What do a woman who survived trauma, a gifted boy, a single mother, and a non-verbal boy with Cerebral Palsy have in common? Much, when mediation happens! Learn about some powerful connections happening at MINDCAP in the video above.
“We are so grateful for MindCap. The people Addeline worked with and the training she received from them helped reshape the way she thinks about things and helped save her life. It’s so fun to hear her verbally think through situations and know where that mindset came from. So glad to know MindCap is there to help us and others. Blessings to you and MINDCAP.”
- Kathie
“Since starting MINDCAP, my child has begun to learn the deficit areas that no other therapy has been able to address. He has more expanded language, better retention and understanding as well as clearer verbal communication. We have experienced positive changes in how he lives his life. Frustration levels are dropping. He laughs freely and can enjoy his life. His personality, which was driven by anxiety and stress, is much more relaxed and carefree. We are very excited to see him come alive and be able to willingly participate in life.We know that we have a long way to go, but to see that we are on the right path for our child is priceless. It gives us hope for a brighter future for him.”
- Jerri Mead, mother
“By the time our adopted son was 5 years old, he had a diagnosis for sensory processing disorder, anxiety, and ADHD. We tried Occupational Therapy, supplements, dietary changes, and were looking into ADHD medication suggested by a neuropsychologist when a friend recommended MINDCAP to us. We were willing to try anything to help our son. The staff immediately made us feel seen, valued, and like we were a part of their family. We saw an increase in Bentley's attention and ability to focus after just a few sessions. After 10 months of sessions, he is doing well with his kindergarten work, making friends, understanding his emotions, caring for others, and using reason and logic. He rarely has meltdowns and is able to recover from them much quicker now. Thank you MINDCAP for seeing the best in our Bentley! ”
- With love and job, The Deere Family
“How do I put into words how profoundly The MINDCAP Center has changed Maggie’s life (and ours also). Gone is the girl I describe as a zombie. No emotion, or at least very little unless it was extreme positive or negative emotion. After the first summer she took part in MINDCAP classes (Maggie’s junior year), teachers started to notice small differences. The changes were more evident to her family and close friends. During the summer before her senior year, Maggie again took classes with MINDCAP in a group setting. This helped her to reinforce what she had done the year prior but also she was able to build on those skills. Maggie is still 100% medication free almost 18 months after her initial MINDCAP experience. As she is finishing up her high school career, she is going to Purdue Fort Wayne to major in Elementary Education with her concentration in Special Education. She wants to help kids like herself. ”
- Amanda Horner
“MINDCAP has helped Nicolas in many different ways. He started to gain confidence in himself to take on challenges since he learned the tools that he needed in order to do so. MINDCAP doesn't just stop with the client. MINDCAP is for the whole entire family. It has helped me as his mother and also the rest of the family to better understand how to prompt and approach him in the way that he needs in order to achieve success with challenges that come his way. MINDCAP was not just a place where my child went to for a therapy session, it was also a place where it taught the world around him how to communicate with the world that was inside him. ”
- His mother, Celeste
“My child is someone that has had deficits in areas of learning that although addressed for years, he has never been able to master. He has struggled with anxiety, frustration and all the behaviors and learning issues that come with that. Life has been a struggle, something that you survive but you don’t enjoy or thrive. Since starting MINDCAP, my child has begun to learn the deficit areas that no other therapy has been able to address. He has more expanded language, better retention and understanding as well as clearer verbal communication. He still has a long way to go, but we currently are at the beginning of a journey of accomplishment. Which is very exciting since he is currently 25 years old. We have experienced positive changes in how he lives his life. Frustration levels are dropping. He laughs freely and can enjoy his life. His personality, which was driven by anxiety and stress is much more relaxed and carefree. We are very excited to see him come alive and be able to willingly participate in life. We know that we have a long way to go, but to see that we are on the right path for our child is priceless. It gives us hope for a brighter future for him. ”
- Jerri Mead, mother
“In December of 2014, Declan was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. Throughout his treatment, Declan’s development began to fall behind that of his twin brother; a result of something called “chemo brain”. Over the summer that bridged pre-K and Kindergarten, Declan was given the opportunity to participate in MINDCAP’s Clarity for Kids program through Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana. During the 6-months of the program, we saw improvements in Declan’s fine motor as well as his behavior. At the beginning, he wasn’t able to physically connect dots but improved immensely by focusing, looking ahead to the dots, making a plan, and persevering; all cognitive strategies used in the MINDCAP program. We found that using such strategies led to less frustration from Declan as well as my husband and myself. We have continued to bring Declan to MINDCAP over summer and winter breaks and are happy to report he continues to grow in his academic development. Declan’s favorite subject is math, one that is still difficult for him to grasp as quickly as his peers, but he rarely gets frustrated and is happy taking his time to get to the correct answer. We are extremely grateful to have found the program and hope that other cancer patients and survivors are fortunate enough to benefit from MINDCAP.”
- Amy Dwire, mother
“The learning environment that MINDCAP provides brings tears to my eyes as I know my daughter felt completely at ease. I am so very thankful for this opportunity for her. Thank you for giving us hope and just a fresh start to this next semester.”
- A Grateful Mom
“Basic 1 was my first exposure to MINDCAP and Feuerstein. As an educator, I believe this has been the most beneficial and useful training I have received in my career.”
- Kara, Primary Resource Teacher, Blackhawk Christian School
“It's hard to adequately express my gratitude in words, for the incredible opportunity to learn from you. Thank you for the most inspiring, life changing week. I loved every single moment of your teaching. Thank you also for all the wonderful resources that you shared. ”
- Lauren Davis, South Africa
“I enjoyed Jeanne’s F.I.E. training because she shares books and research that expand my knowledge. I enjoyed seeing different points of view by other professionals. ”
- Betty Jo Russell, Educational Therapist
“The training for Basic 2 was just as exciting and enlightening as Basic 1. These go by so quickly and the information gained from Jeanne and the other students is invaluable.”
- Lane Guy, Occupational Therapy Assistant
“The training has and will continue to help me grow as a speech language pathologist. The Feuerstein program has helped me unlock language for so many of my clients.”
- Sara Mowery, Speech and Language Pathologist
“Basic 1 and 2 training has given me excellent tools for my tool belt as I do educational therapy in a private school. MindCAP has been a great place to grow!”
- Laurie Weideman, Educational Therapist
“Dr. Zehr provided the energy of Feuerstein Cognitive Functions in living person during the basic 2 training. ”
- Cindy Barger, Parkview Pediatric Therapy, M.S. CCC-SLP
“Jeanne’s training was by far the most interactive that I have taken. She did such a fabulous job of supplying us with resources that are valuable to the type of clients that we each work with. Jeanne is such a dynamic instructor. I had a fantastic week.”
- Lily Russell, Psychology student
“Thank you once again for your wisdom, kindness, patience and motivation. You are truly one of the most inspiring presenters / facilitators I have ever had the pleasure of being around. ”
- Melissa Albers - Head of Learning, Erasmus School, Australia
“It was great to meet you and to be mediated, enriched, and empowered under your care. Now the time for retrospection and recapping and organizing the tools and notes has begun. I will often think of you... hey, you made me think!!! Basic 2 Trainee”
- Anthia Terwogt, The Netherlands
“Thank you so much! It was wonderful going through this part of a long path with you, I feel blessed. You're so smart, passionate, energetic, dedicated, generous... and I could go on and on. You're an example to me. Good luck with all your projects! All my best. ”
- Veronica (Psychologist, Italy)
“The Brain Boss Program was instrumental in helping us work as a team. It provided a greater understanding of our own personal development, leading to better ways we can care for our fellow team-member. This program was well worth the investment. ”
- Roger Reece, Executive Pastor of Associated Churches
“It has been well established that the most complex cognitive and executive functions, such as perception, attention, learning and memory require synthesized brain activity. When designing the ultimate treatment program to overcome deficits in these areas, we must consider the evidence that suggests communication problems between regions of the brain. In other words, the focus of treatment, in my opinion needs to be twofold: address maladaptive behavior that impedes learning and replace with functional equivalents (ABA), as well as use teaching strategies to re-synchronize brain activity (Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment).”
- Lizbeth A. Anderson, MS., BCBA, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Fort Wayne, IN
“This unique program will enhance and improve students' learning, thinking and analyzing skills. This optimistic approach to instruction focuses on what students may accomplish rather than the disability.”
- Nancy Hankee, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“This program opened my eyes to the potential that we all have in us. God really did make us to be constantly learning.”
- Julie Turney, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“Totally eye-opening. I learned that the brain can learn when you don't think that it can. You can teach a person to think by mediating them.”
- Susan Mittetstaedt, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“I love that this program both raises and heightens awareness of what we do well, but more importantly, what challenges continual growth. I also love its applicability to all life areas-self, health, social relations, occupation, spiritual development-in pursuit of excellence.”
- Don Appiarius, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“The MindCAP workshop helped me change my view of how I can look at my students, family and world and how I can mediate them to grow their brains.”
- Natalie Reynolds, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“Knowing that I can drastically change a child's mind for the better using these instruments gives me, as a teacher, a tremendous responsibility.”
- Rachel Stratton, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“This training has opened up my mind, not only to become a better teacher to my students, but also to be a better Christian role model and child of God in my own world.”
- Malissa Carey, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“MindCAP gives educators additional tools that help students become successful.”
- Greta McKinney, Director, MLK Montessori School, Fort Wayne, IN
“The MindCAP training was fantastic! Dr. Zehr's approach was challenging but fun and opened my eyes to methods, instruments and concepts that will affect my teaching--and my mindset! Thank you!”
- Sarah Aubrey, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“User-friendly introduction to a rich and fascinating philosophy of learning.”
- Dr. Ted Remington, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“This program showed me that it's okay to stop and think before I speak and/or act.”
- Michelle Kuhlhorst, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“I found this training very useful in home, social and work aspects of my life. The material has fundamentally altered how I will relate to my teenager.”
- Tricia Bugajski, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“This program has given me the cognitive strategies to succeed and has helped me understand the ways that I can mediate it in my life and the lives of my students. I am excited to grow my dendrites and help my students grow their dendrites so that we can all reach our full potentials and help make this world a better place.”
- Esther Johnson, Lutheran South Unity School, Fort Wayne, IN
“The Feuerstein Training from MindCAP is excellent because it has direct application to classroom use and can be integrated easily.”
- Ken Bugajski, University of St Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
“This unique and international approach to thinking skills certainly helps those in our community with cognitive challenges.”
- Irene Walters, Fort Wayne, IN
“The vision of MindCAP is doable and necessary for our world, community, children and own lives.”
- Cindy Barger, Parkview Pediatric Therapy, M.S. CCC-SLP
“I strongly believe that if physicians know that this type of program exists to address the cognitive and behavioral needs of the patients, they will be much more likely to perform developmental screening. Indiana has a dismal rate of timely developmental screening and I know we can do better. My goal is that all children are physically, mentally and spiritually healthy and educated to their highest potential. MindCAP is a critical resource we need to begin to ensure all of Allen County's children are ready to embrace their academic potential.”
- Deborah A. McMahan, MD, Health Commissioner, Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health
“Dear Jeanne, thank you again for a week full of insight, wisdom and great fun on the FIE Basic last week. Each day I felt like I was filled to the brim with practical knowledge that has to potential to grow minds and change lives. It really was inspiring to hear stories of Reuven Feuerstein himself - what a brilliant man, huge heart - as well as your own incredible stories of mediating with these instruments in America and around the world. Thank you for putting your heart and soul into the week. You conveyed a real spark and energy. As mentioned last week, I have already started mediating Amelia on the Dots and Isabel on Identifying the Emotions.”
- Parent
