New CD - Anyone Can Improve Their Handwriting

Product Description: For helping with poor handwriting , for dysgraphic handwriting

Handwriting is a tool for transfer of knowledge and must comply with acquired rules in order to understand what we read. The CD ROM deals handwriting problems, rules, tips, and exercises. From students who have lower grades and self esteem to physicians who by law have to improve their writing- this CD can help. Based on 10 years experiance helping ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia - Jason knows what works to improve your handwriting. Simple techniques, demonstrations - a new way of helping people of all ages improve their handwriting and be proud of their own " work of art"

Product Details http://jasonalster.googlepages.com/home or

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9659025173/
CD-ROM: 40 pages
Publisher: Rainbow Cloud (July 20, 2006)
ISBN-10: 9659025173
ISBN-13: 978-9659025176

With Amazon.com and on my eBay store

How Integrative multimodality biofeedback helps ADHD

Being In Control: Natural Techniques For Increasing Your Potential and Creativity For Success in School. Also for improving concentration and learning in children with ADHD and Dyslexia. BEING IN CONTROL: Natural Solutions for ADHD Dyslexia and Test Anxiety ( video)Guide to GSR Biofeedback for the Natural ADHD Practitioner ( video) I began treating children with ADD quite unexpectedly in 1991. I had been a biofeedback therapist as part of an anxiety clinic in a mental day care setting in Tel Aviv, Israel. I had absolutely no experience in treating children but was doing quite well with adults suffering from stress disorders and teenagers who had test anxiety and social phobias. The biofeedback clinic had just opened and each type of patient was a new experience. With my medical- technological training in neuro-electrodiagnostics and sleep/wake disorders, I was more into the neurological and psycho- physiological disorders while a child psychologist working with me wanted to try biofeedback on ADD. Then he had said that there was no treatment for this poorly understood syndrome and the only remedy was Ritalin although reports about EEG (electroencephalogram) biofeedback and Joel Lubar's research with Neurofeedback were just coming out. After starting to treat a handful of children with biofeedback the psychologist had to leave the unit and I had to take over his patients. All I knew then about ADD was from a television program showing a hyperactive child literally jump off the walls and I worried about what this child would do to my biofeedback equipment. I had absolutely no knowledge of learning disorders either. I mention this lack of knowledge for a reason. I had to begin treating ADD without a prior predisposition to what was written in the literature. I had to see for myself what works, and fast. On my very first ADD patient I performed a regular biofeedback stress baseline for anxiety. That is, I hooked the child up to galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensors, muscle and peripheral temperature monitors, but not EEG. I had to start to treat ADD with what I knew and that is how to treat stress and anxiety. And I lucked out. My very first patients baseline EMG (electromyogram or muscle activity potential good for measuring stress) showed that the more she sat quietly the EMG gained in amplitude. That is, sitting quietly was stressful for her. With relaxation training she had improved her baseline in just 6 sessions and began to do better at home and in school. This was not supposed to happen. Biofeedback in ADD was supposed to be a stubborn neurological problem that takes 60 sessions to treat. ADD is not supposed to be a stress disorder - but is it? One of the problems in dealing with ADD has to do with when the diagnosis was made. Could the ADD be superimposed by anxiety, stress, and emotional problems? How can one separate the ADD from an emotional picture? Am I treating the anxiety in the child or the ADD? I lucked out again. One of my next patients was also a pretty 12 year old young girl with ADD and a learning disorder as well as a behavioral problem to boot. She was being expelled from school 20 days a month. That is almost every day. Her mother approached me because she had wanted a behavioral treatment before trying medication for the ADD. I sat her down for a stress baseline too and this time she showed that the GSR skin response increased in intensity the longer she sat quietly. The same result in an ADD patient, with a different physiological measure. This was not supposed to happen. ADD is not supposed to be a stress disorder. However, this patient had a diagnosis of ADD with hypersensitivity, by a respected neurologist, since age 1. That is, this was a true ADD patient. She also responded to relaxation treatment in just 8 sessions. She was no longer being expelled from school anymore. I was onto something here. I began to ask myself, why am I successful in treating ADD so quickly and others are not? Why is ADD supposed to be impossible to treat while there are successes for other more serious chronic medical disorders like cancer and hypertension? I asked my patients what about the biofeedback worked, and they mentioned the relaxation effect. But ADD is an attention deficit disorder not a stress disorder- or is it? A closer look then at the histories of my patients began to show that up to 75% of the ADD children had other medical problems accompanying the ADD. These could be ear, nose, and throat problems, sleep problems, and respiratory problems, skin problems, and digestive problems as well as school anxiety issues. Could these associative medical problems exacerbate the ADD? If so, then relaxation assisted biofeedback would be a better treatment than medication. That is: ADD rarely stands alone. Like in the story of the Hobbit, the quest was on and my life’s work had been sealed in fate. I felt that I had the magic bullet and a treasure map. What I had stumbled onto, without fully understanding at the time, was an objective physiological measure of concentration in ADD. The first ever. The other measure used in ADD to evaluate Ritalin was the TOVA (test of variance) and this is not a physiological measure and is open to subjective interpretation. With this physiological objective measure, the GSR, I could also determine what interventions worked for ADD. I could search every possible treatment used for relaxation and focusing and measure the usefulness of each. The race was on. When I began to take a look at the literature I found that very few articles had been written at the time on the treatment of ADD with Biofeedback. The few written mentioned that EMG biofeedback was not successful in ADD and that just EEG biofeedback had shown some results but the protocol had to be 60 biofeedback sessions. The work suggested that ADD is a neurological disorder and therefore EEG biofeedback would work by regulating EEG brain waves. With this idea, sympathetic and peripheral biofeedback should be of no significance in treating ADD children. In my readings at the time, a number of avenues were being pursued in the treatment of ADD. Some of these were nutrition, and sensory integration, guided imagery, art therapy, natural meditation, yoga, Bach flower remedies, homeopathy, chiropractor, and aromatic oils. In biofeedback, animated computer games were being introduced. I could use each method and observe its effectiveness. I could develop an integrated and holistic approach. I could match the method to each child individually. One of the first things that I found that causes the GSR to become stable in ADD children and adults is holding a soft or smooth stone in your hand. Who would ever expect that this piece of nature could compete with Ritalin. But it does. I got this idea from the worry stones and beads of the Middle East. In sensory integration one is supposed to work on all the senses - sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Listening to the sound of the waves within a seashell is relaxing for a sense of sound. As is the sound of the metronome and so are the relaxing sounds of nature. For touch, I use the soft stones especially egg shaped ones or stones from a stream or the ocean. The best are the soap stones and marble ones. A four-legged wooden mas-sager is also good. For sight - staring at a fish tank, a scenic view, a water wheel. The water wheels and colorful sand clocks are great because they can time a relaxation period to two to three minutes. It turns out that the secret to training in ADD is short relaxation exercises of about two to four minutes each day for a period of about 2 months. For smell and taste, the aromatic oils turned out to be great. I let the child choose up to three oils that he can combine into one. The combined oil has a better aroma to the client than the 3 oils separately. Children like mainly citrus oils and these are relaxing, uplifting, and also help concentration. It turns out that all the relaxation and focusing exercises have the ability to cause the GSR to be stable. Body Armor To work on the body armor and let the child relax his muscles even in the classroom where he cannot do a relaxation exercise or meditation, the seated yoga exercises work well. Some I picked and chose from different sources like Tai chi, seated yoga, airline stretching exercises, Jacobson progressive muscle relaxation, and even Reiki. In the class, the child will often show the teacher the book BEING IN CONTROL and arrange that when needed, the teacher will help the child choose an exercise to do instead of just saying "be quiet" which doesn’t work with ADD children. The relaxation and concentration exercises in children were really helping and their physiological measures of concentration were improved as well as their associated medical problems. These could be a reduction in sleep problems, improved breathing, more strength for sports and activities. The self, home, social, and behavioral situation really improved. Accelerated Learning Techniques But - what about grades in school? Some children still did not succeed after biofeedback. What could be expected, if a child had poor learning skills developed over the years due to the ADD? I concluded that if I was to help these children succeed I would literally have to go back to school myself to find out how to teach these children. What I discovered was that to empower children behind in their learning, I could teach them accelerated learning techniques. These included associative memory techniques for instance. Using associations between ideas and pictures to help memory, I found that even people with poor memory could compensate. If a child remembered only 6 out of 8 items he could increase this to 15 out of 15 with associative memory. Then I used speed-reading techniques. Children who read 60 words a minute, and barely remembered what they read the minute before, could now read up to 250 words per minute. And remember. To help children organize their thoughts and copy the material during lectures I taught mind mapping. To improve their cursive handwriting they were taught the rules of handwriting. This was important to let the child’s work look more organized. Children were asked to keep exams with marks that were determined to be non-passing so that their performance could be evaluated. It turns out that many children do not keep their exams and thus never know what the right answer is so that they can make the same mistakes over again. The other main problem that in many instances the child knew the answer but did directly answer the question being asked, this especially when a question was made up of a couple of parts. Children were told to circle the main ideas of the question to help them better SEE the actual parts of the question. What turned out was that each issue could be taught during an hour session combined with a period of biofeedback practice and relaxation mixed in. Problems that were there for years were being given a solution within a short time. Parents were also involved in each session to then also help at home if needed or at least to recognize the problems and be supportive. Visual Learners With all the talk about learning having to be fun and that many children with ADD are visual learners, add the increased role of graphics in our cyber world, and I came to having each one of the exercises shown in a graphic format. I had fun with this as I like painting and photography myself and had an opportunity to add all my resources into it. Furthermore, the graphic artists were great, one had dyslexia herself, and really understood the idea. As I had problems in cursive handwriting and math (I probably have some math phobia myself) it was a real challenge to discover the roots of correcting these two problems and condense these skills into one graphic page, one least common denominator. Handwriting It turns out that either you know the rules or you don’t. Follow the rules and the handwriting will improve. For instance, keep all letters on the bottom line. Simple, but not always done. In math, imagery skills, breaking problems down to their smaller parts, attacking problems from different angles, and estimation skills are needed to help succeed in all math. Creativity Finally, if I was asked my opinion about what is the major difference between the new millennium and the previous one, I would say it is a higher level of thinking. That is, increases in creativity and thinking skills are here even for the youngsters. Therefore, I added a page dedicated to creativity. The bottom line there is don’t be afraid to ask questions (be curious), be spontaneous, appreciate diversity, let yourself be inspired, and knowing that today, everyone has the ability to create. My book is a step in the right direction. So to conclude, the best response I have received about the book is from the children, they just love it. It speaks to them. From the parents, it lets them be a part of the picture too, and from the professionals – "these exercises are what I have been practicing and preaching for years."

New Concept In Testing and Helping ADHD using integrated GSR Biofeedback

OpEdNews.comOriginal Article at http://www.opednews.com/articles/life_a_jasonmar_060608_new_concept_in_testi.html

June 8, 2006

New Concept in Testing and Helping ADHD using GSR Biofeedback

By Jason AlsterI would like to bring to your attention a new concept in ADD testing. An objective physiological measure of ADHD has been elusive. However, research by Jason Alster MSc has shown that when ADD persons try to sit still, do a boring task, or concentrate- they actually enter stress as measured by labile electro - dermal activity (EDA , GSR ). Whereas the GSR was traditionally used to teach relaxation it was overlooked as a tool to teach relaxed concentration being dwarfed by the popular and successful neurofeedback. Measuring electron flow in a circuit the body operates largely by a series of electrical impulses which have been shown to follow certain pathways and measure changes in the electrical resistance or the ability of the tissue to conduct electricity. The GSR activity marker is positive in the majority of ADD clients tested. Once tested, then the GSR biofeedback may be used to improve the stress result with different techniques. A protocol using this valid objective physiological marker has just been published in a video- "Guide for GSR Biofeedback Techniques for the Natural ADHD Practitioner" (Amazon.com). Using the GSR protocol only takes 10 minutes to perform. The test is valid for children as well as adults and helps parents determine if their ADHD children need intervention. The measure may then be used to match a personal technique protocol to the client depending on what type of technique helps improve the GSR from lability to stability during rest. The GSR is measured as labile and steadily increases in amplitude when the ADHD child tries to sit quietly for 2 minutes. The GSR is then increasingly more labile during an eyes closed condition. This is in contrast to the GSR in anxiety where there is usually a decrease during a relaxing eyes closed baseline condition. In some instances- the GSR in ADHD is stable - however, will not return to baseline after prompted with a mild stimulus like noise. This shows that a symptom of ADHD when trying to sit quietly and concentrate -is acting like a stress-or for him her. This is not unlike the "disorientation" experienced in dyslexics when trying to read. Many ADHD clients- upon producing a stable GSR after a biofeedback assisted relaxed concentration technique - will claim when asked-that this is the first time ever they felt what relaxation /concentration is. This may be compared to someone not having ever tasted a tasty food like an orange. You can't describe it to them. However, once they taste it- they know what it feels like. So too, it turns out, with the sense of relaxation, focus in ADHD. When asked to compare this sensation with the sensation of an ADHD medication- the majority of ADHD people will say that the natural biofeedback induced sensation is better than medication- and medication does not "feel well" even though it does help them concentrate. This shows that medication like Ritalin has a different mode of action working to help ADHD than natural and behavioral methods. The relaxation and relaxed concentration response is natural and seems to be lacking in many people with ADHD. These responses might have been lacking at birth or were compromised with an unbalancing childhood medical problem (Ears nose and throat, asthma,-sleep disorder-medical operation). However, once re-learned or acquired - the ADHD person can re-produce this "sensation" upon need. Like learning art or music- some are born with it- but all can learn to be artists or musicians with the proper instruction. This objective physiological test is easy to replicate only with the most sensitive /graphic GSR biofeedback equipment(like Thought Stream or Mindlife for example). My hope is that this simple and valid measure will be used as a future screening test in ADHD clinics and schools as well as by biofeedback practitioners helping ADHD.A bit of the history in how this method was developed. I began treating children with ADD quite unexpectedly in 1991. As a biofeedback practitioner and part of an anxiety clinic in Tel Aviv, Israel, I had absolutely no experience in treating children but was doing quite well with adults suffering from stress disorders and teenagers who had test anxiety and social phobias. The biofeedback clinic had just opened and each type of patient was a new experience. With medical- technological training in neuro-electrodiagnostics and sleep/wake disorders, I was more into the neurological and psycho- physiological disorders. A child psychologist working with me wanted to try biofeedback on ADD. Then he had said that there was no treatment and no objective test for this poorly understood syndrome. The only remedy at the time was Ritalin although reports about EEG (electroencephalogram) neuro - biofeedback and Joel Lubar's research with Neurofeedback were just coming out (1991) demonstrating that ADHD can respond to a behavioral method. At first I found that EMG (testing muscle tension)was increased in ADHD and there was already a study showing that EMG biofeedback did not help in ADHD. However, I found that found that GSR ( electrodermal resistance) was better and easier to use in ADHD than EMG. At the time there were no studies of GSR biofeedback for ADD- so I had to go it alone. After starting to treat a handful of children with biofeedback, the psychologist I was working with had to leave the unit and I had to suddenly take over his patients. All I knew then about ADD was from a television program showing a hyperactive child literally jump off the walls and I worried about what this child would do to the biofeedback equipment! I had absolutely no knowledge of learning disorders either. I mention this lack of knowledge for a reason. I had to begin treating ADD without a prior predisposition to what was written in the literature and had to see for myself what worked and fast. On my very first ADD client I performed a regular biofeedback stress baseline for anxiety. That is, I hooked the child up to galvanic skin resistance (GSR) sensors, muscle and peripheral temperature monitors, but not EEG. I had to start to treat ADD with what I knew and that is how to treat stress and anxiety. I was lucky. My very first patient's baseline EMG (electromyogram or muscle activity potential) showed that the more she sat quietly the EMG gained in amplitude over time. That is, sitting quietly was tense for her. I tried relaxation training and she improved her baseline in just 6 sessions and began to do better both at home and in school. This was not supposed to happen. Biofeedback in ADD was supposed to be a stubborn neurological problem that takes 40- 60 EEG biofeedback sessions to treat. Wanting to find an effective, alternative method to offer those young people and especially parents who wouldn't, or didn't want to use medication for ADHD. At least these children wouldn't be left untreated. In my readings at the time, a number of avenues were being pursued in the treatment of ADD. Some of these were nutritional, sensory integration, guided imagery, art therapy, natural meditation, yoga, Bach flower remedies, homeopathy, chiropractic, and the use of aromatic oils. In biofeedback, animated computer games were just being introduced like Mindlife/Ultramind and Thought Stream. I decided I could use each method and observe its effectiveness. I could try and develop an integrated and holistic approach matching the method to each child individually and determining the results by the GSR. One of the first things that I found that can cause the GSR to become stable in ADD children and adults is holding a soft or smooth stone in your hand and studying a liquid water timer or sand clock. Other techniques include using the senses to relax like self massage, abdominal breathing, seated yoga, listening to a metronome, listening to a sea shell, guided imagery, smelling aromatic oils, and more. Later, I found that by integrating accelerated learning techniques and study strategies such as speed reading, associative memory, mind mapping , and time management - children with ADHD and test anxiety began to reach their full potential and receive very high grades in school. Included in the CD ROM video kit are the book BEING IN CONTROL, and the video

BEING IN CONTROL:NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR ADHD DYSLEXIA AND TEST ANXIETY. The videos play on Windows Media Player.

Authors Website: http://jasonalster.googlepages.com/home

Authors Bio: Psychophysiologist,ADHD coach, learning specialist-electroneurodiagnostics, sleep wake research. Developed an efficient method (BEING IN CONTROL) of helping ADHD and test anxiety naturally using Multimodality Integrative Biofeedback, developed, a protocol for using and testing ADHD using GSR biofeedback. A biofeedback practitioner in Israel since 1990.

BA-psycho/biology, Yeshiva University, NY, NY. 1997, MSc Technion Institute Of Technology 1990, Medical Sciences, Neurophysiology. Jason is now back in the USA.

Resources For Test Anxiety and school stress.

Resources For Test Anxiety.

Test anxiety is stress directly related to testing situations, for many, testing is stressful and can unchecked - can even make you ill. Because exam results can determine whether you pass or fail a class, earn a scholarship, get admitted to a desired program, or even earn entry into a professional school, graduate program, job or career, it is natural to feel some anxiety when you take a test. Test anxiety can develop for a number of reasons. There may be some prior negative experience with test taking that serves as the activating event. Students who have experienced, or have a fear of, blanking out on tests or the inability to perform in testing situations can develop anticipatory anxiety. Worrying about how anxiety will affect you can be as debilitating as the anxiety itself. This kind of anxiety can build as the testing situation approaches, and can interfere with the student’s ability to prepare adequately. Also, having a medical problem like asthma, sleep wake disorder, insomnia, attention deficits, obesity, or dyslexia can exacerbate the stress during the test situation. Symptoms of test anxiety can be both emotional and psychophysiological.Emotional symptoms can be anger, low self esteem, embarrassment, crying, frustration, negative ruminating thoughts. Math phobia is an extreme example where people are afraid of math because it is hard for them. In younger children- disturbing a class in order to avoid taking a test is better than admitting to " being stupid" for having low grades. Psychosophysiological symptoms are feelings of panic, confusion, disorientation, loss of memory, depression, rapid heart beat, nausea, shakiness, tight muscles, headaches, stomach aches, excessive sweating, flushing or feeling cold.Dealing with Test AnxietyKeep things in perspective. Be satisfied and give yourself credit for your hard work. Resist the temptation to blame your circumstances and outcomes on situations and people you can't control.• Develop a sense for your role in your outcomes. Remember that grades are not a measure of self-worth. Instead- turn a negative into a positive. Tell yourself that solving your own "test anxiety" is a project that you will take up and succeed in.Improve concentration and attention. Improve, listening skills in the class room. Fight the urge to become preoccupied and distracted by thoughts and concerns unrelated to exam content. Learn to recognize negative self-talk and combat it with positive, self-supportive statements (affirmations) such as "I am prepared and understand the material. I am happy today." "Life is fun." I am lucky to be in school getting an education." Get a book with jokes- smiling will loosen you up before an exam and help memory too.Learn and use relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation, controlled breathing, visualization, seated yoga. Buy a relaxation tape or video with relaxation exercises. There are natural exercises to improve concentration like holding a smooth stone while staring at a liquid timer for a few minutes. If your stress is high and you also have a concentration problem, you might want to try out a home biofeedback system. Alternatively, you might go to a biofeedback specialist. Other natural thinks that help anxiety during exams. Bach Flower Remedy- Rescue Remedy. Use a combination of aromatic oils for relaxed concentration like lavender, bergamot, grapefruit, lemon. Familiarize yourself with study strategies skills like being able to anticipate what the exam will cover.Before the exam :1) Get a good night's sleep before hand --- DONT CRAM!2) Eat a healthy breakfast every day so you'll be energized and able to think clearly.3) As you take the exam, breathe slowly and evenly to relax and increase blood flow to the brain. 4) Do some seated yoga exercises like those stretching exercises shown in air flights. 5) Dress up, you will feel more confident.6) Close your eyes and visualize answering questions and worse case scenarios. Then you will be prepared for anything. What can you do to control test anxiety?• If you feel very anxious in the exam, take a few minutes to calm yourself down. Stretch your arms and legs and then relax them again. Do this a couple of times. Take a few slow deep breaths. Do some positive internal self-talk; say to yourself, "I will be OK, I can do this." Then direct your focus on questions; link questions to their corresponding lecture and/or chapter. • If the exam is more difficult than you anticipated, try to focus and just do your best. It might be enough to get you through, even with a reasonable grade! Remember- you can get points for guessing a correct answer. • When the exam is over, treat yourself. Go to a movie, restaurant, or outing.Break down any problem into smaller problems so that you do not not get overwhelmed • Reviewing your past performance on teststo improve and learn from experience Test preparation to reduce anxiety:• Use whatever strategies you can to personalize success: vizualization, logic, talking to your self, practice, team work, journaling, etc.View the exam as an opportunity to show how much you've studied and to receive a reward for the studying you've done • • Don't go to the exam with an empty stomachFresh fruits and vegetables are often recommended to reduce stress.Stressful foods can include processed foods, artificial sweeteners, carbonated soft drinks, chocolate, eggs, fried foods, junk foods, sugar, white flour products, fried foods or oily foods, foods containing preservatives or heavy spices and MSG. • Take a small snack, or some other nourishment.During the test: • Read the directions carefully • Budget your test taking time • If you go blank, skip the question and go on • If you're taking an essay testand you go blank on the whole test, pick a question and start writing. It may trigger the answer in your mind• There's no reward for being the first done Mind mappingTony BuzonBach Flower remedyAromatic oils.Speed readingAssociative memory techniques Seated Yoga Attention skills Study strategies skills – how to listen and take notesBiofeedback to improve concentration Keep your exams and make sure you know why you did not get the question correct- even ask the teacher. People have a tendency to repeat mistakes. So look to see if there is a pattern to your mistakes.