I Can’t Wait to Go to School and Use What I Learned!

Ten-year-old Hannah spent 6 weeks of her summer working 3 hours a day in an intensive learning program at our center.  As we sat down to begin her retesting, I asked her how she was feeling about what she had learned.

“I’m very happy that I came,” she exclaimed.  “I can’t wait to go to school and use what I learned!”

I can’t wait to go to school and use what I learned!  Now that is worth repeating!  It was music to my ears, and what every parent is dying to hear.

I told Hannah she was such an inspiration that I would love to share her thoughts with other kids and parents.  Here’s what she wrote:

The things I learned the last six weeks really have been amazing and helpful. 

And I noticed a big change in my brain with calmness, organization,

and how I feel about myself in school. 

Even if I’m here three hours Monday through Friday, it’s all worth it. 

Thank you Stowell staff for teaching me so many ways that have and will

help me in my life.      Hannah

Hannah is very bright and very dyslexic.  She still has work to do to bring her reading and spelling skills up to the level of her very high potential, but she is excited to enter 5th grade with a brand new level of confidence and skills.  She is reading Harry Potter and loving both the book and the independence of being able to read it on her own.

Choosing to do a summer intensive or after-school therapy to improve learning skills is a big commitment for families and a tough choice for parents as they try to give their kids a much-needed break and protect them from feeling “different.”

But there is nothing like success!

Kids already know when they are struggling and it doesn’t feel very good.  They may not relish the idea of spending their time at the learning center at first, but very quickly they begin to feel more capable and successful.  It’s something many of our kids haven’t felt very often in relation to school and they get quite excited to know that something is really working.

An Approach to Learning That Leads to Success

Academic and social success depends upon a solid foundation of cognitive learning skills.  If you think about these skills like a ladder or a continuum, academics and school subjects are at the very top.  Many other skills must be in place in order to learn easily at the top of the ladder.  When the underlying skills, or skills lower on the continuum are weak, they may keep children and adults from learning and functioning as well and as independently as they should.

The great news is that these underlying learning skills can change.  Through targeted and intensive cognitive training, the brain can develop new, more efficient, and permanent connections, or pathways that make learning easier.

Addressing the weak underlying learning skills and remediating the basic academics skills has a profound impact on students’ lives, increasing their confidence, school success, options for the future, and independence.

 

On another note…we have a terrific speaker coming to our Irvine Center on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21st at 6 p.m. This is a must see for any parents whose children have IEPs at school.

Surviving the IEP Meeting – Part 2: S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Back by popular demand:

“Tips, Insights, and Hind Sights of the I.E.P. Process – Part 2: S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting”

In this workshop, parents will learn how to work with their child’s I.E.P. team to develop clear goals to better meet their child’s needs, measure progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals:

Specific – What skill is being done?

Measurable – How often will the skill be performed?

Action – How will the student show it?

Realistic – How is it related to the student’s progress?

Time specific – How long will the goal last for?

 

Presented by Danielle Wiltchik Educational Specialist, Parent Advocate and Owner of Special Needs OC.

Go to www.learningdisability.com to RSVP.

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