Blog
“Jargon & Phonemic Awareness”
There are many terms within education and dyslexia that don't translate well. My criteria for determining whether something translates well is the person-on-the-street standard. That is, if you stop the average person on the street and asked them what a term means and...
“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...
“IQ-Achievement Model – ‘Ineffective, Irrational, Immoral & Indefensible'”
Child A, we’ll call him Leo, a second grader, is in the 10th percentile of reading, spelling and writing. Depending on whether you are a “glass half full or half empty” type you can translate it that Leo is better than 10% of the children his age or that 90% are...
“Sorry, Our Hands Are Tied”
Perhaps nothing is more frustrating and resulting in tremendous parental consternation than when they hear the following from me after I’ve done an assessment: “Yes, you were right. The results validate your concerns. Your child has a serious reading (spelling and...
“504-ing – Part II (‘Swimmies’)”
In last week’s post we talked about some of the basics involved with obtaining a 504 Plan (504-ing-part-i/) This week we move it along to bring some practical realities to you. Remember that a 504 does not offer any interventions, but accommodations. It is intended...
“504-ing” – Part I
Parents will come to me loaded with terms that are only partially understood. Let's look at one of the common ones - "504's." I will hear things like, “We just need to get him a ‘504.’ We just want to get him the help that he needs so he can start reading better.”...
“Executive Functioning” – Are You Too Hot or Too Cold?
For those of you who follow this blog or read my other “stuff,” you know that my overall is to present to parents in down-to-earth, understandable terms, concepts that I think have become unnecessarily complicated. “Executive Functioning” is a term I hear parents use...
“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...
“Pie Chart Revisited”
As those of you who follow this blog knows there are two overriding missions that drive everything done in the blogs, books, tid-bit tips, and in interactions that take place with parents. These are: Help parents to cut through the tremendous amount of misinformation...
“Need to Meditate”
Odn any given week parents will come in seeking my advice about their struggling child. Invariably they bring in work samples from the child’s school work. As they tell the stories and show me what’s being asked of their child, I can literally feel my “CM” (Cranky...
“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...