After repeatedly reversing the d in his name, Braden told his teacher, “Just call me Braben!” I laughed when I heard this because this young boy is so delightful and good-natured. But on further reflection, this is the very last thing that I want for our dyslexic students – to have to spend their life finding ways to get around their reading and writing challenges. Dyslexia is a fascinating thinking style. While each person with dyslexia is different, they often have strong creative, visual spatial, 3-D thinking abilities. When applied to Legos, mechanical endeavors, drawing, and out-of-the-box problem solving, they…
From Break to Meltdown in 30 seconds – How Did that Happen? At mile 20 of a 21-mile bike ride, my husband and I stopped to take a little break. It had gotten warm and we wanted to remove a few layers. When we started riding again, my legs let me know that “enough is enough” and I thought, “I really don’t want to ride anymore.” It made me think about a couple of students that we tested recently whose parents reported that their kids try so hard on their homework, but have a terrible time coming back from…
I don’t like to point fingers at the schools because I know there are so many wonderful, caring teachers out there serving our kids and feeling terrible about those that they can’t seem to help, but Einstein’s quote does point out something that we find to be true all of the time at our center: There are smart, creative, talented kids who feel stupid everyday because school is not working for them. It’s hard to imagine that Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant minds of modern times, ever felt stupid. But he was apparently dyslexic, and what I know…
I wanted to share an article with you that my husband David wrote to his business consulting clients at Thanksgiving. It refers to business, but it’s relevant to us all, whether were building a business or building confident kids. Here it is. Enjoy! A POWERFUL Exercise from Mr. Rogers Have you seen it yet? “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” (the movie about Fred Rogers) is currently playing in theaters. I was lucky enough to see it last week. (The irony is that this is not a movie for kids! When you see it you’ll know what I mean). There…
My son was a music major in college and is currently in the music industry as Production Coordinator and Tour Manager. If you know any really gifted musicians, then you probably understand what we mean when we refer to the “musician personality.” Musicians often seem to be in real need of a manager as their brilliant, creative personality does not always lend itself to being on time, remembering commitments, and organization. A mom at one of our recent parent nights shared that her 16-year old son is just one of those musicians. He’s been told that he “has it all”…
Recently the mom of one of our former students emailed me and said, “We are still so grateful for all that Donovan learned from attending the learning center. He just thanked me a few weeks ago for sending him to the Stowell Learning Center.” How cool is that? If you are a parent trying to understand and get help for your child’s challenges with learning or attention, having your child thank you may be a long way off. But pat yourself on the back for your commitment and persistence. Most learning and attention challenges can be dramatically improved or completely…
I have some avid game players in my extended family, so when we get together for the holidays, we play all kinds of games, particularly word games, of which my mom is a wizard! For a dyslexic child or adult, word games can be an absolute nightmare. I met a neurosurgeon once who shared with me his story of discovering his dyslexia as a result of playing Scrabble. This successful, brilliant physician had gone through medical school by sheer willingness to put in twice as many hours studying as anyone else. He never knew why he had to work so…
We recently tested two boys with very similar learning strengths and challenges. In testing, they both had good attention, but one became squirmy in his chair whenever he had to read. The squirmy little guy had been diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder without Hyperactivity). He was never a problem in class, but was reported to spend time staring off into space when he was supposed to be reading or doing seatwork. Medication had been prescribed, but his parents opted not to use it, as they weren’t convinced that ADD was the real problem. Most likely, these parents were right…
I remember playing Hide-and-Seek as a kid. Our very best games were down at the state park by the beach because there were lots of fun places to hide. We got such delight out of fooling our friends with a really great hiding place. In the right context, hiding can be fun. But hiding your learning challenge from your peers or your boss is not a lot of fun at all. Even at a very young age, smart kids who struggle in school can look around the classroom and recognize that they are not performing as well or as easily…