Blog
“Do You Have a ‘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 is that I have held on to different journals that were in the dustbins of Temple University’s renowned Reading Clinic, which at one time...
“ADD-ing”
Over the last couple of decades ADHD (commonly referred to as “ADD") is frequently diagnosed with struggling children. Within the doctor's office, the child's history is reviewed along with the parent filling out a rating scale (typically the Vanderbilt Scale, which...
“‘Bright Kids Who Couldn’t Care Less'”
A common complaint that parents bring to me is some variation on the theme of the child being poorly motivated. Parents will say things like, “He just doesn’t seem to care about anything (other than screens). We’ve tried everything and nothing seems to motivate...
“‘Every Picture Tells a Story (Don’t it)'”
Picking up on last week’s theme with Marla where we talked about her “anger issues (“Marla and Her ‘Anger Issues'”), there were other interactions with the world telling a similar story. A day or so ago, I was with our dog, Ella, in a pet store. Ella was on a pretty...
“Marla and Her ‘Anger Issues'”
One of my favorite kids, Marla, age 6, came in to see me. Nearly six and going into first grade in the fall, I had tracked Marla since she was three. As the mental health professionals like to call it, Marla’s had issues with, “behavioral self-regulation.” Marla’s...
“wuns a pon a time their was a boy…”
wuns a pon a time their was a boy wgo had no frends so he was always alon But than on day evry thing change His mom gave him a voilinto play it sounded horabel so he said I am never playing this again so one Day he went to in the stor and heard the guy play the...
“504 Realities (Part II) – Raising My ‘IQ'”
In last week’s post we talked about some of the basics involved with 504 Plans (504 Plans - The Reality : Part I ). Remember, that a 504 does not offer any interventions, but accommodations. It is intended to provide equal access to the mainstream to those identified...
504 Plans – The Reality: Part I
Parents will come to me loaded with terms only partially understood, like referring to "504 Plans.". I will hear things such as the following: “We just need to get him a 504. so he can start reading better.” "Yesterday, she had a meltdown in school and no one wants...
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...
“‘Barn Kids’ & the ‘Populars'”
In my ongoing education, this week I learned about the “Barn Kids” and the “Populars.” Mother of 12-year-old Marla explained to me that her 12-year-old daughter was one of the “Barn Kids" and not one of the "Populars." Instinctively, I sort of knew what she meant,...