Many students worry excessively about performing well on tests. This worried state of mind can create problems in performance, despite the student’s aptitude and preparedness. Nervousness and memory lapses are among the symptoms that can result.

There are many methods for dealing with test anxiety. Some of them are external, behavior-oriented strategies and some are internal, mindfulness tactics.   

The external strategies include:

• Preparing thoroughly by enrolling in a test preparedness course or purchasing a test preparation book.
• Not ‘cramming.’ Study over the course of days or weeks instead of at the last minute. Review class material repeatedly and don’t expect to learn the majority of the information the night before the exam.
• Exercise daily for several days or weeks before the test to reduce your overall stress level. Even better, make daily exercise a part of your routine.
• Go to bed early enough so that you will have the opportunity to sleep nine hours on the night before the test.
• Arrive early at the exam site so that you won’t have the added stress of the possibility of being late.
• If you are allowed to, chew gum during the test to help relieve your anxiety.
• Read the directions slowly and carefully and if you don’t understand something, ask the teacher or exam proctor to explain it to you.
• Read quickly through the portion of the exam you’re working on so that you have a good idea of the time needed for that section. Pace yourself so that you will finish in time.
• If you are allowed to write in the margins (or on scrap paper), jot important formulas, definitions, facts, and keywords so you won’t worry about forgetting them.
• Complete the simpler questions first to build your confidence for the more difficult ones.
• Don’t worry about how fast other people finish the test. Concentrate on your own exam.
• Skip the questions to which you don’t know the answers at first. You can always come back to them later if you have time. Keep in mind that you don’t have to get every question right to do well on the test.

Internal coping strategies include:

• Focusing on each question as you answer it; don’t let your mind wander onto other things. If your mind wanders, allow that thought to float across your awareness without judgment and return to your exam.
• Staying relaxed. If you feel yourself becoming tense, use regulated breathing to relax. After a few slow, diaphragmatic breaths with your eyes closed, turn back to your work.
• Practicing breathing deeply ahead of time while picturing your dream relaxing place and circumstances (a bit confusing). Some people like to use imagery of floating in a beautiful lake or pool. Others can see themselves walking on a beach, with the soft touch of a cool breeze on their skin. Figure out what your ideal scenario is for relaxation and practice breathing with that image in mind.
• Thinking positively. Imagine yourself taking the exam calmly and competently. Visualize yourself being pleased with the outcome and proud of your accomplishment.

C4L offers Mindfulness Groups that help students learn and practice these kinds of coping skills. Workshops are offered on weekends to students ages 7 and older. Please click here to find out more about how your child or teen can benefit from these programs and to register.

Starting first with a broad assessment of your child’s cognitive and academic abilities is the smart choice for those with a child struggling with learning and who suspect their child may have a processing issue or other learning disability. The assessment often uncovers gaps in learning and limitations in processing of auditory and/or visual information. Consequently, goal directed individualized intervention is essential in order to fill in learning gaps and bring the child to grade level.

If you suspect your son or daughter is struggling with learning, first consult with your child’s teacher(s) to get their feedback. If he or she agrees with you, do some research to learn more about learning differences and how they manifest in school-aged children.

Your child may have a learning disability if he or she:

• Has trouble learning the alphabet and rhyming words
• Makes many mistakes when reading aloud, and repeats and pauses often
• Struggles to express ideas in writing
• Has messy handwriting or holds a pencil awkwardly
• Has trouble understanding jokes and sarcasm
• Mispronounces words or uses a wrong word that sounds similar
• Has trouble organizing what he/she wants to say
• Doesn’t follow the social rules of conversation, such as taking turns
• Confuses math symbols and misreads numbers
• Doesn’t know where to begin a task or how to go on from there

Children with learning differences generally have average to above average intellectual ability; however, they may still struggle to keep up with their peers in school.

Learning disabilities are defined as, “a neurobiological disorder in which a person’s brain works differently or is structured differently” (The Coordinated Campaign of Learning Disabilities).

If you are concerned about the ‘stigma’ of a diagnosis for your child, consider this:

35% of learning disabled children
do NOT finish high school (Wagner’s National Longitudinal Study).

Which do you think is a greater stigma – getting professional help for a learning disability or dropping out of school?

The good news is that there are many research-based effective strategies to help children with learning disabilities and improve their academic performance. You are not alone!

After receiving training in mindfulness, adolescents reported that their participation in group training significantly reduced self-reported anxiety, depression, and manifestation of emotional anxiety into physical symptoms, as well as improved self-esteem and sleep quality (Hunsley &Lee, 2007).

By engaging in the process of self-awareness, the adolescents studied built their capacity to manage their emotions and to accept life’s challenges without undue resistance. Research also shows that meditation provides exposure to facing the negative emotions that one has as well as building the cognitive skills to work through them (Hooker and Fodor, 2008).

The non-threatening nature of practicing mindfulness is particularly useful in working with adolescents as they are often resistant to the more traditional models of psychotherapy. Even the word “meditation” minimizes the negative stigma associated with the concept of receiving help for the abovementioned issues.

What kinds of changes occur as a result of mindfulness training?

Mindfulness leads to:
• Cognitive change
• Relaxation
• Acceptance

Cognitively, becoming aware of one’s thoughts and understanding that thoughts are not necessarily reality causes thinking to change. For example, the thought, “I am a failure” does not make it true (Baer, 2003).

Although relaxation is not the goal of mindfulness, becoming aware of one’s breathing or taking note of racing thoughts causes a decrease in muscle tension, a slowing of breath, and a slowing of the heart rate (Hooker and Fodor, 2008). Therefore, mindfulness practice often causes people to feel relaxed.

An important component of mindfulness training is the acceptance of life and its experiences in the NOW. This includes the acceptance of pain, worries, thoughts, and emotions without trying to escape, avoid, or change them. Research suggests that this awareness leads to greater self-acceptance and positive change (Baer, 2003).

What are some strategies that help build mindfulness in children and adolescents?

Examples of mindfulness practice include:
• Becoming aware of your breathing;
• Feeling the various physical sensations of an emotion;
• Noticing thoughts as they pass through the mind;
• Paying attention to all the sounds in a room;
• Taking note of what happens in the body when there is stress;
• Watching the thoughts that arise when there is boredom;
• Feeling the stomach rise and fall with each breath (www.mindfuleducation.org).

Children and adolescents can practice mindfulness of the environment, mindfulness of the body, and mindfulness meditation. The goal for children and adolescents is to begin to use these techniques to calm themselves and refocus their energy and attention in situations they face day-to-day. This inward shift in attention consequently enhances concentration, memory, and learning, as well as a general sense of well-being (Hooker and Fodor, 2003).

Mindfulness of the environment includes becoming aware of one’s surroundings. Additionally, children and adolescents can be guided to become aware of their own experiences in that environment as well as what they feeling and experiences within the body and mind.

Upon becoming more aware of their environment, adolescents are coached to shift their attention to their internal feelings and thoughts. Through systematic practice, this shift leads to self-awareness. For example, students can practice attending to their senses and counting breaths. By paying attention to each breath, students focus on the present moment of the experience rather than what’s coming next. This exercise leads to a calming of the mind and any anxiety in the body that may be related to short, shallow breathing (Fontana & Slack, 1997).

Mindfulness meditation, which is the focused awareness on one’s thinking process, is taught through attending to the thinking process as well as practicing the monitoring of thoughts, slowing them down, observing them, and releasing them without judgment (Hooker and Fodor, 2003). Becoming the observer of the thought rather than identifying with the thought is a powerful technique that helps children and adolescents manage the emotions that result from their thoughts in a more productive and positive way.

Training in mindfulness can IMPROVE:
• Emotional regulation
• Social skills
• Ability to orient attention
• Working memory, planning and organization
• Self esteem
• Sense of calmness, relaxation, and self-acceptance.
• Quality of sleep

In addition, training in mindfulness can DECREASE:
• Test anxiety
• ADHD behaviors; specifically hyperactivity and impulsivity
• Negative affect/ emotions
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Conduct and anger management problems (www.mindfuleducation.org).
 
Click here for more information

Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment

Registration for Mindfulness Groups Happening Now

Open to students in grades 7-10 (approximate ages 13-16)

Registration:      $135 for a package of 6 sessions
$25 per individual session

Girls’ Mindfulness Group
Every other Sunday beginning January 29
11:30 to 1:30 pm
Moderated by Vista Kushesh, MA & Anthony Chavez, Yoga Instructor

Boys’ Mindfulness Group
Every other Sunday beginning January 29
1:30 to 3:30 pm
Moderated by Dr. Shirin Ansari & Anthony Chavez, Yoga Instructor

We anticipate that these groups will fill up quickly; please register now to secure a spot!

To register:  www.C4L.net/mindfulness
or call (949) 654-2424

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is paying attention here and now with kindness and curiosity. Training in mindfulness techniques focuses on the development of being present in the moment in day-to-day life, while also encouraging an attitude of acceptance towards events and experiences (Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, &Freedman, 2006).

Students attend mindfulness groups at C4L to learn:

• Breathing techniques
• The practice of being ‘present’
• Aligning yourself with the positive
• To foster love, gratitude and appreciation for yourself

Adults, children, and adolescents can all benefit from training in mindfulness.

Research has found that mindfulness training develops:

• Attention and concentration
• Social-emotional awareness
• Body awareness and coordination,
• Interpersonal skills.

Training in mindfulness can IMPROVE:

• Emotional regulation
• Social skills
• Ability to orient attention
• Working memory, planning and organization
• Self esteem
• Sense of calmness, relaxation, and self-acceptance.
• Quality of sleep

In addition, training in mindfulness can DECREASE:

• Test anxiety
• ADHD behaviors; specifically hyperactivity and impulsivity
• Negative affect/ emotions
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Conduct and anger management problems (www.mindfuleducation.org).