Creative Tutors of Wake County, North Carolina

Development and Academic Success

A child’s developmental level, not just the chronological age, is vital to learning success.  Developmental maturity demonstrates that the brain is able to take in sensory information and then process the information in the higher cortical areas of the brain.  We are all meant to be born with certain primitive reflexes established. These primitive reflexes assist the mother and baby through the birth process.  They then allow the baby to adjust to life outside the womb and to begin the process of training the body and the brain to work together.  Typically, these reflexes are inhibited and replaced by more advanced postural reflexes sometime between 6 months - 3 years of age.

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In order for a child to succeed in school, he must have established balance and adequate motor skills.  If a child has not established balance, they will not be able to sit still and attend.  Without adequate motor skills, the child may not have established visual or auditory pathways in order to understand written or spoken information nor have adequate fine motor skills necessary for writing.

A multitude of diagnoses can result from primitive reflexes which have not been appropriately inhibited or postural reflexes which have not been firmly developed and can include ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, neurodevelopmental delays, cerebral palsy, Autism Spectrum diagnoses, speech delays, auditory processing, hearing problems, visual processing problems, clumsy child syndrome, dyscalculia, and many others.

Wonderful resources for learning more about helping your child to become developmentally ready for academic success include:
Attention, Balance and Coordination the A.B.C. of Learning Success by Sally Goddard Blythe
The Well Balanced Child Movement and Early Learning by Sally Goddard Blythe

Categories: Home Schooling, Literacy, Mathematics, ADHD, Auditory Processing, Autism Specturm, Homework Help, Vision, Testing, General Education, Health and Nutrition, Gifted and Talented, Special Needs | Permalink | Send feedback »

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Meet Kim Ashby | Owner

Kim Ashby earned a BS in Nursing from The Catholic University of America and, when she worked outside the home, was a Certified Emergency Nurse with a special interest in trauma nursing. She lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and three sons. The Ashbys have home schooled their children since 1999. They graduated their oldest son in May 2007. He is attending UNC Wilmington. Kim continues to home school her younger boys. Her oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in the public school system in the second grade. Her second son has cerebral palsy which has resulted in multiple/global developmental delays. Her youngest son has undiagnosed, mild auditory processing issues.

Kim has co-instructed graduate level courses at UNC Chapel Hill for ST/OT students and Early Intervention students. She is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of GIFTSNC, Inc., a home schooling special needs support group. Kim has presented workshops at a variety of state home school conferences as well as local support group parent meetings and is often a guest speaker at homeschool conferences and is found on many guest speaker lists including Balancing the Sword. She is a Steering Committee member and former Treasurer for Dayspring Home Educators in Cary, NC. She served on the Board of Directors for the Family Support Network of Wake County. She holds a North Carolina Wildlife Permit for Small Mammal Rehabilitation and enjoys working with orphaned and injured wildlife.

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Mark Twain