Blog
Interview with Betty B. Osman, Author: “No One to Play With: The Social Side of Learning Disabilities”
A number of years ago - time does fly by - I was the host of a podcast show that was a part of The Coffee Klatch Network, Special Needs Talk Radio. In that role, I had the honor of interviewing some of the top names in the field. I thought it would be fun to revisit...
ADHD KRYPTONITE: THE LUNCHROOM & the PLAYGROUND
Scene 1: The Lunch Room – Jack’s Brain “Gee, it’s so wild and noisy in here. Everybody’s throwing stuff. Haha. Jake is so good at putting food in his nose. Maybe I’ll try that too.”...
MY HEAD IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE HEARING THESE THINGS!
Modern parents make you nostalgic for the good old days. You know, the days when children went outside to play and basically didn’t see their mother for a solid 8 hours (except when she made you a nutritious bologna on Wonderbread sandwich, before your ran back...
MESSAGES FROM THE LIFE BOATS
Last week we talked about the "Curriculm Ship" that leaves the dock in September, plowing forward until it reaches its destiny. That some have fallen off the ship appears to be immaterial. The ship must proceed. The blog generated a fair...
All Aboard the Curriculum Ship
Is your child falling off the "Curriculum Ship?" The Curriculum Ship leaves the dock in early September and keeps going forward until middle to late June, arriving at port somewhere on the other side of the ocean. This is not a ship that slows down, even if...
OLD SCHOOL CONCEPT #2: INSTRUCTIONAL LEVELS
Last week I reminded us of an “old school” educational concept that isn’t talked about as much as I think it should be – “task analysis.” (www.shutdownlearner.com/blog) This week’s old school concept is Instructional...
OLD SCHOOL CONCEPT #1: TASK ANALYSIS
There are a number of old school concepts in education that I don’t hear much about any more that I think still apply. “Task analysis” is one of them. With task analysis the idea is that any end point task that you want someone to master should...
REPORT FROM THE FRUA CONFERENCE
This past weekend it was my honor to be a presenter at the two-day FRUA (Families for Russian & Ukrainian Adoption: www.frua.org) conference, held at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A range of speakers covered a variety of different...
HOWARD BEALE – WHERE ARE YOU?
Well, here I am listening to another parent story. No, it’s not actually me in the picture, but it certainly feels like me at the moment. This picture is taken from the movie “Network,” where Howard Beale (Peter Finch) a newscaster goes on nightly rants fed up with...
LITTLE REMORSE AND NOT MUCH COMPASSION EITHER
As part of a typical assessment battery that I conduct with young adults (16 years and older), they are asked to define certain words. One of the more curious trends that I’ve observed in recent years is the difficulty that these young adults have defining two...
17,000 TEXT MESSAGES THIS MONTH – “I Can Multitask!”
Kiera, age 16, has had a rough year in school. After receiving grades of D’s and F’s in most of her major subjects, Kiera’s parents have brought her to a variety of specialists. Different medications were prescribed and tried. "Train the...