Blog
“Dazed & Confused”
"What is meant by the phrase, "Italy was a quilt of city states?" "The government was like a blanket covering city-states of Italy." "The two spaceships, Eagle and Columbia, separate. They orbit in sight of each other one last time. Then the Eagle begins to...
“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...
Dyslexia Mythologized: Part I
Not a week (perhaps not a day) goes by where I don’t have parents coming to me concerned their child has “dyslexia.” I will ask, “Why do you think she has dyslexia,” Commonly the response is a variation of, “Well, I think there are these ‘was/saw’ and ‘b/d’...
“Fun Dad Nation”
Every generation creates its own parenting style based on a variety of factors and variables shaping our view of what it means to be a parent. For some time, I’ve jokingly referred to modern dads as a part of “Fun Dad Nation.” These dads are a blast. Involved with...
“Same As It Ever Was…Same As It Ever Was”
Adults often look at the younger generation with a combination of bewilderment and horror over the way they conduct themselves on a day-to-day basis. Shaking our heads quietly (or not so quietly) we wonder, "What's the matter with them? What's the matter with kids...
“The Decoding Hurdle”
Young children face many hurdles that they need to overcome. They come in succession. Getting over one leads to another. Some hurdles are more important than others and are not all equal in their level of importance. One particular hurdle I have been consistently...
“The Number In Your Child’s Head”
Probably not a week goes by where I don’t hear stories of parents frustrated that their struggling child is not receiving any services. At least in New Jersey, this is often because of the child’s overall FSIQ (i.e., Full Scale Intelligence Quotient). Without being...
“Just Use Spell Check…”
For a whole host of reasons that won’t be raised at the moment, writing is difficult to adequately assess, even though there are standardized measures that practitioners and education specialists use in the assessment of writing. I would be willing to go out on a...
Bewildering Treatment Options
Treatment options and the range of professional recommendations can be bewildering, not to mention all of the “on the street” opinions. Just like the parable of "The Blind Men and the Elephant, different professionals will identify a part of the “elephant” and...