Someone 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, the…
Read More5 Things You Can Do to Avoid Meltdowns And Enjoy The Show! Happy 4th of July! If you have a child who is sensitive to loud noises, you may be looking forward to the Fourth of July fireworks with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation! Think about yourself being startled by a loud noise. Your brain immediately goes on high alert. Survival mode kicks in until you can determine, “What was it? Where was it? Am I safe?” We get startled or frightened by things that are unexpected and that we don’t understand. Children with auditory sensitivity and auditory processing…
Read More“I just want my son to love school again,” said a mom at a 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 in…
Read MoreTwo pipes coming out of a wall are just two pipes coming out of a wall, right? I guess that depends upon who’s looking at them! My first reaction when I saw this picture was delight. My next thought was, “That artist must be dyslexic.” I realize that’s a gross generalization. Certainly not all artists are dyslexic. But I have run into so many dyslexic students over the years with an incredible ability to think outside the box! What a gift! It’s just this kind of talent that can cause students with learning challenges to be so misunderstood. How on…
Read MoreNext year, struggling students will have more schoolwork than this year, and it will be more difficult. What can be done to prepare struggling students for the new challenges this fall? “What kinds of students make the greatest gains?” “Is it for everyone?” “Do some get greater gains than others?” Every summer we get students from all over the country (sometimes even from outside the U.S.) that attend our learning centers for summer intensive programs. We do have limited space in each center so contact us immediately if you are interested. Doing anything for 40 or 60 or 90 intense hours will make…
Read MoreDyslexia and Homework Just Don’t Mix “I hate homework!” shares the mom of a beautiful 10-year-old girl. “It takes hours of pulling and fighting. She cries and then I cry. We need help!” What is a parent supposed to think when their child’s best effort at a story after hours of tears looks like this: Wo ns apontime ther was a bog but he Was hot a otnary dog ne had poues. Sweet, smart kids who never give their teachers any attitude often fall to pieces when they have to do reading or writing at home. Parents get the brunt…
Read More“Reading is a nightmare for my child! I need to get some tutoring, but there are so many learning centers out there, I don’t know where to turn.” Sound familiar? In our area, there are learning centers everywhere and more and more parents are asking us to explain the difference between Stowell Learning Center and Sylvan or Kumon. The Starting Point I think the biggest difference is the starting point. Most learning centers, large or small, provide tutoring, which typically focuses on academic skills or school subjects. This gives students more practice in areas such as reading and math in…
Read MoreRhythm and Timing May be a Factor in Reading, Attention, and Learning Problems Every week I take a Whole Body Workout class at the gym. I think it should be called Whole Body – Whole Brain Workout because it not only takes muscle power, but brainpower to coordinate all the simultaneous movements: Arms opening and closing, twisting hand weights towards the center and then out to the side while sitting and tightening the abs and alternately flexing and pointing the feet. Yikes! What I’ve noticed is that if I’m on the beat, everything seems to flow and work, but if…
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