Myomancy ADHD, Dyslexia and Autism

One of the more ‘alternative’ dyslexia treatments is Kinesiology [Google Definition]. As a general treatment Kinesiolgy is not a specific dyslexia / ADHD etc treatment but is works on the basis that problems with the brain’s functions (intelligence, emotion, motor control) can be identified and treated by assessing how muscles in the body behave. This is not an irrational hypothesis. To take a very crude example, we all have experienced that under stress it is harder to learn and think clearly and when stressed our neck and shoulder muscles tighten.
Unfortunately Kinesiolgy scientific credibility suffers through its talk of ‘body meridians’ and ‘eastern medicine’ as well as the claims made for it being able to help with a huge range of physical and mental problems. However if you look past the hyperbole there is a core of truth to the approach and it has given rise to one of the most successful ‘movement for learning’ schemes, Brain Gym. Another Kinesiolgy education system is Learning Enhancement Advanced Programme (LEAP). This originated in Australia but there are practitioners in the UK. This article gives a good introduction to system. A more technical article is available here as a PDF file.