Student: Erin Martin Date: April 17, 2020

Reading Assignment: How the Special Needs Brain Learns by David A. Sousa – Chapter 8

Reading Summary and Two-Column Note Form

Part 1: Summary: In no more than three separate sentences, summarize the key
information the author is conveying in this chapter. (Suggestion: Give a one-
sentence summary for each of the major sections of the reading assignment.)

The brain sends signals that cause people to react either positively or negatively

and functions in a way that prioritizes survival and emotions before being able to enter a

mindset of learning. There are a variety of emotional and behavioral disorders that affect

individuals’ actions and mind—possibly harming how they live their life—and these

disorders are caused and treated using a variety of methods. Educators need to work

toward creating a positive and calm school environment for individuals with emotional

and behavioral disorders, which can be supported in a variety of ways, such as modeling

how to address a student’s personal emotions, having the same rules in multiple

classrooms, using humor to infuse positivity in the classroom, planning programs for the

entire school that communicate and enforce expected behavior, and creating a curriculum

that is best for all students.

Part 2: Personal response
Write the words, phrases, sentences that
strike you. Note the page numbers.
Provide no more than three quotations
across the text assignment.
1. An individual’s brain places
upmost importance on surviving
and emotions (181).
2. “Specifically, emotion drives
attention, and attention drives
learning” (182).
3. Today, families are spending less
time with each other, which may
negatively impact a child’s
emotional needs (185).
Write your thinking about what the author
says. Make connections to personal
experience, other texts you’ve read,
and/or to what you know about schools.
1. I agree that children will remain in
an emotional brain state for a
period of time before becoming
calm—the brain is placing
importance on survival and
emotions. This reminds me of Dr.
Lori’s ED 491 class as she taught
individuals’ brains cannot
efficiently exit a survival brain
state because the brain places
importance on those emotions.
This is why children cannot learn
until their brain states are calm and
realigned.
2. This statement is similar to how
Professor Meyer often reminds her
class, “emotion drives attention
drives learning.” I appreciate this
statement because of its accuracy.
If a student is anxious about
something, they will not be able to
remain attentive and learn what is
being taught to them. I have
experienced this myself as I have
worried about something and was
not able to pay attention during a
class, get-together, or family
function.
3. As someone who values time spent
with family, this saddens me. With
technology taking over
individuals’ time, people are not
placing importance on each other.
Furthermore, technology can
negatively impact children’s
emotional health. Thus, I believe
more time spent with family,
especially during this time of

4. “The course of the [OCD] disorder
varies in that symptoms may come
and go, they may ease over time,
or they can grow progressively
worse” (187).
5. A person benefits when
medication and psychotherapy are
both used to treat his or her
depression disorder (191).
6. “Working together, faculty and
staff should take purposeful steps
to ensure that positive emotional
climate be established and
maintained in the school and in all
classrooms” (197-198).
quarantine due to Covid-19, is
important and significant to one’s
health.
4. I found this statement interesting
as I never thought about how OCD
symptoms could diminish, go
away, or strengthen overtime.
Often when I read about disorders
or disabilities, their symptoms are
always present, and individuals
can learn how to adapt to their
symptoms. This fact about OCD
reminds me of a character from a
television show my family
watches. The character expressed
different OCD symptoms, as some
have gone away throughout the
duration of the show.
5. I think it is important to know that
using medication and
psychotherapy together best treats
a child with their depression. This
will allow parents to know how to
best help their child, and it helps
educators to know what a child
may be experiencing. Using both
medication and psychotherapy to
treat depression reminds me of
how ADHD can be treated with
either medicine or behavioral
therapy. I wonder how effective
the different treatments could be
when used together for a person
with ADHD.
6. I believe it is important for schools
to take measures to best help
students, especially with their
emotional health. This will help
students remain in a brain state
ready to learn and have a positive
school experience. This reminds
me of what I have been learning in
ED 491 and the new behavior
engagement practices that are
emerging in schools today.
Examples of these practices
include amygdala reset stations
and focused-attention practices.