A small and easy to read picture colorful guide to help children do better at school.
The book is of a high graphic content and in a pictorial format so that children will find the exercises in the book to be easy to comprehend as well as fun to do. The book is very artistic and great just to look at. Each separate page is an exercise. The book is light weight so that children may take the book to school with them and do exercises like relaxation and focusing exercises in the class room.
The book is packed with simple but powerful relaxation, focusing, seated yoga, and creativity exercises to help increase the potential of the child to make learning fun and to "learn how to learn". This book if for children of all school ages including teenagers. The book is sensitive to the needs of children with ADHD and dyslexia and test anxiety , however, the book is for all school children. In the book are relaxation exercises, focusing exercises, seated yoga, and social skills. There are also accelerated learning exercise in speed reading and associative memory techniques. Study skills like how to pass exams, make a mind map, and time management. How to improve handwriting, and how to be creative are also in the book. The book is full of natural techniques for relaxation and concentration as well as having an integrative approach There are also exercises for sensory integration.
Review
Being in Control, by Jason Alster, teaches readers how to use natural techniques to increase concentration, learning potential and creativity.
In his brightly designed, colorful and easy-to-read book, Alster teaches techniques to help children and adults overcome learning and concentration problems, relax and look on the bright side of life and to reach their greatest performance level. As a neuro-physiologist who treats children with ADD/ADHD and dyslexia, Alster uses the methods he developed to treat and almost cure the disability. In his treatment program which is based on techniques of biofeedback, he presents a four-part guide to gaining self-control.
Potential issues that child may encounter
Self-help guide
Tips and concentration tools
Suggestions and learning strategies on learning how to cope in school. When I met Alster, I quickly realized that he is a well-rounded individual and that he has a terrific ability to assimilate a variety of academic disciplines as well as life experiences. Based on those, he was able to devise that which he identifies as the only cure and the best natural behavioral treatment to date for ADD with better than medication results for most.Using biofeedback, Alster developed a method to teach children natural techniques to increase potential, creativity and success in school, while at the same time helping learning and concentration. Sitting and listening to Alster, one begins to understand how children would be able to trust him and take the leap of faith that is necessary to relax enough to be able to concentrate.
Using the Multimodality Integrated Holistic Biofeedback Method devised by Alster, he sees actual results in his patients. When he works with kids in his clinic, Alster makes a contract with the patient that they will practice the exercises as he teaches. While the total treatment takes approximately 15-20 sessions with the goal to overcome ADD/ADHD; the therapy begins to show results after six sessions. The program integrates different therapies.In both the book as well as in therapy, patients learn how to do the exercises which take up to two minutes. They learn how to relax and concentrate using their strengths such as kinesthetic, visual and auditory learning. According to Alster, he needed to become a specialist in education, psychology, biofeedback and more. He needed to integrate all of these disciplines into one program and to look at it with a holistic approach.In therapy, the kids learn a new biofeedback technique each session like combining a mantra with a biofeedback graph. One accelerated learning technique is brain mapping. This helps the kids learn techniques to take and pass exams. According to Alster, people are better at solving problems today than they were 20 years ago. ``The ability to think today is much better than it was; instead of rote learning the emphasis today is on learning how to learn.''
Alster actually proves this theory with the second book that he wrote and published, Creative Painting for the Young Artist. This too is a self-help guide. Like the first book, Alster takes the reader through a step-by-step process giving the tools and confidence to begin to paint. He breaks down the creative process so that rather than being an overwhelming project, painting becomes an orderly means of self-expression. In the introduction Alster writes, ``Throughout my own journey of creative and artistic discovery, I have yearned to share what I have learned over the years with anyone who does not think of himself as a true artist.''I would extend this statement further. Talking with Alster one understands that he is a man of many talents who shares his knowledge with others.
Jason is Now Back In The USA and resides in CT.
Text and interview by M. Kaplan Green
