Welcome to The Shut-Down Learner, where we strive to talk to parents in down-to-earth, plain language about the concerns they have for their children. This website has over 500 blog posts organized in categories as well as podcasts, “Two Minute Tidbit” tips, and information about Dr. Selznick’s books.

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Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Blog #1 from 2009

Started in 2009 upon the release of my first book, The Shut-Down Learner, there have been nearly 600 blog posts completed on a weekly basis over those years.. I thought it would be fun to look back on some of the earliest ones (slightly edited), to see what I was...

“Hemming & Hawing”

OK… Among other disorders that I seem to have, readers of this blog know I have confessed to my “PBD” or “Pushback Disorder.” PBD usually manifests whenever parents tell me something that has a hypothesis (i.e., an opinion) as to why their child is doing or not doing...

“Common Sense & ‘Passing the Smell Test'”

Last Sunday there was a feature article in the New York Times on the science of reading emphasizing that “science” has confirmed the need to teach children phonics. (Science of Reading - New York Times) While this comes after decades of debate, the article notes that...

“Scattershot”

IIn last week’s post, I made the following statement as part of the primer on reading: "Whether in the classroom or in tutoring for struggling children scattershot remediation will not be effective for either Type I or Type II categories." A parent contacted me who...

“Part I: A Reading Primer”

As we discussed last week (https://shutdownlearner.com/a-primer/) the next few weeks will be primers in major categories of parental concern. This week, in 400 words or less, we offer a primer on reading. Here we go. When you boil it all down, there are essentially...

“No One to Play With: The Social Side of Learning Disabilities”

A book that always stayed with me reminding me of my early days as a psychologist at the Hill Top Preparatory School, a private school in the Philadelphia Suburbs for high schoolers with learning disabilities, is Betty Osman's, "No One to Play With: The Social Side...

“Relational Component of Tutoring – the ‘Secret Sauce’ of Success”

One of the “go to“ recommendations I often make following an assessment is for the child to see a tutor if it is at all possible. When done well, tutoring provides many benefits. One often overlooked is the intangible - that is, the relational benefit. Working on...

“The Plight of Leora – A Play in Four Acts”

Leora a 10-year-old fourth grader has been struggling since kindergarten. Every year the parents have raised their concerns with the teachers. The answers are variations on a theme. Act I: In first grade it was, “She’s still young and it’s probably developmental.”...

“Shannon , Shannon, bo Bannon”

Anxiety over a child's development starts early. Recently a mom said to me, “My son is drowning in school. Do you think he has a learning disability?” What was particularly striking about this question was the fact that the child in question was only just five and in...