These are exciting times in which to live – technology is now able to reveal so much more to us of our inner world, particularly the brain. With this information we are now learning how much more change is possible than ever before.
Not only do we know that we aren’t “stuck” with what we’re born with, we’re also learning how to intervene with increasingly greater precision to make changes in how we act on the world – all thanks to neural plasticity.
We are on the verge of many great breakthroughs in treatment of a wide range of conditions, and we’re empowered with greater knowledge about what is needed to help children meet their potential.
Parents and teachers of young children are highly influential in how children’s neural plasticity is engaged. Particularly in early childhood, rapid brain growth and change is happening supporting the development of more new skills than at any other time in life.
So much of what we do through our programs and therapy is based on what is known so far about neural plasticity and how to best harness it for healthy development and learning.
The infographic below, developed by Alto Mira has to be one of the longest ones I’ve ever seen, but it does a good job of summarizing this complex subject. While they developed it in relation to addiction, so much of it applies to the developing mind as well!
