DYSLEXIA Dyslexia is coming to the forefront as more and more states are looking at legislation around dyslexia and education. Most sources now site 20% of students as being dyslexic. Here are some questions to ask parents that will help them determine if dyslexia testing is warranted: Is there a family history of dyslexia? Was there difficulty learning the alphabet? Is there lingering difficulty with letter and number reversals, particularly after age 7? Does the student have difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words? Does he or she tend to add, omit, shift, repeat, or substitute sounds in words when…
Read MoreJuly is the month of summer camps and growing up, our kids were no exception. One summer, we went to Penticton, British Columbia so that our son, Kevin, could attend a one-week ice hockey camp. We were really fortunate that an NHL professional player, Ray Ferraro, had brought his son to the camp the same week. Even better was the fact that Ray’s son and our son were both goalies. That meant my husband and Ray got to spend every afternoon in the stands together as hockey dads. Later that week, Ray went on the ice and took some shots…
Read More“I just want my son to love school again,” said a mom at a recent parent information meeting. She went on to share that the summer before her son began kindergarten, he was so excited about starting school that he asked repeatedly, “Can I start today?” That’s how learning should feel! Like an adventure that we just can’t wait to start! But this boy, who started off so excited, now marks off each day on the calendar until he can get to a day with no school. He counted down the days to the end of his second grade year…
Read MoreI just have to share this with you. This is an email I received from a 16-year old student on his last day at Stowell Learning Center. This was a boy, who at 15, when he came to us, was so shutdown, and had such challenges with language and comprehension, that he didn’t look at or speak to anyone. He had tremendous difficulty expressing himself and was often very resistant. I am so proud of Steve and his SLC team for the effort and persistence that has brought him to the point of being such an articulate, thoughtful young man…
Read MoreThe Today show aired a fun piece today about a little girl who opted to wear a hotdog costume to her dance class on Princess Day! Now that’s confidence! I love the individuality of little kids and I love it when people aren’t afraid to be themselves. Being different because you choose to be is often something to be admired. But being different because you can’t help it, can be painful. Over and over, I hear parents of struggling students say, “I just don’t want him to feel different.” When you are the student who’s always being told to, “Pay…
Read MoreWe’re finishing up our series on common mistakes that parents inadvertently make when their child struggles in school. I hope you’ve found it helpful. As parents we always do the very best we can for our kids, but often, having a bright child struggle with reading or some other aspect of school is new territory and we don’t quite know what to think. Mistake #7 – Ask The Wrong People For Help Tutors, schools, pediatricians, and psychologists have their own specialties. Fixing learning problems is not really their field. Standard testing doesn’t usually diagnose problems with underlying skills. And there…
Read MoreWhen smart kids struggle in school, it’s confusing and frustrating for all involved. In my experience both as a parent and working with thousands of parents, we suffer along with our kids and we will do anything to help them be happy and successful. But since kids don’t come with instruction manuals, we have to figure it out as we go. Making mistakes is unquestionably part of the process of figuring things out. We’ve been looking at some mistakes that many parents make when trying to deal with their children’s learning challenges. Here’s Mistake #6… Mistake #6 – Misread The…
Read MoreWhen smart kids struggle in school, it’s confusing and frustrating for all involved. In my experience both as a parent and working with thousands of parents, we suffer along with our kids and we will do anything to help them be happy and successful. But since kids don’t come with instruction manuals, we have to figure it out as we go. Making mistakes is unquestionably part of the process of figuring things out. We’ve been looking at some mistakes that many parents make when trying to deal with their children’s learning challenges. Here’s Mistake #5… Mistake #5 – Buy Into…
Read MoreWhen smart kids struggle in school, it’s confusing and frustrating for all involved. In my experience both as a parent and working with thousands of parents, we suffer along with our kids and we will do anything to help them be happy and successful. But since kids don’t come with instruction manuals, we have to figure it out as we go. Making mistakes is unquestionably part of the process of figuring things out. We’ve been looking at some mistakes that many parents make when trying to deal with their children’s learning challenges. Here’s Mistake #4… Mistake #4 – Assuming That…
Read MoreWe’ve been looking at mistakes that parents inadvertently make when their children struggle in school. The first 2 were Waiting too long before looking for help Assuming that learning struggles just aren’t that big a deal Here’s #3… Mistake #3 – Thinking Students Will Grow Out Of Learning Problems Parents are often told or believe that maturity will take care of learning issues. Learning problems are caused by the way that the brain processes information. It’s not a matter of trying harder, or waiting until they get older. Until the brain is trained to process information differently, the same learning…
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