The majority of children who complete Interactive Metronome training at Thrive Academy enter the program because they are struggling academically at school. What that looks like is different for each child. As they progress through the training, the top five changes reported by parents and children are as follows:
- Homework takes far less time to complete
- The child says “I get it” when given lessons in areas of struggle
- Physical coordination improves
- Articulation improves for those with speech difficulties
- The child displays less anxious behaviour
Homework
For many of the families choosing Interactive Metronome training, homework is a significant ongoing struggle. Getting started requires reminders. Significant parental support is required. And getting it done takes significantly longer than expected. In many families, the homework battles are dreaded by parents and children alike.
Often, the first thing that parents report once Interactive Metronome training begins is that homework has been completed in significantly less time than they have come to expect. More than a few parents have admitted to accusing their children of lying about being done their homework because it never took so little time. The increased speed doesn’t always mean that the work is done perfectly, but often the quality also begins to improve very early in the training process. This change alone can be very exciting for parents and kids alike.
“I get it”
Many children entering Interactive Metronome training struggle with math instruction. It is very common that they have tried a variety of math tutoring programs, but math remains a struggle. In these cases, children often arrive for a training session proudly declaring that they’ve gotten the best mark yet on a math test. If parents ask their children what happened, they will frequently just shrug and say “I get it now.” Interactive Metronome training does not involve any academics, but it prepares the child so that they can benefit from quality instruction in a way that was not previously possible.
Physical Coordination
Performing well in sports, and even moving gracefully as part of daily life requires that physical movements be well-timed. While Thrive Academy was established to help kids who struggle with academics, a happy side effect of our program, is that physical coordination improves as well. Children who show little interest or aptitude for sports start to report that they are suddenly scoring goals on their teams. Clumsy kids aren’t making messes as often and move in a more graceful fashion. Over time, even fine motor tasks like handwriting will improve. High-performance athletes also report improvements in their sports. When it comes to physical movement, it is all about timing.
Articulation
Among our younger students, it isn’t uncommon to hear lisps and other speech articulation difficulties. While we do not provide speech therapy in any form, improved timing within the brain does frequently result in improved speech. Parents report that their quiet children are suddenly talking non-stop. Speech quality improves as well. Speech is another task that requires coordination within the brain. The physical task of speaking requires significant coordination of various muscles, and coordinating those movements with thought processes can also be affected by timing deficits.
Anxiety
Kids who struggle at school often report anxious feelings. For some, they are timid and want more parental support than average. Some are not comfortable getting started on a task without numerous check-ins about the task at hand. Some experience nightmares.
With Interactive Metronome training, the brain is able to more efficiently process incoming information, whether that is visual, auditory or other sensory information. When information is flowing smoothly, children are far less anxious about the world, because it is more predictable and less chaotic. We love to hear reports like the following:
- “She no longer needs me to walk her to the door of the school.”
- “He gets ready and leaves for school on his own.”
- “He has stopped having nightmares.”
- “She can recover from bumpy moments in her day – we used to have to pick her up and bring her home once things went wrong.”
Every brain is different, so the changes that a given child will experience are not fully predictable. But if these top five benefits are changes that would make a difference in your child’s life, give us a call today to set up an assessment.