Episode 71: Ronnie Gardiner Method® for Building Social Connection, Executive Function & Attention – Jill Stowell

LD Expert Podcast with Jill Stowell
Ronnie Gardiner Method for Building Social Connection,
Executive Function, and Attention
6-Week Young Adult Executive Function & Social Skills RGM Group
Jill Stowell

 

Jill Stowell: Welcome to the LD Expert Podcast, your place for answers and solutions for dyslexia and learning differences.

I have a real treat for you today.  

I want to introduce you to the Ronnie Gardiner Method: a brilliant, fun way for people of any age to improve their thinking, energy, attention, social connection, and executive function. 

 

In February, we are going to be starting executive function and social skills groups for young adults using this transformative rhythm and movement approach.  

 

Here’s why I think this is so important: 

Young adults with diverse abilities face unique challenges in today's world, often in the areas of social interactions and executive function. 

These lagging skill areas are crucial to shaping their path forward, but their needs are often missed or misunderstood.

 

I’m your host, Jill Stowell, founder and executive director of Stowell Learning Centers and author of “Take the Stone Out of the Shoe, A Must-Have Guide to Understanding, Supporting, and Correcting Dyslexia, Learning, and Attention Challenges.”

 

Dyslexic thinkers bring a different perspective to the world and I love that.

In August last year, I met a vibrant 91-year old dyslexic drummer who has put his talents and unique perspective to work helping people live happier, healthier lives.

 

Imagine this:

You’re in a group. You’re learning rhythmic patterns with your hands and feet, and for each movement, there’s a word derived from the sounds that a drummer hears when they’re playing the different parts of their drum set. 

The rhythmic patterns are repetitive and have just the right amount of challenge so that you have to think but you’re able to get into a groove and not feel overwhelmed. 

You practice with words, movements, and then put it all together with music, and it is so much fun!

 

The power of music and rhythm is joyful and regulating and can be calming or energizing, depending on what you’re working on. 

Doing the activities as a group brings about a sense of community and connection.  

 

That is RGM! 

And we are starting our first Executive Function and Social Skills RGM groups for young adults in our Chino and Pasadena centers in February.

 

When I went to my first training in RGM, I knew it was a brain training method that combined music and rhythm but I really had no idea about what to expect.

 

I thought that it might support executive function development, which was really why I was interested, and it definitely does that!  

But in fact, it seems to train skills at all levels of the Learning Skills Continuum.

 

All of our work at Stowell Learning Center is based on the understanding that the root of behavior and learning challenges lies in lagging underlying skills. 

 

Skills at the Core Learning Skills level of the continuum are like the gateway to attention, regulation, and coordination.  

 

The processing skills level involves skills such as concentration, processing speed, and memory.

 

And Executive Function is the part of the brain that sees patterns and relationships, tunes-in attention, plans, looks ahead, is able to be mentally flexible, and organizes multiple pieces of information.

 

RGM, it turns out, stimulates all of these skills! 

I’m so excited about the possibilities. 

We will be offering a 6-week RGM group in February for young adults ages 18 and up. 

In a safe, supportive space, young people will get the opportunity to work together, strengthen social awareness and connections and stimulate skills for flexible thinking, regulation, attention, working memory, forethought, and more.  

To register, go to stowellcenter.com/RGM

 

If you ever watch Saturday Night Live, you know that with comedians and humor, timing is everything. 

And actually, in life, rhythm and timing is foundational to everything - how we walk, how we talk, language, the circadian rhythms for waking and sleeping, conversations, traffic lights - everything operates best when it’s in sync.

 

Ronnie Gardiner, the developer of RGM, says, “Rhythm is life and life is rhythm.”  

The goal of the Ronnie Gardiner method is better coordination between the right and left hemispheres of the brain and the development of new neural pathways in the brain. 

 

Brain research has proven that the brain has neuroplasticity and the ability to change through intensive stimulation. 

RGM is scientifically proven to stimulate coordination, concentration, reading and speaking, as well as a sense of rhythm, self-confidence, balance, memory, and motor skills.

 

When I started doing RGM, I was with a group of other therapists and educators from around the world.  

As soon as we started the RGM exercises, I could see immediately how the music and rhythm connected the group.  

Even though we didn’t know each other, we were drawn together by doing something in sync with each other.  

I could see so many applications for increasing awareness of self and others, self-regulation, and mental flexibility.

 

At Stowell Learning Centers, we have always worked one-to-one with students to eliminate the struggles associated with dyslexia and other learning and attention challenges.  

Our students each come with their own set of strengths and weaknesses, so their cognitive learning plans have to be developed specifically for their unique needs.  

 

This continues to be the core of our work and has been highly effective for students for nearly 40 years.

I am so grateful, though, to have met Ronnie Gardiner and honored to have become the first certified RGM trainer in the U.S. so that we can add this group brain training component to our services, particularly for the underserved populations of young adults and seniors.

 

Remember, our Young Adult Executive Function and Social Skills RGM classes start in February.  Go to stowellcenter.com/RGM to register.

 

I’m going to leave you with a fun YouTube video of Ronnie Gardiner and 3 participants from one of his senior groups in Sweden demonstrating the RGM movements.  

 

Enjoy.