Schoolhouse Crew Review: Learning Breakthrough Program

Many think that the answer to many learning disabilities and poor concentration is medication.  Frank Belgau has spent many years trying to solve these problems by improving brain function.  I recently had an opportunity to read and review A Life In Balance from the Learning Breakthrough Program.   Frank Belgau is the creator of the Learning Breakthrough Program, a sensory therapy system to improve coordination and help treat learning disabilities such as ADHD and dyslexia.  A Life in Balance is written by Frank's son, Eric Belgau.  The book captures the journey that Frank has been on for over 40 years.  He had an unheard of idea back in the 60's that maybe the children the education system had said couldn't learn at all could learn to read and he began working on his goal to discover what could create an immediate, observable improvement in reading.  A Life in Balance is a story of one man's journey of successes and failures while creating a program that could work for troubled learners even during a time when most people thought he was crazy and that it was hopeless.  
A Life in Balance is a 216 page paperback book.  For review purposes we received a PDF copy but at this time the only format available for purchase is the paperback. The book contains a forward by Edward Hollowell M.D., 30 chapters,  and an appendix describing some of the activities discussed in the book that can be done to have a positive impact on academic and work performance, intellectual clarity, and well being without having to invest in expensive materials or a professional therapist.  The book is written for adults and can be purchased for $16.94.  
I really admire Mr. Belgau's determination to help children that the world considered not able to learn.  I think he had a great personal understanding of what it was like to struggle in school.  He faced many obstacles along the way and had both successes and failures.  There were times that colleagues considered him to be crazy.  But, he stuck with is goal and kept on working to find ways to help those who struggle.  A Life in Balance is a very detailed account of the journey he took.  He talks about how Frank got started working with children and the processes he went through with the children to figure out methods that would show a measurable improvement in reading.  It talks about the equipment and activities he began using and how he improved on it over the years until it became what is know the Learning Breakthrough Program.  It is a book that will show parents that there options that can improve their child's brain function and help them in the areas that they struggle in.  I was very glad to read the section of  the book that contains some of the exercises talked about in the book so that parents can start doing some of the methods without having to make a big investment in equipment or physical therapy.
There were times when I was reading that I thought that the very detailed account was just a bit too detailed. When I started reading I really enjoyed the personal, conversational style that A Life in Balance was written in.  The more I got into the book, it started to drag on just a bit.  There were a lot of details included that I didn't think were necessary for the overall purpose of the book.

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