We and our children have different hair, eyes, body sizes, and different preferences in a thousand areas. Some of us prefer high levels of stimulation, while others like a more quiet world. Some are attracted to novelty and variety, whereas others are most comfortable with the consistent and predictable. In these and many other ways, we aggregate differences which sometimes collect in such a way that we put a label on them, such as “AD/HD” or “Dyslexia” or “Dyspraxia”.

There are, however, other more fundamental differences between people. At the level of these differences, it is possible to gain direct access into the way a person’s mind works, the way they store and process experience and emotion, the way they make decisions and choices. These differences have to do with how we experience and make sense of the world around us.

Do you often catch yourself saying things like “That looks right to me,” or “I get the picture”? Or are you more likely to say “That sounds right to me,” or “That rings a bell”? Or “I like the feel of that,” or “I grasp it now”? Expressions like these may be clues to your preferred modality, or preferred way of making sense of your world.

If you couldn’t see or hear, or if you couldn’t feel texture, shape, temperature, weight, or resistance in your environment, you would literally have no way of learning. Most of us learn in many ways, yet we usually favour one modality over the others – some of visual learners, some auditory, others kinesthetic learners. Many people don’t realise they are favouring one way, because nothing external tells them they are any different from anyone else. Knowing that there are differences goes a long way towards explaining things like why we have problems understanding and communicating with some people and not with others, and why we handle some situations more easily than others, and why we may have learning difficulties.

Visual Learners

are neat and orderly

speak quickly

are good long-range planners and organisers

are observant of environmental detail

are appearance-oriented in both dress and presentation

are good spellers and can actually see the words in their minds

remember what was seen, rather than heard

memorise by visual association

And ……

usually are not distracted by noise

may forget verbal instructions unless they’re written down

are strong, fast readers

would rather read than be read to

need an overall view and purpose and are cautious until mentally clear about an issue or project

forget to relay verbal messages to others

often know what to say but can’t think of the right words

Auditory Learners

learn by listening, and remember what was discussed rather than seen

speak in rhythmic patterns

talk to themselves while working

are easily distracted by noise

move their lips and pronounce the words as they read

enjoy reading aloud and listening

can repeat back and mimic tone pitch and timbre

find writing difficult, but are better at telling

are frequently eloquent speakers

are talkative, love discussion, and go into lengthy descriptions

have problems with projects that involve visualisation

can spell better out loud than in writing

Kinesthetic Learners

learn by manipulating and doing

want to act things out

speak slowly

touch people to get their attention

stand close when talking to someone

are physically oriented and move a lot, gesture a lot

memorise by walking and seeing

can’t sit still for long periods of time

can’t remember geography unless they’ve actually been there

use action words

like plot-oriented books – they reflect action with body movement as they read

may have messy handwriting

like involved games

For centuries the problem of dyslexia has been wrongly equated with a lack of intelligence but we now know it’s more a problem of perception. Ron Davis, author of the book “The Gift of Dyslexia”, discovered that dyslexia was related to a sense of internal disorientation and perception. Over the years, a number of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioners reported that their “learning disabled” clients, children and adults, had difficulty making stable, clear imaginary pictures.

Dr Don Blackerby, a well respected expert on NLP & Learning disorders in the USA, and author of the book “Rediscover the Joy of Learning”, while studying children with AD/HD, discovered that their subjective experience, or perception, was driving the symptoms. The perception on their part was that they either could not control their mind or their mind controlled them. He also found that the internal experience of a person with ADD symptoms include: they perceive multiple images; these images are moving rapidly and sometimes mysteriously disappear; the images often occur simultaneously; there is a strong body and/or emotional response to the images; and they can’t control any of these internal experiences.

So what if they knew how to change this perception? What if they knew how to stabilise their internal pictures and take back control of their internal experiences?

NLP provides the HOW

via Learning Coach.