Blog
“Spelling Really Doesn’t Matter”
Let’s say your 12-year-old, 6th grade child spelled the following words: bref (brief) susess (success) edcccate (educate) resolt (result) kicten (kitchen Then he wrote the following story to a picture prompt “Once a o pon a time there was a kid that was a million air...
“‘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...
Sitting at the Poker Table
Parents tell me stories. I listen for the wording and try and picture what's being told, that is, who is doing what and how the interaction takes place Just like playing poker, there are often certain "tells," minor clues that reveal the larger the picture. Listen to...
“Top Ten List (of irritations)”
Those of you following this blog for some time know there are some recurring themes. For others newer to these posts, I will help to bring you up to speed with my top ten list of things that pluck my nerves: The LD-Discrepancy Model: Easily the number one issue that...
“Pull the Curtain”
One of my favorite comedic bits is the one from Jerry Seinfeld’s standup where he talks about the difference between flying first and passenger class. As the stewardess brusquely pulls the curtain between the first class and the rest, she has a look of, “If you only...
“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...
“‘FAPE’ Realities”
Let’s say you have a 7 year old child just finishing second grade who struggles greatly with reading, spelling and writing and has been diagnosed with a learning disability (i.e., dyslexia). The school has recently classified the child for special education and an IEP...
“Rolling the Dice”
“Oh, my, my, my, I’m the lone crap shooter, playin the field every night.” ‘Tumblin Dice,’ the Rolling Stones) In the last post we talked about kids who are “rudderless (see “Rudderless”). This week we focus on the older ones, high school and college kids, who are...
“Rudderless”
13-year-old Liam comes in trudging behind his mother, staring at his phone. While I think I have a decent relationship with Liam having evaluated him a while back with a follow-up session or two, I also think there's a pretty big part of him that is annoyed about...
“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.”...