Surprising Ways To Sharpen Your Mind With Simple Skills!

You know that feeling when you're watching your child struggle with homework, and you can't quite put your finger on what's going wrong? They're smart, they're trying hard, but something just isn't clicking. Well, here's the thing - it might not be what you think it is.

George Hersh, a neurodevelopment expert who's been in the trenches for 30 years (and happens to be dyslexic and ADHD himself), breaks down something pretty fascinating: there are ten specific neurological processes that every single one of us uses to learn. And when these processes aren't firing on all cylinders, that's when the struggles begin.

The Reality About Perception

Here's where it gets interesting. Perception is reality - or is it? George poses this question that'll make you think: "What you can perceive, you can believe" versus "What you believe, you perceive." It's like our brain's looking glass, and how we process information through our eyes and senses makes all the difference in the world.

Think about it this way - your brain is constantly bombarded with billions of bits of information every second. Your eyes, your touch, smell, hearing - it's all flooding in simultaneously. Then your brain has to sort through all of that and decide what's important. Pretty amazing when you think about it, right?

The First Five Game-Changing Processes

Let's dive into the first five neurological processes that might be the key to unlocking your child's potential.

Focus - Here's something that'll surprise you: about 80% of parents think their kid has a focus problem. But here's the kicker - that same child who "can't focus" on homework can spend hours glued to a video game or building something they're passionate about. The issue isn't focus itself; it's about understanding what focus really means.

Most of us never actually learned how to focus. We were just told to "try harder" when our brains were already working overtime. Sound familiar?

Cross Pattern - This is about getting both sides of your brain to work together like a well-oiled machine. Think jumping jacks, but for your brain. If you've got a dominant brain side (maybe you're super analytical or think you're "not creative"), one hemisphere might be hogging all the control. Cross pattern exercises help balance things out.

Motor Match - Ever tried walking, talking, and chewing gum at the same time? That's motor match in action. It's coordinating physical movement with auditory cues - like being able to play sports while listening to your coach's instructions.

Mental Picture - This is what many people call working memory, but it's really about visualizing things. Here's where it gets tricky for some folks: people with dyslexia often see the 3D world brilliantly but struggle with letters and words. Their brains just aren't wired to see letters forming words easily. But here's the good news - this can be developed.

Tracking - Can your eyes follow a moving object? Can you stay on track while reading? If you've ever taken a speed reading class, you know your eyes take in everything on a page simultaneously. Then you have to focus on individual letters that make up words. When tracking is weak, reading becomes a real challenge.

The Final Five: Where Things Get Really Interesting

The remaining five processes are where George sees the most persistent issues, especially what he calls "the big three" that other programs often miss entirely.

Figure-Ground - This is probably the number one issue for kids with ADHD. It's about looking at a letter and blocking out everything else, or focusing on one word while ignoring all the other words on the page. When your brain gets overwhelmed, it just shuts down and pulls back. We've all been there, right?

Direction - Understanding right from left, up and down, following directions. Sometimes what looks like a direction problem is actually an eye tracking issue. Your brain might be racing ahead to figure out one word, then scanning back to where it got stuck.

Position in Space - This is all about relationships. Where do I fit in the world? How do I relate to my family, school, friends? It's about picking up on social cues. When this process is off, people might seem disinterested or like they're missing something important.

Size - People who struggle with this might overreact or under-react to situations. They can't gauge the importance or magnitude of things. It creates anxiety because they can't choose between options. Ever notice how some people get stressed with just two choices but feel more comfortable with three? That's size processing at work.

Shape - This gets into math concepts and cause-and-effect relationships. It's about understanding the shape of reality and making sense of how things connect.

The Brutal Truth About Traditional Methods

Here's where George gets real about the education system. Most programs rely on repetition - lots and lots of repetition. Where a typical person might need to see a sight word 2-3 times, someone with dyslexia or ADHD might need to see it 40, 50, even 100 times. George calls it "brutal" because he's lived through it himself.

The problem? School systems focus on teaching kids to read, write, and do math - the surface stuff. But they don't address the cognitive foundation underneath. George uses a construction analogy: you've got to get the footings solid before you build the house.

What's particularly frustrating is that traditional tutoring often just means more of the same approach that wasn't working in the first place. It's like trying to fill a bucket with holes in the bottom - you can pour in all the information you want, but without fixing those underlying processing gaps, it's just going to leak right back out. This is why some kids can study for hours and still struggle on tests, or why they seem to "get it" one day and completely forget it the next.

Your Child's Brain Is Always Looking Out for Them

Here's something to remember: your child's brain is always trying to protect them. When they get overwhelmed and throw a fit or push back, they're not being difficult - their brain is telling them something's wrong.

And here's the thing - no two brains are alike. ADHD is actually a neurodevelopmental delay of 2-5 years. That means cognitive skills and behavior modification are crucial, not just academic drilling.

As adults, we wouldn't put up with the stress levels that kids deal with every day. Sometimes kids are handling way more stress than we are, and we expect them to just push through it.

Think about your own workplace - if you were constantly asked to perform tasks that felt impossible, with everyone around you seeming to grasp things effortlessly while you struggled, how long would you last? Yet we ask kids to do this day after day, year after year. Their behavioral responses aren't defiance; they're survival mechanisms. When a child acts out during math time or suddenly needs to use the bathroom during reading, their nervous system is often in fight-or-flight mode.

The Abraham Lincoln Approach

George loves this quote from Lincoln: "If I had five minutes to cut down a tree, I'd spend four minutes sharpening the axe." That's exactly what cognitive skills training is about - sharpening the mind so learning becomes easier.

You can actually watch your child and see how they're thinking. If they're getting overwhelmed, upset, throwing fits, or constantly pushing back, something's not working. Your job as the adult is to break it down and simplify it for them. They can't figure it out on their own - that's not how brains work.

The Fastest Path Forward

Want to know the fastest way to improve the mind? Incorporate the body. If your child is struggling in school, chances are they're a kinesthetic learner - they need to touch and be physically involved in the learning process.

The goal isn't just to get through school or catch up to grade level. It's about building those foundational cognitive skills so learning becomes natural and enjoyable. When you strengthen those weak processing areas, everything else starts falling into place.

Remember, about 80% of educational issues stem from cognitive skills delays. It's becoming more and more clear that this is the backbone of everything. So instead of just pushing harder on the academics, maybe it's time to step back and work on sharpening that axe.

If your child is bright but struggling with focus, reading, confidence, or follow-through, you don’t need another band-aid—you need a clear plan that builds the skills school doesn’t teach. Explore our Youth Programs at ADHD Learning Pathways and see how we help kids strengthen the core learning and performance skills that make school (and home life) easier.

Learn more here: https://adhdlearningpathways.com