Blog
Does Spelling Matter?
Georgia is a lively, spontaneous and friendly 10-year- old student entering the fifth grade. Cognitive testing placed her between the average to above average range for most of the domains assessed. Spelling and writing were a different story for her. Here are some...
Dear School Districts: I Beg of You, Please Stop Doing This
Dear School Districts: I know that you are under a lot of pressure these days. There’s tons of regulation coming down the pike – Common Core, Student Growth Initiatives, PARCC and all sorts of other initiatives. I really do try and be understanding. I used to work...
Part III: Anger: You Can’t Make Me” Depleting Emotional Fuel
Maybe I am pulling for it by writing these blogs about anger (see last two blog posts: https://shutdownlearner.com/blog), but lately I’ve had a run of angry kids. While the content varies in terms of the specifics of each case, there are commonalities: 1) The...
Anger You Can’t Make Me: Part II. Depleting Emotional Fuel
In a recent blog post I discussed how anger can be depleting a child from the necessary emotional fuel to manage school https://shutdownlearner.com/blog/2015/03/anger-you-cant-make-me-depleting-emotional-fuel. Many of the typical “ADHD” style behaviors such as...
Anger: “You Can’t Make Me” – Depleting Emotional Fuel
What do these behaviors sound like to you? · Not handing in homework consistently · Responsibility avoidance · Procrastination · Not able to sustain mental effort · Forgetful I bet you are thinking something like ADHD, of the inattentive variety, or some form of...
“And the Beat Goes On…And the Beat Goes On”
Directions to Child on Worksheet: Look back and Write: Look back at the question on page 99. Think about the most important events that happened in the story. Now write a response to the question. Be sure to include details from a story to support your answer....
“OT” for Writing: Step One – What’s Next?
When children struggle with written expression, “OT,” or Occupational Therapy appears to be the go to recommendation that is often given. Writing has been shown to be the single most complex skill domain of the academic process. The following quote from...
Why Screen for Dyslexia?
Why Screen for Dyslexia? I continue to be amazed by the amount of misinformation out there on dyslexia related reading disabilities. Over the next few weeks I’m going to try and tackle some of the issues that are involved with screening and assessment. ...
ADHD Larry and His Weekly Report Card
I met a mom and her kid this week, a wiry nine year old giving the teacher the usual amount of stuff typically attributed to ADHD. You know, calling out when he is not supposed to; talking too much; rushing through his work – those sorts of things. It sounded like...
Dyslexia Screening & Other Updates
Hi Gang: A little news and updates: Dyslexia Screening Book Released I’m excited to announce the release of my new book, “Dyslexia Screening: Essential Concepts For Schools and Parents.” In paperback, the book is available through www.shutdownlearner.com and will soon...
“But, Does She Have Dyslexia?”
Lauren is an 8 year old child in the first half of the third grade who I recently evaluated, just before the start of her school year. My evaluation found Lauren to be a somewhat inefficient reader, although almost all of the scores obtained on her fell solidly in an...