Blog
“A Pediatrician’s Perspective”
The following quote is from the Foreword of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child. I have always loved this quote and feel that it timelessly captures the impact that school struggling has upon the child and the family. "I have been a...
“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...
“And, So a New Chapter Begins”
With the arrival of newborn Emmett Gaetano Selznick last weekend, an official new chapter begins in our lives. As I said a while ago, in a previous blog on grandparenting, I’m going to try and do my best to do what grandparents are supposed to do – spoil and “zip it...
“‘What’s the Matter With Kids Today?'”
“The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think nothing but of themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is...
“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...
“A Primer”
In my corner of the universe most of the issues that are brought to me include some variation on the following: Struggling with reading (and writing) Difficulty with attention and what is commonly referred to as “sustained mental effort” Low level “executive...
“Theories & Hypotheses”
When you are a parent in struggling “Child Land,” there are all kinds of theories, hypotheses and explanations as to why children do what they do. These hypotheses are revealed in statements made as to what is behind the child acting a certain way. Let’s listen to...
“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...
“‘What’s Your Mom Gut?'”
As part of the assessment process, I always conduct an interview (usually with the mom) to get an overview of the issues of concern. Typically, there will be multiple disorders that have been raised by other professionals along with the parent diagnosing by Google. A...
“In the Restaurant”
A favorite pastime of mine is watching how parents and their children interact. There’s never a shortage of blog material. For people watching, there’s not much better than cafes and casual restaurants where families tend to congregate. This week I hit a bonanza...