Plastic Learning provides a platform for exploring practical lifelong learning opportunities for everyone, particularly those with cognitive challenges. The brain is a plastic organ that can rearrange its pathways to accommodate new information. Unless we focus on finding new methods to tap into and stimulate the brain’s plasticity, the potential of so many people may not be realized.
I’m Jordan Jankus, and I have over twenty years of experience working at agencies serving people with developmental disabilities. Most importantly, I’m the father of a wonderful adult daughter, Jessica, who happens to have multiple disabilities. Finding resources to make her life as rich as possible has been my goal since her birth. Each day, we check in via FaceTime, which is a highlight of our day, and that impressive technology is an excellent example of a resource we can put to broader use. However, the solutions don’t have to be based on hi-tech. Stimulating interactions are our goal, which can be simple conversational exercises, focusing on one’s world, or exposure to something new and exciting.
My credentials as a parent of a person with cognitive challenges are probably the best reason why you should bother reading Plastic Learning. So much focus is placed upon people with disabilities during their K-12 years in education, and that’s important, but what happens after they leave a formal school setting? Are there exercises and techniques that will help them continue their learning? I want to explore those techniques, practitioners, apps, and other tools that can help these adult learners!
If you need more reasons to read Plastic Learning, here are a few:
Masters in Public Health from New York Medical College
Graduate Certificate in Assistive Technology Studies from New York Medical College
Graduate of the New York State Partners in Policymaking program.
I’ve spoken on practical, everyday technology at national and state conferences and webinars - including Closing the Gap, The Arc Conventions, and the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities.
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The subjects of brain plasticity, its relevance to lifelong learning, and its untapped potential for those with cognitive disabilities are massive areas of study. If any reader wishes to share their knowledge via a guest post or resource recommendations, please feel free to reach out to me at plasticlearn@gmail.com
I also have another Substack publication, Rocky Point, that focuses on stories, real and imagined, from my long life. Life observations, both funny and sentimental, are included. Click HERE to visit Rocky Point!
