The Woman who Changed Her Brain: Unlocking the Extraordinary Potential of the Human Mind

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young

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Published by Vintage Digital, part of Vintage Publishing

Epub

Format: ebook

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Details

EAN: 9781448129614
Published: 24 May 2012

About the book

Synopsis

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young was born with severe learning disabilities that caused teachers to label her as slow, stubborn - or worse. As a child, she read and wrote everything backwards, was physically uncoordinated and she continually got lost. But by relying on her formidable memory and iron will, she made her way to graduate school, where she chanced upon research that inspired her to invent cognitive exercises to 'fix' her own brain, which we now now as neuroplasticity.

The Woman Who Changed Her Brain interweaves Barbara's personal story with riveting case histories from over thirty years of working with both children and adults at what became the Arrowsmith School in Toronto. This remarkable book by a brilliant pioneer deepens our understanding of how the brain works. Our brains may shape us, but this book offers clear and hopeful evidence of the corollary: that we can shape our brains.

Foreword by Norman Doidge, M. D., author of The Brain that Changes Itself

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What the critics say

In this brave, fascinating book, Barbara Arrowsmith-Young describes how she rebuilt her own damaged brain and transcended the doomful prognosis she received in childhood. This is a riveting study of both neuroscience and human determination
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Groundbreaking and enthralling
- Guardian

A pioneer in the treatment of learning disabilities... An inspiring, instructive life story
- Kirkus

Arrowsmith-Young's poignant and uplifting book about her transformation from a child born with severe learning disabilities to a dynamic pioneer in cognitive education offers hope to anyone who has ever struggled with a learning disorder, brain trauma, ADD, or stroke. By her own fierce determination and passionate desire to learn, this remarkable woman changed her own brain and has since helped countless others to change theirs. This is an important book.
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This is a poignant book about two people who connected across continents and generations-a Canadian woman with an unusual cognitive makeup, and the great Russian neuropsychologist Alexander Luria whose writings gave Barbara Arrowsmith the tools to change her own life and the lives of her many students. Moving, insightful and empowering!
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If you have a son, a daughter, a parent, a spouse, or a brain, this is a must-read book. It will open your mind to new possibilities on how to deal with 'traffic jams in the brain.
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About the Author

Barbara Arrowsmith-Young is the Director of Arrowsmith School and Arrowsmith Program. She holds both a B.A.Sc. in Child Studies from the University of Guelph, and a Master's degree in School Psychology from the University of Toronto (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education).