As parents, we often observe our children’s struggles in school through a lens of symptoms: a child who "hates math," melts down over homework, or struggles to make friends. It’s easy to label these as behavioural issues, a lack of effort, or even just a "phase." But what if many of these challenges—across learning, social skills, and emotional well-being—stem from a single, often overlooked cognitive function?
Through a cognitive lens, many school difficulties are deeply rooted in an underdeveloped cognitive profile. This isn't about what your child knows, but how their brain processes the fundamental connections that make sense of the world. Namely, through the Symbol Relations function.
Imagine the world as a vast network of interconnected ideas. Symbol Relations is your child’s internal GPS, allowing them to navigate this network by understanding the invisible threads linking one concept to another.
This function is responsible across every domain of development:
Learning: Understanding that counting "up" means getting "bigger," and "down" means "smaller."
Social Interactions: Interpreting a friend’s subtle frown as disappointment, or knowing that a sarcastic "nice job" after a mistake isn't praise.
Emotional Regulation: Connecting an intense feeling to its cause, or understanding the sequential relationship between actions and consequences.
When this cognitive capacity is weak, the world often appears as a jumble of disconnected facts, confusing social cues, and overwhelming emotions.
It’s natural to address what we see on the surface. But let’s explore how an underdeveloped Symbol Relations function can manifest in ways that often get misidentified:
Your child might excel at memorizing facts but struggle when asked to apply them or think abstractly.
Symptom: "My child struggles with reading comprehension, especially 'reading between the lines'."
Underlying Cause: Difficulty connecting explicit text (symbols) to implied meanings. They interpret everything literally.Symptom: "Math word problems are a nightmare; they can do equations but can't solve stories."
Underlying Cause: Inability to translate the language symbols in the problem into mathematical relationships (e.g., "altogether" means addition).
Symptom: "They confuse 'b' and 'd' or 'p' and 'q' even after lots of practice."
Underlying Cause: Difficulty perceiving the relational difference in orientation of similar symbols.Social interactions are a minefield of non-literal communication.
Symptom: "My child often misunderstands jokes or sarcasm, leading to awkward moments or hurt feelings."
Underlying Cause: Inability to relate context to the literal words spoken, missing the implied meaning.
Symptom: "They struggle to understand social dynamics, like why someone might be upset even if they don't explicitly say it."
Underlying Cause: Difficulty relating one's actions to underlying emotional states.
Symptom: "They have trouble seeing how their actions might impact others later on."
Underlying Cause: Weakness in understanding cause-and-effect relationships and predicting future outcomes based on current actions.
Difficulty processing relationships can make the world feel unpredictable and lead to heightened anxiety or frustration.
Symptom: "Homework is a huge battle, often ending in meltdowns over seemingly simple tasks."
Underlying Cause: The effort required to make basic symbolic connections is exhausting, leading to cognitive overload and frustration.
Symptom: "They seem to struggle with transitions or unexpected changes."
Underlying Cause: Difficulty mentally mapping out the new sequence of events or relating past routines to new ones.
Symptom: "They might get 'stuck' on a small problem, unable to see a way out."
Underlying Cause: Inability to relate different potential solutions or strategies to the current challenge.
These challenges are not permanent. The brain’s incredible capacity for neuroplasticity means that foundational cognitive capacities, including Symbol Relations, can be strengthened at any age.
The Arrowsmith approach is not designed to teach children to cope with their learning difficulties. Instead, it's evidence-based methods enhance the underlying brain functions that cause them. Targeted cognitive exercises specifically challenge and strengthen the Symbol Relations function, enabling the brain build more robust, efficient pathways.
Imagine a child who once interpreted everything literally, now laughing at a joke, confidently tackling a word problem, or gracefully navigating a social situation. This isn't magic; it's the result of systematically improving the brain's ability to see and understand the crucial relationships that connect our world.
If your child is experiencing persistent struggles in learning, social interactions, or emotional well-being, it might be time to look beyond the symptoms and consider the strength of their foundational cognitive capacities.