Blog

The Summer Slide

It’s that time of year when parents start looking to the lazy, hazy days of summer.  With that in mind, many parents start worrying about the “summer slide,” concerned that their kids will regress and fall backwards without the normal day-to-day structure of school....

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Firming Up the Rudder

We recently wrote a post on "executive functioning." (Previous Post on Executive Functioning) As I have noted, I like to think of executive functioning as the rudder to a ship.  It’s the steering mechanism that helps you do stuff, like start tasks, finish tasks,...

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More on “Executive Functioning”

We freely toss around terms or jargon that don't immediately translate to the average person on the street. “My child has ADHD.” “I’m sure she’s dyslexic.”   “Since preschool, he’s shown sensory integration issues.” “Well, you know he’s on ‘the spectrum.’” (Wait,...

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More Travels In Boy Brain

A glimpse inside 12 year old boy brain: “They’re at it again.  Talking about that 504 Plan, whatever that is.  I heard something like extra time.  My mom seems to want it.  Why would I want extra time?  I want less time.  I just want to get it done.” “They’re taking...

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Facing the Writing Challenges

Open-ended writing can be dreadfully difficult for school-struggling children.  On so many levels, they find the task to be overwhelming. For those who are struggling, the more common classroom writing tasks that encourage the child to write as he/she feels is...

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More Boy Delusions

Recently I talked to you about the delusion of the modern American (male) child and their fundamental inability to face pain (Delusions of the Modern American Boy ). Not wanting to be redundant (hey, I’ve written nearly 350 blog posts over 10 years so it’s hard not to...

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“I am a Gumby…Don’t be a Gumby”

On a weekly basis since 2009 I’ve tried to crank out a new blog post.  While I may have missed a week or two here and there, I think there are nearly 350 of posts on www.shutdownlearner.com, drawing inspiration from kids and families to help generate ideas. Over the...

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