What is ’emotional connectedness’? And how does it help our brain power?
In Dr. Gabor Mate’s book, SCATTERED (How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What you can Do About It), he reveals how children engaged in an activity that includes emotional connectedness display higher levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, where self regulation and intellectual ability develop.
This means they will develop better concentration and self control!
In simple terms, when our emotions are engaged and recognized by another, we feel connected and can absorb information faster.
Art has a magical way of helping us relax and feel our emotions.
That’s exactly what happens at my Art Presentations! The children have a wonderful time drawing and participating – and learning! Recently, some teachers came up to me and remarked that they had never seen their students so FOCUSED and ENGAGED.
The ability to ‘focus and become engaged’ in an activity is the opposite of Attentional Deficit Disorder.
Dr. Mate says:
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#f2f9f9″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]“…many children with ADD are capable of focused work in the presence of an adult who is keeping them company and paying attention to them… attachment promotes attention, anxiety undermines it. When the child is not concerned with seeking emotional contact, his prefrontal cortex is freed to allocate attention to the task at hand… The warmth and satisfaction of positive contact with the adult is often just as good as a psychostimulant in supplying the child’s prefrontal cortex with dopamine. Greater security means less anxiety and more focused attention… Where this need is satisfied, ADD problems begin to recede.”[/dropshadowbox]
This is something I have instinctively felt for years, that children need engagement from others in a positive emotional context. Seeing it in action, and getting confirmation from the teachers was tremendous!
It’s nice to know we’ve been on the right track all along.
I want all children to develop better self control and focus, as they increase their intellectual ability. I feel so strongly about it that I created an art book that includes everything I learned in 30 years – and it won’t take you 30 years to learn it! Share it with a teacher or child you know!
Read more about the book here.
Did you know that our non profit helps build character in many ways? Our Art presentations inspire not only the children and their parents but the teachers who are empowered to bring art (and joy) back into the classroom.
Thanks to your support, we are able to do this.
I’m so grateful for any help.
Ruth Elliott Director, Edu Designs director@edudesigns.org
