About Lyn

Our brains can and do change in response to what we do every day.

They change for the better (to move and think more easily), or they change for the worse (making movement and thinking harder).  I encountered this idea in a book by Norman Doidge, "The Brain that Changes Itself."

Learning this fact changed how I thought about my teaching and my life.

As a special education teacher, I taught reading, writing and math to elementary students with learning disabilities.  I was a specialist in learning, and learning is brain change of course.  But when I started to focus on supporting the brain, more learning happened.  Many of my students with learning disabilities had not been able to learn to read by 3rd or 4th grade. When they were taught reading skills in a context that supported the brain, most were becoming readers within a year or two.

In addition to teaching students with learning disabilities, I also taught visually impaired students.  I learned from Christine Roman, Ph.D., how to use environmental changes to help students with brain-based visual impairment (Cortical Visual Impairment, or Cerebral Visual Impairment). cviresources.com. Environmental supports allow students with CVI to use their vision more, which over time increases their overall ability to see.

Over the course of a year, my daughter Elisabeth, and I watched one of her students, who typically had eyes downcast and had a shuffling gait, begin to run gleefully with classmates at recess. The same student moved from needing 30 full seconds or longer to figure out one word to reading at a first grade level.

Elisabeth and I both saw significant growth in our students as we used brain-friendly teaching. We wanted to learn more about neuroplasticity and to apply what we had learned in more depth. We studied NeuroMovement® with Anat Baniel. (anatbanielmethod.com)  Together, we founded Neely Learning Community so we can use what we have learned to help children and adults with and without disabilities, to live more vibrant lives.

  • I have a B.A. from The Western College (Oxford, Ohio). 1973
  • I have an M.A. from Portland State University in special education, with an emphasis on teaching visually impaired learners. 1998
  • I taught special education students for 26 years.
  • I am a licensed NeuroMovement Practitioner, graduated June 2022 Anat Baniel Method®NeuroMovement®, San Rafael CA
  • I completed Anat Baniel Method® Children’s Mastery training in July 2023. I am  licensed to work with children with disabilities as well as with adults.