Blog: School Struggles, Learning Disabilities & Other Kid Stuff

  • Wednesday, January 2, 2013

    The more miles I have logged in working with children and their parents, the less definitive I find myself.  There are few absolutes when dealing with kids and the complexity of variables affecting them.  Variables such as the child’s temperament/personality, the parent’s style, the family’s way of dealing with each other, among a myriad of other factors come into play.

    With that said, in no particular order, here are a few parental resolutions for the coming year:

  • Saturday, December 15, 2012

    In light of the terrible tragedy in Newtown Connecticut, it is worth reminding ourselves of a few things. 

    I talk to parents all of the time about the “smooth road” vs. the “rough road” that kids travel (see “School Struggles” for elaboration).

  • Tuesday, December 4, 2012

    It’s December.

    We’re into the second quarter of the school year.  The dance is in full swing.

    All across America each evening  this dance is being played out in millions of homes.  It’s the “Don’t You Have Homework To Do?….”No I Did It in School”  dance.

  • Monday, November 26, 2012

    When was the last time your kid came home and said, “Mom, guess what, I got a really cool worksheet today!!!”

    My guess is it has not happened to date.    Frankly, the worksheets that I see (and I see tons of them) can be pretty dreadful stuff.  Kids get multiple worksheets over the course of a day, many over a week.

  • Friday, November 16, 2012

    dys·lex·i·a [dis-lek-see-uh] noun Pathology .

    Any of various reading disorders associated with impairment of the ability to interpret spatial relationships or to integrate auditory and visual information.

    Much of my professional life is spent trying to explain dyslexia to parents.   It is hard to shake the hypnotic messages that have been hardwired into their belief system - you know the usual ones about “upside down and backward reading.”

  • Friday, November 2, 2012

    When I listen to kids and parents talk about things that go on, there are times when I find myself feeling   a bit cranky about what I am told.

    Here’s one story told me lately that increased my cranky meter.

  • Friday, October 26, 2012

    Those of you who have read my stuff or know of the work that I’ve done with kids over the years,  know I can be a bit “decoding obsessed.”  This is primarily because I have witnessed the legions of struggling decoders (usually dyslexics) who find school to be extremely challenging as a result of their ongoing decoding and reading fluency issues. 

    Other Side of Coin

  • Friday, October 19, 2012

    The thing about dyslexia is almost everyone gets it wrong.

    As proof, try this experiment.  Ask anyone you know the question, “What is dyslexia?”  I would wager that 90% (perhaps 100%) will say…

    “Isn’t that when you read upside down and backwards?”

    Somehow, as a large societal public consciousness we have been hypnotized to believe this about dyslexia.

  • Friday, October 12, 2012

    Miller Time:  “After a long hard day's work you come home, grab a Miller Lite out  of the fridge and enjoy a few cold ones.”

    That’s what the Urban Dictionary defines as “Miller Time.” 

    If you are old enough to remember the Miller beer ad campaign, you know that the slogan reminds us that you earned the right to enjoy a cold brew.  You could put your feet up and relax knowing that you earned it.

  • Thursday, October 4, 2012

    If you have a shut-down learner style teen (especially a boy) you know the scene – not handing in homework consistently, not getting started on tasks, poor follow through, lots of video game playing or cell phone activity – that fun package.

    Typically there have been a lot of punishments, with  all kinds of pecking and nagging, none of which has altered the behavior for the better.

    Usually the school is giving the code message, “We’re not doctors, but …” which is code for “We think your child should be on medication.”

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