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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreWe 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…
Read MoreI 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…
Read MoreWhat Came First? The Chicken or the Egg? I think lack of confidence and motivation in students comes down to this kind of question. “If my son were more motivated, he would do fine in school.” “I think she just lacks confidence. That’s why she takes so long to do homework. She’s afraid to do it unless I’m right there to help.” “School’s not his thing. He’s just not interested.” “He’d rather play than do his work.” Many times, we’d all rather play than do our work! And certainly, there are things we are more interested in than others. But…
Read MoreWhat does horse racing have to do with people talking too fast? Nothing really, but I wonder if that’s what it feels like to students with slow processing speed. Race horses fly by in a blur. What would school be like if words flew by you in a blur? Students with learning challenges sometimes feel like their teacher is talking at breakneck speed. They’re trying hard to listen; they’re looking at the teacher, but somehow, the teacher is already onto the next question when the student has just barely come up with a response to the last one. When a…
Read MorePay attention! Pay attention! Pay attention! How many times can you tell a kid to pay attention before they finally get the message? For some parents and teachers, it feels endless. Having worked with thousands of struggling learners over the years, I recognize that ADHD is a real and sometimes a devastating challenge for families. I also know that when a child or teen is struggling in school, attention is more often than not, a symptom of that challenge. When the underlying skills that support efficient learning are weak, particularly those skills at the Core Learning and Processing skills levels…
Read MoreMost things in life get better with practice. A learning challenge is not generally one of them. A 10-year-old with a 1st grade reading ability A perpetually distracted student A teen who studies like a maniac but never fails to fail his tests A child who constantly says, “Huh? What?” Who is falling behind in school because she can’t seem to understand what the teacher is saying These are among the many, many learning and attention challenges that will not typically go away with time, tutoring, or special education. When students struggle in school, parents turn to special education, traditional…
Read MoreSomeone emailed me a cartoon of a principal on the phone with a parent saying, “I wouldn’t say your son is a bad child. He’s gifted in disruptive behavior.” Augh! Not the phone call you want to get! Many years ago when I taught 4th grade, I had a student, Tony, who constantly made clever comments to me over the heads of his classmates. While his comments were very funny, they were also disruptive to the flow of the lessons. Disruptive behavior in class can be the result of many things. It could be, as in Tony’s case, just a…
Read MoreAttention challenges are really hard to understand – even for students who have them. They have good intentions, and then find themselves daydreaming or doing something else when they should be working. A parent recently shared with me that her son, who has auditory processing, reading, math, and attention challenges, is in an intervention class at school. This boy clearly has real deficits in his learning and attention but didn’t qualify as having a learning disability at school. So he isn’t getting any special education services, but he was placed in an “Intervention” math class. On a regular basis,…
Read More