Lisa Harp

Lisa Harp, an educator, certified teacher, learningrndisability specialist, and educational therapist for over twenty years. Lisa is the developer of neuro-sensory educational therapy.

After observing how difficult school can be for students with learning problems, Lisa began independently researching learning disabilities and how to effectively treat them. She also received training in vision therapy and brain integration therapy.

Lisa has brought this knowledge and experience to Learning Link Technologies by creating a system that has been proven to help struggling students. This system is now available to families through online classes and video format so that all students have the chance to succeed academically.

Lisa also founded the Harp Learning Institute, which is a leading edge learning center in Northern Califo ia.

About Neuro-Sensory Educational Therapy

Sensory training transforms lives. The children I have used these techniques with have improved significantly, not only academically, but socially, emotionally, and behaviorally as well. When the brain becomes balanced and wired correctly then kids can learn and succeed as nature intended. These techniques are based on over thirty years of research on how the brain works. The foundational work in this area was done by two medical doctors, Glenn and Robert Doman, and an educator, Carl Delacoto. These men were trying to find out how head injury patients could recover functions that were lost, such as reading and writing. Their findings brought the conclusion that the brain develops through stimulation and that children are not born “wired” for all tasks at birth. They become wired for these tasks by doing certain physical activities as they develop.

The doctors discovered that creeping, crawling, exploring, examining, looking, and listening were the activities that helped to integrate the brain for reading, writing, and math later in life. So, if a child didn’t crawl enough as an infant, then he/she might not be reading well because the necessary wiring in the brain did not take place at the correct developmental stage. Not all learning problems relate to crawling, though.

The body is also organized for movement and processing information. If a child’s dominant hand is opposite of his/her dominant eye, this can interfere with learning, especially reading. Jerome Rosner, in his book Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties, mentions this problem but feels that it is not a conclusive argument because not all children who are mixed dominant (the term used for dominant hand and opposite dominant eye) show learning problems. I, too, have found this to be true. As a matter of fact, I am mixed dominant and have never had any learning problems. However, I have found that the kids I do work with who are mixed dominant have a greater hurtle to overcome as far as learning and academics go.

Also, speaking from someone who is mixed dominant, I always had an unsettled feeling, as if I didn’t fit in or belong. I feel it is from this misalignment. Once I started doing martial arts, I noticed a more balanced feeling. I think it has to do with the physical exercises that were necessary to help wire my brain to “see” correctly. In addition, I do have some other learning problems that just don’t show up in “academics”. I have no sense of direction and get lost easily. I have problems with bridles, saddles, ropes, and seeing how things fit together. I get frustrated with anything mechanical. However, I have always had outstanding grades. I feel that the mixed dominance shows up in different areas and is indeed a point to consider. If you think about it, we read from left to right. Our right eye should lead off when moving across a page. If you are mixed dominant, and you are right handed but left eye dominant, you will want to lead off with your left eye. This is confusing and not efficient. Some of us learn to overcome it, perhaps by sheer persistence, but many kids suffer because of this problem.

To correct a learning issue, you must go back and correct the deficits in the developmental process. By using brain retraining techniques, the brain can be “rewired” for proper, efficient learning. Doman and Delacato’s research showed that approximately 80% of American children pass through the necessary developmental stages as they should. That leaves 20% of the children in our country who are left struggling in school, most of which are boys.