Blog
Understanding & Enhancing Comprehension – (Part II)
Last week's post introduced concepts related to reading comprehension. (Enhancing Reading Comprehension: Part I) As previously noted, comprehension is an interactive process. The interaction involves ideas, concepts, images, background experience, fund of knowledge,...
My Worksheet Obsession
I try and find my weekly inspiration from my interactions as they happen from parents and kids. This week’s comes from a seven year old second grader, Jonah, who told me he was not a big fan of school. In fact, he was clear in stating that he “hated it.” I pressed...
Frustration Intolerance: Part II
Last week we talked about a trend that I see in childhood where kids will have major whining events or meltdowns over seemingly small to medium amounts of frustration (discomfort), such as homework. We gave it a name F.I.D or Frustration Intolerance Disorder. Here’s...
Frustration Intolerance Disorder
I don’t know if it’s an official documented trend or not, but there is something that I have seen in kids (boys, in particular). To give it a name, we’ll coin a new term, “Frustration Intolerance Disorder” or F.I.D. FID manifests in many ways, the chief among them...
Lego Brain Kids & Self Esteem
Any of you who have been following this blog for some time or who have read Shut-Down Learner, know that we pay particularly close attention to the kids I have called “Lego Brain Children.” These are children who gravitate to "hands-on" visual thinking activities like...
Not a Broken Bone #Dyslexia #ADHD #LD
Each week (probably every day) of my professional life, I grapple with the concerns that parents bring to me. Usually, they involve questions of learning disability, dyslexia and ADHD/ADD. Why grappling? I mean, I’ve been in this business a while. Shouldn’t it be a...
On 504 Plans & Finding the Right Accommodation
Many people come in inquiring about a 504 Plan for their child. It’s important to know what you are seeking. With 504 plans (which come out of Americans with Disabilities Act legislation or ADA , we are saying that the child has a disability and needs to have...
Draining the Joy of #Reading
I’m not exactly sure when it occurred, when we collectively decided to drain the joy out of reading in early childhood, but it happened some time ago perhaps when we weren’t looking. The expression about the frog being boiled by degrees so he won’t jump out of...
Our Explanations of Child Behavior
Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s because I think back to an era where kids were rarely on medication even if their behavior was a bit off. Maybe it’s because of the lens through which I see kids. Parents will have lots of theories about their child’s behavior, often linked...
Explaining #Dyslexia at Dinner
My wife and I were out for dinner with another couple, both of whom were in the medical field with lots of years of experience. They were curious about my recently presenting as a keynote speaker at the Decoding Dyslexia conference in Utah. “So, Rich, what percentage...
Just Do Your ‘Personal Best’
Kids are frequently told a lot that they need to be doing their “personal best.” Doesn’t that seem like an unfair standard? Are you doing your “personal best?” If I were honest about it (and I would like not to be), I think I have failed at my personal best every...