Blog
Getting a Roadmap – The Stages of Reading Development (Part 2 of 2)
Regardless of whether the child does or does not have a learning disability, the concept is that a child is somewhere on a continuum from the first stage through to the final stages.
Socializing in the Modern World
Most of us say, say over the age of 40, have in their mind a recollection of things like playing outside with friends for hours on end. Being inside was to be avoided at all costs. Not only that, being inside meant you were in proximity of your parents, and really,...
Travels in 3rd Grade Boy Brain: On the Rougher Side of the Road
It’s not easy being a kid. It’s particularly tough if you’re one of those types that are on the rougher side of the road. If you’re one of those types you have lots of people getting irritated with you or making fun of you. Let’s travel in George’s brain for a little...
504 Plan Musings
“504” plans have been so much on the school landscape for many years that we forget that the “504” did not originate with schools. 504 is part of the ADA (Americans With Disability Act) federal legislation. The guiding principle of 504 is that reasonable...
“If Only You Would Just Try Harder”
When it comes to kids and their various issues, it’s very hard for us to get past certain notions. An ongoing one is the notion that the child is just “not paying attention enough,” and that the child just needs to try harder and everything would be ok. This...
20 Reasons Kids Don’t Pay Attention
In no particular order here are 20 reasons why kids don’t pay attention: Perhaps the work is too hard. There may be are far too many worksheets – perhaps the kid has worksheet burnout. Maybe the kid is asked to write when he has little capacity to even write a...
How is #Dyslexia Screening Different From Other Assessments?
TThere is much talk these days about screening for dyslexia. Businesses are scrambling to put forth the product that schools will purchase so that they are compliant with emerging screening legislation. Perhaps less important than the actual test is understanding how...
Special Ed Compromises: Reducing the ‘SEFF’
I own a kayak. Sometimes I think that if I only had a longer kayak, I would go faster. If I had a longer boat though, then I would have less stability. If I got a pedal kayak, then I could probably fish easier. But, then I’d give up the satisfaction that comes...
Homework Woes: Sidestepping the Control Battles
Ah, homework woes. The homework temperature rises across the country starting around 4:00 on the east coast steadily going out across the time zones. As a chief strategy, parents tend to adopt punishing postures with homework resistant children. Largely, this approach...
On the Inference Road : “Reading Between the Lines”
There is a great deal of emphasis these days on “decoding” development, but there is another side to the coin, often overlooked. It is the side that involves the child’s understanding of what she has read. “Comprehension” is very difficult to teach well and is...
Beating Back the Kryptonite (#word problems)
Last week we talked about “marginally ready” children, the ones falling just under the radar screen, who have just enough skill to get themselves in the “average range,” but who limp along every year with many unresolved issues. For marginally ready kids, there are...