Blog
Trusting Your Mom Intuition
As part of the assessment process I always conduct an interview to get an overview of the issues of concern. When a child is struggling, typically there will be suggestions of disorders that have been raised by different professionals along with opinions offered from...
‘Meat & Potatoes’
Meat & Potatoes: adjective (Informal)- fundamental; down-to-earth; basic (Dictionary.com) This week I said to a mom, “We don’t use any fancy methods with our kids – it’s all very ‘meat and potatoes’.” In...
Struggling, but Not Eligibile
There are two broad categories of children - those that struggle with the acquisition of their fundamental skills (i.e., reading, spelling, writing and mathematics) and those who do not. From where I sit, one of the things that we are not facing sufficiently is how to...
Selznick 9-Point Summer Plan
Summer. We're almost there. You can feel it. The Parent Stress Meter starts to lower by degrees. Every year around this time of year in parent magazines and other related sources, you will see articles like, "Top Tips for Successful Summer Learning" or some variation...
#Dyslexia & the “Reversal Thing”
Not a week goes by that a parent coming in to consult with me about their child does not bring up one of the major mythologies that are out there on dyslexia. Of course, the top one that is almost impossible to shake from our collective consciousness is what I call...
On Writing, Chromebooks & Nubby Pencils
In my office I sometimes feel like I am in an outpost of the galaxy. Messages come in periodically informing us of things going on in the schools, such as, “All the kids are now getting Chromebooks for writing.” Out in my corner of the universe, I just scratch my...
That Place on the Bell-Shaped Curve
There is that place of the bell-shaped curve that is always challenging for schools and clinicians. I call it the “zone of no zone." It’s that area of the curve that technically falls in the “average range,” yet is problematic from a functional point of view. A...
On Finding Waldo & Going “Old School”
Even though we tend to talk about learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD and other school stuff in these blogs, sometimes just talking about the state of modern childhood catches our attention. When kids come in to the office, there is often some down time where I may...
Comprehension Land
This week we move a bit away from “Dyslexia Land,” and go the other side of the continuum to “Comprehension Land.” A few observations about comprehension: It’s really hard to assess properly. What we accept as a “comprehension,” may well be a poorly written story or a...
Self-Advocacy, 504 Plans & #Dyslexia
I first met Rachel for an assessment when she was about 9 years old. A spirited, warm and outgoing girl, Rachel was easy to engage. My testing confirmed that Rachel was dyslexic. Following the evaluation Rachel came to our center and received multisensory...
Finding the Middle Ground
A mom says to me this week, "I'm doing better...I've turned down the nagging." I said, "So, you're watching your ‘M.N.Q.' – the Mother Nag Quotient." She laughed, "Yeah, it seemed to help. He was more motivated and engaged." It's never easy though. So many parents...