naturopath or nutritionist, to inform and enable a consultation between practitioner and client.

A programme of improved nutritionandremedial supplementation, where necessary, is forwarded to clients. This can include an easy to use, empowering, wall poster for younger students to access.

Ongoing support and consultations, via a dyslexia aware naturopathic and nutritional therapist practitioner network, are accessible where required.

The AMAZE website and network will be the showcase for student designs and sales.

Students will be encouraged to contribute to merchandise design which promotes an informative andpositiveRBD/dyslexia message. The students will also be encouraged and supported in accessing innovative ways and people to support them in their enterprise endeavours.

Project:ITR!/Don’t Dis Me

is a forum and platform on the AMAZE website from which students, parents, educators, and entrepreneurs can campaign for a change in education policy and provision so that RBD can be recognised as a diffability not a disability.

History:

ITR! is a health and well-being initiative developed by Pauline Moran (BSc Hons) who qualified as a Naturopath at the University of Westminster School of Health Sciences in 2008. She is a qualified Foresight (fertility and pre-conception care) Practitioner. Pauline has taught yoga in the community in London and Liverpool since 2000.

Prior to University Pauline developed an English Language teaching enterprise in Spain. In an earlier career incarnation Pauline studied Fashion Textiles and Business Administration at Brighton Polytechnic, selling textile and graphic/card designs to individual clients on a commission basis, and to independent, fashionable outlets in the West End; Covent Garden; Kings Road Chelsea; and Brighton, many contacts being established before leaving college.

Pauline will bring her passion for natural medicine and preventative healthmeasures, her entrepreneurial experience, and her long held goal to advocate for social justice in health and education, to the ITR!WANTED/AMAZE initiative.

Testimonial:

Pauline helped my son Josh and myself to cope when we were unable to get any assistance with the organisation and spelling support he needed when taking his GCSE and AS level exams. Towards the end of his first year in sixth form his school predicted he would achieve D’s in his exams which would have meant he would not be able to complete his A-levels but with Pauline’s help he succeeded in gaining a B and C.

Increasingly frustrated by Josh’s primary school’s refusal to acknowledge his difficulties, which I recognised because I am dyslexic myself, in desperation I struggled financially to move Josh from state to private education. Although a smaller class size helped I still could not get Josh’s dyslexia assessed because he was bright and achieved high scores in some subjects but he was clearly struggling to cope. We were both exhausted which was affecting our relationship – another stress!

Pauline listened! She helped us to find funding to get Josh assessed which confirmed my suspicions that he really was dyslexic and this means he will now be able to access the support he will need if he chooses to try for University. She helped us to locate a dyslexia tutor, treated us both for our emotional exhaustion, and helped us to develop relaxation and coping strategies which we use now all the time. I don’t know what we would have done without her. Andrea Dawson 2012

Associated Reading/Articles/Abstracts:

Dyslexia and:

ADD, ADHD, and Hyperactivity

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Entrepreneurs

Essential Fatty Acid (EFA’s)

Inspiration

Meditation

Micro/Macronutrients

Resilience

Right Brain

Zinc link