Brain Research
Take a look at current research for neuroplasticity.
Available Research.
For a comprehensive review of all research on the Arrowsmith Program, including peer reviewed results, please visit the Arrowsmith Research page here.
Dr. Lara Boyd, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of British Columbia and Canada Research Chair in the Neurobiology of Motor Learning, describes how the Arrowsmith Program affects the structure and function of children’s brains.
Eaton Arrowsmith founder Howard Eaton discusses how most intervention programs only teach students to compensate for learning disabilities, while the Arrowsmith Program helps them strengthen their brains.
Neuroscientist and physical therapist Dr. Lara Boyd discusses how our brains can change, even after injury from stroke.
Dr. Gregory Rose (director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cognitive and Neural Sciences at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale) explains neurobiological changes in children’s brains that lead to improved academic performance.
Dr. Richard Collins, director of the Brehm Institute for Cognitive Curricular Research in Carbondale, discusses the impact of Brehm Institute and Arrowsmith School programs on students’ brains.
Neuroplasticity and Changing the Brain.
New hope: extended interview with the founder of the Eaton Arrowsmith
Howard Eaton, founder and director of Eaton Arrowsmith, talks about his own struggle with dyslexia. He was told from an early age that his learning difficulties would be lifelong. Eaton also discusses neuroplasticity and how the education system is racing to catch up to the science that the brain can be strengthened.
New hope: reporter interview with Charles Wooley
60 Minutes Australia reporter, Charles Wooley, interviews Howard Eaton, founder and director of Eaton Arrowsmith, about neuroplasticity and the brain’s ability to be strengthened over time. Eaton also discusses the moment he realized it was possible to strengthen the brain/cognitive function. This video also includes testimonials by parents of Eaton Arrowsmith children, and students. Wooley also sits down with Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, founder of the Arrowsmith Program, to try out one of the cognitive exercises.
Arrowsmith and the Brain.
The Arrowsmith Program, developed by Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, is based on the philosophy that it is possible to treat specific learning difficulties by identifying and strengthening cognitive capacities. The Arrowsmith Program is a program of intensive and graduated cognitive exercises that are designed to strengthen the underlying weak cognitive capacities that are the source of learning difficulties. The Arrowsmith School opened in Toronto in 1980.
A different kind of back to school: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young
This Vancouver Mom article tells the story of Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, the founder of the Arrowsmith Program. Arrowsmith-Young was diagnosed with a mental block in grade one. In graduate school, she read about neuroplasticity and started to try to improve her brain using exercises that she invented. She eventually developed the Arrowsmith Program and opened the Arrowsmith School in Toronto in 1980. Arrowsmith-Young is now known as the woman who changed her own brain.
This piece tells the story of Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, the founder of the Arrowsmith Program. It specifically talks about her learning difficulties and how she decided to try to strengthen her brain. The article also covers why the Arrowsmith Program has become the solution for many Australian children with learning difficulties.
New Hope: the radical school helping kids with learning conditions rewire their brains
This 60 Minutes piece explains why 35 Australian families moved their entire lives to Vancouver to help their children with specific learning difficulties. The parents, after exhausting other options, explain why they made the decision to enrol their children in the Arrowsmith Program.
EA and the Brain.
Eaton Arrowsmith helps families
Learning Difficulties can affect any family, including the family of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Good Housekeeping tells how EA helped them, and what they did as a result.
Alternate school for children with learning disabilities
This A News video discusses the story of Eaton Arrowsmith in Victoria. Principal Jason Cruickshank explains how students work to strengthen their brains, usually over three to four years, so that they can then return to the public or private school system with an increased ability to learn.
Sandra Heusel and Daring to Dream at Leading Moms
Sandra Heusel, the Communications Director at Eaton Arrowsmith, talks about why Eaton Arrowsmith is the right place for children with learning difficulties. She also discusses the history of the Arrowsmith program, neuroplasticity and brain development, and shares stories about the inspiring children she has met during her time at Eaton Arrowsmith.
Kids with learning disabilities can turn things around
The Globe and Mail covers different schools in Canada – like Claremont School, Eaton Arrowsmith and Foothills Academy – that offer unique programs aimed at helping students with learning disabilities.
School strengthens learning capacities
This Vancouver Courier article covers one student’s story of struggling with his learning disabilities, attending Eaton Arrowsmith for several years, and overcoming his learning difficulties to get A’s and B’s in school, juggle a demanding ski racing schedule and complete his Bar Mitzvah.
This article documents the journey of Trevor Bestwick from a child with dyslexia who never thought he would go to college to a civil engineering student at the University of Calgary. Bestwick describes how the Eaton Arrowsmith Program changed his life.
New take on learning disabilities: change the brain
This video by Komo News takes viewers inside the classroom at Eaton Arrowsmith in Redmond, WA, where students are learning to strengthen their brains. It also tells the story of Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella. His daughter attends the school and he has donated $100,000 to the brain imaging study at the University of British Columbia, which is looking at the effects of the Arrowsmith Program.
The Cognitive Capacities We Improve
Our programs help students address the following types of learning difficulties. Select a type below to learn more.
“Please don’t erase that blackboard yet.”
Messy handwriting, miscopying, misreading, irregular spelling, speech rambling, careless written errors in mathematics, and poor written performance.
“I just don’t get it.”
Difficulty with reading comprehension, trouble with mathematical reasoning, trouble with logical reasoning, difficulty reading an analog clock, problem understanding cause and effect, reversals of ‘b’ – ‘d’; ‘p’ – ‘q’ (younger students and in more severe cases).
“I have a memory like a sieve.”
Trouble remembering oral instructions, difficulty following lectures or extended conversations, problem acquiring general information through listening.
“My words don’t always come out in the right order.”
Problem putting information into one’s own words, speaking in incomplete sentences, difficulty using internal speech to work out consequences, trouble following long sentences, breakdown of steps in mathematical procedures.
“People say I mumble.”
Mispronouncing words, avoiding using words because of uncertainty of pronunciation, limited ability to learn and use phonics, difficulty learning foreign languages, difficulty thinking and talking at the same time, flat and monotone speech with lack of rhythm and intonation.
“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?”
Mishearing words and thus misinterpreting information, difficulty understanding someone with an accent, extra effort required to listen to speech.
“Planning was never my strong suit.”
Problem being self-directed and self-organized in learning, limited mental initiative, difficulty keeping attention relevantly oriented to the demands of a task necessary for completion, difficulty thinking, planning, problem solving, trouble seeing the main point.
“I was never a great reader.”
Poor word recognition, slow reading, difficulty with spelling, trouble remembering symbol patterns such as mathematical or chemical equations.
“I’m not good at remembering the names of things.”
Problem with associative memory, trouble following auditory information, trouble learning names of things such as animals, places, people, colours, days of the week.
“I am such a klutz.”
Awkward body movements, bumping into objects due to not knowing where body is in space relative to objects, uneven handwriting with variable pressure.
“I slur my words sometimes.”
Lack of a clear articulation of speech, some speech slurring.
“I’m just not good at reading people.”
Problem interpreting non-verbal information such as body language, facial expression and voice tone, weak social skills, difficulty perceiving and interpreting one’s own emotions, difficulty thinking, planning, problem solving non-verbally.
“My eyes hurt when I read.”
Slow, jerky reading with errors, eyes fatigue when reading, problem navigating in the dark.
“Have we met?”
Trouble finding objects, problem remembering visual cues such as landmarks, difficulty remembering faces and recalling the visual details of pictures.
“I am forever getting lost.”
Frequently getting lost, losing objects, messy and disorganized workspace, trouble constructing geometric figures.
“I’m not handy.”
Difficulty understanding the mechanical properties of objects, problems constructing or repairing machinery such as taking apart and putting together a bicycle or repairing a car.
“I couldn’t program the PVR to save my life.”
Trouble understanding the proper sequence of steps in a task such as sewing, cooking or computer programming.
“My reaction time is a bit slow.”
Poor muscle tone, which results in some degree of awkwardness and slowness of body movement.
“I’m not a numbers person.”
Finger counting, trouble retaining numbers in one’s head, difficulty making change, problem learning math facts, poor sense of time management, difficulty with time signature in music.
What Our Students Say
Watch these video testimonials from Eaton Arrowsmith students.
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DID YOU KNOW?
A student with learning disabilities can lose $700,000+ in lifelong earnings if you don’t act to improve their brain’s capacity.
In 2018, Statistics Canada published an article entitled, “Canadians with disabilities: A demographic, employment and income profile, 2017.” The article noted, “Among youth with disabilities who were neither in school nor employed, 87% had a mental health-related disability, a learning disability, or both.” Finally, “Since those with mental health-related and/or learning disabilities accounted for 77% of youth with disabilities, this suggests they are disproportionately affected when it comes to being neither in school nor employed.”