Learning Delays After the COVID Pandemic: How We Can Help

(Hint: It’s Not All Academics) Learning delays and learning disabilities are common among many students.  In fact, prior to the pandemic, some research estimated that about 10% of children are diagnosed with a learning disability (University College of London, 2013).  Other research has found that 20-30% of students have learning disabilities, such as Dyslexia (Yale Center for […]

Loading

Concept Maps: A Tool to Help Learning

Concept maps turn verbal information (from speech or writing) into visual information.   Many of us could benefit from using concept maps. They can help a person study for a test, plan a report or paper, or even organize information that we have read. They often improve comprehension, organization, and memory. Concept maps are particularly helpful […]

Loading

fine motor

Fine Motor Weakness in Children: Skills and Tools That Can Help Handwriting

Fine motor weakness is common among school-age children and can certainly make learning more difficult.    Fine motor skills are the skills needed to coordinate small muscle movements with our hands and wrists.  They also coordinate actions with our brain messages.  When fine motor skills are delayed, children often struggle with strength, speed, and coordination.  Fine motor delays are […]

Loading

Graduation

The Summer Before College: 7 Tips for Parents and Teens

The summer before college represents a huge transition between high school graduation and leaving for school in the fall. Families are proud, excited, worried, and quite busy. There is much to do and prepare for, especially if that teen is headed to college in the fall. The summer after graduation is an exciting and overwhelming […]

Loading

Mom reading to daughter

Dialogic Reading: A Strategy to Help

Dialogic reading is a way to teach reading to children by having conversations with an adult about the book while they are reading together. What is involved in dialogic reading? Dialogic reading is an interactive strategy, meaning that the child and parent read together.  This strategy is helpful because it helps increase the child’s interest […]

Loading

Audiobooks Are Helpful for Everyone!

Many people have heard about audiobooks, but very few realize how helpful they can be. Audiobooks can introduce a new world of reading for many people.  Oftentimes, after work or school, people are restless or physically tired.  Additionally, some people are reluctant to read, and would rather watch TV, use electronics, or do anything else. And some […]

Loading

Learning Disability

How to Talk to Your Child about Her Learning Disability

“Just like our fingerprints, people are all different.  It’s no surprise that we learn differently too.” The above explanation is one that I often provide to young people when they are diagnosed as having learning disabilities.  I also explain to them that most of the time, our schools teach the most common, and sometimes the […]

Loading