Blog
“Does Spelling Matter – Part II” (#Dyselxia)
Last week we raised the question of whether spelling matters (,https://shutdownlearner.com/does-spelling-matter-2/), as the issue of struggling spellers is often dismissed since there are a variety of spell check tools available. Almost always, struggling spelling is...
Deep Breathing Down the Jangly Road
By the upper elementary school grades, parents are given the message from the school that their child needs to do school work on his or her own without the parental support that was offered in previous grades. For many children, that's exactly what should be...
Dyslexia: It Comes From Some Place
A very common question that parents will ask me of their child who is showing signs of dyslexia is “Why? Where does it come from?” As suggested in International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia it states that it is likely to be of “neurobiological origin.”...
5,000 Tweets & Counting: A Milestone Is Reached!
This week I glanced at my Twitter page and found that I was at 4,999 total tweets! Over the 5,000 tweets there are themes that emerged that are fairly consistent. These themes were summed up in my book, School Struggles, but I thought they would be nice here as a...
Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up – An Interview With Dr. Braaten
Franklin, age 8, can build wonderful Lego cities. A creative and thoughtful child, he is also a wealth of information when it comes to anything about nature - he can talk about swamps like no one’s business. The problem is Franklin is having trouble keeping up in...
Dyslexia in the New Year: Trying to Stay Away from the “New School Year Blues”
It’s that time again. Another summer slips away. They just don’t make them like they used to. Soon you will be bombarded soon by all of “top tips for having your child to have a great school year.” They will be in all of the magazines and the evening news. Even...
“Lost at Sea:” Executive Function Weaknesses
Every 10 years or so in education and psychology there is a trendy hot topic or new term that was essentially unheard of the previous decade. Before learning disabilities became a hot term in the 1970s, these were virtually unknown in the public. The same was true...
Language Overload: “Daddy’s Tied Up in Traffic”
Many struggling kids have considerable trouble with facets of the language that many of us take for granted. Take Allison, age 8. One night Allison was told by her mother that her father was, “tied up in traffic.” Allison burst into tears. “Why is daddy being tied...
#Socializing in the 21st Century
Eli’s parents are concerned. They think that their twelve-year-old child lacks social skills, as they rarely see kids coming to the house or calling on the telephone. Eli, himself, seems not to be concerned. He thinks he has lots of friends and plays with them all the...
Direct Instruction vs. In-Class Support
When I ask parents of children who are struggling with reading what is being done to correct the problem, I frequently hear something like, “he’s getting in-class support.” When pressed further to explain what remedial method is being used, I usually don’t get much...
“My Child is in Early Stage I of Reading Development: What Do I Do?”
Stage I of reading development (Google, Jeanne Chall) typically corresponds to the end of kindergarten through the end of first grade. This is the first major "learning to read" stage. Your child usually starts Stage I when they can do the following: Recognize all...