I’m a great believer in the American Dream. I grew up in a family where anything was possible. We didn’t have a whole lot of money, but my parents always told us kids that we could do anything we put our mind to. As I’m writing this, we’re just coming up to Fourth of July – Independence Day. Independence Independent kids Isn’t that ultimately what all parents want for their kids? And, in fact, what kids want for themselves? To be able to do it on their own? To be independent? When smart kids struggle in school, their parents find…
Read MoreI’m looking out the window at Southern California’s June gloom, so I know summer is right around the corner. While the end of the school year and homework often comes as a relief to parents, many also become fearful that their kids will lose ground over the summer break. For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be posting some suggestions of ways families can apply skills learned in school, keeping those young brains active over the summer break. Make a Weekly Schedule Planners and assignment sheets are something that many students resist during the school year. It just seems like…
Read MoreThe Family’s Not The Problem. The Problem Is The Problem And The Problem Can Be Solved. This statement was made by a colleague, a local Marriage and Family Therapist, Judy Riggan, and I thought it was brilliant. We both work with children and families who are dealing with learning challenges of some kind and were talking about how having one child with a learning challenge can affect the whole family. One child needs so much help that the other siblings feel left out. Family activities get put on hold because there’s no time left after homework, even on weekends. Parents…
Read MoreThis week we’ll finish looking at 5 big differences between tutoring and cognitive educational therapy, and how you know which is right for your child. #1 Tutoring typically focuses on supporting academic skills or school subjects and cognitive educational therapy addresses the underlying processing or thinking skills that are needed in order for a someone to learn easily in school, as well as remediating reading, writing, spelling, and math. #2 Tutoring typically looks a lot like school. #3 Tutoring is most effective as a solution to a short-term problem. A long term learning problem must be dealt with by getting…
Read More5 Differences Between Tutoring and Cognitive Educational Therapy Last week we started talking about 5 big differences between tutoring and cognitive educational therapy, and how you know which is right for your child. #1 Tutoring typically focuses on academic skills or school subjects and cognitive educational therapy addresses the underlying processing or thinking skills that are needed in order for a someone to learn easily in school. #2 Tutoring typically looks a lot like school. If a child is having trouble learning phonics for reading, tutors will provide more phonics practice. But more of the same is often more frustrating…
Read More5 Differences Between Tutoring and Cognitive Educational Therapy (Part 1) “Jackson HATES school! He feels like the dumbest kid in the class. He gets very frustrated and angry doing homework.” “As a family, we can’t stand this anymore. We need to get Jackson a tutor!” Are you sure? Will getting a tutor really be enough to solve this problem? Sometimes, tutoring is exactly what is needed. But more often, when a child has a learning problem, tutoring is like putting on a band aide. It covers up some of the symptoms, but doesn’t really solve the problem. Over the next…
Read MoreLast week, I promised to post some accommodations that parents and teachers can use to support dyslexic students (or other struggling readers) in the classroom and in homework. So that’s what we’re going to talk about…right after I get a chance to step on my soapbox! My Soap Box Accommodations and modifications can be a great support to students who struggle in school. And we should give students all the support we can! BUT… It’s also important to understand that accommodations and modifications are NOT a permanent solution. They should be a temporary support while the real problem is being corrected. Dyslexia…
Read MoreQ: This week HBO aired a special on dyslexia that noted that more than one third of entrepreneurs in the U.S. may be dyslexic. What is it about dyslexia that would cause this to be true? A: This statistic doesn’t surprise me a bit. Having worked with dyslexic children and adults for the past 27 years, I know that people with a dyslexic thinking style are generally very bright and creative and often very talented. The entrepreneurs on featured on the HBO special are successful and even grateful for their dyslexia, but it wasn’t always that way for them. Each…
Read MoreI recently took a trip to Paris. I don’t speak French and I don’t read French, but when French is all there is to read and you want to know where you are, what’s on the menu, and what you’re looking at, you have to try to read French. I am completely mystified by the spelling of many French sounds, but what I found was that while I could never have read anything out loud in French, if I knew the context, I could recognize enough words or word parts that looked like something I knew (English or Spanish) that…
Read MoreWhat’s really going on when smart kids struggle to pay attention in school? What could be causing your child’s attention problem? Last week we introduced 3 students who struggle to pay attention in school. Jeremy’s constant wiggling not only keeps him from getting his work done, but is a real distraction to his classmates. Manny is driving his teacher crazy (and subsequently his mom, too) because he’s clearly smart, but “chooses” to entertain the class rather than do his own work. Sara’s teacher reports that she daydreams and simply doesn’t listen, and as a result, never knows what to do.…
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