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Exercise-Based
Program Treats Learning Disabilities Wednesday
August 6, 2003 Yahoo
News A
unique way of treating people with learning disabilities has come to Boston. NewsCenter
5's Heather Unruh reported that the Dore Achievement Center in Wellesley offers
an exercise-based program used by more than 10,000 kids in the United Kingdom. While
10-year-old Kevin Colford kick boxes, brother Brian bounces and John stretches
with his eyes closed. It is simple, but targeted exercises designed to stimulate
an under functioning part of their brain. "We
believe passionately that the cerebellum is the root basis of all these
different problems, and by getting the cerebellum to work better, the affect is
to make the thinking brain allow these skills to develop more
appropriately," Dore Achievement Center Dr. Roy Rutherford said. The
boys all suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. "It's
the reading. It's the math. It's the social skills. It's trying to stay focused,
which is a real hard problem for all of them," Carole Colford said. But
since joining the Dore program five weeks ago, their grandparents said that
Brian, in particular, has improved. "We
noticed that he enjoyed reading for the first time," Don Colford said. "We're
always reading to him, trying to encourage this, but this is something that
within a little over a week's time he started reading on his own." The
method, which involves the use of beanbags and balls, has been criticized by
some experts as unproven. They don't think exercise can transform the lives of
people with learning disabilities. "But
if you look at the medical science behind what we're doing, it is solid. It is a
clear solid jigsaw that's explaining where the problem is, how you identify it
and how you rectify it," Dore Achievement Center Founder Wynford Dore said.
An
independent British study recently found kids in the program experienced
significant improvements in reading, writing and comprehension. The Colfords
hope for similar results. "We
know they're bright kids. We know that they've got a lot of abilities, and we
want to see a much better future for them," Carole Colford said. |