There seems to be a growing awareness of visual-spatial learning as a cognitive style.
Did you know that many (most ?) ADDers are primarily visual-spatial ?

I was a visual-spatial child. One of my teachers catered to my interests in grade school, and it helped me a lot. Other than that, I languished in the traditional, linear-thinking education system of the 60's....

Read up....

http://www.tokyogiftedacademy.com/gifted_visual_spacial.htm?TOKYO=99641127d8c06c2067 0ace67d221cb5d

The Visual-Spatial Learner
Linda Silverman, Ph.D.

Introduction

In our research with gifted children at the Gifted Child Development Center over the past 10 years, we have observed that a substantial portion of our sample of 1,300 students exhibit extraordinary visual-spatial abilities. They perform well beyond age level on puzzles, mazes, block design, block counting (counting three-dimensional arrays with hidden blocks), and similar tasks. This subgroup includes most of the highly gifted children we have assessed, those with IQ's in excess of 150, as well as the majority of underachievers brought to our center. The major differences we have found between highly gifted and underachieving children have been in their responses to auditory sequential tasks such as repeating digits, repeating sentences, and telling the days of the week in order. Highly gifted students appear to have unusual facility with both types of items, whereas underachievers appear to be high on visual-spatial tasks and low on auditory sequential items.

Through analysis of performance on specific test items, behavior during testing, anecdotal records from teachers and parents, and information obtained through interviews with parents, we have amassed data on dominant learning modes, behavior patterns, and personality characteristics that appear to be correlated with high visual-spatial abilities. We have found clusters of traits appearing with such regularity that we have come to believe that they are directly related to a visual-spatial orientation to learning. Interviews with adults suggest the existence of other constellations of spatial abilities less related to the visual domain, but this paper is specifically concerned with the patterns we have observed in our assessments of gifted children, in whom spatial abilities and visual abilities appear to be highly correlated.

Background
The past decade has given rise to a considerable amount of research on left-brained and right-brained abilities and learning styles. The left hemisphere is thought to be responsible for temporal, sequential, and analytic functions, whereas the right hemisphere is considered to be the origin of spatial, holistic, and synthetic functions (Bogen, 1969; Dixon, 1983; Levy-Agresti & Sperry, 1968). Although the specific location of these functions has been questioned, their existence is a matter of record and has been independently demonstrated in numerous fields, such as different branches of psychology and neurophysiology (Das, Kireby, & Jarman, 1979; Kinsbourne, 1980; Luria, 1966, 1971). Most researchers agree that integration of both hemispheres is necessary for higher level thought processes (Levy, 1974, 1982). We all use both hemispheres but not with equal facility. Some individuals show a high level of integration of sequential and spatial functions, but most seem to naturally favor one or the other mode of learning.

Spatial and sequential dominance are two different mental organizations that affect perceptions and apparently lead to different world views. Information deemed central to one world view appears irrelevant from the other perspective. The sequential processor is profoundly influenced by time and is less aware of space; the spatial processor is preoccupied with space at the expense of time. These diverse ways of relating to the world have had powerful ramifications throughout history in the development of various philosophies, religions, cultures, branches of science, and psychological theories.

Western and Eastern philosophies and cultures provide dramatic examples of these differences. Western thought is sequential, temporal, analytic; Eastern thought is spatial and holistic (Bolen, 1979). Western languages are constructed out of non-meaningful elements ¬letters of the alphabet; Eastern languages have been composed of pictorial representations. Western children excel in verbal, analytical abilities; Eastern children excel in visual-spatial talent. One perceptual framework is not better than the other: in fact, they are complementary - the yin and yang of the universe.

These diverse mental organizations appear to be innate. Although one can gain more facility with one or the other mode through learning, it is unlikely that a person with sequential dominance can learn to perceive the world in exactly the same way as an individual with spatial dominance or vice versa. Instead of trying to remake one or the other style of learning, we need to accept these inherent differences in perception and appreciate their complementarily. We inhabit a spatial-temporal reality, and those with greater facility with time can lead us to a better understanding of that dimension, whereas those with a better understanding of space can provide us with a clearer picture of that dimension. When these differences are not understood, there is dissension: when they are honored, they enable an exchange of information that forms a more complete conception of reality than can be gained by either perspective in isolation.

Characteristics
Visual-spatial learners perceive the interrelatedness of the parts of any situation. Their learning is holistic and occurs in an all-or-none fashion. They are most likely to experience the "Aha!" phenomenon, when all of the sudden they "get it." This type of learning does not take place through a series of steps, and if these people are asked to retrace their steps in the learning process, they usually cannot. From the time they can talk, children of this orientation arrive at surprising conclusions. When they are asked how they got there they often shrug their shoulders and say they don't know. They may create visual models of reality that are two dimensional, three dimensional, or even more multifaceted.

As toddlers, these children like to see how things work, and they tend to pull apart everything they can get their hands on. To the surprise of their parents, sometimes they even put the things back together again correctly. But as often as not, they enjoy restructuring the elements into something new. Some of these children never see anything as it is but only as a conglomeration of parts that　were meant to be reconstructed into something else. Their parents remark about their amazing imaginations.

Imagination is a key element in the mental processing of visual-spatial learners. As preschoolers, they may have several imaginary playmates and a rich fantasy life. If they are introverted (which many of them are), they will rehe**** everything mentally before they attempt it: walking, talking, reading, riding a bicycle, etc. Some of these children never learn to walk one step at a time like most children: they just start out running. Some begin talking much later than others, but their first "word" is a 14-word sentence. One girl watched others riding their bicycles and practiced mentally until she knew how to balance herself, then got on the bike, and rode without difficulty.

These children are unusually fascinated with puzzles and mazes and have expert facility with them. They will spend endless hours building with construction toys (blocks, Lego sets, Tinker Toys) or other materials (sand, sticks, cardboard boxes), and their constructions are often quite sophisticated and intricate in design. If they are interrupted, they will probably become "deaf," and if their buildings are destroyed, they become enraged. They get very attached to their creations. When given an ordinary toy, they will play with it long enough to figure out how it works and most likely never touch it again. They enjoy novelty and challenge.

Spatial abilities underlie both mathematical talent and creativity. A spatial child may manifest one or both of these talents. Given the opportunity, these children often begin quite young to have a lifelong love affair with numbers and numerical relations. Creativity may be evidenced in artistic talent, inventiveness, or imagination applied to any field. Despite these strengths, visual-spatial children often have a great deal of difficulty with school and social relations. They may do fine until they reach school or preschool and have to fit into time schedules, routines, and other children's games. They are likely to be elaborate doodlers, movie buffs, or computer fanatics, while regularly forgetting their homework.

Frequently observed strengths and potential weaknesses of visual-spatial learners are listed in Table 1.
Most of the strengths listed are observed in the entire group of visual-spatial learners, including the majority of highly gifted children in our sample. The potential weaknesses are found only in a subset of this group: the underachievers. These are the children who appear to be gifted to their parents but not to their teachers (Silverman, Chitwood, & Waters, 1986). They suffer from a form of "6-hour retardation" that often disappears when they are placed in gifted programs. Their learning style is best suited to the instructional techniques, pace, and complexity characteristic of classes for the gifted. Yet they are the least likely to be placed in gifted programs because they do not get teacher recommendations. When achievement in the rote learning of sequential material is used as the basis for selecting children for gifted programs, these children lose out. Those in most danger of being overlooked are the introverted visual-spatial learners.

Introversion
We have noted an interesting linkage among IQ, visual-spatial abilities, and introversion, measured using a scale we have developed (Silverman, 1986). The higher the child's IQ, the more likely are both visual-spatial abilities and introversion to be present. At this point we are uncertain as to the nature of the relationship between introversion and visual-spatial processing, but we can see several common characteristics of introverts and spatial learners. Children in both groups are reflective, needing extra thinking time before entering into tasks; both groups need time to observe others; both groups have some difficulty with risk taking. There are other parallels, but it is also possible to be one type and not the other.
Introverts start school by screaming for Mommy not to leave them. Then they stand on the periphery and watch the others, without talking to or interacting with anyone (Keirsey & Bates, 1978). When they finally muster up enough courage to enter into the other children's activities, they try to redesign everything to fit their own vision of the way things should be. When the extroverts do this, they often become leaders: they have a charming way of getting everyone to do things their way. But the introverts are not as fortunate: they are seen either as "bossy" or "weird" and are rejected by the others. Since they tend to be supersensitive, they may withdraw into their own worlds after this type of rejection.

Introverts gain their energy from themselves and find people very draining. After long periods of time with people, they need time alone in order to regroup. They are very private and are often perfectionistic. If one of their mistakes is made public, they become intensely humiliated. They prefer to go through their growing pains in private and show the world their finished products (Keirsey & Bates, 1978; Myers, 1962). This is why they mentally rehe**** so many of their activities before actually attempting them. They often have tremendous difficulty with risk taking, and so teachers tend to think of them as "uncreative." However, many introverts are highly creative in private, just not in public.

Like the visual-spatial orientation, introversion is an inborn characteristic that remains fairly stable throughout life (Myers, 1962). Some introverts may appear very outgoing to others in their adult lives, but this appearance is like a Sunday set of clothes that they don around others. Basically, they retain their need for privacy and are known only by a very few trusted friends throughout their lives. Unfortunately, since the greater part of our society is extroverted, introverts are not well understood, and well-meaning parents and teachers often try to remake these children into extroverts, unwittingly damaging their self-esteem. Like any other minority group, these children may learn the language and behavior of the majority, while feeling different from, and possibly inferior to, others. Again, as with the visual-spatial style, introversion must be respected by others in order for these children to learn to respect these qualities in themselves.

School Performance
The spatial style of learning is not well suited to school tasks. The school curriculum is sequential; the textbooks are sequential; the workbooks are sequential; the teaching methods are sequential; and most of the teachers are sequential. Time is important in school - being on time, turning in work on time, finishing activities in a timely fashion, and moving on to new activities in a set schedule. Rote memorization, drill, and practice are all designed for the incremental learning style of the sequential learner. All of this seems quite foreign to spatial children, and they often retreat into their own worlds. Teachers perceive them as "spacy," inattentive, or uncooperative. They are often late for school, behind in their work, or reluctant to move on from one activity to another. They usually feel out-of-step with the other children and with the expectations of their teachers.
These children despise routine, repetitive tasks. They do not learn by means of rote memorization. In order for them to learn, they must see how the parts are related to the whole. If the learning is doled out in small increments, they don't understand what is going on. They may ask a great number of questions because they can't grasp the meaning of an isolated fact or activity until they have grasped the whole structure. Once they understand the basic concept, the learning is relatively permanent, and they are ready to go on to something new. They balk at drill and practice because such exercises do not enhance their understanding.

For example, if division is taught by means of a series of steps, spatial learners may not catch on at first, but once they understand the procedure, they may not see the point of doing a series of practice problems. They may refuse to do the work or do it sloppily so they can go on to something more interesting. If they make computational errors, it does not seem important to them because they are more concerned with understanding the conceptual structure.
One area in which spatial abilities and introversion interact is risk taking. Spatial learners are often reluctant to take risks until they have all of the pieces of information in hand and see how they fit together. Sequential learners can devise step-by-step strategies to approach new tasks or skills, but spatial learners cannot make such plans. In their all-or-nothing learning style, they have either discrete bits of information that do not add up to anything or a complete understanding of the entire system. When they only have pieces, they become afraid because they do not know now to weave them into the patterns needed for understanding. Then, suddenly and without warning, the pieces come together and weave their own pattern. The children are never quite sure whether this will happen, when it will happen, or how it happens, so they have to rely on faith alone that the pattern will form itself if they are just patient. This way of learning does not instil confidence in their ability to handle new situations, and it often leads to low evaluations by their teachers; researchers have found that teachers tend to underestimate the abilities of children who hold back in new situations (Chess, 1968; Gordon & Thomas, 1967; Thomas & Chess, 1977).

Behavior Problems of Nonsequential Learners
One type of spatial child may present behavior problems. This is the child who not only has spatial strengths but also several sequential weaknesses. Spatial dominance does not automatically imply sequential weakness; rather, it means that the children tend to lead with their dominant spatial abilities first and to use their sequential abilities only if all else fails. But some children have few sequential abilities to use as a backup system. These children tend to be more volatile because their reactions are not mediated by a clear understanding of consequences.

Sequential children are able to plan ahead, delay gratification, and inhibit aggression because they can organize step-by-step strategies for getting their needs met. When they become angry, instead of reacting, they can think ahead in time and predict what would happen if they retaliated aggressively. They learn to stop and think, come up with alternative plans of action, and implement their plans. All of this requires sequencing ability.

By comparison, a spatial child with sequential deficits lives in the moment and does not take the future into consideration. He may lack the ability to see the consequences of his behavior. When angered, he may not be able to mediate his behavior by means of planning an alternate sequence of events. He may simply react. At that moment, all he understands in his anger, and he becomes that anger.

Many of these children can be helped to bring their behavior under control through a combination of counseling and placement in small classes with individualized instruction. An individualized program reduces the amount of frustration with which the child has to cope. Another useful technique is computer-assisted instruction. The computer is a natural tool for a spatial learner, and temper tantrums rarely occur when the child interacts with a computer instead of people.

In terms of discipline, both at home and at school, spatial children respond much better if they understand reasons for the behavior requested of them. They will also be more cooperative if they have some input into the decision-making process and some legitimate choices. Discipline must be private, as these children are highly sensitive and easily humiliated. If they are respected, they will learn to treat others with respect.

Recommendations
Visual-spatial learners need a gestalt approach to learning. They do best when they deal with whole systems, abstract relationships, major concepts, inductive learning, and problem solving. They excel when provided with manipulatives, visual representations, models and computers. Teachers may be able to relate to their learning style if they ask themselves, "How would I teach this concept to a deaf child?"

Many times these children will miss easy concepts but will achieve at a high level with much more difficult material (Baum, 1984; Schiff, Kaufman, & Kaufman, 1981). They should not be forced to succeed at the easier material before they are allowed to explore more advanced concepts. Even though it may seem that the difficult concepts are "built" on the easier ones, the spatial learner often grasps simple concepts only in the context of more complex ones. For example, I once had a fourth grader in a class who had never learned his multiplication facts. I have him a sheet of difficult number patterns to solve, many of which required multiplication for their solution. He taught himself to multiply so that he could solve the problems.

Spatial learners learn best through inductive or discovery techniques. There are inductive learning approaches in every discipline. In mathematics, discovery learning was fully developed in the 1960s in the "new math" curricula. Most of the manipulative materials in mathematics were designed to aid discovery learning (Davis, 1967; Piaget, 1971). Inquiry methods in science pervade most textbooks and science kits (Suchman, 1961). Bruner's Man: A Course of Study (1970) and Taba's social studies curriculum (Taba & Hills, 1965) are both organized around major conceptual themes presented through inductive techniques. In language arts, the Junior Great Books program focuses on the same approach. Orff and Suzuki methods in music stress pattern recognition and musical composition through discovery. The book Curriculum Development for the Gifted (Maker, 1982) describes several other examples of inductive learning for gifted students.

Adaptive Techniques That Work
Following are eight adaptations of traditional teaching methods that have been found to be effective for serving nonsequential learners.

1 Visual-spatial children remember what they see and forget what they hear, so show them. Write directions on the board, on overheads, or on paper. Use visuals and hands-on experience.
2 Visual-spatial children are not step-by-step learners, so give them the big picture first. Tell them the goal of instruction and let them figure out their own way of getting there while the rest of the class is being taught.
3 If children have difficulty with sequential tasks but grasp complex concepts, give them advanced work, even though they have not mastered the easier work. Consider acceleration in some subject areas.
4 If children's fine-motor sequencing is impaired, handwriting will be extremely difficult for them, which will result in their not completing their assignments. Teach them to use a keyboard as soon as possible and let them use a typewriter or (ideally) a computer for their assignments to the greatest extent possible.
5 Remedial techniques may not be effective, as they were designed for children with a different learning style; instead, teach visual-spatial learners to compensate for sequential weaknesses and poor rote memory (e.g., making lists, visualizing, using a word processor with a spelling checker, earphones, tape recorder, etc.).
6 AVOID TIMED TESTS!
7 Use a sight approach to reading and reading material that is rich in fantasy and visual imagery.
8 Let visual-spatial children observe others before attempting new tasks.

Visual-spatial students should be encouraged to arrive at answers in their own ways, rather than be required to follow a step-by-step model. Before any methods are shown to them, they should be given the opportunity of devising their own methods of problem solving. Another enjoyable activity for them is being given answers to problems and having to guess the questions or guess the directions. This can be done in several subject areas. To avoid drill and repetition, they can be given the most difficult problems on a page to solve and be allowed to go on to more difficult material if they are successful. Their learning can be enhanced by allowing them to construct, draw, or otherwise create visual representations of concepts. Creativity should be encouraged in all subject areas.

Reading should be taught by means of sight words rather than phonics. Spelling can be enhanced by having the child visualize the words before spelling them. In language arts, quality of ideas should be graded separately from mechanics, as the child will probably have good ideas but may have poor sense of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

A computer is a wonderful asset for the visual-spatial learner. It presents material visually, and the child is required to sequence commands in order to communicate with it. This reinforces the child's spatial strength while providing practice in sequencing skills. The computer thinks like the spatial child in many ways. It has no sense of time. It is an all-or¬none learner, and it is a perfectionist. It only works when it has been programmed perfectly with all of the necessary information. The spatial child is highly motivated by the computer. It seems like a giant puzzle. It does not impose time constrictions, and it can be counted on to be perfectly logical. Its feedback is nonemotional and nonjudgmental. It never raises an eyebrow and says, "You should have known that!" And it provides privacy in learning and a feeling of safety for the introverted child.

Visual-spatial learners have incredible strengths - strengths that can be mobilized to help them be highly successful learners. When they are placed in the right environment, where there is a good match between their learning style and the way they are taught, they shine. School need not be a place of suffering for them: it can be a joy.

Current Successes and Future Directions
Over the past 10 years, the observations summarized above have been found to be helpful to many families of gifted children and to the children themselves. As they became aware of the visual-spatial learning pattern, the children were able to view their differences as potential strengths rather than deficiencies, and children with sequential deficits learned how to compensate for them. We have had considerable success placing visual-spatial learners in schools for the gifted, and several private schools pride themselves on their ability to serve these children well. However, we have been less successful at getting them placed in public school gifted programs because placement decisions are often made on the basis of academic achievement rather than ability. This is a policy very much in need of reexamination, so that we do not lose those students who need differentiated education the most.

Many visual-spatial learners have been badly wounded in the traditional system. They have been made to feel stupid, lazy, defiant, and unworthy, all because their unique learning style has not been fully understood and appreciated. The damage to these children's self-esteem can be healed if they have the chance to work with caring, sensitive teachers who recognize their true potential. Children respond to those who believe in them. And there is good reason to believe in visual-spatial learners. If they do not get too discouraged in school, their performance may improve dramatically as they get older. Many spatially oriented learners suddenly blossom in puberty (Dixon, 1983); for others, the light bulb goes on in high school or college. One possible reason for this miracle is that the material finally becomes challenging enough to force the integration of the two hemispheres (Levy, 1982).
We have discovered that this learning pattern is often familial, and parents frequently report that they too "got smarter" as they got older. Most visual-spatial adults compensate well for sequential weaknesses and may excel in areas such as computer technology, aeronautics, physics, art, architecture, music, and pure mathematics. They tend to be highly creative in whichever fields they choose; they are the problem finders because they can see holistically. They are our "late bloomers," but we can recognize them early in life and allow them access to gifted programs. All that is required is recognizing their learning style and deemphasizing academic achievement as the entry ticket to special programs.

The research and clinical observations we have done so far just scratch the surface of this fascinating learning pattern; there are many unanswered questions and much need for additional research. Are there several types of spatial learners, some of which we have yet to discover? (Our preliminary research suggests that there are.) Are visual-spatial abilities sex linked? (Although current thought suggests that the pattern is linked to masculine hormones, our research disputes this.) What is the relationship between the visual-spatial pattern and introversion? Intuition? Creativity in adult life? I hope that this article will generate exploration into these and related questions.

"Visual-spatial children are not step-by-step learners, so give them the big picture first. Tell them the goal of instruction and let them figure out their own way of getting there...."



Yup. Just like that. (0:


Nova

I have a growing interest in this, because I've recently discovered that I can consciously use visual-spatial thinking to work around some of my defecits.

One good example was an occasion wherin I was trying to give someone directions to a nearby restaurant. I was having difficulty describing the route and could not remember the name of the mall , or street that it was in, so I resorted to trying to picture the what the restaurant looked like, and I was able to visualize the sign in front of the restaurant and the name on it in short order.

This might not sound like much of a feat, but for me it was a big victory as I was able to give someone verbal directions that actually made sense.... That is something that I normally have a hard time with unless I draw a map.

Me :D

I have a growing interest in this, because I've recently discovered that I can consciously use visual-spatial thinking to work around some of my defecits.

Way to go Speedo . .. . .. . .. it is my humble opinion any time one can find a way to use their strengths to over come their weakness a very large step has been taken!
I have been cleaning out my favorites thing between thread reading and ran across some other very interesting stuff that comes along the same lines as what you have discovered. I wish I could post it as my motto because it reflects how I feel so very well.

latimes news, Hallowell commentary (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oe-hallowell26feb26,0,390168.story?coll=la-sunday-commentary)

***quote
ADD's black box scare
By Edward M. Hallowell, EDWARD M. HALLOWELL is the coauthor, with John J. Ratey, of "Driven to Distraction," "Delivered from Distraction" and other books about ADD.

February 26, 2006

One benefit to the anxiety that the FDA panel has caused is that such new approaches will get the attention they deserve. But the most important treatment needs no more study. It is the understanding that ADD can become a gift — if it is unwrapped properly.

People with ADD (as well as those with dyslexia, depression, bipolar disorder or anxiety disorders) usually have extraordinary talents that get buried under troubles and disappointments. The most powerful help is the identification and development of their strengths. I have seen this, more than any other intervention, transform patients' lives.

Therefore, every treatment for ADD should include a program aimed at identifying and promoting talents and interests, whatever they might be. Viewing ADD only as a disorder creates far worse disorders: shame, loss of hope and giving up on dreams. That's what really deserves a black box warning. ***End Quote

Think I can squeeze this underlined part into my signature :p

This might not sound like much of a feat, but for me it was a big victory as I was able to give someone verbal directions that actually made sense.... That is something that I normally have a hard time with unless I draw a map.

Me :D


That totally makes sense to me.
Because when I use a map program, that neglects to tell me of current construction detours....it totally screws me up (more than I'm screwed up already in my sense of direction, LOL!)...

I have a small tape recorder in my car's glove box, that I specifically bought, to keep track of 'landmarks'..of where I have to be forced to spontaneously turn onto other streets, when that happens...but it only works when I remember the darn thing is in my glove box. (0;


Nova

Hahahahaha Meadd !!

I read that article too, a few days ago !!


Nova

Hahaha Tammy. Yah it fit in the sig okay. :p

I am constantly looking for workarounds. I don't like my defecits, but they are real and I have to overcome them as best I can.

This visual-spatial thing is sort of a revelation to me. I never realized what it meant to me until now. It is probably my primary cognitive style and I think I can use it to my advantage better than I have in the past.

Now I have a new toy and my learning is more of a "what happens when I do THIS?" kind of thing. I am also now noticing more and more that there are things that I do "in pictures" in my head before I do them in real life. Also interestingly, there are lots of things that I do sequentially, so I think I am not totally visual-spatial... In fact, I can't see how I'd function at all if I were....

Me :D

Viewing ADD only as a disorder creates far worse disorders: shame, loss of hope and giving up on dreams. That's what really deserves a black box warning. ***End Quote

Think I can squeeze this underlined part into my signature :p


Squeeze this paragraph, too, into your sig, while you're at it, Meadd:

"People with ADD (as well as those with dyslexia, depression, bipolar disorder or anxiety disorders) usually have extraordinary talents that get buried under troubles and disappointments. The most powerful help is the identification and development of their strengths. I have seen this, more than any other intervention, transform patients' lives."

Usually I need a map to get around. If I have that I am okay. Sometimes errors oin the map will create some confusion for me, but I eventually recover. But, no map, and I am one lost puppy...

Me :D


That totally makes sense to me.
Because when I use a map program, that neglects to tell me of current construction detours....it totally screws me up (more than I'm screwed up already in my sense of direction, LOL!)...

I have a small tape recorder in my car's glove box, that I specifically bought, to keep track of 'landmarks'..of where I have to be forced to spontaneously turn onto other streets, when that happens...but it only works when I remember the darn thing is in my glove box. (0;


Nova

"People with ADD (as well as those with dyslexia, depression, bipolar disorder or anxiety disorders) usually have extraordinary talents that get buried under troubles and disappointments. The most powerful help is the identification and development of their strengths. I have seen this, more than any other intervention, transform patients' lives."


In my case...identification and development of my strengths, is what keeps my head above water, on some days.

Nova

I am constantly looking for workarounds. I don't like my defecits, but they are real and I have to overcome them as best I can.

Me tooooooo I don't know of any one who likes their deficits, but it is good most of us know what they are. Looking for my strengths and wanting to play into those is not avoiding the fact I have limitations. Looking for work-arounds in it self (IMHO) is a pro-active acknowledgment of my personal limitations.



Now I have a new toy and my learning is more of a "what happens when I do THIS?"

Hey this has always been my learning style. I have learned how to repair every thing from my computer to my car. Okay I have been zapped once or twice so important info tid bit if it electrical always un-plug it (or remove batteries) FIRST! That sequencing thing will only be a problem once or twice. All that empirical evidence "proving" ADDers have working memory impairments, or problem with sequencing well I have anecdotal evidence a good jolt of electricity will fix that right up! :rolleyes:

My new toy was the discovery of some thing called (coincidentally) the meta-search engine! I see irony every where and this is no different and now I can get lost in searches even faster! :D



I am also now noticing more and more that there are things that I do "in pictures" in my head before I do them in real life. Also interestingly, there are lots of things that I do sequentially

I use the pictures in my head to arrange the sequencing. Matter of fact when it comes to sequencing even auditory instructions I will convert to pictures . . . basically seeing and hearing. I can convert?

Some more stuff I ran across on this topic that may be of interest.This is only a first page list result of one of my meta searches okay so I am still learning which by the way is half the fun!

http://apd.apduk.org/catesintro.htm

***Quote
believe that they learn differently to the majority - and because they are the minority and the `majority rules' - their learning style is deemed a `disability.' Thus this paper has become a discussion paper about how to teach to a visual spatial child whilst expounding the theory that such children are different learners not disabled learners.
This discussion is framed within the context of Gardner's `Theory of Multiple Intelligences', an outline of which is provided in Appendix 2. ***End Quote

Whole brain opposed to half? (http://apd.apduk.org/2vsls.htm)

Whole Brain Learners ~ A relatively even mix of both auditory and visual

Compensations idea (http://resources.apduk.org/description_page.htm)
Talks about visual-spantual learning may be a compensating mechanism for auditory processing problems

Usually I need a map to get around. If I have that I am okay.

Most people who know me find it amazing I can even read a map because I can get lost in my own yard.I am actually pretty good at it unless I am trying to read the map for some one who is screaming at me. Screaming totally befrazzles me into some possessed fire breathing uh well I can't say that word here but I think the idea has been conveyed!

As long as I don't over think and second guess my self I find I can usually find my way to some thing that looks familiar. I will admit directions (especially giving) is one of my limitations (along with boring business conversations). Gary has more hyper active ADD traits than I do and his are more impairing however he doesn't seem to have any problems with directions. I have seen him sit in our living room in Georgetown Texas on a cell phone and tell some one how to get around Tulsa Oklahoma. My brother and sister both have ADD but do not struggle with directions like I do. I guess this is why I have always attributed my difference in directional thinking to my dyslexia not my ADD!




I have a small tape recorder in my car's glove box, that I specifically bought, to keep track of 'landmarks'..of where I have to be forced to spontaneously turn onto other streets, when that happens...but it only works when I remember the darn thing is in my glove box.

I would only remember the recorder when the batteries were dead-lol. My glove box is connected to a back hole some where.



In my case...identification and development of my strengths, is what keeps my head above water, on some days.

Identification of my strengths with avoidance of my weaknesses is how I survive more days than not!

Had I not been encouraged to focus on my abilities early in my life by my mother, I would be unable to read these post never mind be able to respond. . . my mother had nothing but a gut feeling and antidote evidence . . .but she refused to believe I was retarded and incapable of learning. She spent hours with me trying to find ways to teach me. Still lagging far behind according to their schools test I was yanked from regular classes then from the school.

Then days playing with puzzles and various cool games and most all these different people with long titles whom were wiggle kid friendly. I remember thinking it was so cool they would let me stand up to do some of the games. This wiggly retarded kid whipped out a contextual reading ability of someone seven school years my senior. I read and comprehended on a tenth grade level while spelling barley at a first grade one. I was dyslexic not stupid according to the testing done long before hyperactive girls and meds were a hint I tested in the 140ish range.

All those hours my mom spent paid off. I was eight I remembering seeing my mom cry and explaining to me what tears of joy were. Now faced with much the same scenario only now I am also ADD I can't help but wonder how different I would have been if my mom had accepted "disordered" in the face of "irrefutable evidence" if my mental retardation instead of going with what she knew in her heart to be right.

Learn not just what is wrong with being ADD but what is right about being you! For every wrong I see I seek a right (equal and opposite reactions) This is the balanced approach. I know with that same conviction my mother had, I am right. I still have dyslexia but it doesn't stop me from reading or writing. I think I can read some pretty hard stuff now because of the dyslexia. I have ADD but it isn't going to stop me from being productive, creative or happy with who I am! I think I have beaten some pretty signficiant odds becuase I was too ADD to notice they were stacked agianst me :cool:

Wow, you said SO MUCH (some of those links are very interesting)

I think that you can't let the idea of "impairment" or "disorder" be a cause to feel "defective" or let it make you feel that you have to take the back seat in life.

I believe that learning your strengths and weaknesses provides you with a solid basis from which to launch enabling strategies in life.

In simple terms, don't let ADHD stop you.

I know a woman who is approaching 30 years of age. She has severe ADHD, and possibly has Asperger's Syndrome. Many things that other people find easy are incredibly difficult for her, and as a result, her struggle is significant, and daily.

Regardless of that her goal is to gain a college education and build a life for herself. The tenacity this woman has shown in the face of real disability is amazing.

I don't know if she will succeed or fail, and I am pretty sure that she does not know either, but I can say that, for her, failure is not an option. She is continually working to find a way to accomplish her dreams.

I tip my hat to anyone who lives like that.

For me, realizing that I am possibly more visual-spatial than sequential in cognitive style, has opened up a lot of possibilites that could help me in my everyday life , as well as at work.
I'm like a kid with a new toy.

Me :D

I foudn this lpage in a link in one of the pages you cited meadd. I think it is wonderful!
It describes me perfectly!
It is a little scarey. I do all the things thye describe. I even wear sunglasses because I don't like strong light.
I think I am gonna ask my pdoc about how to determine if I am a visual-spatial learner.

http://www.nswagtc.org.au/ozgifted/conferences/SwordVisualSpatial.html

Me :D

That describes me so very well that, yeah, it's a little scary. Only thing is that I don't have poor hearing, in fact my hearing is so sensitive that little noises distract me and drive me crazy and keep me from focusing on what I need to be focusing on. And bright lights are horrible for me, and make driving very difficult, both in the daylight when the sun is reflecting off windows and chrome, and at night when headlights seem to be aimed directly into my eyes.

I have hearing problems (assymetry, tinnitus). I don't like strong lights, and cant tolerate some sounds for very long. I particularly notice car headlights and streetlights being annoying during twilight hours. In the past I've had problems with strobe lights, and fluorescent lifghts, and I still don't like all the flashing lights on ambulances, fire trucks, etc. I tend to wear sunglasses. I believe they help a bit but can't prove it.

Me :D




That describes me so very well that, yeah, it's a little scary. Only thing is that I don't have poor hearing, in fact my hearing is so sensitive that little noises distract me and drive me crazy and keep me from focusing on what I need to be focusing on. And bright lights are horrible for me, and make driving very difficult, both in the daylight when the sun is reflecting off windows and chrome, and at night when headlights seem to be aimed directly into my eyes.

Yes to all the following:

In contrast, spatial thinking involves synthesis, an intuitive grasp of complex systems, (often missing the steps) simultaneous processing of concepts, inductive reasoning (from the whole to the parts), use of imagination and generation of ideas by combining existing facts in new ways (creative thinking). It is influenced by visualisation and images and an awareness of space. Spatial, holistic and synthetic functions are thought to be associated with the right hemisphere of the brain..(West 1991)

Right brain thinking is an holistic system where all knowledge is interconnected in space, When right brain thinkers are asked a question, they usually respond with some form of “tell me more/it depends”. As all their knowledge is connected, they can see many paths to differing answers and they want more information to help them decide which path to take to the required answer. This divergent thinking is the hallmark of creativity but may not be understood in school where achievement is often seen as having the right answer. As Jeffery Freed says “Because one of the attributes of right brained thinking is a non-sequential divergent form of thinking, their minds often veer into unusual and different territory. This can result in illogical or often unsubstantiated conclusions. On the other hand, they may view a problem from an entirely different angle, leading to new breakthroughs and discoveries.” (Freed 1996)

They can hear whispered private conversations from a great distance. Repetitive sounds such as fluorescent lights seem to them very loud and can drive them crazy. It can be very difficult for many of these children to discriminate foreground sound from background noise. “My ears are like a microphone that picks up and amplifies sound.

Sensual – sensory and aesthetic pleasure: seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, hearing, appreciation of beautiful objects, writing etc

Emotional – intensity of feeling: complex emotions and feelings, extremes of emotion, identification with the feelings of others,

Imaginational – spontaneous imagery: facility for invention and fantasy, poetic and dramatic perception, elaborate dreams,


These children often exhibit excessive physical energy, overactive imagination, intense reactions that can hinder their interactions with others and extreme sensitivity. However, on the positive side, they have endless energy, a vivid imagination, an insatiable love of learning and an unusual capacity to care.


Sentences must be linked together in order to make paragraphs and paragraphs must be linked together to make essays and assignments. It is understandable why most visual spatial learners that I see will tell me wonderful stories in rich and graphic detail and yet won’t write down them down.

Before my post I have to include this link:
http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/Visual_Spatial_Learner/vsl.htm

The cartoon of the Sequential vs. Spatial is so hilarious. It totally depicts what my ex-fiance's desk looked like and my desk. I would be the one on the right under "spatial."

So, Wow! Thanks for starting this thread Speedo! :) Visual-Spatial is an area I definitely need to read more on.

Just stumbled onto a description of "visual-spatial" on a website I found because a forum post on giftedness mentioned the term "twice exceptional" - gifted with ADHD or other learning disorder. When I searched the forum up popped the thread and it's recent too. There's so much here I need to go back and re-read - a lot to take in all at once.

Something I'm wondering. When I started my first Master's (1993) they gave a workshop on learning styles. Talked about styles as connected to your senses. Said everyone uses them all but people tend to have one or maybe two they use more often. The 3 primary styles they described were: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. Less often used were smell and taste.

I'm new to looking up visual-spatial info, but wondering why Auditory is linked to Sequential. What link does hearing things have to do with needing to do things in a step-by-step order? Maybe it's not so clearly linked but is simply a way they are choosing to label the differences. :confused:

I'm clearly an auditory learner in many respects (i.e. writing down what the prof says more than worrying about what is written on the board and how). But I could see I used visual too. I like to look at maps of where I'm going and I use visual landmark cues (which sometimes frustrates people when I give directions, it's more info than they want).

They said a clue was language you use (do you more often use "hear", "see" or "feeling" language - i.e. "I hear what you're saying" or "I see what you mean") and also what your first inclination would be if handed a box with something to assemble inside. Would you read the directions first, would you start pulling things out and hand the directions to someone and say "read them to me" or would you just start trying to put it together.

Since it's been over 10 years I don't know how accurate this still is and/or how it might fit with more current information and research.

Looking over the visual-spatial stuff on the list on the above link there is a LOT I relate to. Especially the whole-part learner and learning concepts all at once. One of the things I'd resonated with in an ADD book was the mention that often there is the trait of needing to understand the whole of a thing first. Which is why I think I tend to research like I do... I'm trying to understand the bigger picture so I have a better idea how to understand the piece that I'm really working on and decide what to do with it.

One day I was talking about sermon writing with my prof. He'd told us once that when you're done writing you're not done yet because it often still needs to get under your skin. I told him I was finding more often the reverse was true for me - that it would get under my skin first and then I could write it.

A quote from the spatial list I loved. I should incorporate into a signature:
"creates unique methods of organization." :)

Anyway, like Speedo, I can't wait to learn more. I'm always looking for ways to better understand myself and to work with my strengths so I don't exhaust myself trying to swim upstream.

She has severe ADHD, and possibly has Asperser’s Syndrome. Many things that other people find easy are incredibly difficult for her, and as a result, her struggle is significant, and daily.

If I remember right Asperser’s is a sort of high functioning Autism. I am almost to the end of Dr. Ratey’s “Shadow Syndromes” he goes into great detail about Autism. Apparently they see thing in parts instead of wholes, opposite of ADDers connecting every thing to every thing else. I can imagine the combination of Asperser’s and ADD would be an interesting but challenging combination.




For me, realizing that I am possibly more visual-spatial than sequential in cognitive style, has opened up a lot of possibilites that could help me in my everyday life , as well as at work.
I'm like a kid with a new toy.

Sounds like fun. :D I am almost as bad as my overly playful kitten when it comes to seeing every thing as a toy. :eyebrow:

Being child like (not to be confused with childish) in my opinion is a good thing. I believe it is the childhood love of play that allows for the rapid learning common to most young children. I once read some where that a person learns more in the first six to eight years of life than they will during any other time there after.

Mind wide open explores answers / asked questions = move buttocks move brain ~ the child like way?? :soapbox:



They can hear whispered private conversations from a great distance. Repetitive sounds such as fluorescent lights seem to them very loud and can drive them crazy. It can be very difficult for many of these children to discriminate foreground sound from background noise. “My ears are like a microphone that picks up and amplifies sound.

The sound thing is me. I had to put on a classical CD with head phones because Gary turned the TV on and it was distracting me making it difficult for me to stay with this thread and formulate proper responses. I find only certain types of music useful for reading and writing.




Said everyone uses them all but people tend to have one or maybe two they use more often. The 3 primary styles they described were: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic.

I can and do use all three. Most test I have taken show me to be pretty well equal in all three areas although the dyslexia does effect visuals and auditory process my brain some how has learned “work arounds” I can convert visual to auditory, vise versa, come to think of it I can convert one type in info into which ever inside my head. The major problem is retrieving said info in a way that makes sense out side my head I.E. other people.


Where were people like this when I was in school. Why did these wonderful ideas have to wait until I am knocking on old ages front door! :( :( :(


Neat ideas in education (http://www.uwsp.edu/education/wilson/newstuff/brain/overview%20on%20bb.htm)

Core principles directing brain-based education are:
1. The brain is a parallel processor. It can perform several activities at once.
2. The brain perceives wholes and parts simultaneously.
3. Information is stored in multiple areas of the brain, and can be retrieved through multiple memory and neural pathways.
4. Learning engages the whole body. All learning is mind-body: movement, foods, attention cycles, and chemicals modulate learning.
5. Humans’ search for meaning is innate.
6. The search for meaning comes through patterning.
7. Emotions are critical to patterning, and drive our attention, meaning and memory.
8. Meaning is more important than just information.
9. Learning involves focused attention and peripheral perception.
10. We have two types of memory: spatial and rote.
11. We understand best when facts are embedded in natural spatial memory.
12. The brain is social. It develops better in concert with other brains.
13. Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by stress.
14. Every brain in uniquely organized.
15. Learning is developmental.
(Caine and Caine)***end Quote from source***

Search engine results for visual spantial learning information

vivisimo (http://vivisimo.com/search?query=whole+brain+learners%2C+information&num=200&v%3Aproject=vivisimo-com&language=english&filter=none&v%3Asources=Web%2CPubMed&display=sources&display=url&display=summary&display=openers&target=top&timeout=10000&x=32&y=17)

Glad my previous hyperlinks helped, hope tha above prove useful as well.,the last hyperlink is from one of my favorite search engines!

:cool:

I have some ideas here. I think that visual information is spatial because visual informtion must be processed in a parallel fashion, concurrently in order to arrive at a complete scene at once. Auditory information is sequential because our speech is a sequential stream of sounds, so it is how we process what we hear.

If we depend more on visual input, we are visualspatial in style and take in much information simultaneously, filing in the details as we go along. If we depend more on auditory input, we are linear thinkers taking information in one piece at a time.

In myself, I notice that I do think in pictures for some things, but not exclusively. I also do some things sequentially. The end result is that I am primarilly visualspatial in cognitive style.
When I think of a computer, I literally see themachine in my mind. I see the whole machine as a picture. When I look at a computer screen, I see the whole screen, and the details of the text fill that view.

After looking at something, the image of it can persist for a long time, but the details become fuzzy and are the first to fade. I will remember what the computer screen looked like, but the contents of the text are the first information to be lost as the picture fades.

I can recall the image of the screen of my computer at work (hours ago), and I know what it looked like, but I can not recall any of the text that was on the screen.... but I can tell you what it was about...

In Shadow Syndromes, the author state sthat many autistics see things as collections of parts.
I think that while autistics have this tendency in spades, the tendency is not unique to autistics, but to many people in general.... this is why someone might recognize someone because they have a beard , not because they recognize their face.... I once lost a friend in a bookstore and could not find her again until I remembered she had a bright yellow purse. I looked for a woman with a yellow purse and found her in a few minutes. This is at the very core of visualspatial style, in my opinion.

Me :D

VS stuff thanks ever so much.

Okay lets talk whispered conversations.

I can't have the book. Not for 3 weeks minimum. I will order today.

How acute are we talking?

In college a student tested my hearing becaus e she wanted to be an audiologisat or something. She said I ha extraordinary heaaring and we wweren't even in a sound room. Like I heard things most people can't. Okay whatever. One ear explosion later I don't think I'm as acute.

How good could Juniors hearing be? And are they implying that the sound of flourescent lights for example would DRAW his ear to a whispered conversation. Meaning he doesn't just hear but he listens because of the flourescent buzz ( can;t blojk it out). And he might return to the sound? Like seeking.?

Junior.
Thanks again
Boots

"I think the kid is on to something!"
"I could never care as much about me as I do about you. "

I returned to get one of the hyper links off my last post only to find out I copied the URL wrong= the touch pad on lap top sensitive me clutz at times long story short I ended up having to hand type ULL in script prompt.

Have dyslexia will misspell any thing including but not limited to URL's.

I am on my regular PC now and this copied and pasted just fine. This is a repeat to the first hyperlink offereed on my last post.

Trying this again neat educational ideas (http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lwilson/newstuff/brain/overview%20on%20bb.htm)


And are they implying that the sound of flourescent lights for example would DRAW his ear to a whispered conversation.

No it implies that some folks with acute hearing will hear conversations spoken in whispers volume, just like they will hear the buzz (more of a hummmm with an annoying electronic twist to me) of flourescent lights, a sound most people do not hear (or notice).



I have some ideas here. I think that visual information is spatial because visual informtion must be processed in a parallel fashion, concurrently in order to arrive at a complete scene at once. Auditory information is sequential because our speech is a sequential stream of sounds, so it is how we process what we hear.

This makes sense when I see a picture of some thing in my head all portions appear at once however weather re-calling music or a conversation they are sequenced events or lenier.

Motion would also be lenier as well however visual is not unless one is re-calling a sequence of events.

I once lost a friend in a bookstore and could not find her again until I remembered she had a bright yellow purse. I looked for a woman with a yellow purse and found her in a few minutes. This is at the very core of visualspatial style, in my opinion

I am making the assumption the yellow purse was noted when you attempted to re-call what she looked like using visual re-call. The yellow purse was a narrowing factor to facility for a faster locate.

I am seeing this like the search engine enteries. I wanted to find information about whole brain learning styles, typing in learning styles will generate a zillion results with only a few addresing the exact portion of the subject I was seeking peppered through out. If I want to find the particular part of learning styles I wanted to read about typing in "whole brain learning styles" will locate my target much quicker.In the same manner looking for a woman that is brown haired and slightly shorter than you will yield results eventually; however looking for bright yellow purse will yeild your target location much quicker (unless you were at a yellow purse lovers convention :p )

* (Vivisimo search engine has a break down list with searches which is one of the reasons I use it frequently)*


I think Dr. Ratey meant some thing a bit different when he was writting about autism. We can see the various parts of a persons face how ever we are able to assemble the face parts into a whole face. Autism people shift attention slower and see parts of face without being able to connect the parts into a whole picture of the persons face.

Okay I am here . . . . . . . .why . . . . . .oh yea getting a hyper link to I wanted to use in another thread. Okay got hyperlink now guess I better pop back before I foget again! :eyebrow:

Hi

I am the designer of the APDUK web site, and I am glad you found our web site interesting. The article "i think in pictures you teach in words...." is so me. I have a diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder.

WE have just added a new Visual-Spatial Seb section to the web site, and I thought you might like the links to the articles we have included.

The Power of Visual Thinking
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/powerofvt1.htm
Reading Readiness for Visual-Spatial Learners
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vsl_lks_reading.htm
Why All Students Need Visual-Spatial Methods
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vsl_lks_vsl4all.htm
A Visualization Approach To Spelling
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vsl_lks_spell.htm
The Right Tool for the Job
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vslrighttools_1.htm
Teaching Reading to Visual Spatial Learners
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vslteachread.htm
Showing Your Work When There's Nothing to Show
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vslshowworking.htm
Visual Spatial Children: Learning Disabled, Learning Disadvantaged, or Learning Differently
http://apd.apduk.org/cate_turner.htm
and
Whole Word Reading Instruction
http://www.apduk.org/learningstyles/vslwholeword.htm

Best wishes

dolfrog


I foudn this lpage in a link in one of the pages you cited meadd. I think it is wonderful!
It describes me perfectly!
It is a little scarey. I do all the things thye describe. I even wear sunglasses because I don't like strong light.
I think I am gonna ask my pdoc about how to determine if I am a visual-spatial learner.

http://www.nswagtc.org.au/ozgifted/conferences/SwordVisualSpatial.html

Me :D

I think researchers/educators are onto something with the Visual-Spatial description as clearly it fits a lot of people and points to a different style of learning that previously instructors didn't teach to.

But I don't think it's as black and white as visual-spatial vs. auditory-sequential. If I don't fit their mold, there are probably others out there who don't fit neatly into one box either.

I score high for the global, non-linear, intuitive, musical, creative, hates repetitive drills etc. etc. associated with visual-spatial. But I don't necessarily need charts or fit with some of the other non-verbal visual characteristics. On VAK/VARK learning styles inventories (see below) I score as an aural learner, and on other tests I score high in "verbal" both visual-verbal and auditory-verbal, or in "linguistic" which would give me some hits on the "sequential" side of things because of the words and the auditory piece.

I think our learning and brain function is too complex for any one theory or categorizing system to fully capture. After my previous post I researched Learning Styles. I discovered there are different theories or models people use to talk about learning styles, and there's some overlap.

Using a variety of inventories would probably give a clearer picture of how each individual learns.

One approach I found very interesting is by Richard Felder and Barbara Soloman at North Carolina State University. Found here:

http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html (http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSpage.html)
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html (http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html)
http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/styles.htm (http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/ILSdir/styles.htm)

It is set up in a similar format as Myers-Briggs in that there are 4 different scales with a learning preference on each extreme of the scale and you test to see where you fall on each scale.

Felder and Soloman's scales/learning styles are:

Active vs. Reflective Learners
Sensing vs. Intuitive Learners
Visual vs. Verbal Learners
Sequential vs. Global Learners

A similar multi-dimensional approach looks like it is used in Bernice McCarthy's 4MAT.
http://www.aboutlearning.com/

As well as on these websites:

http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/art/kmg/learningstyles1.html
http://www.funderstanding.com/learning_styles.cfm

Another approach is that of hemispheric dominance in the brain - i.e. right brain, left brain, whole brain and how dominance can affect learning. It looks to me like a lot of the visual-spatial stuff would tend to fall under Right Brain.

http://www.mtsu.edu/~studskl/hd/learn.html

The Model I previously wrote about is still used and is referred to as either "VAK" or "VARK" for: visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic. A couple seemed to also break it down into Visual-Verbal, Visual-Nonverbal, and Auditory-Verbal. As someone else mentioned, it's also possible on some tests for results to show you as multi-modal if you're more balanced.

http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/fourls.htm
http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html
http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html (http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html)
http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/ts/style.html (http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/ts/style.html)
http://www2.umist.ac.uk/staff/talsc/TaLSC/VARK/default.htm

Another thing I ran across researching learning styles is called Multiple Intelligences (MI), developed by Howard Gardner. This approach tests for strengths/tendencies in 7 areas. It's also linked to discussions on IQ.

http://www.learning-styles-online.com (http://www.learning-styles-online.com/)
http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsiframe.html

So I think whether you clearly see yourself falling into the Visual-Spatial category or you're like me and it kind of fits, but not like a glove... some of these other models can be useful to provide a broader picture of how you operate.

I just find all this brain stuff (learning, personality, development, etc.) fascinating and engaging.

~~bythesea :) :cool:

Okay... so if ADDers tend to be visualspatial, how do we make it work ?

If this thinking style has all these wonderful properties, then we ought to me able to use it to help ourselfs function and navigate this crazy world that we live in.

What I mean is, what good is it if we can't consciously make use of the benefits ?

Me :D

I don't know about your child, but I can tell you about myself.
My hearing is damaged. I have moderate to severe damage in one ear, and mild to moderate loss in the other ear.

I can hear well enough to understand a conversation. If the environment is noisy, I can't understand much and after a while all sounds seem to be at the same loudness, so it can be very distracting, even stressful.

I seem to react to sounds that other people either ignore, or can't hear. The squeaky wheel on the janitor's pushcart at work, as he moves down the hallway, really distracts me in my office. None of my office mates seem to react to it.

If there are conversations in the room I am so distracted that I am unable to work.
Things like noisy fluorescent lamp ballast transformers humming drive me to distraction.

People have filters in their brain that allow them to block out unimportant sounds. Mine do not work very well, so sounds are very distracting because I can't block them out as easily as most people can. Some kinds of sounds can cause some discomfort. In some cases I can end up really distracted and hyper after a long time of being exposed to a noisy environment. Once in a while I might become overwhemed and end up agitated because I can not manage the sensory load.

Juniors hearing could be exceptional, or he could have hearing problems that cause him to be so sensitive to sound. You ought to have the little rascal tested by an audiologist just to be on the safe side.

Me :D


VS stuff thanks ever so much.

Okay lets talk whispered conversations.

I can't have the book. Not for 3 weeks minimum. I will order today.

How acute are we talking?

In college a student tested my hearing becaus e she wanted to be an audiologisat or something. She said I ha extraordinary heaaring and we wweren't even in a sound room. Like I heard things most people can't. Okay whatever. One ear explosion later I don't think I'm as acute.

How good could Juniors hearing be? And are they implying that the sound of flourescent lights for example would DRAW his ear to a whispered conversation. Meaning he doesn't just hear but he listens because of the flourescent buzz ( can;t blojk it out). And he might return to the sound? Like seeking.?

Junior.
Thanks again
Boots

"I think the kid is on to something!"
"I could never care as much about me as I do about you. "

Hi dolfrog, welcome to the forums. It is cool to put information on-line and find others checking it out and telling others. Nice when others can relate.

We have a member who found us by looking for her own articles, which was a topic of discussion in another thread. The person is as cool if not cooler than her articles.

I am having problems accessing the information on your site. I can’t get the pictures to come up on either of my computers and my other computer is a recent “XP” program. I just bought it a month ago. All I see is a big red "x" that refuses to show up even after right clicking the "x" and clicking the show picture option from the pull down menu. Any suggestion because I would really like to read some of the topics your have in your post.

I do not have APD not that I know of but I do have dyslexia, I often have problems hearing the sound difference between letters like "pa" "da", especially if I don't have a visual like over the phone. Gary's brother was trying to give a product number over the phone last week, and I could not understand him so I asked him to give me the numbers more slowly. Then he goes into this "t as in Tom, D as in dog" although I understood what he was doing and why; however, the addition of the words to the letters made it more confusion not less. I automatically knew all I needed was for him to slow down.

I have very acute hearing, some times I can get over whelmed by too much sound, I have perfect pitch but I do have problems understanding strings of numbers or letters that are random like the above scenario. If I can see their face I have no problems with the strings of random numbers or letters. It looks like your site may have information along this line but I can't get past the blooming red "x"!!!!!


Some kinds of sounds can cause some discomfort. In some cases I can end up really distracted and hyper after a long time of being exposed to a noisy environment. Once in a while I might become overwhelmed and end up agitated because I can not manage the sensory load.

Twang country western music comes immediately to my mind. More than five minutes of this music which lacks resemblance of pitch (okay incorrectly pitched, is played totally out of tune, off key) will rapidly be cause for drastic action on my part. I literally can not tolerate this horrible noise and will go to great lengths to get away from it (It hurts, physicially), including but not limited to property damage-I am normally a goofy type of hyper ADD, not a destructive one.


TV hummmmmms even on newer models bother me to the point of heard aches after a while even if I am enjoying a movie. If the volume is turned up loud it can be difficult-why I only work nursing home part time. :o

Bythesea- great linking going on :D

Of co**** I took all the test-lol! Found out I was a right brained global thinker. On the either or I scored high in the visual learning style but only because it was an either or one of the latter ones was more of a scale kind which allowed for more of range and did not limit me to either or. I scored very high in all the learning styles except spatial it was down a box and linguistic was down half a box, Musical, body-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical I scored as high as the thing would go. Me logical Ha Ha Ha~right! I did very well in visual and auditory but appear to perfer visual when given an either or choice. Pulling up pictures is faster than pulling up auditory~I get more information faster and I am all for faster-lol!

Is there any evidence to support learning style?

By evidence I mean fMRI studies that show different areas of the brain working for different people do the same task; Or where they have compared learning styles to physical capabiltiies, e.g. do visual learners actually have worse audiotory skills.

What I'm getting at is whether learning styles are just a personallity trait or is there an acutal difference in physical or neurological make up?

Yes (sorta). In some cases children with hearing problems develop their visualspatial skills in favor of auditory-sequential, and retain the style after the hearing problem is corrected. As I understand it, it is not a learned trait as much as the fact that auditory skills are not developed due to defecits, and after earl;y adolesence, if the skills are not developed by then they are never really developed fully as the brain is already configured itself by that age and probably can't be changed.

From what I have read, many visualspatial learners have a history of childhood hearing problems, but not all of them.

On the otherhand, I've read that children are naturally visual in style but will typically reduce their tendency to think in pictures by the age of 6 or so.

Some people retain the ability to think in pictures for life, and a very few persons have "total recall" or "photographic memory".

I don't think there is a physical test for it (such as an mri). It is a tendency toward one cognitive style or another. Some people think linearly, and others don.t. Some people are more visual, and some are more auditory or more tactile. It is a matter of individual style, but in it's extreme forms can approach being a disability as much as being a gift.

ME :D



Is there any evidence to support learning style?

By evidence I mean fMRI studies that show different areas of the brain working for different people do the same task; Or where they have compared learning styles to physical capabiltiies, e.g. do visual learners actually have worse audiotory skills.

What I'm getting at is whether learning styles are just a personallity trait or is there an acutal difference in physical or neurological make up?

Wow Tammy, you said a lot!

Mebbe you need java or cookies turned on to get rid of the big red X ???

I'm primaraily visual-spatial. I don't do as well on sequential auditory tasks.

Now, the corker is, with a dx of adhd, I have visual-spatial processing defecits.
I guess that is why ADHD is a disorder ???

I've been harping about this apparent inconsistency in ADHD for a while but I've yet to have it explained to me how a group of people (ADDers) who tend to be visual-spatial in cognitive style are also supposed to have visual-spatial processing defecits at the same time ?

Am I the only one to see this glaring inconsistency ?

Me :D



Hi dolfrog, welcome to the forums. It is cool to put information on-line and find others checking it out and telling others. Nice when others can relate.

We have a member who found us by looking for her own articles, which was a topic of discussion in another thread. The person is as cool if not cooler than her articles.

I am having problems accessing the information on your site. I can’t get the pictures to come up on either of my computers and my other computer is a recent “XP” program. I just bought it a month ago. All I see is a big red "x" that refuses to show up even after right clicking the "x" and clicking the show picture option from the pull down menu. Any suggestion because I would really like to read some of the topics your have in your post.

I do not have APD not that I know of but I do have dyslexia, I often have problems hearing the sound difference between letters like "pa" "da", especially if I don't have a visual like over the phone. Gary's brother was trying to give a product number over the phone last week, and I could not understand him so I asked him to give me the numbers more slowly. Then he goes into this "t as in Tom, D as in dog" although I understood what he was doing and why; however, the addition of the words to the letters made it more confusion not less. I automatically knew all I needed was for him to slow down.

I have very acute hearing, some times I can get over whelmed by too much sound, I have perfect pitch but I do have problems understanding strings of numbers or letters that are random like the above scenario. If I can see their face I have no problems with the strings of random numbers or letters. It looks like your site may have information along this line but I can't get past the blooming red "x"!!!!!




Twang country western music comes immediately to my mind. More than five minutes of this music which lacks resemblance of pitch (okay incorrectly pitched, is played totally out of tune, off key) will rapidly be cause for drastic action on my part. I literally can not tolerate this horrible noise and will go to great lengths to get away from it (It hurts, physicially), including but not limited to property damage-I am normally a goofy type of hyper ADD, not a destructive one.


TV hummmmmms even on newer models bother me to the point of heard aches after a while even if I am enjoying a movie. If the volume is turned up loud it can be difficult-why I only work nursing home part time. :o

Bythesea- great linking going on :D

Of co**** I took all the test-lol! Found out I was a right brained global thinker. On the either or I scored high in the visual learning style but only because it was an either or one of the latter ones was more of a scale kind which allowed for more of range and did not limit me to either or. I scored very high in all the learning styles except spatial it was down a box and linguistic was down half a box, Musical, body-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical I scored as high as the thing would go. Me logical Ha Ha Ha~right! I did very well in visual and auditory but appear to perfer visual when given an either or choice. Pulling up pictures is faster than pulling up auditory~I get more information faster and I am all for faster-lol!

Junior failed to perform at the ENT.

Too distracted by all the pretty sounds (and lack of other sounds, not enough explantion, couldn't follow the directions). A week later the school did a hearing test and he did great (familiar environment) flying colors, no hearing problems of note.. Just one thing off. He called on the noise coming from the wrong ear (I think this was with the easy to hear NT sounds).

But he did the same thing when they asked which hand he wrote with. They dr says are you a righty or a lefty and he stalls half a second and says: lefty. Doc holds out a pencil at the same time and he picks it up with his left hand then transfers it to his right and quickly corrects: "right handed".

Then he hops on one foot . very poor performance. So I ask doc if I can show him how. I hop across the room for him, and he does great ( super visual spatial learner) once he gets whats being asked.Of note doc says he is notably stronger on his left foot.

Ok so right handed left handed, mixing up stuff. His balance, on the other hand,(no pun intended) is great.

Speedo... a hypothese as we are attacking sensory integration as our no 1 priority (diagnosing junior) We have a team of four excellent professionals on the case ( 2 of whom are on vacation until September along with the rest of France) and one of whom I meet for the first time tomorrow: I have a really good feel.

Ok the hypothese. You are the resident SID guru.

Maybe his hearing is very good. But he definately has sensory stuff.
We have had major construction in our area at our house and undeerground and the nearby geek tunnel( accelerated/colliding)_who knows anymore. They have installed accoustic shields underground around the site but as we are inside the ring....we get alot of very noisy trucks going by. Excavation. A big one. They built an artificial lake to fill in the whole I guess? Add to that our domestic problems (a two and a half year renovation involving 40 cm thick stone walls and demolition destruction opening up our formerly cave like abode, that just never seems to end. ~Add to that my spouses infatuation with his karcher (a water blasting device that pulses and vibrates as it shoots water out at super high speeds and sends it crashing against what ever it's amed at. I think its suppose to clean stuff.

Is it possible that he's been just overstimulated or even that his hearing was damaged at a more vibration low frequency type level. You know like elephant sensory threshold?

Or the a ball of wax or snot or something? He hasn't let anyone (especially not a doctor look in his ears in over 2.5 years.

And he was always carressing or playing with his earlobe before, but we see alot less of that now. The Ferengi Factor.


I've noticed there's alot of physics talk on this site but as my practical experience with physics could ((fit/dance around with all those angels on the pin head and not be noticed)) ((Are you mechanically, musically, or artistically gifted? Does it matter?)) excuse the metaphore mixing. Any way I am not the mechanical type and I don't even like talking or reading about car repair. Just the numbers, maybe? But i'll talk/read anything to help my son. (He is suffering.) Even truacks and tunnels two of my least favorite Tees.

Anyway maybe I could get some idea how much NOISE we might actually be suffering. I could put a link. Apparently (or not so apparently as it's underground) there is noiy freezing cryogenic rock earth stuff. And I guess it can get VERY noisy. ~But I guess it's the TRUCKS full of excavated material that is the real problem. They are just very big and full and noisy.

I for one can not wait until thay get their little (actually quite big) Loop up and humming again so we can have an end to all this construction. I'll try and post a link because all the acronyms involved and you'd send me off to Chitchat and word games.

I can't seem to reach the one person I think might know. The mechanical genius.The practical type in the family. And he's experienced in the field to boot. Knows everything about cars and trucks and things that go. I'm telling you all of France is on vacation! I guess I could ask some of the dreamy artistic types in the clan but they aren't local and it could take them a while to bone up I would guess.

One might consider this alot of todo over nothing. But noise pollution is a serious issue for people with SID and it hard to imagine what it's like to have it (or so I've heard).

Thanks for any and all info.

Maybe someone could help me triage noise level possibilitites?

1) home renovation
2) Worksite trucks busy road excavation
3. Cryogenic freezing of earth rock nearby undergroung. (shielded mind you, but did they shield it enough)

4. Other stuff. Like the Karcher water smashing blaster thingy of my husbands? Or maybe its whatever they are doing under ground. Do magnets make noise?

One more question. Would ear plugs help him or is this more vibration related type noise. And what helps that?


Cars and trucks and things that GO!

Thankyou!! So much

On Ferengis...

I'm gl;ad you were able to get some test data. It would be great if he would let an ENT examine his ears. If junior had a fixable hearing problem it would be fortunate to get it fixed. :)

On handedness..

I remember when I was a kid it took me a long time to understand the idea of left and right. I recall that I was 7 before I could remember which was which. The assymetry in his muscle strength sounds like dysphoria. It could be significant.

On building geek tunnels and other noisy activities...

I think that an increase in environmental noise equates to an increase in sensory load. That leads to higher stress l;evels and in a kid can lead to behavior problems.

Ear plugs help, but if you wear them all the time your hearing becomes more sensitive. If he has SID, it is not so much the loudness of sound as it is an inability to process sound. A really noisy, chaotic environment can be a big overload. Myself, I get hyper, stressed and after a while I don't feel so good.

You probably want to talk to a therapist, there arer a lot of things that you can do, and things that he can learn to help mitigate his sensory problems.

Also, SID can affect more than hearing. Visual scenes can be an overlaod. So can bright lights, or flashing lights. Scenes that are visually complex, animate and chaotic are a big overload. The sense of touch can also be a problem. Does he hate to be touched when he is overloaded ? Combine all that stuff at once and the world can be a pretty harsh place.

A calm, comfy, quiet, dimly lit place for him to recover from overload might prove useful (It works for me).

Hopefully, the tunnel geeks will complete the job soon and you can get back to normal. I don't think you will have problems with noise or cold from a buried accelerator. We had one underground when I was in college and you could not hear it at all.

On mechanical things....

I'm very gifted with things technological. I'm just good at it, always have been.
I love to build things with my hands. I've built cars, rockets, computers, and all manner of electronic gadgets. Not toys eithger. REAL cars, rockets and computers. My apartment looks like a laboratory. I have a well elquipped electronics workstation and I presently have 17 computers.

I hope they find a magic bullet to help your child. Being driven by your senses is not fun.

ME :D


Junior failed to perform at the ENT.

Too distracted by all the pretty sounds (and lack of other sounds, not enough explantion, couldn't follow the directions). A week later the school did a hearing test and he did great (familiar environment) flying colors, no hearing problems of note.. Just one thing off. He called on the noise coming from the wrong ear (I think this was with the easy to hear NT sounds).

But he did the same thing when they asked which hand he wrote with. They dr says are you a righty or a lefty and he stalls half a second and says: lefty. Doc holds out a pencil at the same time and he picks it up with his left hand then transfers it to his right and quickly corrects: "right handed".

Then he hops on one foot . very poor performance. So I ask doc if I can show him how. I hop across the room for him, and he does great ( super visual spatial learner) once he gets whats being asked.Of note doc says he is notably stronger on his left foot.

Ok so right handed left handed, mixing up stuff. His balance, on the other hand,(no pun intended) is great.

Speedo... a hypothese as we are attacking sensory integration as our no 1 priority (diagnosing junior) We have a team of four excellent professionals on the case ( 2 of whom are on vacation until September along with the rest of France) and one of whom I meet for the first time tomorrow: I have a really good feel.

Ok the hypothese. You are the resident SID guru.

Maybe his hearing is very good. But he definately has sensory stuff.
We have had major construction in our area at our house and undeerground and the nearby geek tunnel( accelerated/colliding)_who knows anymore. They have installed accoustic shields underground around the site but as we are inside the ring....we get alot of very noisy trucks going by. Excavation. A big one. They built an artificial lake to fill in the whole I guess? Add to that our domestic problems (a two and a half year renovation involving 40 cm thick stone walls and demolition destruction opening up our formerly cave like abode, that just never seems to end. ~Add to that my spouses infatuation with his karcher (a water blasting device that pulses and vibrates as it shoots water out at super high speeds and sends it crashing against what ever it's amed at. I think its suppose to clean stuff.

Is it possible that he's been just overstimulated or even that his hearing was damaged at a more vibration low frequency type level. You know like elephant sensory threshold?

Or the a ball of wax or snot or something? He hasn't let anyone (especially not a doctor look in his ears in over 2.5 years.

And he was always carressing or playing with his earlobe before, but we see alot less of that now. The Ferengi Factor.


I've noticed there's alot of physics talk on this site but as my practical experience with physics could ((fit/dance around with all those angels on the pin head and not be noticed)) ((Are you mechanically, musically, or artistically gifted? Does it matter?)) excuse the metaphore mixing. Any way I am not the mechanical type and I don't even like talking or reading about car repair. Just the numbers, maybe? But i'll talk/read anything to help my son. (He is suffering.) Even truacks and tunnels two of my least favorite Tees.

Anyway maybe I could get some idea how much NOISE we might actually be suffering. I could put a link. Apparently (or not so apparently as it's underground) there is noiy freezing cryogenic rock earth stuff. And I guess it can get VERY noisy. ~But I guess it's the TRUCKS full of excavated material that is the real problem. They are just very big and full and noisy.

I for one can not wait until thay get their little (actually quite big) Loop up and humming again so we can have an end to all this construction. I'll try and post a link because all the acronyms involved and you'd send me off to Chitchat and word games.

I can't seem to reach the one person I think might know. The mechanical genius.The practical type in the family. And he's experienced in the field to boot. Knows everything about cars and trucks and things that go. I'm telling you all of France is on vacation! I guess I could ask some of the dreamy artistic types in the clan but they aren't local and it could take them a while to bone up I would guess.

One might consider this alot of todo over nothing. But noise pollution is a serious issue for people with SID and it hard to imagine what it's like to have it (or so I've heard).

Thanks for any and all info.

Maybe someone could help me triage noise level possibilitites?

1) home renovation
2) Worksite trucks busy road excavation
3. Cryogenic freezing of earth rock nearby undergroung. (shielded mind you, but did they shield it enough)

4. Other stuff. Like the Karcher water smashing blaster thingy of my husbands? Or maybe its whatever they are doing under ground. Do magnets make noise?

One more question. Would ear plugs help him or is this more vibration related type noise. And what helps that?


Cars and trucks and things that GO!

Thankyou!! So much

On the otherhand, I've read that children are naturally visual in style but will typically reduce their tendency to think in pictures by the age of 6 or so.

Do you suppose that this has anything to do with going to school? It would seem that auditory-impaired children would have little motivation to use their auditory hardware if it is extremely deficient (CAPD, more physical hearing issues), though children without these deficiencies (naturally visual) would seem like they'd go with the flow and use their auditory skills, seemingly reducing the tendency to think visually. Perhaps similar to what I've read about autistics and their special skills? Losing these skills once language adeptness is there?

I've noticed there's alot of physics talk on this site but as my practical experience with physics could ((fit/dance around with all those angels on the pin head and not be noticed)) ((Are you mechanically, musically, or artistically gifted? Does it matter?)) excuse the metaphore mixing. Any way I am not the mechanical type and I don't even like talking or reading about car repair. Just the numbers, maybe? But i'll talk/read anything to help my son. (He is suffering.) Even truacks and tunnels two of my least favorite Tees.

I've been on all kinds of these VS Gifted sites, and they all state the same thing. By mechanically gifted, I believe they mean those with more concrete-visual ability, not so much abstract. And yes, these people are quite pragmatic, however, diagnosing mechanical problems naturally (without a guide) requires one to visualize how everything works together at the same time. That's not to say that sequential skills required in diagnosis, becuase that is a part as well. It's not about being visual or not, as there are many subrealms within this realm of visual thinking. Not all of the information is required to apply.

My auto mechanic is someone who I'd consider "mechanically gifted", though he is easily confused with numbers and doesn't have to read manuals to fix cars (well, only when absolutely necessary, to get the details that aren't immediately obvious to him)....

Hi Chris

All the fMRI resaults that show that dyslexics use diffrernt part of the brain to cope are part of just that, and more.

but learning styles exist whether thay have found ways of working out how it works yert is onther issue.

Some times the analyticle science is behind what we understand, but give them time.
Autism for so long was just a observation tick box diagnosis and they are still trying to understand the mechanics

best wishes

dolfrog

Is there any evidence to support learning style?

By evidence I mean fMRI studies that show different areas of the brain working for different people do the same task; Or where they have compared learning styles to physical capabiltiies, e.g. do visual learners actually have worse audiotory skills.

What I'm getting at is whether learning styles are just a personallity trait or is there an acutal difference in physical or neurological make up?

Hi Tammy

What you have dewscribed seems close to Auditory Processing Disorder, Auditory Processing is the medicla term for listening, and you have decribed problems with listening. APD is also a contributory cause of the dyslexic symptom. And APD can cause sone attention issues.
http://apd.apduk.org/atten_mem_and_apd.htm

The links in my previous post have been nominally changed for technical reasons and may be the redirects are not working too well.
The new addresses are
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/lsworkingmodel.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/powerofvt1.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/powerofvt2.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_reading.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_vsl4all.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_spell.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslteachread.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslrighttools_1.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslrighttools_2.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslshowworking.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslwholeword.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslmorearticles.htm

http://apd.apduk.org/catesintro.htm

http://www.infolinks.apduk.org/visual_learners.htm

The above are all the curent links on the APDUK web site that relate to Visual-Spatial Learners.

We are aware that there are many other learning styles, but the main three which seem to be basi one used for learning are the Auditory Sequential, Visual-Spatial and Kinaesthetic.

Those who have APD are not always able to utilise their natural Auditory squential learning systems and so have to use alterantive learning styles to cope, which is why we at APDUK are vedry interested in these issues.
I am a natural Visual-Spatial Learner and so I have the natural coping stategies for my APD.
No doubt there are others who use some other learnig styles to help work around their information processing deficits.
And to confuse the issue further there are now more sub variations of these learning styles as more research is being done, but i can be confusing, this is why we found a working model for our Learning styles Sub section of the web site, to expalin the areas we have chosen to cover. We do not have enough memory on the site server to cover all the learning style issues.
But much of the in depthinformation is driven by companies trying to understand how best to recruit and place their employees in the work place, so that they can become more effective and more efficient.

I hope the new links banish the red cross, we have had problems with this when we first published this section of the web site some 6 weeks ago , we thought we had worked out all of the bugs.

best wishes

dolfrog

Hi dolfrog, welcome to the forums. It is cool to put information on-line and find others checking it out and telling others. Nice when others can relate.

We have a member who found us by looking for her own articles, which was a topic of discussion in another thread. The person is as cool if not cooler than her articles.

I am having problems accessing the information on your site. I can’t get the pictures to come up on either of my computers and my other computer is a recent “XP” program. I just bought it a month ago. All I see is a big red "x" that refuses to show up even after right clicking the "x" and clicking the show picture option from the pull down menu. Any suggestion because I would really like to read some of the topics your have in your post.

I do not have APD not that I know of but I do have dyslexia, I often have problems hearing the sound difference between letters like "pa" "da", especially if I don't have a visual like over the phone. Gary's brother was trying to give a product number over the phone last week, and I could not understand him so I asked him to give me the numbers more slowly. Then he goes into this "t as in Tom, D as in dog" although I understood what he was doing and why; however, the addition of the words to the letters made it more confusion not less. I automatically knew all I needed was for him to slow down.

I have very acute hearing, some times I can get over whelmed by too much sound, I have perfect pitch but I do have problems understanding strings of numbers or letters that are random like the above scenario. If I can see their face I have no problems with the strings of random numbers or letters. It looks like your site may have information along this line but I can't get past the blooming red "x"!!!!!




Twang country western music comes immediately to my mind. More than five minutes of this music which lacks resemblance of pitch (okay incorrectly pitched, is played totally out of tune, off key) will rapidly be cause for drastic action on my part. I literally can not tolerate this horrible noise and will go to great lengths to get away from it (It hurts, physicially), including but not limited to property damage-I am normally a goofy type of hyper ADD, not a destructive one.


TV hummmmmms even on newer models bother me to the point of heard aches after a while even if I am enjoying a movie. If the volume is turned up loud it can be difficult-why I only work nursing home part time. :o

Bythesea- great linking going on :D

Of co**** I took all the test-lol! Found out I was a right brained global thinker. On the either or I scored high in the visual learning style but only because it was an either or one of the latter ones was more of a scale kind which allowed for more of range and did not limit me to either or. I scored very high in all the learning styles except spatial it was down a box and linguistic was down half a box, Musical, body-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical I scored as high as the thing would go. Me logical Ha Ha Ha~right! I did very well in visual and auditory but appear to perfer visual when given an either or choice. Pulling up pictures is faster than pulling up auditory~I get more information faster and I am all for faster-lol!

All of these pages have a yellow font on a white background. It is almost impossible for me to read the links.


Me :D


Hi Tammy

What you have dewscribed seems close to Auditory Processing Disorder, Auditory Processing is the medicla term for listening, and you have decribed problems with listening. APD is also a contributory cause of the dyslexic symptom. And APD can cause sone attention issues.
http://apd.apduk.org/atten_mem_and_apd.htm

The links in my previous post have been nominally changed for technical reasons and may be the redirects are not working too well.
The new addresses are
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/lsworkingmodel.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/powerofvt1.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/powerofvt2.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_reading.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_vsl4all.htm

http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vsl_lks_spell.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslteachread.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslrighttools_1.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslrighttools_2.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslshowworking.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslwholeword.htm
http://www.learningstyles.apduk.org/vslmorearticles.htm

http://apd.apduk.org/catesintro.htm

http://www.infolinks.apduk.org/visual_learners.htm

The above are all the curent links on the APDUK web site that relate to Visual-Spatial Learners.

We are aware that there are many other learning styles, but the main three which seem to be basi one used for learning are the Auditory Sequential, Visual-Spatial and Kinaesthetic.

Those who have APD are not always able to utilise their natural Auditory squential learning systems and so have to use alterantive learning styles to cope, which is why we at APDUK are vedry interested in these issues.
I am a natural Visual-Spatial Learner and so I have the natural coping stategies for my APD.
No doubt there are others who use some other learnig styles to help work around their information processing deficits.
And to confuse the issue further there are now more sub variations of these learning styles as more research is being done, but i can be confusing, this is why we found a working model for our Learning styles Sub section of the web site, to expalin the areas we have chosen to cover. We do not have enough memory on the site server to cover all the learning style issues.
But much of the in depthinformation is driven by companies trying to understand how best to recruit and place their employees in the work place, so that they can become more effective and more efficient.

I hope the new links banish the red cross, we have had problems with this when we first published this section of the web site some 6 weeks ago , we thought we had worked out all of the bugs.

best wishes

dolfrog

I've yet to have it explained to me how a group of people (ADDers) who tend to be visual-spatial in cognitive style are also supposed to have visual-spatial processing defecits at the same time ?


The problem isn't in the visual system per say but in the attention inconsistency. In my opinion the problem may be more in the ADDers inconsistent focus. If we aren't paying attention to the information being presented or our attention is fading in and out it doesn't really matter what learning style we are using what gets into our heads is going to have holes in the places where our attention faded out.


Do magnets make noise?

No but the magnetic field can effect the human brain. They took some college kids out some where in the boonies blind folded them and the college kids found their way back to camp. Then they took the same college kids out and blind folded them again but this time all had a metal strip that was also applied some of the metal was plain metal others were magnetized. Those who had the magnets were unable to find the camp site where as those who did not have magnetic metal strips were able to find their way back to the camp site. This experiment indicates our brainsability to calculate direction is effected by magnetic fields.


What you have dewscribed seems close to Auditory Processing Disorder, Auditory Processing is the medicla term for listening, and you have decribed problems with listening. APD is also a contributory cause of the dyslexic symptom. And APD can cause sone attention issues.

I guess much of my confusion is the fact I was born with perfect pitch.According to my mom I responded to out of tune panios as an infant by screaming until the playing stopped.I was three months old before she made the connection between un-tuned country church panios and my sudden out bust of hysterical screaming.

I can hear even the slightest imperfection in pitch, I do not even have to know any thing about the instrument to know it is out of tune. I can do the same thing with human vioces. If I have processing problems with my hearing could I still have perfect pitch?

btw-
According to what I have gleaned from internet explorer it is the “HyperText Transfer Protocol” my computer is having a problems decphering. The confusing part is all three of my computers are unable to disply the pictures.

According to properities these are pictures “0fb56560.gif” I know I can see gif images, I can see the ones on this board. Also it isn't all the sites just the ones with the yellow words, the green sites I can see fine. Oh you may want to darken the letters, or the back ground yellow is hard to see on a white back ground, especially for those of us who are 40ish=old eyes! I can see the navagation panel to the left just the image in the center of these sites is not visible. I am not having problems with any of the other zillion and one sites I have been to in the last two days.

I found this interesting (I hate teaching new browsers old tricks)

LEARNING-STYLE INVENTORY (http://pss.uvm.edu/pss162/learning_styles.html)

...

I don't think there is a physical test for it (such as an mri). It is a tendency toward one cognitive style or another. Some people think linearly, and others don.t. Some people are more visual, and some are more auditory or more tactile. It is a matter of individual style, but in it's extreme forms can approach being a disability as much as being a gift.

ME :D
That is sort of what I though but I get worried when people say 'visual people are this and audiotory people are that'.

The idea of Learning Styles is a great idea because it helps explain that different people learn in different ways. Something the education system has on the whole missed. But I sometimes get the idea people now believe that instead of there being only one way to learn, they now believe there are now only two or three ways to learn.

Everyone is different. Everyone has their own way of learning. I think this idea can get lost in the rush to class people as visual or audiotory.

Chris

I went into a rant on this post. It is not aimed at anybody in particular, but I sorta got triggered and said some things that are strong, but I feel they are relevant, so I left them in...


I think the point is that there are differences. In many cases these differences reflect our compensating for some injury or defecit. In other cases those differences are due to an individual just being different.

I think that simplifying it all by euphorically declaring that people are just different, uiniqe, and aren't alll god's children special... does not help a bit in terms of getting a proper diagnosis, or getting down to the matter and treating the condition with postive results.

The bottom line is that disorder impairs, and impairment hurts in very sense of the word "hurt".

These things have names and calling things what they are is important if you are going to make the most of whatever situation you are in.

A Chinese proverb says: "Calling things by their name is the beginning of wisdom".


For example, if I realize and understand that I am predominantly visualspatial in cognitive style, I might be able to cognitively make use of that skill toward my own benefit. In order to do that effectively I need to know what these things are called and what their properties are. Just being satisfied with being "different" does not help me a bit. However, getting an understanding of these things DOES benefit me, and empowers me to tap into my strengths, and enables me to work around my defecits.

Calling it labeling is a bunch of crap. Lets call things what they are and get down to the business of understanding how they work.

I'm not some soccer mom trying to protect her precious child. This is a selfish act. This is ME, speedo, trying to adjust and trying to make the most of a very real and difficult situation. My life is real, so PLEASE don't insult me with euphamisms. Furthermore, don't degrade me by trying to patronize me. PLEASE DO give me information so I can get knowledge and better my life in terms that are real.

(can you tell that I'm a little annoyed with the built-in bias of the neurotypical world ?) :eek: :faint:

ME :D


That is sort of what I though but I get worried when people say 'visual people are this and audiotory people are that'.

The idea of Learning Styles is a great idea because it helps explain that different people learn in different ways. Something the education system has on the whole missed. But I sometimes get the idea people now believe that instead of there being only one way to learn, they now believe there are now only two or three ways to learn.

Everyone is different. Everyone has their own way of learning. I think this idea can get lost in the rush to class people as visual or audiotory.

Chris

A Chinese proverb says: "Calling things by their name is the beginning of wisdom".

Speedo I can understand where you are coming from in a way we all should. I mean how did we get here? Most people in some form or fashion typed in the word ADD or attention deficit disorder. If there wasn’t a label for “us” then we would have never found this site or each other. Many of us would still be facing the struggles of ADD alone.

Knowing there are other people who experience the same things we do can be a huge benefit and if two heads are better than one how much better are thousands? Without the label” we all share we would have had no way to connect.


Tegenza I found your post a little confusing so please don’t be offended by my need to re-arrange a bit. I am not trying to take your words out of context I am trying to see if I have read your thoughts correctly.

The idea of Learning Styles is a great idea because it helps explain that different people learn in different ways. Something the education system has on the whole missed.

The above I agree with and the idea is to point out that people do have different styles of learning so that teachers and instructors can use approaches that are more effective for more people.

For those who are visual learners lecture is inefficient, for those who are primarily auditory grafts and charts may mean little one of the things I did read in my extensive searches is that almost all people learn better if they can both hear and see, if all three styles are incorporated then we are talking major effectiveness.




That is sort of what I though but I get worried when people say 'visual people are this and auditory people are that'.

The above is where you “lose” me. Does the above mean you fear the over use of labels or categories in a way that diminishes the individual or tries to place differences into categories?



But I sometimes get the idea people now believe that instead of there being only one way to learn, they now believe there are now only two or three ways to learn.

Ummm there is more than one way to learn . . . .Again a rather confusing statement could be me though ;I have been up all night working . . . .had a rough one at that. :(
I shall endeavor to try to understand by use of rephrase.

For me learning means information absorbed retained with the ability to reproduce or use said retained information. Every thing from walking, talking to biology and the law.

Learning = Mecca

Only one Mecca

More than one way to get to Mecca; one can come by plane, horse back, hitch-hike ~combination approach~




Everyone is different. Everyone has their own way of learning. I think this idea can get lost in the rush to class people as visual or auditory

Agreed this is why I believe your intention is to illuminate the fact we are all individuals, and each come with strengths and weakness and should not allow the use of terming to over shadow our personhood.

Speedo / Meadd823