Many times people assume that all children who struggle with attention and focus need medication. While medication has come a long way since we gave all of these children Ritalin, there are other alternatives.
In his book, The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, Thomas Armstrong lists 50 ways to improve your child's behavior without medication. Some of these include, relaxation techniques, diet, and limiting television. Dr. David B. Stein has also written the book, Ritalin is NOT the Answer. In his book, he gives parents some practical ways to work with their child at home.
On the other hand, medication is an alternative. Dr. Russel A. Barkley is an internationally recognized expert on ADHD. (http://www.russellbarkley.org.) His research indicates that many of the alternatives to medicine do not have any conclusive research behind them to show that they work. A terrific article to read is located at the following link: http://www.russellbarkley.org/images/BarkleyIntro.pdf
It is always recommended that parents are thorough in their research when looking at any treatment for ADHD.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Why Can't Johnny Read?
You've tried everything. Your child's teacher has tried all that she knows to do, and still--Johnny can't read. Why is this? How does this still happen in this modern age? Is there anything that can be done?
There are three basic reasons why a child, or adult for that matter, struggle with reading. It all has to do with the brain and how it processes information. In order to read, we use auditory processing, visual processing, and language processing. If one or more of these areas isn't working properly, the student will struggle.
The good news is that we have so much more brain research at our fingertips than ever before. We are learning that the medical profession and the education profession must work more closely together. Where the trouble lies sometimes is in the lack of knowledge by either party.
Let me give you an example: If Suzy is struggling, sometimes an incorrect label is placed on her. I just worked with a student recently who both the school and the doctors said that she had ADHD. What was her underlying problem? She had an auditory and visual processing issue. Some people call this dyslexia, which by definition it is. I like to dig further and find out what type of dyslexia it is. This is why I prefer to look at the type of processing problem it is. This student came to Excel Achievement for help with dyslexia, and is now reading at grade level. Does she have ADHD? Possibly, but we also know that many students who predominately use the right portion of their brain tend to fall into this category. We also know that student's with dyslexia tend to use more of the right side of their brain than the left side.
Let's discuss processing. Sometimes we are told that we are auditory or visual learners. These are great labels, but they really don't tell us a lot. When discovering the learning style of a child, I prefer to use Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. These are far more detailed and tell us so much more. (Please see the next blog for further information on these.) This brings us back to processing. I will describe each type of processing and the warning signs of each.
Auditory Processing: This is how the brain processes sounds. It has nothing to do with whether a child can hear or not. In fact, many children with auditory processing problems pass hearing tests with flying colors. People who struggle with auditory processing struggle more with the discrimination of sounds. For example, the "e" sound and the "i" sound may sound identical. "Ar" and "er" may also sound the same. Early warning signs of this are children who struggle with rhyming or the correct pronunciation of words. Children in elementary school with this problem really struggle with phonics (the sounding out of words).
Visual Processing: This is how the brain processes what it sees. Children with this issue may have 20/20 vision, but their brain takes information in a distorted manner. Depending on the type of visual processing issue, children may flip letters or letters or words may even move on the page for them. It is because of early studies with visual processing problems that many people think that this is what dyslexia is. They assume that if their child isn't writing their letters backwards that it isn't dyslexia. This just isn't true. Dr. Terri Bellis's research shows that over 30% of dyslexic children have an auditory processing problem. Therefore, children with dyslexia have a visual, auditory, or language processing problem, and many have a combination. Early warning signs of a child with visual processing problems often aren't seen until elementary school--where a child is asked to read and write. These children may reverse letters in their reading and writing. (Please note that if a child "writes letters backwards" before grade 2, this is developmentally appropriate and not necessarily a sign of a visual processing problem.) Another warning sign is that these children may skip words as they read--especially the "small" words such as "of", "the", "it", etc. They may also insert words or letters that aren't there. They may struggle with tracking and miss entire lines of text.
Language Processing: This is how the brain processes language. These children can speak just fine, but may struggle with getting all of their thoughts out into words. Because this is difficult for them, they may really struggle with writing. Getting words from their head onto the paper is very difficult for these students. In reading, students may be able to decode words just fine, but they really struggle with the comprehension of text.
How can we help students who struggle in one or more of these areas? First and foremost we must know that these children are bright and do want to learn. It is simply that one or more of their processing skills aren't working correctly. It is our job to find out which processing problem it is and then use a correct intervention for that specific processing issue. Once implementing an intervention, we must watch the student closely to find out if it's working. There are many interventions out there, and some of them work better than others. At Excel Achievement Center, we are continually improving our interventions based on the progress that the student is making.
There are three basic reasons why a child, or adult for that matter, struggle with reading. It all has to do with the brain and how it processes information. In order to read, we use auditory processing, visual processing, and language processing. If one or more of these areas isn't working properly, the student will struggle.
The good news is that we have so much more brain research at our fingertips than ever before. We are learning that the medical profession and the education profession must work more closely together. Where the trouble lies sometimes is in the lack of knowledge by either party.
Let me give you an example: If Suzy is struggling, sometimes an incorrect label is placed on her. I just worked with a student recently who both the school and the doctors said that she had ADHD. What was her underlying problem? She had an auditory and visual processing issue. Some people call this dyslexia, which by definition it is. I like to dig further and find out what type of dyslexia it is. This is why I prefer to look at the type of processing problem it is. This student came to Excel Achievement for help with dyslexia, and is now reading at grade level. Does she have ADHD? Possibly, but we also know that many students who predominately use the right portion of their brain tend to fall into this category. We also know that student's with dyslexia tend to use more of the right side of their brain than the left side.
Let's discuss processing. Sometimes we are told that we are auditory or visual learners. These are great labels, but they really don't tell us a lot. When discovering the learning style of a child, I prefer to use Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. These are far more detailed and tell us so much more. (Please see the next blog for further information on these.) This brings us back to processing. I will describe each type of processing and the warning signs of each.
Auditory Processing: This is how the brain processes sounds. It has nothing to do with whether a child can hear or not. In fact, many children with auditory processing problems pass hearing tests with flying colors. People who struggle with auditory processing struggle more with the discrimination of sounds. For example, the "e" sound and the "i" sound may sound identical. "Ar" and "er" may also sound the same. Early warning signs of this are children who struggle with rhyming or the correct pronunciation of words. Children in elementary school with this problem really struggle with phonics (the sounding out of words).
Visual Processing: This is how the brain processes what it sees. Children with this issue may have 20/20 vision, but their brain takes information in a distorted manner. Depending on the type of visual processing issue, children may flip letters or letters or words may even move on the page for them. It is because of early studies with visual processing problems that many people think that this is what dyslexia is. They assume that if their child isn't writing their letters backwards that it isn't dyslexia. This just isn't true. Dr. Terri Bellis's research shows that over 30% of dyslexic children have an auditory processing problem. Therefore, children with dyslexia have a visual, auditory, or language processing problem, and many have a combination. Early warning signs of a child with visual processing problems often aren't seen until elementary school--where a child is asked to read and write. These children may reverse letters in their reading and writing. (Please note that if a child "writes letters backwards" before grade 2, this is developmentally appropriate and not necessarily a sign of a visual processing problem.) Another warning sign is that these children may skip words as they read--especially the "small" words such as "of", "the", "it", etc. They may also insert words or letters that aren't there. They may struggle with tracking and miss entire lines of text.
Language Processing: This is how the brain processes language. These children can speak just fine, but may struggle with getting all of their thoughts out into words. Because this is difficult for them, they may really struggle with writing. Getting words from their head onto the paper is very difficult for these students. In reading, students may be able to decode words just fine, but they really struggle with the comprehension of text.
How can we help students who struggle in one or more of these areas? First and foremost we must know that these children are bright and do want to learn. It is simply that one or more of their processing skills aren't working correctly. It is our job to find out which processing problem it is and then use a correct intervention for that specific processing issue. Once implementing an intervention, we must watch the student closely to find out if it's working. There are many interventions out there, and some of them work better than others. At Excel Achievement Center, we are continually improving our interventions based on the progress that the student is making.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Why does my child struggle with reading?
Sometimes parents ask me…
"Why is it so hard for my child to learn to read? We’ve tried everything and he is still struggling."
Without sounding too technical, I will briefly describe the three processes that go into reading. A problem with one or more of these is the root cause for ALL reading problems…
Auditory processing which is our ability to discriminate sounds…we use this when we rhyme and sound out words as we read.
Visual processing is our ability to discriminate symbols…we use this to memorize sight words such as the word “the” --and to remember our spelling words and even math facts.
Language processing helps us to comprehend and remember what we read.
We need all three processes to read successfully. After reading this, you can decide which of these processes your child may be struggling with. He may even struggle with more than one.
By knowing the root cause, you will be able to find the correct intervention for your child.
"Why is it so hard for my child to learn to read? We’ve tried everything and he is still struggling."
Without sounding too technical, I will briefly describe the three processes that go into reading. A problem with one or more of these is the root cause for ALL reading problems…
Auditory processing which is our ability to discriminate sounds…we use this when we rhyme and sound out words as we read.
Visual processing is our ability to discriminate symbols…we use this to memorize sight words such as the word “the” --and to remember our spelling words and even math facts.
Language processing helps us to comprehend and remember what we read.
We need all three processes to read successfully. After reading this, you can decide which of these processes your child may be struggling with. He may even struggle with more than one.
By knowing the root cause, you will be able to find the correct intervention for your child.
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