Arrowsmith - Help for Learning Dysfunctions now in Tasmania
Almost 5 years ago I was introduced to a program Teen Challenge QLD had commenced with young people and adults internally & externally to their residential rehabilitation centre, called the Arrowsmith program.
As I understood more about the program I became extremely excited and couldn’t wait to bring it to Tasmania. Why was I so excited about a program? Well, working with troubled youth as we have for many years within our mentoring program, those in addiction and youth groups many are challenged with learning dysfunctions and just don’t fit in with mainstream schooling. It completely disrupts their learning opportunities and connection at school.
Research led to the Arrowsmith Program’s definition of a learning dysfunction which is as follows:
A learning dysfunction is a specific brain area that is weaker in functioning than the person’s other brain areas such that it significantly impairs the learning activities of the functional systems in which it is involved. The specific nature of the learning dysfunction is dependent upon the characteristic mental activities or operations of the particular brain area that is impaired and will be manifested in all the functional systems of which it is a component. For example, a problem in the area responsible for motor planning in learning symbol sequences will impact learning motor plans in writing, reading, speaking and spelling.
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to correlate that someone struggling with a learning dysfunction without appropriate support will likely disengage from schooling and enter pathways that could lead to substance use, anti-social behaviour, getting in with the wrong crowd and so on impacting their future. A program that could interrupt this and really help people overcome their difficulties, in my opinion, was a huge opportunity to help young people improve their lives, schooling experience and achieve their dreams.
I travelled to QLD to view the program in action and what I saw reinforced my desire to bring this to Tassie. The Program Coordinator took her own family to Toronto, Canada to the main school at that time to help her daughter. She was told her daughter was never going to be able to learn and to just get used to how she was and expect it to get worse as she grew older. Their experience was life changing for her daughter and herselfShe was now fully trained in Arrowsmith and her daughter was sitting in the room facilitating online sessions, actually teaching other participants…wow!!
I met a young man approx 8yrs that upon entering the classroom whilst making eye contact with me, was not talking to me but to the facilitator. He asked who this person was and still came close to me and gave me an elbow bump in greeting. He entered the room and stood beside each particpant for a few seconds, not talking to them but in his own way greeting them, I suspected he may be on the Autism spectrum, but did not know anything else about him. He then jumped on to his work space and took off in the program. He was so fast.
Two hours later his mum came to collect him and the facilitator introduced us and invited her to share her experience with her son and the program. I was not prepared for her answer. She told me that he had been in the program 2 months. He was diagnosed on the spectrum and was non-communative. She said the way he interacted with me when he arrived would NEVER have happened before, he didn’t speak with them. After only two months he was now interacting with family members and complete strangers, she even got hugs from him!!
I viewed writing examples from other participants that intially was neither legible or correctly spelt. After periods of time it was legible and correctly spelt and the examples of the power of this program just went on and on. I didn’t need any further assurance that this was going to be powerful in helping people overcome many areas of learning dysfunctions and vastly improve their lives.
The Arrowsmith Program is based on the application of neuroscientific research and for 40 years they have worked to help students strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying a range of learning difficulties. The goal is to help students become effective, confident, and self-directed learners.
Understanding as we do from our #NotEvenOnce Drug Education and resillience building, our brains are such an important part of us and can be damaged easily, especially through the developmental stages being interupted, through the womb, birth, environment, trauma, accidents, subtance use etc. However through neuroplasticity we know the brain can often be strengthened or rewired to overcome damage. We see it in our rehab centres, although not to the depth that the Arrowsmith program offers.
Whilst each person is different many children and youth, within this program are enabled to return to regular schooling after time. Arrowsmith program is offered at sites throughout North America, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Spain, the Cayman Islands, and Switzerland, but until now not in Tasmania.
My deepest desire was to bring this program to Tasmania offering support through the program for individuals in this area, but especially for young people from disadvantaged communities that could never be able to afford to have access to this program. The model we are delivering will enable any profits from this program to fund access for those young people. Helping them achieve support, redirection, connectedness and engagememnt with their education.
For years I have been working to bring Arrowsmith home. Last year we were incredibly excited when Prescare expressed a desire to partner with us to bring Arrowsmith to Tasmania. They supported this initiative with funding to do so. The funding enabled the commencement of a pilot program that allows us to support 10 young people with learning dysfunctions from disadvantaged backgrounds in the first year of delivery.
Our brand new modern Arrowsmith program space has been built within our 90 St John St, Launceston headquarters. Teen Challenge QLD’s Arrowsmith program, Empowering Lives, totally blessed us with the provision of 6 computers and equipment to commence. Our head facilitator, Lisa-Marie and I completed our training to deliver the program through January to mid- February.
On the 21st of February we commenced the program with 9 young people now engaged each week. I was so excited, this was a long time coming but we got there! Like everything we had our challenges, for the first week I came down with Covid and Lisa-Marie had to finish set-up and roll out on her own. Our computers didnt arrive until the morning we started, the furniture the day before. A participant came down with Covid so couldn’t attend the first week.
It has been an incredible privilege to walk with these young people twice a week after school, getting to know them, seeing their individual strengths and challenges and walking alongside, celebrating the victories and walking together through the hard aspects. Each challenge is building and strengthening cognitive areas of their brain which impacts so many aspects of their lives.
In April we will begin to offer the Arrowsmith program to the wider community and build participant levels to allow us to support more young people. Arrowsmith is not only for young people from prep age+, but also for adults of all ages. Teen Challenge QLD has had a participant in their 70’s who suffered a stroke and is using this program to help overcome some of the adverse effects of this event within their brain. It is helping so many people within their rehab centre overcome the damage their subtance abuse has caused and potentially some dysfunctions were their before they commenced substance use too.
Should you have any questions on this program please do not hesitate to connect with us. More information is available via our website and enquiries can be made via the form on that page. Please keep us and the young people in our pilot program in your prayers.
Here’s a few links for your reference from the Arrowsmith website if you are interested in more information:
How did this program originate? Arrowsmith History
What learning dysfunctions can this program help and how would I know? Recognize the signs
What is the research behind this program and its effectiveness? Research
Learn more about the Arrowsmith Program from its founder Barbara Arrowsmith-Young through her TEDEX talk and learn of her own amazing journey through her life to overcome her own challenges and now helps multitudes of lives every year.
