Resources

Visual Processing Skills: Building Blocks for Learning and Development Visual processing encompasses a sophisticated set of cognitive abilities that allow children to make sense of the visual world around them. These skills work together as an integrated system, enabling everything from reading and writing to navigating playground equipment and solving math problems. Understanding these skills helps educators, clinicians, and parents recognize both strengths and areas where c

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), approximately 25% (1 in 4) of all children have a vision problem significant enough to impact their learning. While exact numbers vary, studies suggest around 3-4%  of children have significant visual processing deficits like Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) or Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD), though some estimates place general vision problems affecting learning as high as 10-15%, and even higher (30-60%) in childr

Steven G. Feifer D.Ed. Shared with the permission of Jack Hirose & Associates According to a recent survey conducted by the Canadian Mental Health and Access to Care (2022), more than 5 million Canadians were experiencing symptoms of mental illness in the aftermath of the world-wide pandemic.  Unfortunately, the mental health of children was disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as well, due primarily to extended disruptions in education, as well as forced social distan

Cognitivities Help Children Self-Regulate The human brain and music share an ancient relationship. When humans listen to or engage with music, multiple brain regions activate simultaneously in a neural symphony of their own (Toader et al., 2023). This is particularly significant for children as their brains are in an important period of development, forming neural connections at an astonishing rate, particularly in areas related to language, emotional regulation, and executiv

Teachers, clinicians, and parents are often looking for simple and effective ways to help children practice self-regulation, self-control, attention, and response inhibition; skill sets essential to successful learning and behavior. Self-regulation is the ability to manage one's thoughts, behaviors, and emotions to achieve goal-directed prosocial behaviors. Children’s ability to self-regulate (exercise control over their dominant impulses; calm themselves when over-energized)

Over the past 20 years, we have developed engaging cognitive-motor & executive function activities to help clinicians and educators who work with neurodiverse children to stimulate self-regulation, self-control, response inhibition, attention, and memory. Current studies on the relationship between executive function and emergent academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children have shown that executive function significantly relates to both mathematics and