The Arrowsmith Program 

One of the most important cognitive exercises in the suite of exercises within the Arrowsmith Program is the ‘Symbol Relations’ exercise or commonly known as ‘clocks.’

Symbol Relations is a higher-order cognitive function responsible for understanding and connecting ideas. It is involved in tasks that enable an individual to reason using logic, and to connect and process complex relationships. 

Most students who have a deficit in this cognitive function usually have difficulty reading an analogue clock. They may also experience difficulties in reading comprehension, logical reasoning, cause and effect, or following movie ideas and plots.

When working on this exercise, students begin with a two-handed clock and work their way to reading a six-handed clock. In some cases, students move to reading an eight-handed clock. It is amazing to watch a student process the information and reasoning needed to quickly and accurately decipher an eight-handed clock. Currently, we have a student who is able to perform this task in our program. Congratulations, Jaymes Lymbouris on achieving this level in clocks!

So important is this exercise that Norman Doidge, the author of ‘The Brain That Changes Itself’ wrote the following: “The fact that Arrowsmith trains the brain processors that make possible reasoning and rationality, is arguably one of the most important positive developments one could imagine for our world, with its complex problems.”

Mr Wayne Stagg

Head of the Arrowsmith Program