Blog
Inside Out 2 Helps Kids Label Their Emotions – Is That a Good Thing?
Is it healthy to label emotions, or are we over-clinicalizing childhood?
A Little Dose of Patience (“Vitamin P”)
"Vitamin P" A five year old boy I evaluated recently, Ari, seemed very sweet, although perhaps a little on the shy and a awkward side. After I tested Ari, when I told his mom my largely positive impressions of her son, one of the things she was very concerned about...
The Decade of Dyslexia
Every decade has a new emphasis. In the mid 1970's "learning disability" was a scalding hot term. Following the 1970s, ADHD was the topic of the decade. This was followed by autism (or children "on the spectrum”). We are now in the decade of "dyslexia." Not very...
Direct Instruction?
A mom called this week to talk to me about the school district offering a computer program (“Orton-Gillingham based, was the claim) that was providing “direct instruction.” The mom questioned whether the program was "direct instruction," as the school was telling her...
“Cool Anger:” Putting Yourself in Time Out
What’s the number one parenting tool used by 99% of the modern parents, that’s 99% ineffective? Yelling!!! Yep, it’s our "go to" parenting strategy. It’s our fallback, our parental comfort zone when our kids are getting on our nerves, crossing boundaries, breaking...
When You Start to Get Nervous
It is usually when the child emerges from preschool or kindergarten that parents (typically moms) start to notice some things that are concerning. Frequently, they bring these concerns up with the child's pediatrician or with the school. The typical message that they...
“The Skill of…”
I like using the phrase “the skill of ________________” when talking to parents about various kid issues. Using the phrase helps guide parents in terms of what they are targeting and helps a child to move forward. Some time ago a friend of mine trained her kids...
The Under-Functioning/Over-Functioning Dance We Do
13 Year Old, 7th Grade Boy - Composite Profile: Engrossed in screens – Video games, YouTube, Instagram, iPad, etc., etc. Poor time management.. Low level study skills and organizational skills. Variability of academic performance/under-functioning. “Socializing” on...
Getting Beyond the IQ
I recently had the pleasure of facilitating a webinar sponsored with the Dyslexia Training Institute called "Assessment Boot Camp for Parents." (You can still register for the webinar and listen in your own time by going to this link...
Selznick 10 Point Summer Plan
It's that time of year, the time where parents start to let their guard down, but at the same time they stress over what they should be doing with their children to keep them academically on track in the summer. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind for the summer:...
Boredom Intolerance
Does your child have “BID (Boredom Intolerance Disorder)?” Don’t Google it or look it up on WebMd. I made it up. Let’s look at boredom intolerance. To start, If 100 kids (or adults for that matter) were asked, “How many of you would like to take part in a boring...