Educator: marzo 2011

miércoles, 30 de marzo de 2011

lunes, 21 de marzo de 2011

Toys Great For Allowing Creativity To Blossom

Most children have little trouble expressing their creativity. Just ask any mother who has had to clean crayons and markers off of a freshly painted wall. Providing toys that allow your child to get creative encourage imagination and allow her to learn by doing.

Creativity isn't just about artwork. It can be expressed in a number of ways. Here are some of the best toys for encouraging creativity in your child.

Building Toys

Blocks of any kind are great for kids of all ages. They can be used to build almost anything your child can imagine. Legos allow kids to make more durable masterpieces, but it's important to get the big ones for children who still like to put things in their mouths.

There are also other types of building toys, such as the magnetic K'nex, that allow greater flexibility and different ways to build. There are even kits that allow older kids to build their own remote control cars. [Find Building Toys]

Art Toys

Drawing is a favorite activity for many children. You can encourage your budding artist by giving her toys that make it easy to express herself. Washable markers make messes more bearable. Magnetic drawing boards, Etch-a-Sketches, and other toys that allow drawing without using crayons or markers eliminate the mess altogether and are great for travel.

Finger paint is a favorite of young artists, but it can be messy. Letting your kids indulge in it once in a while is good for them, and with some preparation you can avoid any permanent damage. Smocks and lots of newspaper will protect their clothes and your table. [Find Art Toys]

Musical Toys

Music is a wonderful learning tool for children, and it's even better when they make it themselves. You can find durable toy instruments for even the youngest budding musician. Babies love plastic tambourines, maracas and xylophones. Toddlers and preschoolers can play a kazoo or recorder. If your child expresses great interest in the piano, beginner piano lessons might be a good investment.

Children who love to sing might enjoy a karaoke machine. There are also microphones that do special effects so your little singer can sound like a pro. And there are lots of sing-a-long CDs, DVDs, and toys available. [Find Musical Toys]

Craft Kits

There are all sorts of crafts that kids can do. Kits that come with everything needed for a specific craft project make crafting easy. You could buy individual craft items and let your kids' imaginations take over.

Creativity comes naturally for kids. Giving them toys that help them express themselves is a great way to encourage them to do so. Kids who are allowed to be creative often have a greater interest in learning and as a result they are more likely to do their best in school and life. [Find Craft Toys]

Click on a tag to find related articles on our site: creativity, educational toys, intellectual development, play

Parent Tool Kit: More Information & Resources

Tips For Helping Kids and Teens With Homework and Study Habits

Certain key practices will make life easier for everyone in the family when it comes to study time and study organization. However, some of them may require an adjustment for other members of the family.
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Turn off the TV set. Make a house rule, depending on the location of the set, that when it is study time, it is "no TV" time. A television set that is on will draw youngsters like bees to honey.

What about the radio? Should it be on or off? Contrary to what many specialists say, some youngsters do seem to function all right with the radio turned on to a favorite music station. (Depending on the layout of your house or apartment, maybe an investment in earphones would be worthy of consideration.)

Certain rules should be set about the family phone during study hours. The more people in the household, the more restrictions on long and unnecessary phone calls are needed. A timer, placed next to the phone, can help to control the length of calls so that the telephone will be available if it becomes necessary to call a schoolmate to confirm an assignment or discuss particularly difficult homework.

Designate specific areas for homework and studying. Possibilities include the child's room or the kitchen or dining room table. Eliminate as much distraction as possible.

Since many young people will study in their own rooms, function becomes more important than beauty. Most desks for young people really don't have sufficient space to spread out materials. A table that allows for all necessary supplies such as pencils, pens, paper, books, and other essentials works extremely well.

Consider placing a bulletin board in your child's room. Your local hardware store sells wallboard that might not look too pretty and isn't framed, but a 4 x 3'section is inexpensive and perfect on which to post pertinent school items. You might want to paint or cover it with burlap to improve its appearance or let your child take on this project.

Encourage the use of a small book or pad for writing down assignments so that there is no confusion about when certain assignments must be turned in to the teacher.

Keeping general supplies on hand is important. Check with your child about his needs. In fact, make it his responsibility to be well supplied with paper, pencils, note pads, notebook paper, et cetera.

Regularity is a key factor in academic success. Try to organize the household so that supper is served at a standard time, and once it and family discussions are over, it's time to crack the books. If the student doesn't have other commitments and gets home reasonably early from school, some homework can be done before supper.

Consider you child's developmental level when setting the amount of time for homework. While high school students can focus for over an hour, first-graders are unlikely to last more than 15 minutes on a single task. Allow your child to take breaks, perhaps as a reward for finishing a section of the work.

Organize study and homework projects. Get a large calendar, one that allows space for jotting down things in the daily boxes. Rip it apart so that you (and the child) can sequentially mount the school months for the current semester. For example, you can tear off September, October, November, December, and January and mount them from left to right across one wall. Have the child use a bold color writing instrument (felt tip pen) to mark exam dates in one color, reports that are coming due in a different color, et cetera. This will serve as a reminder so that things aren't set aside until the last dangerous moment.

Teach your child that studying is more than just doing homework assignments. One of the most misunderstood aspects of schoolwork is the difference between studying and doing homework assignments. Encourage your child to do things like:

take notes as he's reading a chapter
learn to skim material
learn to study tables and charts
learn to summarize what he has read in his own words
learn to make his own flashcards for quick review of dates, formulas, spelling words, et cetera

Note-taking is a critical skill and should be developed. Many students don't know how to take notes in those classes that require them. Some feel they have to write down every word the teacher says. Others have wisely realized the value of an outline form of note-taking. Well prepared teachers present their material in a format that lends itself to outline form note taking..

Should notes ever be rewritten? In some cases, they should be, particularly if a lot of material was covered, and the youngster had to write quickly but lacks speed and organization. Rewriting notes takes time, but it can be an excellent review of the subject matter. However, rewriting notes isn't worth the time unless they are used for review and recall of important information.

A home dictionary is essential, but if it is kept on a shelf to gather dust, it won't do anyone any good. Keep it in an accessible place and let your child see you refer to it from time to time. If the family dictionary is kept in the living room and the child studies in his room, get him an inexpensive dictionary for his exclusive use.

Good dictionary, encyclopedia and organizational skills depend on the ability to alphabetize. See if your child's teacher practices alphabetizing in class. Try alphabetizing spelling words, family members' names or a few favorite toys at home as a way of practicing.

Help your child to feel confident for tests. Taking tests can be a traumatic experience for some students. Explain to your child that burning the midnight oil (cramming) the night before a test is not productive. Better to get a good night's sleep. Students also need reminding that when taking a test, they should thoroughly and carefully read the directions before they haphazardly start to mark their test papers. They should be advised to skip over questions for which they don't know the answers. They can always return to those if there's time. Good advice for any student before taking a test: take a deep breath, relax, and dive in. Always bring an extra pencil just in case.

During a homework session, watch for signs of frustration. No learning can take place and little can be accomplished if the child is angry or upset over an assignment that is too long or too difficult. At such times the parent may have to step in and simply halt the homework for that night, offering to write a note to the teacher explaining the situation and perhaps requesting a conference to discuss the quality and length of homework assignments.

Should parents help with homework? Yes-if it is clearly productive to do so, such as calling out spelling words or checking a math problem that won't prove. No-if it is something the child can clearly handle himself and learn from the process. And help and support should always be calmly and cheerfully given. Grudging help is worse than no help at all!

Read directions, or check over math problems after your child has completed the work. Remember to make positive comments - you don't want your child to associate homework with fights at home.

Model research skills by involving your child in planning a family trip. Help your child locate your destination on a map or atlas. Use traditional encyclopedia or a CD-ROM to find information about the place you will visit; try the Internet or books in the library.

How best to handle report cards? To save shocks and upsets, gently discuss from time to time "how things are going at school- with your child. Something casual, such as "How did the math test go?" "How did you do on the history report?" "How's your science project coming along? Need any help?" are questions that aren't "third degree" but indicate interest. Find out if it is a policy at your child's school to send out "warning notices" when work isn't going well. Generally, such notices require the parent's signature to verify that the parent has, indeed, been alerted. This is the time to contact the teacher of the course, along with your child, to learn what the difficulty may be. If such notices aren't sent, then grades on projects and reports and from tests may be the sole source of information short of what your child wishes to share. Be tuned in to statements such as "He's an awful teacher," "She goes too fast," etc. This may be the child's way of indicating frustration in understanding content or lack of study time with the subject. However, be cautious in contacting teachers without your child's approval or interest. It may disrupt good feelings between you and make you seem to be interfering and spying

Songs Help Teach Reading

I discovered this when I was a student teacher thirty-one years ago, and it still works: kids love to read the words of songs they sing.

By the time a child is five years old, he has memorized the words of many songs. Use that to his advantage by writing down the words and helping him to follow along with them as he sings. Use your finger to point to each word as it is sung.

When I was teaching junior high school English, I had a tough group that usually couldn’t wait until the bell rang at the end of the period. But on one particular day, I had typed and copied the words of several Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. When the bell rang, they were singing and reading; they didn’t want to leave until the song was over!

This is a springboard for your beginning reader. Take the time to write down the words. If you are singing with a CD, use the lyrics sheet that comes with it. Then sing the song together.

Yes, at first your child is singing words that have been memorized. It is true that there may be little or no actual reading. In that respect, it looks like the Whole Language approach to teaching reading.

But you can easily move it to a phonics approach and have your child identify letters that make the sounds he is singing.

Let’s say, for example, that you are singing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Look at the title. Which word is Mary? How do you know that? Most children will look at the first letter of the word. It’s the only word that starts with “m.” Make the sounds of the other letters in the word. Explain that the “y” frequently makes the “ee” sound at the end of words.

You don’t have to go over each word in this way, but you will find that after a while, your child will have shifted from singing words that are memorized to being able to read the words in isolation.

This article has been incorporated and expanded in Teach Your Children Well: A Teacher’s Advice for Parents. This article is reprinted with the author's permission.

About Dyslexia & Reading Problems

Developmental dyslexia is a condition related to poor reading. Children with dyslexia have difficulty learning to read due to one or more information processing problems such as visual perceptual or auditory perceptual deficits. Many but not all children with dyslexia have difficulty with reversals of numbers, letters or words. New research points the way to specific methods of instruction that can help anyone learn to read well no matter what the underlying problem may be. Following the links will provide interesting new information as well as extremely effective solutions for all types of reading problems including developmental dyslexia.

What is dyslexia?

Children who have an average or above IQ and are reading 1 1/2 grades or more below grade level may be dyslexic. True dyslexia affects about 3 to 6 percent of the population yet in some parts of the country up to 50% of the students are not reading at grade level. This means that the reason for most children not reading at grade level is ineffective reading instruction. The dyslexic child often suffers from having a specific learning disability as well as being exposed to ineffective instruction.

Children may have dyslexia or a learning disability if they have one or more of the following symptoms:

Letter or word reversals when reading. (Such as was/saw, b/d, p/q).
Letter or word reversals when writing.
Difficulty repeating what is said to them.
Poor handwriting or printing ability.
Poor drawing ability.
Reversing letters or words when spelling words that are presented orally.
Difficulty comprehending written or spoken directions.
Difficulty with right - left directionality.
Difficulty understanding or remembering what is said to them.
Difficulty understanding or remembering what they have just read.
Difficulty putting their thoughts on paper.

Children with dyslexia do not exhibit these symptoms due to poor vision or hearing but because of brain dysfunction. The eyes and ears are working properly but the lower centers of the brain scramble the images or sounds before they reach the higher (more intelligent) centers of the brain. This causes confusion as well as frustration for the learner.

When a child is having difficulty learning, a comprehensive neurodevelopmental exam is important. This includes testing of hearing, vision, neurological development, coordination, visual perception, auditory perception, intelligence, and academic achievement.

Often, perception problems can be helped with simple exercises which either help to improve a specific problem or teach techniques to compensate for a problem. These often can be done at home. In a few cases, a referral to an educational or speech therapist may be helpful.

What causes dyslexia and reading problems?

The main reasons for reading problems are:

Ineffective reading instruction
Auditory perception difficulties
Visual perception difficulties
Language processing difficulties

Over 180 research studies to date have proven that phonics is the BEST WAY to teach reading to all students. They also have shown that phonics is the ONLY WAY to teach reading to students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

Unfortunately, 80% of our nations schools do not use an intensified phonics approach for reading instruction. They either use the whole word (see & say) approach or a cursory use of phonics along with the whole word method.

While most people can learn to read using the whole word approach, it is not the best way to learn. It teaches through memorization of word pictures and guessing. Unlike Chinese or Japanese which are picture languages, the English language is a phonetic language. With the exception of the United States which dropped phonics in the 1930's, all other countries that have a phonetic language, teach reading through phonics.

There are only 44 sounds while there are about 1 million words in English. These facts readily explain why having to memorize 44 sounds as opposed to memorizing hundreds of thousands of words is the most efficient way to learn to read.

Reading and writing is simply "talking on paper." Children learn to talk by imitating sounds and then combining the sounds to form words. The brain is programmed to learn language in this fashion. Therefore, the most efficient way to learn to read is through phonics because it teaches children to read the same way they learned to talk. [Click Here For Latest Brain Research Related To Learning To Read]

Children and adults who do not learn to read through an intensive phonics program often have one or more of the following symptoms:

Below grade level reading achievement
Slow reading
Poor comprehension
Fatigue after reading only for a short while
Poor spelling skills
Lack of enjoyment from reading

Some children have auditory discrimination problems. This may have been the result of having chronic ear infections when they were young. Others may be born with this learning disability. Correction involves educational exercises to train the brain in discrimination and to over teach the formation of the sounds used in speaking and reading.

Another group of children have visual perception problems. They may actually reverse letters or words. They have difficulty matching the word image on the page with a previously stored image in their brain. Exercises that train the brain to "see" more accurately may help but instruction with phonics is the best approach to overcome this problem.

Language development problems can contribute to poor reading and listening comprehension along with difficulty in verbal and written expression. Learning appropriate word attack skills through phonics along with special help in receptive and/or expressive language skills improves this type of learning disability.

Helping Children With Reversals

It is not unusual for children to reverse letters and words when they read or write up to the age of 6 or 7. This is due to immaturity in brain development. Children who have problems with reversals usually also have problems with left-right directionality. Below are some exercises that have been found to help improve directionality and reduce reversals.
Symptoms:

Spatial confusion - unable to differentiate left-right, on self, other, or paper.

Confuses letter pairs as b-d, m-w, p-q. Confuses words such as was-saw, on-no.

Remediation:

Simplify tasks so only one new discrimination is made at a time.
Make each simple discrimination automatic before the next one is introduced. Overteach 'b", then overteach 'd", before presenting both together.
Each discrimination that causes repeated errors should be worked with by itself until the problem is overcome.
Trace, then write, the confused letter or word and pronounce it as written.
Use short frequent practice periods. Lengthen the time between practice sessions as the material is retained.
If the child is confused about his own left/right, use a ring, watch, ribbon or band on his writing arm. Color cue side of desk or paper or word as a starting place.
Gradually increase the difficulty of material to discriminate. If errors are made, go back to simpler practice.
Suggestions for Improving Laterality:

Trace hands on paper. Label "right," "left."
Play "Simon Says" - "Touch right foot; raise left hand," etc.
Child follows the directions in drawing lines up, down, right to left, etc. and in touching parts of body.
Child connects dots on blackboard to make a completed pattern; repeats process on paper.
Child shows hands in sequence pattern: left, right, left, right, etc. Use marching as a variation.
Child names objects on right and on left. He moves to different parts of the room and repeats.
Arrange story pictures in sequence, left to right.
Use lined paper for writing.
Use weighted wristband to designate right or left hand.
Tracing activities, left to right. Mark left with small "x." Use color tracing to repeat.
When beginning writing the lessons, teach the child to begin as close to left edge of sheet as possible (then can move only toward the right).
In reading, use markers, "windows," and other left-to-right directional aids.

Educational Benefits of Providing Toys To Children

Kids love toys. If you have any doubts about that, just take a child into a toy store. She will probably find a number of things that she feels she just can't live without.
Toys are more than just fun and games for kids. Most toys provide at least some opportunity for children to learn. The best toys engage a child's senses, spark their imaginations and encourage them to interact with others.

Babies and Toys

Babies are eager to learn about the world around them, and they have much to learn. Every new shape, color, texture, taste and sound is a learning experience for them. Giving your baby toys that are safe and stimulating will help him discover his senses.

Rattles and toys that make music are favorites of infants. Toys with contrasting colors are fascinating to babies and stimulate their developing vision. As they grow, infants can use toys to explore object permanence and cause and effect relationships. They also need objects such as blocks to help them build motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Toys for Toddlers

Toddlers can play with a wider variety of toys than they did when they were smaller. They might still enjoy some of the toys they played with as babies, and that's fine. The same blocks they played with a year or two ago can provide them with new and different educational opportunities as their knowledge expands. But they also need toys that are designed with kids their age in mind.

Shape sorters are great for toddlers. They teach them how to match similar items and provide parents the opportunity to teach them the names of the shapes. Lego blocks provide an opportunity to learn more about colors and symmetry while they develop their motor skills.

Toys for Preschool and School-Aged Children

When children reach preschool age, it's time to start learning about letters, numbers and language skills. There are lots of toys that encourage this type of learning, from simple alphabet puzzles to high-tech electronic gadgets. These can give your child a head start by introducing her to the things she will be learning in school.

Kids who are in school can supplement their learning with fun and educational toys. Giving them the opportunity to have fun while practicing the things they are learning in school will increase their retention of those things. And when your child finds an educational toy she really likes, she will be more likely to play with it, reinforcing the things she has learned.

Children can learn a lot from playing. When you give your child educational toys and play with them with her, it gives her a chance to bond with you, learn, and have fun at the same time. And making education enjoyable will help your child retain the things she learns and develop a positive attitude toward learning.

Resources For Parents of Gifted Children

Parents of gifted children know raising these kids is both a blessing and a children. This page contains two essays which provide valuable understanding of how to provide the support and guidance needed by gifted children. The page also contains links to resources including organizations, recommended books and stores selling educational toys and materials for gifted kids and teens.

How Parents Can Support Gifted Children

by Linda Kreger Silverman

Resources

Raising and nurturing a gifted child can be an exciting yet daunting challenge. Unfortunately, these complicated little people do not come with instruction manuals. The following new definition of giftedness highlights the complexity of raising gifted children.

"Giftedness is 'asynchronous development' in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. This asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally." (The Columbus Group, 1991, in Morelock, 1992)
"Asynchrony" means being out of sync, both internally an externally. "Asynchronous development" means that gifted children develop cognitively at a much faster rate than they develop physically and emotionally, posing some interesting problems. For example, ideas forged by 8-year-old minds may be difficult to produce with 5-year-old hands. Further, advanced cognition often makes gifted children aware of information that they are not yet emotionally ready to handle. They tend to experience all of life with greater intensity, rendering them emotionally complex. These children usually do not fit the developmental norms for their age; they have more advanced play interests and often are academically far ahead of their age peers. The brighter the child, the greater the asynchrony and potential vulnerability. Therefore, parents who are aware of the inherent developmental differences of their children can prepare themselves to act as their advocates.

Recognition

Some of the earliest signs of giftedness include:

unusual alertness in infancy
less need for sleep in infancy
long attention span
high activity level
smiling or recognizing caretakers early
intense reactions to noise, pain, frustration
advanced progression through the developmental milestones
extraordinary memory
enjoyment and speed of learning
early and extensive language development
fascination with books
curiosity
excellent sense of humor
abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills
vivid imagination (e.g., imaginary companions)
sensitivity and compassion

If a child exhibits a majority of these characteristics, parents may wish to have the child assessed by an experienced examiner to find out if the child is gifted. Firstborn children tend to be recognized more often than their siblings. When one child in the family is gifted, it is quite possible that others may also be gifted. Early identification is recommended (ages 3 through 8) because it permits early intervention, as important for gifted as for any other children with special needs.

Responsive Parenting

Children learn first from their parents. Parents who spend time with their gifted child are more able to tune in to their child's interests and respond by offering appropriate educational enrichment opportunities. It is important that parents read to their children frequently, even when the children are capable of reading to themselves. In the early years, parents can help their children discover their personal interests, expose their children to their own interests, and encourage their children to learn about a wide variety of subjects such as art, nature, music, museums, and sports. Children who are attracted to a particular area need opportunities to explore that field in depth. Home stimulation and support of interests is vital to the development of talents. Following the lead of the child will help the child flourish.

Family Relationships

Gifted children often can exhaust and overwhelm a new mother and father. Gifted infants often sleep less than other babies and require extra stimulation when they are awake. It is helpful to have extended family in the home, grandparents who live nearby, a close community of friends or relatives, or a teenager in the neighborhood who can spend some time with the child so that the primary caretakers can get some rest to do other things. For single parents, such support is particularly important. From the time they can talk, gifted children are constantly asking questions and often challenge authority. "Do it because I said so" doesn't work with these children. Generally, parents who take the time to explain requests get more cooperation than do more authoritarian parents. If these children are spoken to and listened to with consideration and respect, they tend to respond respectfully.

As children get older, a family meeting can be a good way of sharing responsibility and learning negotiation skills. Family meetings can provide a forum where children have a voice as a family member, and provide avenues for avoiding power struggles that otherwise can occur. It is important for gifted children to feel emotionally supported by the family--even when there are disagreements.

School Placement

Gifted children generally benefit by spending at least some time in the classroom with children of similar abilities. Their educational program should be designed to foster progress at their own rate of development. Parents who become involved with the school can help administrators and teachers be responsive to the needs of these children. Open, flexible environments provide students with opportunities for choices, and enhance independence and creativity. "In Search of the Perfect Program" (Silverman & Leviton, 1991) includes a checklist of specific qualities to look for in a school.
Early entrance or other forms of acceleration may be considered when the school gifted program is not sufficiently challenging or when there is no opportunity for gifted children to be grouped with age peers who are intellectually advanced. Early entrance is the easiest form of acceleration, academically and socially. It may be best to accelerate girls before third grade or after ninth grade, when they are less bonded to their peer group. Boys are usually more willing to skip grades at any point in their school program. Excellent guidelines for acceleration are provided by Feldhusen (1992). When a child expresses a willingness to be accelerated, the chances are good that an excellent social adjustment will be made.

In the preschool and primary years, mixed-aged groupings are beneficial, as long as the gifted child is not the oldest in the group. Gifted, creative boys are often held back in the primary years because of so-called "immaturity"--the inability to socialize with age peers who are less developmentally advanced. When a 5-year-old boy with an 8-year-old mind cannot relate to 5-year-olds, nothing is gained by having him repeat a grade: he is then a 6-year-old with a 9-year-old mind trying to relate to 5-year-olds! The best solution is to find him true peers--boys his own age who are intellectually advanced. Retention is NOT recommended.

Parent Advocacy

Gifted children need strong, responsible advocates, and parent groups can make a difference. It takes persistence of large groups of parents to assure that provisions for gifted children are kept firmly in place. Parents of children who are gifted need opportunities to share parenting experiences with each other, and parent groups can provide a place where that can happen.

It is important for parents of any children with special needs to meet with the teachers early in the school year. When parents and teachers work together, appropriate programs can be developed and problems can be caught early. It is helpful for parents to offer to assist their child's teacher by making or locating supplemental materials, helping in the classroom or library, offering expertise to small groups of students, or finding others who can provide other enrichment experiences. Effective parents stay involved in their children's education and informed about gifted education in general. When a teacher makes a special effort to understand or assist a gifted child, a note to the teacher or to the principal is generally appreciated.

Conclusion

The key to raising gifted children is respect: respect for their uniqueness, respect for their opinions and ideas, respect for their dreams. Gifted children need parents who are responsive and flexible, who will go to bat for them when they are too young to do so for themselves. It is painful for parents to watch their children feeling out of sync with others, but it is unwise to emphasize too greatly the importance of fitting in. Children get enough of that message in the outside world. At home, children need to know that their uniqueness is cherished and that they are appreciated as persons just for being themselves.

Education Begins at Home

The CA Teachers Association and PTA recently distributed a Public Service Announcement (PSA) titled "Your Child's Education Begins at Home."
Although it is to be assumed that those who are reading this article already know that education begins at home, the PSA contained some wisdom that bears repeating.
First, ask your children what they studied in class that day. (If you are homeschooling your children, omit this step, as they may think you are developing memory problems!) When I ask my 9-year-old what he learned in school, he often says, "Nothing." I then have to ask more direct questions, such as, "What did you study in Math today? Science? English? Give me an example of something you learned in one of your classes that you can use in life." This generally gets the conversation going. My son often reacts unfavorably to these discussions at first, but we generally are laughing about something by the end of the discussion. It is always worth pursuing.
Next, pick a certain time of day that is dedicated to talking about school and doing homework. It helps kids to have a routine. Even though it may be difficult to follow the routine and still support athletic or other extracurricular activities, attempt to keep the school and homework time as consistent as possible. Also, check the homework after your child finishes to ensure that your child is, indeed, finished!. Also, it is usually better to have your child finish their work, i.e., homework, before their play, i.e., video games or watching television. On psychology, there is a name for this tactic. It is called the Premack Principle. Succinctly stated, the Premack Principle says that the high probability behavior (what your child enjoys doing) should be contingent on performing the lower probability behavior (usually, homework) beforehand. This way, homework or studying is rewarded with access to what your child likes to do. So, whenever possible, ensure that studying or homework is completed before your child is allowed to watch television, play video games, or play with their friends.
Third, it is a good idea to learn together. In last month's article we talked about the value of reading to your child. It is also a good idea to learn with them. That is, while they are completing their homework, it would be good to engage in an academic activity yourself. Take a few minutes to read a book or write in your journal in order for them to see that learning is a life-long activity.
Fourth, use real life examples to relate to material that your child is learning in school. This helps your child transfer what they learn in school to the "real world" outside, and it shows them that there is a greater purpose than memorizing and forgetting new information after the test is completed. Use examples from math when you go to the grocery store, science when completing chores around the house, and and work history into your discussions whenever possible.
Fifth, meet your child's teachers and check in with them frequently. Most schools now have internet webpages and other means of contacting the teacher electronically that do not imfringe upon class time.
Sixth, praise your child for reading and other learning endeavors whenever possible. Remember that you have less influence over what your child does as they mature, and keep this praise in focus often when they are young.
It was not mentioned in the article, but it would also be a good idea to work with your child on some of the websites that were mentioned in last month's article. I am often told that ClicknRead and are especially good sites.
Ensuring that education begins at home increases the likelihood that it will generalize to the school setting and beyond. Good luck in al your endeavors to make your child a life-long learner.

The Benefits of Classical Ballet

When it comes to their kids, parents want them to have the best. Exposure to things like sports and the arts help them to become more well rounded young men and women. Have you thought about ballet?

Kids are into all sorts of afterschool sports and other activities like piano and violin lessons. Dancing is a great medium for both girls and boys. And, they can start young.

Classical ballet may have been pushed aside in favor of tap dancing, hip-hop, jazz and other forms. But, did you know that beginning with ballet will help with these other types of dancing? That is just one little secret weíre letting you in on.

Ballet dancers make it look effortless as they move across the stage. From the lifts to the toe points, many wonder how they can do it. Your kids can also be a part of this through the practice of classical ballet.

Ballet classes can start for young kids around ages four and five. For them, being in front of all those mirrors and the bar is something new and exciting.

Some of the benefits of ballet for young kids are:

They learn to follow instructions
They gain a sense of discipline through learning new positions
They learn co-ordination, balance and how to control their bodies in motion
They are active and getting daily exercise
They become comfortable performing before groups

When a child is young, learning new things is easier for them. They can adapt and learn more quickly than when they are older. So, once a child begins in ballet at an early age, they are not only learning a valued art form but also getting trained for the life that is ahead of them.

This is just the beginning, though. As a child continues to pursue ballet, youíll see more benefits emerging - especially when they become adolescents and into the teenage years.

They develop long and strong muscles from the practice of ballet
They gain a sense of self-confidence and pride in their bodies and what they can accomplish
They learn how to work to get what they want out of their performance
The skills learned in ballet are useful for other forms of dancing like tap or jazz if they want to take that up later
They learn about proper nutrition to keep their bodies in shape so they can dance

Multiple Intelligences

In Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind, he proposes that there are seven main areas in which all people have special skills; he calls them intelligences. His research at Harvard University was in response to the work that Alfred Binet had done in France around 1900. Binet’s work led to the formation of an intelligence test; we are all familiar with the “intelligence quotient,” or “IQ,” the way that intelligence is measured on his test.

This type of IQ test was used as the basis of another one with which most of us are familiar: the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which is taken my most college-bound high school students.

Both of these tests look predominantly at two types of intelligences: verbal and math. If a person does well on these, s/he is considered “intelligent,” and is a candidate for one of the better colleges or universities. But what about everyone else? How many of you who are reading these words have used the phrase “not good at taking tests,” when talking either about yourself or your child?
The Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory proposes that there are other measures of intelligence beside these two. I offer this information to you so that you can understand that while many teachers have some knowledge of MI theory, most of our schools are not fully set up to use it to the advantage of all students.

That being the case, perhaps you can either (1) be involved in helping your child’s teachers and school to provide a more balanced program that develops his intelligences that are not more included in the curriculum or (2) find activities outside of the school environment in which your child can develop his dominant areas of intelligence.

You should also know that MI theory posits that each of us has, to some degree or another, all of these intelligences. Some of them are simply more developed than others. Furthermore, we are all able to improve our ability in each of these areas.

Howard Gardner stresses that the intelligences are equal in their importance. In alphabetical order, they are:

Bodily-kinesthetic: using one's body to solve problems and express ideas and feelings. Actors, athletes, and dancers use their whole bodies in this way, much the same way that craftspeople, sculptors, and mechanics use their hands.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence:

Do you regularly participate in a sport or some physical activity?
Is it difficult to sit still for long periods of time?
Do you enjoy working with your hands in creating things?
Do you find that ideas and solutions to problems come to you while you are exercising or doing some sort of physical activity?
Do you enjoy spending your free time outdoors?
Do you speak with your hands or other body gestures?
Do you learn more about things by touching them?
Do you enjoy thrilling amusement park rides such as the roller coaster and other activities like this?
Do you think of yourself as being well-coordinated?
In order to learn a new skill, do you have to practice it to learn it, rather than read about it or see it in a video?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. Does your child:

excel in more than one sport?
move various body parts when required to sit still for long periods of time?
have the ability to mimic others’ body movements?
enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together?
have a hard time keeping hands off objects?
enjoy running, jumping, or other physical activities?
show skill in activities that require fine-motor coordination, such as origami, making paper airplanes, building models, finger-painting, clay, or knitting?
use his body well to express himself?

Interpersonal: perceiving the moods, feelings, and needs of others. It includes salespeople, teachers, counselors, and those we have come to call the helping professions.
These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Interpersonal Intelligence:

Have people always come to you for advice?
Have you always preferred group sports to solo sports?
Do you usually prefer talking to other people about a problem, rather than figure it out on your own?
Do you have at least three close friends?
Do you prefer social activities over individual pursuits?
Do you enjoy teaching others what you can do well?
Are you considered to be a leader, either by yourself or others?
Do you feel comfortable in a crowd?
Do you prefer to spend your time with others than alone?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Interpersonal Intelligence. Does your child:

enjoy socializing with friends?
seem to be a natural leader?
empathize easily with others, which leads to his give advice to friends who come to him with problems?
seem to be street-smart?
enjoy belonging to organizations?
enjoy teaching other kids - either peers or younger ones?
have two or more close friends?
serve as a magnet for social activities with others?

Intrapersonal: turning inward with a well-developed self-knowledge and using it successfully to navigate oneself through the world.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Intrapersonal Intelligence:

Do you regularly spend time alone meditating, reflecting, or thinking about important life questions?
Have you attended counseling sessions or personal growth seminars to learn more about yourself?
Do you have a hobby or interest that you keep to yourself?
Have you set goals for yourself regularly?
Do you have a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses?
Would you prefer spending time by yourself rather than with many people around you?
Do you keep a diary or journal to record the events of your inner life?
Are you either self-employed or have you given serious consideration to starting your own business?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Intrapersonal Intelligence. Does your child:

show a sense or independence or a strong will?
have a realistic sense of her abilities and weaknesses?
do well when left alone to play or study?
"march to the beat of a different drummer" in living and learning?
have a hobby or interest she doesn’t talk about much?
have a good sense of self-direction?
prefer working alone to working with others?
accurately express how he is feeling?
learn from failures and successes?
have good self-esteem?

Linguistic: using words, either orally or written, in an effective manner. This intelligence is associated with storytellers, politicians, comedians, and writers.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Linguistic Intelligence:

Have you always enjoyed books and given them importance?
Do you hear words in your head before you speak or write them?
Do you enjoy talk shows more than television or movies?
Do you enjoy word games, puns, rhymes, tongue-twisters, and poetry?
Do you have a highly developed vocabulary and enjoy knowing words that other people do not know?
In your own education, did you enjoy subjects related to words and ideas, such as English and social studies, more than math and science?
Have you enjoyed learning to read or speak other languages?
In your speech, do you refer to information that you have read or heard about?
Have you been praised, recognized, or paid for your writing?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Linguistic Intelligence. Does your child:

write better than average for her age?
enjoy telling stories and jokes?
have a good memory for names, places, dates, and other information?
enjoy word games, either visually or auditorally?
enjoy reading books?
spell better than other children the same age?
appreciate rhymes, puns, tongue twisters?
enjoy books on tape without needing to see the book itself?
enjoy hearing stories without seeing the book?
have an excellent vocabulary for his age?
communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas well?

Logical-Mathematical: understanding and using numbers effectively, as well as having good powers to reason well. Exemplars are mathematicians, scientists, computer programmers, and accountants.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Logical-Mathematical Intelligence:

Have you always done math in your head easily?
When you were in school, were math and/or science your best subjects?
Do you enjoy playing games that require logical thinking?
Do you set up experiments to see "what if" in your course of jobs around the house or at work?
Do you look for logical sequences and patterns, with the belief that almost everything has a logical explanation?
Do you read science periodicals or keep track of the latest scientific developments?
Do you like finding logical flaws in things that people say and do?
Do you feel the need to have things measured, categorized, analyzed, or quantified in some way?
I think in clear, abstract, wordless, imageless concepts.

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Logical-Mathematical Intelligence. Does your child:

demonstrate curiosity about how things work?
have fun with numbers?
enjoy math at school?
enjoy math and/or computer games?
play and enjoy strategy games such as chess and checkers, brain teasers, or logic puzzles?
easily put things into categories?
like to do experiments, either at school when assigned or on her own?
show an interest in visiting natural history or discovery-type museums and exhibits?

Musical: relating in a wide range of ways to music. This can take many forms, as a performer, composer, critic, and music-lover.

These questions can determine if an adult has a highly developed Musical Intelligence:

Do you have a pleasant singing voice?
Can you tell when a musician plays a note off-key?
Do you frequently listen to music?
Do you play a musical instrument?
Was it easy for you to learn to play a musical instrument?
Do you think your life would not be as rewarding without music?
Do you usually have music going through your mind?
Can you keep time to music?
Do you know the tunes to many different songs or musical selections?
Can you usually sing back a melody accurately after you hear a new selection only once or twice?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Musical Intelligence. Does your child:

tell you when she recognizes that music is off-key?
easily remember song melodies and sing them?
have a pleasant singing voice, either alone or in a chorus?
play a musical instrument?
speak or move in a rhythmical way?
hum or whistle to himself?
tap on the tabletop or desktop while working?
show sensitivity to noises in the environment?
respond emotionally to music she hears?

Naturalist Intelligence: excellent at recognizing and classifying both the animal and plant kingdoms, as well as showing understanding of natural phenomena.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Naturalist Intelligence:

Do you like to spend time in nature?
Do you belong to a volunteer group related to nature?
Do you enjoy having animals around the house?
Are you involved in a hobby that involves nature, such as bird watching?
Can you easily tell the differences among species of flora and fauna?
Do you read books or magazines, or watch television shows or movies that feature nature?
On vacation, do you prefer natural settings to cultural attractions?
Do you enjoy visiting zoos, aquariums, or other places where the natural world is studied?
Do you enjoy working in your garden?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Naturalist Intelligence. Does your child:

talk about favorite pets or preferred natural spots?
enjoy nature preserves, the zoo, or natural history museum?
show sensitivity to natural formations? (Note that in urban environments, this type of "formation" can include cultural icons.)
like to play in water?
hang around the pet in school or at home?
enjoy studying environment, nature, plants, and animals?
speak out about animal rights and earth preservation?
collect bugs, flowers, leaves, or other natural things to show to others?

Spatial: perceiving the visual-spatial world in an accurate way, so as to be able to work in it effectively. The people who do this cover a wide range of fields that, upon first glance, do not seem to have much in common. Compare, for example, hunters, sailors, engineers, inventors, and surgeons to interior decorators, architects, painters, and sculptors.

These questions can determine if an adult has a strength in Spatial Intelligence:

Have you always been able to reproduce clear images in your mind, even when your eyes are closed or the objects are not in front of you?
Are you sensitive to color?
Do you take a lot of photographs or home movies?
Do you enjoy jigsaw and other visual puzzles?
Do you have vivid dreams?
Do you usually have an easy time getting around, even if it’s your first time in a new place?
Do you enjoy drawing or doodling?
Was geometry easier for you than algebra?
Do you have an easy time reading maps and translating their information into reality?
Do you enjoy books and magazines with many illustrations, photos, and design elements?

These are some questions to determine if children may be exhibiting a well-developing Spatial Intelligence. Does your child:

recall visual details in objects?
have an easy time learning to read and understand maps and charts in books?
daydream a lot?
enjoy the visual arts?
demonstrate ability in using art materials and creating drawings, sculptures, or other three-dimensional objects?
enjoy visual presentations such as videos, television, and movies?
get a lot of information from illustrations in books she reads?
scribble, doodle, or draw on all available surfaces?

I have seen limited reference to another intelligence: Naturalist, which is described as being able to recognize plant or animal species in the environment. This one is not included in the two Gardner books I list it here for your perusal, but it was added after this original research.

The Importance of The Creative Arts

In my years in the classroom, I have had the pleasure of teaching several children who have either one or two artists as parents. These children, who have a higher than average exposure to art and the media for creating it, possess some qualities that many other children do not have: in addition to their artistic talent, I have observed that they usually read and write better than their peers. My conclusion, based solely on this anecdotal evidence, is that their exposure to art affects other aspects of their learning.

Resources
Art:

Music:

Children's Music Web
Children's Music Network
Harmony Project
How to Teach Music to Children (Video Series)

Books:

Products:

This led me to a discussion with Aiko Cuneo, an artist who works with children in public schools, to flesh out the benefits of arts education, both in and out of schools. We offer to you these highlights of our conversation.

First of all, we suggest that parents expand their definition of art. If you are a baker or a cook, if you like to arrange flowers, if you enjoy the harmonious arrangement of objects in your home, you are an artist. These expressions of creativity are as legitimate and valuable as those of painters and the other people we call artists.
If you are a scientist and enjoy inventing and experimenting, you bring an artistic sensibility to your work and may include yourself in the definition of artist.

The role of parents and teachers is to expose children to a variety of materials so that they can create art. Once the variety is offered, children will then have a choice as to whether they want to use the materials or not. But without the exposure, there is no choice.

Budding artists have a creative spirit that cannot be expressed unless there is an exposure to art. If you start early, there is a greater opportunity for this spirit to be identified and, therefore, grow with the child.

Art is a delightful way through which you can record the development of your child’s growth. Just as you will notice that writing and reading improves with age, so does artwork.

Creating art is a fine way for children to make choices and solve problems. Every step involves making a decision: what color to use, how to make a line, what size to make something. With every choice the object becomes more and more their own.

Everyone has an imagination. Art takes it a step further. Through art, children create something that, until that point, was only imagined. Thus, they create visual manifestations of abstract ideas.

Children who may be having difficulties in other parts of the school curriculum may find an expressive outlet through art. It’s a way to uncover talent that may not be seen otherwise.

Art is a means of communicating ideas, feelings, and solutions in a way other than verbally or written.

Notice the difference between a self-portrait as drawn by a kindergartner compared to the same child’s work as a third-grader.

In a ten-year national study by Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University, it was discovered that young people who are involved in highly effective non-school arts-based community programs in under-resourced communities, in comparison with a national sample of students were:

Four times more likely to win an academic award, such as being on the honor roll.
Eight times more likely to receive a community service award.
Three times more likely to win a school attendance award.
Four times more likely to participate in a math or science fair.
Likely to score higher on their SAT college admission test scores if they have been involved for more than four years of after-school arts study.

It is typical that those who fund school programs have seen the visual and performing arts as frills -- programs that can be added only when there is enough money for them, as well as the first to be cut if there is a budget crisis.

Creating art is a fine way for children to make choices and solve problems. Every step involves making a decision: what color to use, how to make a line, what size to make something. With every choice the object becomes more and more their own.

Everyone has an imagination. Art takes it a step further. Through art, children create something that, until that point, was only imagined. Thus, they create visual manifestations of abstract ideas.

Children who may be having difficulties in other parts of the school curriculum may find an expressive outlet through art. It’s a way to uncover talent that may not be seen otherwise.

Art is a means of communicating ideas, feelings, and solutions in a way other than verbally or written.

Families can create a harmonious balance in their children’s lives when they make provisions for the arts. Following are ideas to incorporate them into your home life.

When you read to your children, be dramatic. Act out stories with props and costumes. Encourage them to create their own stories to act out for you.
Save old Halloween costumes for dress-up fun. Add to the collection with clothing you no longer need: hats, scarves, purses, shoes, and items you can find inexpensively at garage sales.
Put together an “art studio” in your home. Stock it with a variety of tools and materials: crayons, markers, finger paints, scissors, pastels, watercolors, brushes, glues, papers of various sizes and textures, intriguing found objects, leftovers from your own home improvement, boxes and containers of all sizes.
Expand your musical repertoire at home and in the car. Venture into unknown musical territory so that you and the children can hear something out of your usual fare. This can be easily expanded by turning to different radio stations and by checking out cassettes and CDs from the public library -- all for free!
While the music is playing at home, dance together. Teach your children traditional dances you know or improvise with them. Body movement is fun and good exercise.
Sing together. Teach the kids your favorite songs. Many of them allow for verses that can be made up, such as “Down by the Bay,” which can have an endless and hilarious number of rhymes added to it.
Look for arts programs after school, on weekends, and during vacations. Many community park and recreation departments offer these. Summer camps based on the arts are a good departure from the typical competitive sports camps.
Create a scrapbook together. Put photos, memorabilia, drawings, and captions together creatively. In doing so, you will not only have a shared experience but a memory that will last for many years (if you use acid-free paper).

About Learning Disabilities

Learning disabilities are present in at least 10 percent of the population. By following the links on this page you will discover many interesting facts about learning disabilities as well as uncover some of the myths. You will also be provided with practical solutions to help children and adolescents with learning disabilities greatly improve their academic achievement as well as their self-esteem.

What is a learning disability?
Interestingly, there is no clear and widely accepted definition of "learning disabilities." Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the field, there is ongoing debate on the issue of definition, and there are currently at least 12 definitions that appear in the professional literature. These disparate definitions do agree on certain factors:

The learning disabled have difficulties with academic achievement and progress. Discrepancies exist between a person's potential for learning and what he actually learns.

The learning disabled show an uneven pattern of development (language development, physical development, academic development and/or perceptual development).

Learning problems are not due to environmental disadvantage.

Learning problems are not due to mental retardation or emotional disturbance.

How prevalent are learning disabilities?
Experts estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the school-aged population in the United States is learning disabled. Nearly 40 percent of the children enrolled in the nation's special education classes suffer from a learning disability. The Foundation for Children With Learning Disabilities estimates that there are 6 million adults with learning disabilities as well.

What causes learning disabilities?
Little is currently known about the causes of learning disabilities. However, some general observations can be made:

Some children develop and mature at a slower rate than others in the same age group. As a result, they may not be able to do the expected school work. This kind of learning disability is called "maturational lag."

Some children with normal vision and hearing may misinterpret everyday sights and sounds because of some unexplained disorder of the nervous system.

Injuries before birth or in early childhood probably account for some later learning problems.

Children born prematurely and children who had medical problems soon after birth sometimes have learning disabilities.

Learning disabilities tend to run in families, so some learning disabilities may be inherited.
Learning disabilities are more common in boys than girls, possibly because boys tend to mature more slowly.

Some learning disabilities appear to be linked to the irregular spelling, pronunciation, and structure of the English language. The incidence of learning disabilities is lower in Spanish or Italian speaking countries.

What are the "early warning signs" of learning disabilities?
Children with learning disabilities exhibit a wide range of symptoms. These include problems with reading, mathematics, comprehension, writing, spoken language, or reasoning abilities. Hyperactivity, inattention and perceptual coordination may also be associated with learning disabilities but are not learning disabilities themselves. The primary characteristic of a learning disability is a significant difference between a child's achievement in some areas and his or her overall intelligence. Learning disabilities typically affect five general areas:

Spoken language: delays, disorders, and deviations in listening and speaking.

Written language: difficulties with reading, writing and spelling.

Arithmetic: difficulty in performing arithmetic operations or in understanding basic concepts.

Reasoning: difficulty in organizing and integrating thoughts.

Memory: difficulty in remembering information and instructions.

Among the symptoms commonly related to learning disabilities are:

poor performance on group tests

difficulty discriminating size, shape, color

difficulty with temporal (time) concepts

distorted concept of body image

reversals in writing and reading

general awkwardness

poor visual-motor coordination

hyperactivity

difficulty copying accurately from a model

slowness in completing work

poor organizational skills

easily confused by instructions

difficulty with abstract reasoning and/or problem solving

disorganized thinking

often obsesses on one topic or idea

poor short-term or long-term memory

impulsive behavior; lack of reflective thought prior to action

low tolerance for frustration

excessive movement during sleep

poor peer relationships

overly excitable during group play

poor social judgment

inappropriate, unselective, and often excessive display of affection

lags in developmental milestones (e.g. motor, language)

behavior often inappropriate for situation

failure to see consequences for his actions

overly gullible; easily led by peers

excessive variation in mood and responsiveness

poor adjustment to environmental changes

overly distractible; difficulty concentrating

difficulty making decisions

lack of hand preference or mixed dominance

difficulty with tasks requiring sequencing

When considering these symptoms, it is important to remain mindful of the following:

No one will have all these symptoms.

Among LD populations, some symptoms are more common than others.

All people have at least two or three of these problems to some degree.

The number of symptoms seen in a particular child does not give an indication as whether the disability is mild or severe. It is important to consider if the behaviors are chronic and appear in clusters.

Some of these symptoms may indicate dyslexia. For more information go to About Dyslexia.

Some of these symptoms may indicate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. For more information go to About ADHD.

What should a parent do if it is suspected that a child has a learning disability?
The parent should contact the child's school and arrange for testing and evaluation. Federal law requires that public school districts provide special education and related services to children who need them. If these tests indicate that the child requires special educational services, the school evaluation team (planning and placement team) will meet to develop an individual educational plan (IEP) geared to the child's needs. The IEP describes in detail an educational plan designed to remediate and compensate for the child's difficulties.

Simultaneously, the parent should take the child to the family pediatrician for a complete physical examination. The child should be examined for correctable problems (e.g. poor vision or hearing loss) that may cause difficulty in school.

How does a learning disability affect the parents of the child?
Research indicates that parental reaction to the diagnosis of learning disability is more pronounced than in any other area of exceptionality. Consider: if a child is severely retarded or physically handicapped, the parent becomes aware of the problem in the first few weeks of the child's life. However, the pre-school development of the learning disabled child is often uneventful and the parent does not suspect that a problem exists. When informed of the problem by elementary school personnel, a parent's first reaction is generally to deny the existence of a disability. This denial is, of course, unproductive. The father tends to remain in this stage for a prolonged period because he is not exposed to the child's day-to-day frustrations and failures.

Research conducted by Eleanor Whitehead suggests that the parent of an LD child goes through a series of emotions before truly accepting the child and his problem. These "stages" are totally unpredictable. A parent may move from stage-to-stage in random. Some parents skip over stages while others remain in one stage for an extended period. These stages are as follows:

DENIAL: "There is really nothing wrong!" "That's the way I was as a child--not to worry!" "He'll grow out of it!"

BLAME: "You baby him!" "You expect too much of him." "It's not from my side of the family."

FEAR: "Maybe they're not telling me the real problem!" "Is it worse than they say?" "Will he ever marry? go to college? graduate?"

ENVY: "Why can't he be like his sister or his cousins?"

MOURNING: "He could have been such a success, if not for the learning disability!"

BARGAINING: "Wait 'till next year!" "Maybe the problem will improve if we move! (or he goes to camp, etc.)."

ANGER: "The teachers don't know anything." "I hate this neighborhood, this school...this teacher."

GUILT: "My mother was right; I should have used cloth diapers when he was a baby." "I shouldn't have worked during his first year." "I am being punished for something and my child is suffering as a result."

ISOLATION: "Nobody else knows or cares about my child." "You and I against the world. No one else understands."

FLIGHT: "Let's try this new therapy--Donahue says it works!" "We are going to go from clinic to clinic until somebody tells me what I want to hear.!"

Again, the pattern of these reactions is totally unpredictable. This situation is worsened by the fact that frequently the mother and father may be involved in different and conflicting stages at the same time (e.g., blame vs. denial; anger vs. guilt). This can make communication very difficult.

The good news is that with proper help, most LD children can make excellent progress. There are many successful adults such as attorneys, business executives, physicians, teachers, etc. who had learning disabilities but overcame them and became successful. Now with special education and many special materials, LD children can be helped early.

Pointers for parents of children with learning disabilities:
Take the time to listen to your children as much as you can (really try to get their "Message").

Love them by touching them, hugging them, tickling them, wrestling with them (they need lots of physical contact).

Look for and encourage their strengths, interests, and abilities. Help them to use these as compensations for any limitations or disabilities.

Reward them with praise, good words, smiles, and pat on the back as often as you can.

Accept them for what they are and for their human potential for growth and development. Be realistic in your expectations and demands.

Involve them in establishing rules and regulations, schedules, and family activities.

Tell them when they misbehave and explain how you feel about their behavior; then have them propose other more acceptable ways of behaving.

Help them to correct their errors and mistakes by showing or demonstrating what they should do.

Don't nag!

Give them reasonable chores and a regular family work responsibility whenever possible.

Give them an allowance as early as possible and then help them plan to spend within it.

Provide toys, games, motor activities and opportunities that will stimulate them in their development.

Read enjoyable stories to them and with them. Encourage them to ask questions, discuss stories, tell the story, and to reread stories.

Further their ability to concentrate by reducing distracting aspects of their environment as much as possible (provide them with a place to work, study and play).

Don't get hung up on traditional school grades! It is important that they progress at their own rates and be rewarded for doing so.

Take them to libraries and encourage them to select and check out books of interest.

Have them share their books with you.

Provide stimulating books and reading material around the house.

Help them to develop self-esteem and to compete with self rather than with others.

Insist that they cooperate socially by playing, helping, and serving others in the family and the community.

Serve as a model to them by reading and discussing material of personal interest. Share with them some of the things you are reading and doing.

Don't hesitate to consult with teachers or other specialists whenever you feel it to be necessary in order to better understand what might be done to help your child learn.

Too Sick for School? School Phobia - Tips for Parents

No matter how much your child enjoys school, at some point they're probably going to try to convince you theyíre too sick for school. You may not be concerned if this happens once in a while, but when it occurs often in a week or two, you may want to know if something else is going on. As a parent you want to know if they're trying to avoid something or someone.

It's not unusual for children at school to be mean to one another. Just think back to when you were in school and you'll remember. Today's kids, it seems, can be far crueler than children from past generations ever thought of being. It could be this reason why your child says they're too sick for school.

When your child complains about not feeling well all week and yet miraculously gets better on Friday at 4:00 p.m., you know something is up. What are your options? How can you help your child get through whatever their problem is so they can go to school with their head held high?

You want to let your child know that they can come to you and talk to you about anything. It doesn't matter if the subject matter makes you or them uncomfortable, they'll be glad to know they can talk to you. Being available and truly listening to what they have to say is very important.

Ask them questions without sounding like you're a lawyer cross-examining someone on the stand. You can ask them questions such as "is everything okay at school" or "are you having problems with someone at school" without it sounding like the third degree. If they will answer you without looking away or avoiding the question, things are probably alright in that area. It's when they begin avoiding your eyes or stammering to find an answer that you may have hit on the problem.

Here are some of the areas where your child may be having a problem and yet be afraid to talk with you about it:

They may not being doing as well in school as they think you expect them to, so if they're not in school, they may feel they have an excuse.
There may be another student who is causing them stress by bullying them.
If there's a new baby in the home, your child may simply be feeling left out and trying to be at home with you and the baby.
Have there been changes in your home such as a death in the family? Perhaps your child is afraid to let you out of their sight because they're afraid you'll die, too.

There are many reasons why a child may claim to be too sick for school. Try to determine what their reason is by talking to and really listening to what they're saying and not saying. When you have the reason figured out, you'll be better equipped to determine the best course of action to take.

For more information and help please go to Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents and Helping Your Child Deal with Fears & Phobias

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ADHD - Attention Deficit Disorder in Children

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – ADHD sometimes known as Attention Deficit Disorder – ADD is a condition that becomes apparent in some children in the preschool and early school years. It is hard for these children to control their behavior and/or pay attention. It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have meet criteria for diagnosis, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD. The condition was first described by Dr. Heinrich Hoffman in 1845. A physician who wrote books on medicine and psychiatry, Dr. Hoffman was also a poet who became interested in writing for children when he couldn’t find suitable materials to read to his 3-year-old son. The result was a book of poems, complete with illustrations, about children and their characteristics. “The Story of Fidgety Philip” was an accurate description of a little boy who had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Yet it was not until 1902 that Sir George F. Still published a series of lectures to the Royal College of Physicians in England in which he described a group of impulsive children with significant behavioral problems, caused by a genetic dysfunction and not by poor child rearing—children who today would be easily recognized as having ADHD. Since then, several thousand scientific papers on the disorder have been published, providing information on its nature, course, causes, impairments, and treatments.
A child with ADHD faces a difficult but not insurmountable task ahead. In order to achieve his or her full potential, he or she should receive help, guidance, and understanding from parents, guidance counselors, and the public education system. This document offers information on the condition and its management, including research on medications and behavioral interventions, as well as helpful resources on educational options.

Diagnosis of Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder

In the most current assessment guidelines published by the American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders IV (DSM4), the disorder is known as ADHD and has several types including: (1) predominantly inattentive; (2) predominantly impulsive or (3) combined. Individuals with this condition usually have many (but not all) of the following symptoms:

Inattention:

often fails to finish what he starts
doesn’t seem to listen
easily distracted
has difficulty concentration or paying attention
doesn’t stick with a play activity

Impulsivity:

often acts without thinking & later feels sorry
shifts excessively from one activity to another
has difficulty organizing work
needs a lot of supervision
speaks out loud in class
doesn’t wait to take turns in games or groups

Hyperactivity:

runs about or climbs on things excessively
can’t sit still and is fidgety
has difficulty staying in his seat and bothers classmates
excessive activity during sleep
always on the “go” and acts as if “driven”

Emotional Instability:

angry outbursts
social loner
blames others for problems
fights with others quickly
very sensitive to criticism

The diagnosis is made by “ruling out” other medical or psychiatric causes for the symptoms and by then determining that the patient meets the DSM4 criteria for ADHD. Psychological testing can be useful to rule out learning disabilities and Continuous Performance Tests (Connor’s CPT, TOVA, IVA, Gordon Diagnostic) may help confirm the diagnosis and be helpful with titration of medication. At this time the use of imaging such as PET or SPECT is recommended for research purposes. Several professional organizations recommend against the use of these techniques due to unwarranted exposure to radiation and lack of sufficient data to enable accurate diagnosis. This diagnosis may coexist with anxiety, depression, Tourette’s, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder and learning disabilities.
True ADHD patients usually start showing symptoms by the time they start school. Some very impulsive children are diagnosed as early as 2 or 3 years old. Another group appears to develop more severe symptoms around the fourth grade. These children may have always had ADHD but were able to compensate for the condition. As school requires more work and more organization skills, these children may reach a point where they become unable to compensate and exhibit “full blown” ADHD symptoms. Some children may remain undiagnosed until they are in their teens. More recently adults have been diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Disorder. These individuals had the disorder as children but were not properly identified during their childhood. [More Information See: Symptoms - Diagnosis]

Causes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The symptoms are caused by a neurological dysfunction within the brain. Several studies using PET scans have confirmed that there is a definite difference in brain functioning between a group of individuals diagnosed with ADHD and those without it. The underlying physiological mechanism behind the causes is still not thoroughly understood and remains under scientific study.
The disorder may be either inherited (70%) or acquired (30%). Recent research in genetics has definitely shown that the condition runs in families. ADHD may be acquired through various conditions that cause insult (damage) to the brain. During pregnancy and delivery these include the use of drugs during pregnancy, smoking during pregnancy, toxemia, infectious diseases, overexposure to radiation, prematurity, complicated delivery. After birth these include meningitis, encephalitis, seizures from fever, head injury and lead toxicity. [More on Causes]

ADHD Treatment

Medications such as stimulants have long been employed in ADHD treatment. hese medications improve a chemical imbalance in the brain which is causing the symptoms. A number of neuro-imaging studies have shown that the brain functioning of these patients does improve and appears to be more like the normal group after they have taken their prescribed medication.

Medications usually used in treatment improve the availability in the synapse of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine. Specific neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) are necessary to carry a nerve impulse (message) along a neuropathway (circuit). When a neurotransmitter is not fully available, a message may be stopped short of its intended destination. When this happens, the function regulated by that circuit may not work as well as it should.
Medications that treat ADHD children are not tranquilizers or sedatives. They do not slow down the nervous system. They actually improve functioning in various areas of the brain involved with attention, concentration and self-control. Over 200 well controlled studies have shown that these medications are the safest and most effective psychiatric medications. Failure to treat with medications may result in increased risk of substance abuse and decreased white matter volumes in the brain.
Common Medications:

Adderall
Concerta
Dexedrine
Focalin
Metadate
Methylin
Ritalin
Straterra (SNRI not a stimulant)

In difficult cases antidepressants or anti-hypertensive medications may be used. [More on Medications]
There is no scientific evidence to support the use of diet, supplements or biofeedback as treatment. Medication is the most frequently employed ADHD treatment method . It is often employed along with psychological techniques such as behavior modification and patient/family education. For an objective review please see Complementary and Alternative Treatments from National Resource Center.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that treatment for the disorder should consist of a comprehensive plan using MEDICATION AND OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT. ADHD children with mild to moderate symptoms may ONLY NEED PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTIONS to show significant improvement. The treatment should involve the physician, child, parents, family members and school personnel working together. The basics of the treatment plan must be carried out consistently for a long period of time (years) in order for maximum and enduring benefits to be achieved. For a review of recommended psychological interventions see Psychological Treatment for Children and Adolescents from National Resource Center and Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment for Children from Child Development Institute. According to a study conducted at State University of New York at Buffalo “combining behavior modification therapy with medication is the most effective way to improve the behavior of many ADHD children. In fact, when the two are combined, the study showed, the amount of medication required to achieve the same results as use of medication alone can be reduced by two-thirds”.

adhd in children treatment behavior modification parent training

Total Focus Program

Due to cost and time factors significant Psychological Treatment interventions are often overlooked. Dr Bob Myers of Child Development Institute recognized this and has produced a multi-media program known as Total Focus™ that involves the parents and children working together as a team to help the child achieve success at school and enjoy life at home and in the community.
This adhd self-help program is based on 30 years of clinical experience of the author as well as his personal experience as the father of a son with ADHD. It is produced by a leading publisher of parenting programs and has received endorsements of recognized experts in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder including Dr Stephen Henshaw. This cost effective, evidenced based program provides workbook materials and audio lessons and even a temperature biofeedback devise for use by both parents and kids that teach coping skills based on proven treatment strategies including:

Parent Education
Behavior Modification Programs for Home and School
Relaxation Training to Improve Emotional Control
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Improve Motivation, Problem Solving Skills and Self-Esteem
Fun Cognitive Rehabilitation Exercises (Brain Training) to Improve Attention, Concentration and Executive Functioning Parent Coached Social Skill Training

Complete, easy to follow instructions are provided along with numerous questionnaires, charts and handouts for implementing behavior change programs and monitoring progress. Even telephone coaching by mental health professionals trained by the author of the program is available when desired. [More on Total Focus]

Long Term Outlook for Individuals With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity/Disorder

When properly treated, children and adolescents can lead very normal and productive lives. In fact, many traits found in these individuals can help them to become very successful later in life. It should be noted that a loving, supportive and consistent environment is essential for the positive growth and develop of all children and especially those with attention deficit disorder or other learning disabilities. People with ADHD tend to have average or above average intelligence. They are often very creative and usually have a high energy level. These individuals also are frequently very sensitive and highly affectionate.
In the last few years, it has become more likely for adults to be diagnosed with the disorder and start on medication. These may be individuals who were not properly identified when they were children. In other cases, adults have learned to compensate for their disorder and become very successful individuals. In fact, some may “over compensate” and become extraordinarily successful.

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Diagnosis of Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder

Causes of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

ADHD Treatment

Long Term Outlook for Individuals With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity/Disorder

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