Blog
From the Archives: 12-Year-Old Boy Truths
(***Had thought about answering some emails regaring the last few posts, but life got in the way. So I thought I would pull one out from the archives.) -------------------------------------------------------------- Since I was once a 12 year old boy (in the far...
“Further Down the Road” – Stage II
Stage II of reading development is an exciting period of time, especially if the child is in this stage at the expected time - usually beginning in the second grade and ending in the middle of the third grade. In this stage your child has mastered most of the high...
Getting on the Bike: Stage I
Those of you who have read the last few posts, know that we have been talking about the Stages of Reading Development as a type of “road map” that helps you know where your child is at any given time (Getting a Roadmap). Understanding the Stages also helps with...
“Moving Down the Road: (Stage 0)”
In the previous blog post from 9/17/2 , we introduced an “old school,” but still very relevant, concept - “The Stages of Reading Development,” developed by Dr. Jeanne Chall in the 1960’s (Getting a Roadmap). Knowing the stages and what is expected typically at a...
Getting a Roadmap
When it comes to their children struggling with reading, parents could use some road maps. An “old-school” concept not discussed much anymore, but that is still quite relevant has to do with the “stages of reading development.” The stages provide a type of road map,...
Feeling the Twinge
Sometimes I can feel the twinge coming on. It usually occurs when I hear the misinformation parents are given from schools or have heard through the grapevine. Here’s a small sampling of what parents are frequently told regarding dyslexia: “Well, we really don’t know...
“My Child Doesn’t Pay Attention – Do You Think He Has ADHD?”
Practically every week I hear an array of concerns regarding distractibility and inattentiveness. There's always the question of, "Does my child have ADHD/ADD." In the discussion with parents a lot of territory is covered and I do my best to broaden the narrative...
Executive Functioning & the Goldilocks Standard
My overall mission on www.shutdownlearner.com 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 a great deal, but when I ask them what they...
“Just Use Spell Check”
Let’s say your 12-year-old sixth grader, spells the following words: bref (brief) susess (success) edcccate (educate) resolt (result) kicten (kitchen Then he writes the following story to a picture prompt: “Once a o pon a time there was a kid that was a...
Playing Music & Learning to Write
Let's say a child knows a few notes on the piano, but does not yet know any songs. Would it make sense to ask him to play a challenging song that was clearly beyond his/her ability level? I don't think so. It would only create undue frustration. Well, young Ethan,...
“Help!!!! I Have a Low ‘OQ'”
I don’t know how to describe it in more clinical or scientific terms, but there are a bunch of kids I’ve assessed recently who seem to me to lack, “oomph.” While “oomph” may be one of those words that are not currently in modern usage, I think it conveys an important...