Blog
Usha Patel, Neurocognitive Therapist and Director of Raviv Practice London shares her first-hand experience of working with children /adults and the latest research and upcoming events in her series of blog posts.
Unlocking Potential: The Transformative Power of Working Memory Training
As an educator, I've encountered numerous bright and capable students who suddenly struggle to keep up with their peers. One such student was a 14-year-old girl who had been excelling academically but began falling behind unexpectedly. Her Educational Psychologist's Report…...
What the Euros 2024 - England Vs Spain taught us about emotional brains
We all watched the match on Sunday, July 14th. But how did we feel? Could we rationalise our disappointment?
How can I help my child’s handwriting improve so that it starts from the margin?
Are you looking at your child's handwriting and wondering why they cannot start each sentence from the left-hand margin when writing a line of text? Does your child's writing move further away from the margin with every sentence so the page looks like a triangle of text?
Can you tell if your child has Dyslexia just by looking at their handwriting?
While issues with handwriting are certainly considered when it comes to diagnosing dyslexia, they are not actually key indicators themselves. Letter or number reversals can occur for a number of different reasons, and concerned parents should look elsewhere for signs of dyslexia in their children.
Can Dyslexia be ‘cured’ by AI?
When we talk about the possibility of AI 'curing' dyslexia, what we really mean is to ask if it can be a useful tool in overcoming these challenges.
My child is now four but still doesn’t speak.
When Miriam, a mother of four, called me, she was at the end of her tether: her 4-year-old could not speak. She had already waited a year for her doctor to refer her to a speech and language therapist and, despite pinning all her hopes on this, she was deeply disappointed when no tangible progress seemed to come from it
Are you Neurodivergent and struggle with Time Management?
MANY individuals with dyslexia often continue to struggle because of a weak working memory, even long after good literacy skills have been established. So, in a busy work environment that is increasingly flooded with information, professionals need to stay on track, prioritise activities and overcome the constant distractions that slow productivity.
Why does my nine-year-old still wet his bed?
The problem lies with the child’s psychological makeup … reversing this problem is relatively straightforward and sometimes can take as little as three weeks
How can we address post-pandemic education gaps in our children?
Research has revealed that the pandemic significantly impacted children entering the reception year in 2020/21
Training Muscles ‘verses’Training the Brain
Sometimes you might hear that “your brain is a muscle”. Well its not. It is much more advanced than just a muscle, and completely useless at lifting heavy objects off the ground.
There are some similarities though, especially when it comes to training.
Working Memory - Your Minds Muscle
Try calculating 13 times 6 mentally – really, go ahead and try! Most people will begin by calculating 10×6, and put that result (60) to the side, then calculate 3 × 6 (18), and then add the two together (78).
Adults can change their brain – I want to lead by example.
When I first started writing, I was incredibly nervous and worried. What if nobody read my posts or those that did thought they were not worthy of their time. I was full of self-doubt and fear. The fear was paralysing, and it took hours and days to write anything, the wastepaper bin was always full.
How Tom Daley has shown the nation a few things other than diving….like knitting!
A few years back summer of 2021, we are all glued to our TV sets watching the Tokyo Olympics. Nothing was more amusing than seeing Olympic Gold Medalist Tom Daley's knitting. Tom was seen showing off his work to the cameras as he knitted a pouch for his pending medal. So charming – we all went “ahhhh!”.
How movement is connected to how we learn
Neural pathways are routes created in the brain for information, thoughts, and responses to stimuli. However, thinking and talking are formed way later than physical movement. Babies can’t speak, but they certainly can learn to move, grasping and crawling long before they start to talk. The neural channels we create for movement activities are used later for thoughts and cognitive processes.
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) - how many days does it take?
If you are here reading this blog post, you may be searching for information on the duration of the SSP programme. You may also need clarification on the program's number of modules. If you have completed the SSP programme before, you may find that the number of modules have increased, and want to……
Why is my child always getting so angry and frustrated by everyday tasks?
Poor emotional regulation can obstruct progress, stopping us from achieving our goals. Most adults will find a way to regulate their emotions for the majority of the time, but children need to learn how to navigate their emotional states as they grow…Most of the time, this is all perfectly normal and you will find a way to address it naturally as your child develops
What good balance does for your body and how to get it.
Whether or not we are as adept at balancing as The Cat in the Hat, we could all do with better balance. Good balance makes it easier to move and helps prevent injury…It is interesting to note that in China, the average number of falls among the elderly is significantly lower than in Western countries.
Having a flashback to a memory long forgotten…
A rainy day in London last December 2022 reminded me of the journey I took to get where I am now in a very unexpected way….My worries just kept on snowballing out of control. I was terrible at spelling. I knew it, my assistant knew it, and the whole architecture studio I worked in knew 'spelling' was not my thing. I was a designer, not a wordsmith.
Why you should not give young children iPads or similar electronic devices
We cannot expect parents to be with their children every waking hour. There are always important chores, such as cooking or laundry, and many parents have to juggle all this with work. Modern life is very demanding. Children are starting nursery without…….
A parent's guide on how to teach your child to learn to read the time
As a Neurocognitive Therapist, I work with all sorts of curious learning glitches. One that seems to be cropping up more and more in recent years is not being able to read the time. Children, who otherwise have the reasonable ability, are stumped at telling the time from an analogue clock!