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

“World of Dyslexia – Part II”

Lowering Your "Frustration Quotient" Before getting into this week’s blog, there are two corrections to make from the previous week’s post: It was pointed out to me that the correct website for the International Dyslexia Association is www.dyslexiaida.org, not the one...

“Welcome to the World of Dyslexia” (Part I)

(***For every one of these blogs (500+ and counting), I feel I need to put out a front-end disclaimer, in case people get riled up. What is said here is an opinion. Take it for what it’s worth!) So, let’s dive in the opinion pool again. Not sure when this light bulb...

“The Marginally Ready Child”

Over the years, I’ve been a bit of a hoarder. Like most things, there are advantages and disadvantages to this habit. One advantage (not that my wife agrees) is that I have held on to different journals that were in the dustbins of Temple University’s renowned Reading...

“Like Giving Them Oxygen”

Last Sunday on the front page of the New York Times was a major piece on the proponent of “balanced literacy,” offering some type of retreat for the philosophy behind “balanced literacy” that has been espoused for decades having failed legions of children (NYT...

“Upside Down & Stuck”

In many respects, writing is the window in to understanding what a child needs academically and emotionally. Let’s take a look at George, a 9-year boy in the fourth grade. George feels that other kids make fun of him because of the way he spells and writes. George...

“Further Down the Rabbit Hole:” #Dyslexia

Since this blog and its over 500 entries are not entirely about dyslexia/reading disabilities, I was determined for this week not to continue going down the “dyslexia rabbit hole.” But, as I was organizing books on my shelf (yes, I still have hard bound physical...

Part II: Understanding the ‘D-Word’: #Dyslexia

As we discussed in the last week's post ("Misunderstanding the "D-Word'" ), the problem with the use of the word "dyslexia," which has become quite popular among parents and professionals, is that the word is almost universally misunderstood. We encouraged you to ask...

Misunderstanding the “D-Word” (Yep, #Dyslexia)

Not sure how it happened, but it seems that there has been a wave of parents that think that their child has “dyslexia.” They also often note that many people in their family, such as the parents and grandparents also have or had dyslexia (even though most were never...

Part III: “Helping Your Struggling Reader & Dyslexic Child at Home”

Within the last two blog posts, we discussed the foundation needed to understand how to work at home with your struggling child. While moving forward there is one overriding principle that is important to stress, that is - TAKE YOUR TIME - DO NOT RUSH. Understand...

Part II: Helping Your Struggling Reader & Dyslexic Child at Home

In last week's post we started the discussion of how to help struggling children at home, many of whom are dyslexic (Helping Child at Home: Part I ) The case of Ruth helps further set the stage. Ruth, a Case Study To illustrate the experience of a child on the rough...