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Crawling Your Way To Better Grades (Literally)

Courtesy of Mike Long.
Mike Long, when he was 10 years old.

This story originally aired on April 29, 2017.

Seattle writer Michael Long was a terrible student in grade school. It wasn't that he couldn't do well; it was just that he had no interest in it. Instead of studying or paying attention in class, he would often be caught doodling or staring off into space.

Michael's parents had tried just about everything, including doctors and medication. But nothing seemed to work. Then Michael's parents found a doctor who suggested that one of the reasons kids do poorly in school is because they didn't crawl enough as a child. They decided to give it a try.

Michael was forced to get on his hands and knees and crawl 40 laps around the house every single day. And oddly enough, there were results. Michael's grades improved and his handwriting got better. But if you were to ask Michael if the crawling therapy worked, he would tell you that studying harder and paying attention more was completely motivated by wanting to never have to embarrassingly crawl again, and not as a result of any sort of treatment. 

Jennifer Wing is a former KNKX reporter and producer who worked on the show Sound Effect and Transmission podcast.
Kevin Kniestedt is a journalist, host and producer who began his career at KNKX in 2003. Over his 17 years with the station, he worked as a full time jazz host, a news host and produced the weekly show Sound Effect. Kevin has conducted or produced hundreds of interviews, has won local and national awards for newscasts and commentary.