Frank Belgau, Ed.D. Program Developer
 In the
early 1960’s, Dr. Frank Belgau, working in the classroom with
children with reading problems, began carefully experimenting
to see if he could find activities that made an immediate
observable improvement in the children’s reading and academic
performance. The procedure was simple and straight forward -
the children read a passage orally, they did ten to fifteen
minutes of motor skill sensory integration activity, and then
read a different passage from the same story. He listened to
and compared the two reading samples. He also asked the
students to report any differences they observed themselves.
He found activities that made a difference in reading and in
vision.
He moved to the University of Houston where
he directed the Perceptual Motor and Visual Perception
Laboratory. Here he continued and refined his observations. At
the University he directed a parent training program in which
parents and children spent 1 1/2 hours twice a week for a
month working to overcome their reading and learning
difficulties. Many of the parents in those programs were
scientists associated with the NASA space program. Their
insights helped to direct his attention to the effect of
balance and the vestibular system on learning processes and,
to the development of the Belgau Balance Board.
Since then he has observed the effect of
activities done on the Belgau Balance Board with his own
children and with children in many school programs in this
country and in Japan. The results have been astounding!
Because most learning disabilities are caused
by sensory integration disorders, Dr. Belgau developed The
Learning Breakthrough Program. The Learning Breakthrough
Program is the result of the observations and interactions
over many years. It’s foundation is the Belgau Balance Board
and it includes those materials and activities that he has
found to be the most effective and most powerful in showing a
consistent improvement in reading, academic achievement and in
developing intelligence. |
