Gray Matter, Matters
Reflections on child brain injury and erroneous educational practices
by
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Read What the Critics Say about Gray Matter, Matters.
"Neuropsychologist Jeheudi Mes Onyemachi Vuai is on a mission: to raise awareness regarding the vulnerability of childrens’ brains and injuries that frequently go unrecognized, although they wreak havoc on learning. He hopes to shed light on “erroneous educational practices” that result in repeated school failure for these children.
In addition to touching on the history of special education policy and legislation, the doctor describes brain anatomy and neurodevelopmental disorders, distinguishing between traumatic brain injury (e.g. a blow to the head) and non-traumatic injuries (genetic disorders, prenatal infections, malnutrition, etc.) He takes issue with mainstreaming, retention, punishment, use of the term “learning disability,” and failure to conduct neurological evaluations when investigating the underlying causes of learning and emotional or behavioral problems. Vignettes about students who have been misunderstood, punished or abandoned by their teachers illustrate the problem.
Vuai is clearly concerned about the welfare of vulnerable students and speaks from “outside the system” without concern for political correctness or regulatory constraints. His book challenges special education professionals to reflect on whether they are effectively communicating with classroom teachers, parents, and physicians...
Persistent readers will appreciate Vuai’s conviction and passion that many more students could be achieving greater success and that we have available tools to remediate neurological disorders. They would do best to consider this book a broad overview of issues and conditions rather than a review of the most current factual findings."
-Blue Ink Review 2012"Pervasive failure in the American classroom is attributed to undiagnosed brain injuries in this critical analysis of why some students still can’t read or do math.
What if the educational problems faced by many learning-disabled students are due not to behavioral or psychological issues, but to physical damage done to children’s brains? That’s the provocative argument presented by Vuai, who isn’t averse to ruffling a few feathers to make his case. Clearly, the author has a bone to pick with policymakers and education administrators; he often punctuates his observations with pointed sentences, like “Is that so hard to understand?” The tone is unabashedly combative—but justifiably so, because if he’s right, then too many children are missing a critical window of opportunity in their development to get the help they need. In addition, even adequate parents and teachers are being blamed for not doing their part to help troubled students succeed.
As a cognitive neuroscientist and board-certified neuropsychologist, the author is well equipped to discuss the various learning-related centers in the brain and how certain injuries could occur as a result of subtle biological or environmental factors. According to the author, these so-called “non-traumatic” brain injuries are not properly understood, although they need to be. The book focuses squarely on reaching education specialists—those new to teaching as well as veterans—in the hope that they will consider the neurological factors that could be causing their students’ frustrations. It’s a major step in a worthy endeavor.
An urgent call to rethink how we teach some of our most vulnerable children."
-Kirkus Review-2012
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About the Book
Gray Matter, Matters is a book that will revolutionize school and clinical practices. For the first time, professionals in the educational domain will be challenged to rethink by which method children with brain injury are to receive services. Neurodevelopmental disorders are frequently misdiagnosed as “learning disabilities." These disorders of childhood are presumed to be of psychological origin. This book discusses the myth of “learning disabilities,” “emotional disturbances” and "other health impaired." The use of labels to remediate neurodevelopmental disorders is inappropriate and may lead to school dropout.
Nontraumatic brain injury (NTBI) typically results from biological and/or environmental factors. As such, NTBI will be manifest as learning, speech and language, motor, emotional and behavioral disturbances. These children do not have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The lack of knowledge of the brain-behavior relationship leads to erroneous educational practices. When these practices are applied, children are punished for their inability to attain academic mastery. Teachers may be incorrectly blamed for failing to help children move out of the cycle of failure. When children present with learning, emotional or behavioral difficulties, professionals in the schools typically overlook biological antecedents. In this book, childhood disorders will be explained from a neurodynamic perspective. Now children with nontraumatic brain injury will finally get the recognition and assistance they need. Educators are challenged to embrace the tenets of cognitive neuroscience.
This is a must read for parents and professionals who desire to move children through the continuum of academic progress.
About the Author
As a clinician, Jeheudi Vuai, is both a neuropsychologist and school psychologist. He holds the Diplomate in School Neuropsychology from the American Board of School Neuropsychology (Inactive). He teaches in the School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Psychology and the School of Education, Department of Counseling and School Psychology at Barry University, Miami, Florida. His clinical experience includes providing neuropsychological evaluations and diagnosis, psychoeducational testing and assessment and treatment planning. His fifteen years’ experience includes educational, medical and residential treatment settings. He provides comprehensive evaluations for a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders including traumatic brain injury, autism, executive function deficits, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, dyscalculia, apraxia, ataxia, written language disorders and other brain based disorders of childhood and adolescents.
As an educator, Jeheudi Vuai serves as adjunct professor of psychology and neuroscience in the departments of psychology and school psychology at Barry University, Miami, FL. He taught specialization courses on the neurobiological foundations of autism and neuroanatomy and neurophysiology at Jose’ Vargas University. He has taught at other universities in the departments of education, exceptional student education (ESE) and psychology. He has taught students from kindergarten to graduate level. He has served as special education educator, supervisor, principal and district director of counseling and exceptional student education. He has provided seminars and workshops to physicians, scientists, pre-medical students, school administrators, parents and educators. He has presented widely at conferences, workshops and staff development trainings on various topics related to neurobiology, neuropsychology, neurobehavioral and neurocognitive disorders, neurodegenerative disorders and cognitive neuroscience.
As a scientist, Jeheudi is an active researcher in the fields of education, psychology, neuroscience and neuropsychology. He is recognized for his contribution to the fields of education, psychology and neuropsychological theory and practice. He is a scientist-practitioner who incorporates the latest research into clinical practice and articulates effective interventions to professionals in the fields. He delineates neuropsychological theory, dynamics of executive functions, learning disabilities (reading, writing, and math disorders) and well as right hemisphere dysfunction (i.e., attention disorders and non-verbal learning disabilities). He is currently studying biomedical science to enhance the understanding of the brain behavior relationship.