Blog
“Double Check Your Hypotheses & Theories” (#Child Behavior)
While meeting with parents to discuss the concerns they have regarding their children’s struggling, numerous hypotheses and theories are often offered as to why children do what they do. Typically, the theories are linked to medical explanations, in other words...
Brief Tip #3: Getting Clear on Dyslexia
Ask anyone you know what they think of dyslexia and they will invariably answer by stating, “Isn’t that when you read upside down and backwards.” Well, I have assessed thousands of kids I believe are “dyslexic” and have...
Brief Tip #2: Get Clear On Your Focus With Reading Remediation
Know What You Are Targeting There are essentially two types of reading problems. In the first type, the child has trouble decoding words and reading fluently. In the second, the child can read fluently, but has difficulty understanding what is read. If you are seeking...
Musings From Happy Hour – Happy Birthday Mel!
It’s funny how things come together. Friday afternoon I was partaking in end of the week “Happy Hour” at a local sports bar with Patrick Flanigan (see Patrick interview pg. 115 in Shut-Down Learner.) Also at the bar by chance was the father of Alex...
Brief Shut-Down Learner Tip #1: Trust Your Gut
Brief Shut-Down Learner Tip #1: Trust Your Gut Listen Up, moms! If you believe your child is having difficulty, listen to yourself. Don’t fall for statements such as, “You know how boys are,” or “She’ll grow out of it.” Act on your...
No One to Play With
When I was coming up in this field as a young psychologist, I got my first job at the Hill Top Preparatory School, a renowned private school in the Philadelphia suburbs specializing in adolescents with learning disabilities. Different than reading any chapter in a...
Nonverbal Learning Disability – “NLD” in a Nutshell
Terminology in the field of psychology and education can be very off-putting. Too often jargon is tossed around that few people really understand. My test for jargon would be if the average person on the street doesn’t know what a term means, then it...
BRDD: Boy Reading Deficit Disorder
You're a 12 year old boy. Let's say you have three hours (or more) to kill. Which would you rather do, entertain your superhero fantasies, kill a gazillion bad guys, and perhaps save the world, or read a book? While I haven't conducted this research study, I would...
“Hot Cross Buns” & Dolly Madison
Recently I did a workshop called, Bullies, Victims and Parents: A Complicated Brew. Never one to be shy on offering my opinions, I sometimes find myself going against current "political correctness." When I presented my notion that we try and help the...
WINNING THE BATTLE BUT LOSING THE WAR
Sometimes parents are living in Dreamy-Dream Land when it comes to accommodations and 504 Plans. They come up with all these schemes and interventions that may make some sense (although often it doesn’t) on paper, but in reality the child wants no part of the...
WAS THIS A PROBLEM THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVERTED?
A mom of a fifth grade child, Alison, who had some reading issues (decoding, fluency, etc.) asked, "Was this a problem that could have been averted? My answer: "There are essentially two categories of kids. In the first category, these kids get out of...