Blog
Assessment Considerations
When it comes to an assessment for their child, parents are typically focused on “the diagnosis.” Largely supported by the medical model, this approach embodies a, “Yes, he has it,” or “No, he does not have it,” perspective. It is the belief held by many, that once...
“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...
“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...
Opposite & Challenging
In many households there are temperamentally rigid and inflexible children who cause a great deal of distress. With their limited coping skills, such children become quite volatile and reactive to frustration. Jeff and Rose are the bleary eyed parents of three...
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...
Uncomplicating
When a child is school struggling, 99.9% of the time the parents get it. They know there’s something up. They are looking for validation. This is where it gets murky. When the parents raise the question of dyslexia with the school, typically they are told that the...
Screens, Distractability & ADHD
"Children surrounded by fast-paced visual stimuli at the expense of face-to-face adult modeling, interactive language, reflective problem- solving, creative play, and sustained attention may be expected to arrive at school unprepared for academic learning—and to fall...
“Is ADHD a Valid Disorder?”
“‘I think the current diagnosis of ADHD is a mess and has been wildly overdone. It blames a variety of symptoms entirely on the child’s brain, and ignores the child’s environment and the interaction with it." (Dr. William B. Carey, pediatrician, researcher, and...
Must See the Neurologist
Even though schools will tell parents that they need to see a neurologist to diagnose dyslexia, the following are essentials that must be considered in an assessment: Reading aloud from a graded word list to determine word identification skills and how automatically...
“Getting ‘Dissed'”
Without turning this into a confessional, when I look back on my schooling here are a few things I know: Math was far my strong suit. I probably needed tutoring, particularly as I had to suffer through geometry, algebra and calculus. So, did that make me...
Cutting Through the Delusions
Many of the kids I talk to seem to be fairly delusional about school. Somehow they have gotten the notion that school should be this fun, Candyland-type of experience and when it is not, they are, well,…outraged. 13-year-old Liam offers a litany of complaints about...