Assessment

On Finding Waldo & Going “Old School”

by | Apr 27, 2017 | ,

Even though we tend to talk about learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD and other school stuff in these blogs, sometimes just talking about the state of modern childhood catches our attention.

When kids come in to the office, there is often some down time where I may be talking with a parent and the child is not a part of the process.  I usually offer them some things to do.  Since the office isn’t equipped with iPads or other technological goodies, they are offered “old school” activities, like drawing at the white board or playing with some cars, figures and other objects.

There’s also a bookshelf of kid-friendly books.  One of the books on the shelf is the one from the “Where’s Waldo” series.

Two siblings came in recently and I suggested that they try and find Waldo while I talked to their parents.  They looked at me like I was beyond crazy.  If their nonverbal could speak words, it would be something like, “Find Waldo???  Why would we want to do that???  I mean we do have our phones here and that’s so much better than finding this goofy looking person hiding somewhere among these thousands of images.”

They gave a little half-hearted attempt to find Waldo in the first picture and then turned back to their phones.

I tried having a few other kids spend some of their down time looking for Waldo and I pretty much got the same response – a shrug and a look of “Why would I do that?”

One of the things that struck me was how removed the whole “Where’s Waldo” book and activity were from their lives.  Not only did they have pretty limited interest in finding him, they really didn’t know anything about Waldo.  They had never seen any of the books.

I don’t know why that strikes me as sad, but it does.  Waldo’s out there hiding and no one’s looking for him.

Increasingly, I have been seeing articles and studies and gathering anecdotal data that if it isn’t on a screen it has little value for a child.

Waldo’s in a book.

Takeaway Point

Every once in a while, carve out some “old school” time and put the screens away for about a half hour or so.  Get a hold of a couple of Waldo books (don’t look for the Waldo app on the iPad) and have a little fun together.

Waldo and your child will thank you for it.

One of the 40%

by | Mar 17, 2017 |

About 60% of the kids out there have a relatively easy ride.  Their school journey is on a flat plain.  Reading isn’t a big deal.  Skills layer on top of skills.

Then there’s young George, age five a kindergarten child who is one of the 40%.

George is a five-year-old master Lego builder.  Proudly building 300 – 1000 piece designs, he was the king of preschool through most of kindergarten – that is, until the curriculum ramped up and they started teaching kids to read.

While those in the 60% group were making quick strides connecting letters with sounds and  reading common words, George felt a sense of panic.  “How come we aren’t playing all the fun stuff anymore like we used to in school,” he thought to himself.  “I can barely write my name,” George thought,  after the teacher asked the children to write about the big winter storm. (George’s name did have a lot of vowels.)

The girl sitting next to him looked at George with scorn as he worked on his name while she was almost done the real writing about the winter storm.  The girl thought George was so dumb – it was so easy writing about the storm.  “What’s his problem,” she thought.

George’s mother decided to have him tested.

When I meet George, he jumps out as one of those exceedingly cute, irrepressible types – “I’m the best in my class at Legos,” he tells me proudly and quickly.

While he zips through the tasks that are nonverbal in nature, George doesn’t do so well on some other tests.

Much of testing of the kids who are in the 40% zone involves looking for some of the “culprits” of learning disabilities, the factors that are seen as common contributors to difficulty.

I ask George to write his name.  “Ugh,” he groans, “It’s so hard,” as he tries to grind out his name after much effort.

As part of the cognitive testing, George is asked different types of questions.

One of the questions is “Who wears a crown?” “Who wears a clown,” he responds, “A clown???  I don’t know who wears a clown.”

George heard “crown,” as “clown,” which confused him.

“How many sounds are there in the word ‘flip?’”  George answers. “one.”  He doesn’t understand what he is being asked.

By the end of the testing it is clear that George is solidly in the 40% of those who are likely to be struggling in first grade and beyond.

Among other things, Lego master George, can’t distinguish sounds all that well and he’s not connecting the letters to their sounds. Writing anything is painful and overwhelming to him.

At this young age there are signs that George is finding school distasteful, something to avoid.

Takeaway Point

When you’re in the 40%, it doesn’t get any easier.  Don’t wait around. Once the “culprits” are identified,  seek help.

Under the Big Circus Tent of Normal Variation

by | Dec 15, 2016 |

I live in the land of analogies and metaphors.  Something is always reminding me of something else and an image gets created.

One of my favorite metaphors is thinking of kids as under the big tent of  “normal variation.”

Under this circus tent you see a wide variety of behavior and personalities, doing all kinds of things.

  • There are the ones that are distractible
  • There are the ones who overreact to tags on their shirt.
  • There are the ones that don’t read, spell or write too well.
  • There are the fidgety, inattentive ones that bother the others sitting next to them (and their teacher).
  • There are the procrastinating ones, with poor time management, who never seem to get started on a task.
  • There are the homework avoiders and ones that lose the homework even when completed
  • There are the ones that are overly bossy and pushy.
  • There are awkward ones who have trouble fitting in with other kids.
  • There are the nervous and insecure ones.
  • There are the rule breakers and the rigid rule-followers.
  • There are the video game – Youtube obsessed ones.
  • There are the ones who don’t read social cues very well.

The list goes on.

We ask kids to do a lot of stuff that they often aren’t equipped to handle.   Even something like having lunch in a noisy, overstimulating lunchroom or lining up and riding on the school bus can lead to a certain amount of stress if you’re one of those types that has trouble navigating certain waters.

The Point

There’s tremendous variation in childhood. By definition, kids are developing, unfinished products.  There are going to be a lot of rough edges.  Patient understanding goes a long way to helping with these edges.

Be careful about pathologizing this thing called “childhood.”

 

 

The “Marginally Ready” Child

by | Sep 8, 2016 |

Just after Labor Day I did some purging of books and papers (not easy for me).  I know that common wisdom is to throw out old books, particularly in your field, because, “How relevant can that old stuff be and it’s all on the internet anyway,” says everyone.

Well, I look for inspiration from various places and found it in a book that had reprints of articles from about 40 years ago.

One of the articles that caught my eye was written by the late  Jeannette Jansky, Ph.D.,  a major figure in the field of learning/reading disabilities.  The article was called, “The Marginally Ready Child.”

“Marginally ready.”

I rarely hear people refer to kids as marginally ready. What a great way to describe so many kids.

As Dr. Jansky stated:

“All of us have become more aware of the sub-group of 5-year-olds who are clearly, dramatically unready for school and our tools for identifying them early have become more refined.  I would like to focus on a somewhat different subgroup of 5-year olds – those in the gray area, the ‘marginally ready’ children.  I would especially like to consider critically the point of view which proposes that these children be moved ahead because doing so will stimulate them, challenge them, stretch them.  I would suggest, on the contrary, that while moving ahead may challenge them and stretch them, it may very well to extinguish their enthusiasm for learning.”

 Bingo!!!   Right on the money.  So clear. Going against the tide back in the day.

Unfortunately that tide is still going in the same direction.

She went on to say,

“I can’t prove it of course, but I think the marginally ready child slips past us all too often:  He ‘sort of’ learns to read, gradually slides down and becomes the middle schooler  I have referred to.”   (Note, she had discussed previously in the article  discouraged and failing middle schoolers who were marginally ready as five year olds.)”

She concluded,

“When we see the older child who is in trouble, along with his discouraging and complex array of problems, we wish somehow for a pill to be invented that would cure him instantly.  And by the way, that is what the children wish to, and the parents, and the teachers – that something would make it all go away as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately this wish gives rise to a number of highly publicized but simplistic treatment approaches which have little hope for success because they are too narrowly directed.  Careful research has shown that the best approaches are those that aim most directly at mastery of the performance self.  This is basically a pedagogic  responsibility.”

Keep in mind that the article was written some 42 years ago.

Takeaway Point:

Don’t be so quick to throw away the old books on your shelf.

“Task Analysis:” Going Old School (Once Again)

by | Aug 24, 2016 | ,

There are a number of old school concepts in education that I don’t hear much about any more that I think still apply.  “Task analysis” is one of them.

Years ago as part  my special education course work task analysis was frequently mentioned. (OK, it was many years ago, I admit.)

With task analysis, the idea is that any end point task that you want someone to master should be broken down into sub-tasks to help the person move along a continuum toward mastery of the skill.

For example, teaching a cognitively impaired child  to brush his teeth successfully was the classic example used to illustrate task analysis.  Most of us take brushing teeth for granted, thinking it’s no big deal.  We don’t tend to consider how many sub-tasks and steps are involved (e.g., taking cap off the tooth paste, squeezing the tube properly, holding the tooth brush in one hand, etc.) to get to the endpoint.

Recently a mom talked to me about how her son was struggling in youth football.  There were the usual explanations offered – he wasn’t paying attention or trying hard enough. For this child, there were other explanations.  He was simply too confused and overwhelmed on the field.  Sports like football can be quite confusing for a lot of kids. They have trouble with the sequences and the rapid decision making.  (In fact, some time ago I worked with a Division I college football player who could have made it to the pros if he had the ability to keep the play sequences straight.)

In other words, the boy needed the task broken down into more manageable steps and sequences for him to master.

My guess would be that if we task analyzed much of what we expect our children to master (like playing football, comprehending a story, making a sandwich or getting out the door in the morning), we’d see that there were many small steps involved that we may not have considered.

Take Away Point

If you see your child struggling with a task, analyze the sub-tasks.  Try and break the task down and back it up.  Practice at easier levels and then lead up to mastery of the task.

I know my wife’s still trying to do that with me in terms of learning how to make the bed properly!

Frankly, I don’t think she’s broken it down enough.

 

Adapted, “School Struggles, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.,  (2012), Sentient Publications

When You Start to Get Nervous

by | Jun 30, 2016 |

It is usually when the child emerges from preschool or kindergarten that parents (typically moms) start to notice some things that are concerning. Frequently, they bring these concerns up with the child’s pediatrician or with the school. The typical message that they get at that point, is that they are being overly concerned for nothing and that there is little to be worried about.

From that point the mom tries to squelch her anxiety, whether naturally or with simple supplements like bath bombs with cbd and she tries to let things go. First grade goes by. Then second grade.

Like a low-level pilot light, though, the anxiety never goes away. There is the underlying sense that something is not quite right. Even at this point, frequent messages are that the anxiety is overblown. This is especially true if the child is obtaining decent enough grades in school. (Not to be sexist about it, but girls, being socially attuned, are often particularly good with getting good grades, which often masks underlying learning problems.) Lots of parents struggle with overwhelming anxiety, and some even have to get a medical marijuana prescription to keep it under control so they can function normally. You can Click Here to read more about this option if you need help too. Before making any purchases, you will need to make sure that medical marijuana is legal in your state, and you will need to have a medical marijuana card. There are companies, like hytekmed (Visit website), that can check if you qualify for a medical marijuana card for you.

As well as using safe medical remedies like CBD oil from cannabis oil canada suppliers to calm your nerves, most research and clinical experience suggests that when you start to get nervous you should listen to yourself. There are concerns that should be paid close attention to and acted upon in some way.

Indicators or “red flags” can be identified as young as four and five years of age. If these are identified, it does not necessarily mean that your child should automatically be categorized as “learning disabled” or “dyslexic.” However, at five years of age, a child should be monitored closely to see how their development in reading unfolds. Presuming that these indicators are significant for the child and that reading would be difficult, it argues for more focused and specialized instruction – the earlier the better.

Taking a wait and see (i.e., “wait and fail”) approach goes counter to everything that is known. Even if the child does not turn out to have a disability later on, there would be no harm in providing them with good, sensible, structured instruction at a young age. The mindset would be preventative and developmentally appropriate.

Takeaway Point

When you start to get nervous about your child’s issues, you should listen to yourself and pay attention.

Your inner bell is well-tuned.

The ADHD “Test”

by | Apr 1, 2016 | ,

Rating scales frequently are used as the “tests” to determine whether or not the child has  ADHD (as if ADHD  can be diagnosed like a broken bone).  (“Yep, it says here on these scale that your child has ADHD.”)

The fact of the matter is the vast majority of kids struggling (for various reasons) with school would have elevated spikes on scales like the Connor’s Rating Scale, one of the commonly used scales in ADHD assessment.  It would be a rare day that a child with a reading or writing disability is able to adequately pay attention in school.

There are a so many variables that contribute to compromised attention in the classroom.  Let’s look at a few of these in no particular order:   (Kid commentary follows the variable)

  • Language processing. (“I get overloaded with too much language and it makes me zone out.”)
  • Weak vocabulary knowledge (“Too many words make my head ache.”)
  • Poor fine motor skills. (“She wants me to write what?  I’m out of here and going off to explore the universe again.  First stop Jupiter. ”)
  • Weak reading skills (“These long boring stories really make me lose attention. I can’t read them.  There are a lot of stupid words on the page that I just skip over.”)
  • Spatial style preferred (“Give me more Legos!!!!”)
  • An energetic (perhaps chaotic) classroom environment. (“Hey, we’re all bouncing around in here.”)
  • Deadening worksheets (“Planet Jupiter is calling again.”)

I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

My basic point is that kids can have a cluster of these variables leading them to look awfully disordered in the attention arena.  High scores (in the negative direction) on scales such as the Connors will result.

I am not suggesting that rating scales aren’t helpful.  They are very helpful and tend to offer insight into variables not easily seen during the more structured assessment.

I am just cautioning you not to think you got “the test” or “the diagnosis” based primarily on the  Connor’s, the  Vanderbilt or whatever.

Takeaway Point
There’s much more that needs to be understood beyond the rating scales.

Planet Jupiter is looking better every day.

“You Can Observe a Lot By Watching”

by | Jan 22, 2016 |

Yogi Berra – “You can observe a lot by just watching.”

One of my big themes is that in the assessment world there is an overplaying of quantitative data. There is too much “Well, the student is in the ‘average range’,” and therefore gets no service or support.

Young Isabelle, age 17, is a good example. Smart and hardworking, Isabelle has gotten good grades all of her life. She can take tests pretty well and tends to score at least in an average range or better on most tests.
Yet, I think Isabelle has a reading disability (dyslexia) based on observations of her performance, even though her scores will not get anyone too excited.

Using Yogi Berra as my touchstone, I observed a lot by watching. For example, at the 8th grade level on an informal passage here are a couple of lines translated as close as possible to how Isabelle read the material:

(The story was about a Chinese warrior named Chang.)

Text: “Chang, seemed devoid of emotion…”
Isabelle: Chang seemed devoted of emotion…”

Text: The battle that day provided a legacy…
Isabelle: The battle that day proved…”

Text: “The army pinched in from the right…”
Isabelle: “The army pitched in from the right…”

From the fourth grade forward, 99% of reading that takes place is done silently. Unless one listened to Isabelle read the 8th grade selection one would have no idea of the tedious, laborious way that she read the selection.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that Isabelle comprehended the selection pretty well – her score fell in an “average” range.

Takeaway Point
It’s more than the scores.

Assessment: Weighing the “Data”

by | Jan 15, 2016 |

There are many mythologies out there in the land of struggling children. Many of the mythologies reside in the assessment corner of the universe.

One of the problems with both dyslexia (and ADHD, for that matter) assessment is there is no agreed upon test, no gold standard x-ray that tells you with absolute certainty, “Yes, this individual does or does not have it.”

I like to think of assessment, whether it is a screening, more moderate or comprehensive assessment, as a weighing of variables. Data comes in and helps tip the scales in one direction or another.

Much of “data” is qualitative, little pieces of information that add up to tell a larger story. Using ADHD, for example, so much of “the diagnosis,” comes from the parents’ telling of the child’s history – how the child does on a day-to-day basis in school, at home and on the soccer field. The child’s history is also important in the assessment of dyslexia.

Such data is virtually impossible to quantify, yet central to how the scales get tilted.

Much of the same is true of a reading disability (dyslexia). I find most of the “gold standard tests on the market that assess reading, spelling and writing have their strengths, but they certainly have their limitations. Assessing writing is particularly problematic.

Good assessment involves a combination of utilizing tests that yield information that help to make informed decisions along with clinical or professional experience.

Almost anyone can be trained to administer many of the tests used in an assessment for the purpose of deriving scores and quantitative data. (I could probably train a college kid to do that.)

Even though scores and data are crucial, professional judgment is an essential component and needs to be factored in to whatever formula is being used to determine a child’s needs.

“Takeaway Point”

It’s a weighing of variables that helps in tilting the scales one way or another.

“The House Looks Fine – What’s the Problem?”

by | Mar 21, 2014 |

Many times a parent (usually the mom) senses that something is amiss with her child and wants to have and  evaluation conducted in school.  If the child is getting decent grades, the response to the request is often denied. The parent may hear  a version of the following,  “Well, she’s getting good grades-what’s the problem?”

As the request for an evaluation is denied, the mom may walk away thinking that perhaps she was being unduly concerned. She may be given the impression that she is over-worrying, that she is the source of the problem.

Time goes by, though, and the mom continues to see the struggling.  It is at that point that an outside assessment may be  sought to see what is going on with the child.  More often than not in a situation like this, what I find is that there are “cracks in the foundation” that are identifiable and that help to explain some of the struggling, thus validating the mom’s concerns.

These cracks are like the ones in your house. Sure the house looks fine, but the foundation may be a little shaky. (If you are having foundation issues, then you need to get it fixed as soon as possible!) It’s not that he school was wrong, it’s that the cracks were not big enough for them to take action.

With a child, the shaky foundation doesn’t necessarily mean that the child is “disabled,” but it also doesn’t mean that the child is fine. The good grades may be masking some of the issues of concern (the foundation).

A child can get good grades for all kinds of reasons. For example, a child can probably get a ‘B’ in most classes in elementary school if she doesn’t give the teacher a hard time, hands in her homework, and exhibits other teacher-pleasing behaviors.   Many children (especially the girls) have figured this out. Such an approach is a good strategy for not drawing any undue negative attention to yourself. (Boys are notorious for not figuring this out.)

As a parent you should listen to your instincts. When you think there are concerns, there usually are. While the school may not act on your concerns because the child is in what is seen as within the norm, you probably should have someone check out whether your concerns are reasonable.

Cracks widen over time. Problems grow.

Taking some action to address the cracks is better than no action.

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