Yet, as we continually search for ways to help them excel, there is a way to help them that has been proven time and again: the arts. A good art program – including music, dance, or more traditional art like drawing, painting and sculpting – is extremely beneficial for enhancing a teen’s learning. When the arts are incorporated into an educational program, those with ADD/ADHD and dyslexia suddenly find the gap between those with learning difficulties and those narrows. Additionally, the confidence that goes with grasping more concepts can make a world of difference.
When a teenager is able to explore their passions and dive into any type of artistic activity, they are able to experience learning through an alternative method. How does it work? Dance, for instance, can help teens develop their math and reading skills by teaching visual-spacial relationships, as well as provide a unique way of learning how to follow directions. Art, on the other hand, provides a different means of learning enhancement. Teens who draw, paint, or sculpt may find that their math gradually becomes easier as they re-enforce their ability to evaluate spacial relationships and work through shape and size distinction.
As far as music goes, it’s a well-established fact that music enriches a child’s ability to learn, and for those with dyslexia or ADD/ADHD, it is particularly helpful because of the way it stimulates the brain in so many different ways. Rhythm, movement, and the emotion that music invokes all affect distinct areas in a teen’s brain which can help them with reasoning, self-control, math and reading skills, and help them develop a higher capacity to focus on tasks. In fact, there is even a theory (the “Mozart Effect”) which asserts that by simply listening to Mozart that a person can temporarily improve performance and may even improve their IQ.
What’s interesting about art is that some of the very characteristics that distinguish those who have ADD/ADHD or dyslexia from those who don’t, are the very same characteristics that great artists exhibit. For instance, a teen’s impulsiveness may provide a greater ability to take risk through creativity, and a teen’s unique way of processing thoughts (dyslexia) can lead to a distinctive talent for creativity and thinking “outside the box.”
Regardless of the challenges that teens face when they have learning differences, there is one constant that always remains the same: the need to instill confidence in our young teenagers. A lack of confidence is the biggest obstacle to learning, and the arts can rebuild it for them. At
At Three Points Center, they assist adopted troubled teens with their learning difficulties using a variety of proven methods. We are the only residential treatment program that is solely for adopted teens.
Three Points Center is a unique program that serves only adopted children and their families. We specialize in the many different aspects of emotional unrest that adopted children have been known to face, and the therapy and treatment needed to overcome those issues. Call us today at (435) 635-0636.