My mother was somewhat ‘new age’ in the nineties. Over the years my brother and I were taken to a homeopathic doctor for botanical remedies, and kinesiologists for metabolic work. We learned Brain Gym and the Alexander technique. We tried maths tutoring and trampolining for balance, along with the usual sports, dance, drama and music lessons. We also learned about acupuncture and reiki.

I never struggled academically, and left high school and university with above average results. Yet there were still hidden factors that held me back from reaching my true potential – factors that I am only now able to identify from my own training. On our questionnaires for Learning Creations one page was dedicated to metabolic issues. When we were asked to assess ourselves I found I could tick nearly the whole column of problems.

I was shortsighted from a young age, which was twice overlooked by optometrists. I have memories of walking all the way up to the blackboard in Maths, memorising the sums to answer, one at a time, and repeating them to myself as I walked back to my seat. Unsurprisingly, my memory skills were heightened; however, my method was incredibly inefficient and slow and I made countless mistakes. I was also scolded by the teacher for leaving my seat or answering a question incorrectly, which resulted in very low confidence. Needless to say, maths was my weakest subject – a fact that I was ashamed of and worked hard to conceal. Every day I see children putting a significant amount of their energy into hiding their learning weaknesses. Many do this very cleverly and are very evasive when questioned – this takes a huge toll on their energy and self-esteem, and can be hard to break through.

Bad ear infections plagued me during my primary school years (to this day I have trouble with non-allergic rhinitis and have undertaken sinus surgery and had grommets inserted). At around age seven, my ears were blocked for several months. I missed information and dialogue around me, especially as I was often too unwell to go to school. Fortunately, it did not otherwise affect me, and I was already old enough to identify sounds and words. It never occurred to me that other peoples’ ears were not blocked, so never thought to mention mine to my parents.

One year a perceptive young teacher noticed my husky voice and asked me to stick my tongue out – sure enough, it was coated in whitish membrane: oral thrush. I also had troubles with recurring yeast overgrowth which affected my sleep. For years I had dark under-eye circles and flushed cheeks, physical signs which can also suggest vitamin deficiencies.  This is all in spite of having a secure family life, nutritious meals, vitamins, early nights, a dry mould-free house and warm clothes – I was never in need. Metabolic issues can be complex. They are often hard to recognise and effortful to fix – they cannot always be put right with a visit to the family doctor.

It is clear to me now that spatial reasoning was an area of relative weakness for me. Barbara Arrowsmith-Young (author of ‘The Woman Who Changed Her Brain’) connects a phrase to spatial reasoning weakness – ‘I am forever getting lost’ – and this really resonated with me. At the end of high school I was still getting lost walking from one class to another, unless I walked the same route every time. My family would despair on car trips when I had no concept of where we were, or how to get to our destination – despite making the trip countless times. Following directions or a map would fill me with dread. Even with a map I would easily become lost. As I was unable to mentally rotate the map inside my head I would turn left instead of right. Finding my way around Sydney and navigating the public transport system with a fold-out map forced me to practice and improve this skill. However, I still rely heavily on the interactive map on my iPhone, which has made life infinitely easier.

Some people go through life with developmental blockages with little impact on their daily life. However, it is clear that for many others even minor difficulties influence their study and work life and can have a long-lasting negative influence on their confidence.