Dr Melodie de Jager

Some call her approach to child development rather unusual, but it is exactly this novel and fun approach that makes her a respected leader in the field of child development.

Melodie started her career as a nursery school teacher and did her masters in maths and science school readiness programs. Her concern for learners who (despite great teaching and state of the art programs) did not become school ready, prompted further studies in the field of Neuro Linguistic Programming, Edu-K and applied brain research.

In her search for the key ingredients to unlock latent potential in children she studied the work of:

• Jean Piaget and the relevance of the different developmental phases

• David Feuerstein and the role of the educator in creating learning experiences
• Maria Montessori and her focus on the intellectual development of the preschool child
• Roger Sperry and Robert Ornstein and their split-brain theory
• Richard Bandler and John Grinder who introduced NLP - the nuts and bolts of thought
• Paul MacLean and his Triune Brain theory
• Ned Hermann who mapped the functions of the brain and made it possible to measure
• Paul Dennison and the role of movement in learning
• Carla Hannaford and the role of lateral profiling
• Jean Ayres and the importance of sensory integration
• Thomas Tomatis and the role of the ear as pivotal point in the learning process
• Dina Stachel who developed MATAL science and maths preschool programs
• Howard Gardner and different kinds of intelligence
• Sally Goddard and the unfolding of neurological maturity through childhood reflexes
• Rita Edwards who distinguished between near and far senses
• Liz Senior who made physiology and anatomy accessible to the layman

Melodie is quick to point out that most of her studies actually happened at home learning from her three children Ruan, Waldo and Cozette and the hundreds of children and babies she worked with in her private practice.

Her years of experience and studies culminated in 4 books and a doctorate in the relevance and importance of movement to the learning process.

She published BabyGym as a self-help guide for mommies and daddies who wanted to optimize the early years and prevent developmental gaps. Occupational therapists, midwives and pediatricians have subsequently also started implementing BabyGym techniques with great success to support early detection of developmental needs.

Melodie is the Managing Director of THE CONNEXION (PTY) Ltd. - a company that supports the School Based Support Teams to assist learners with a variety of barriers to learning through implementing the innovative techniques from her new book, Mind Moves® - removing barriers to learning.

She is a popular guest on radio and television and is frequently quoted in the press. She has been listed on Exclusive Book's Guru List and is nominated by the American Biographical Institute as one of the outstanding woman of the 21st century.