Larry and I have been working with students for decades. Larry teaching music or band in public schools and giving private instrument lessons and I teaching or tutoring academics. In spite of our training and experience, I had a nagging feeling that something just wasn’t right. I was doing all the “right things” — structured literacy, phonics, explicit instruction, part-to-whole instruction and helping kids connect the parts, trying to accept new views about whether memorizing math facts is really necessary, and embracing finger-counting. I attended conferences, seminars, workshops, and did a lot of research. Unfortunately, my results were less than hoped for. Something was missing. Some of my students improved, but most continued to struggle in spite of my best efforts. I had great relationships with the kids. They worked hard. We had fun. Their parents were pleased. My schedule was always full and I often turned families away. So, what’s the problem? Everyone’s happy. The problem is that the whole reason for becoming an educational therapist was to help kids overcome learning difficulties. As I continued to work with students I privately wrestled with the disparity between effort and results.
In February 2024, Larry and I were introduced to Iconix. Iconix is a network of doctors, neurobehavioral specialists, behavior optometrists, teachers, parents, and board-certified developmental educations who understand that all behavior is purposeful. Since May 2024, we have taken part in three 6-week Iconix training classes, weekly Zoom meetings, and in-person training working our way toward becoming certified developmental educators.
We have learned to carefully study students’ attention, physical behavior, and thinking strategies to identify where they are misaligned. We use the Iconix learning system to teach students to use their most powerful processing and memory tools to achieve faster, more efficient, and deeper learning. It is crucial to respect the hierarchies of human development (crawling before walking, tactile exploration before visual dominance). We employ proprietary multi-modal and multi-sensory instructional programs created by Iconix to design personalized plans that target the root cause of our students’ learning struggles.
The past year has been one of discovery and growth; of thoughtful examination of information once assumed true through the lens of current neuroscience; of separating the wheat from the chaff, keeping the valuable and discarding well-intentioned but erroneous practices. The sometimes tedious process of renouncing old, ineffective methods and melding the beneficial remaining parts with the new continues.
One of the really cool things about Iconix is that it is good for everyone — struggling students and adults, adults and seniors who want to optimize function, improve memory, cognitive skills and balance, as well athletes who want to improve their performance. No matter your age or your child’s age — it’s not too late.
Cognitive Canvas Learning Clinic 