Laura Cornish

Hello! I am very familiar with Lindamood-Bell therapy. I  am a speech pathologist and I happen to have Aphantasia. There are several programs developed by Lindamood-Bell. I believe you are talking about the Visualizing and Verbalizing program. I was trained in this method by Nancy Bell in the 90’s. This was my first clue that I had Aphantasia. She explained the steps to using visualization to build reading comprehension. Before this course, I thought “picture this” was just an expression   The program does not give you the ability to visualize. It is s reading comprehension program which taps into people’s innate ability to visualize. It helps people to understand written and spoken words by connecting them to their visual imaging skills.  It will definitely not be what you are looking for. There is currently no way to change your Aphantasia. At this time, all we can do is use other strategies for recalling, comprehending creating and reading   If you have trouble with these skills, there are some good strategies  You can try some of these   make associations to understand what you read  Text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world Use your prior knowledge on a topic and integrate new ideas with what you know   Listen to audiobooks read by actors or professional voice actors  When material is read aloud with expression, it’s more like conversation or storytelling than reading and rereading   If no audiobook, read out loud to yourself or whisper read using expression  It forces you to focus on meaning because you can’t use correct expression without understanding   Read titles, subtitles and sentences with bold words before reading textbook chapters  Create an outline by concept, chronology, etc  You can also create a written outline of the chapter as you read it  Cornell notes work too, depending on the type of text   Write all the important info you can on a “cheat sheet” before a test. Then rewrite it several times before the test, memorize spatially instead of visualizing. For example, I remember that I wrote the algebra formula on the top right and my muscle memory of writing it will help you recall the details.  Next to that, I wrote the 3 steps, etc.  Make acronyms, mnemonics, lyrics, chants, silly associations for factual info   Repeat key words or phrases 6 times in your mind or out loud.  Have a friend “test you” on material verbally from your notes  or flashcards   Draw a picture (e.g. simple stick figures and shapes) while you read to have your own, external visual to add meaning, sequence and memory   Make a map of your office, neighborhood or other organization to remember people’s names  I review my map before I walk the dog   Memorize a specific feature on someone’s face when you get 2 people confused  For example, Matt has a mole, John has a crooked nose   Color code, highlight, sticky note, notes in the margin, use numbers  ( there are 3 forms of matter), alphabetize, summarize, rephrase, make lists, text yourself and whatever else helps you understand or recall   I love to paint and draw  I use “right brain” strategies by copying from photos and online images, putting them together into a new scene. So if I want to paint a park, I choose an image of a bench for one part  Then I choose an image of a golden retriever if I want to put my dog in the park   Maybe someday there will be science to actually allow visualizing for Aphantasics  For now, realize that you are different, not disabled. Hyperphantasia can also make things hard but has it’s gifts  Thank God we have diversity so we can have people with different skills.  If we were all video game creators or artists, who would do all the other jobs?  Love yourself!!! You are exactly as you were meant to be.       This takes practice and concentration when learning to use it