When I work on expanding vocabulary with our students, I frequently use a system that I call “Valuable Vocabulary”. I made a chart with three columns. The first column is called $1.00; the second is called $20.00 and the third is the $100.00 column.

I explain to the students that in order to grow our vocabulary, we not only need to learn about new words, but we need to USE those new words in writing and speaking to truly make them part of our working word bank. So, while we are reading a story, or doing a lesson, I will put a new vocabulary word into one of these three columns, then we brainstorm on how to fill in the other two (by using more or less “valuable” synonyms). It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.

For example, if we come across the word DIABOLICAL, we may put that in the $100.00 column. Then I use it in a sentence, to try to allow the students to figure out via the context of the sentence what the new words means. We may end up with something like this:

$1.00      $20.00                 $100.00

  evil          despicable       diabolical

Then I will challenge the students to try to use more valuable vocabulary the next time they say or write the word “evil”. I suggest that when writing a sentence or a story to get their ideas on paper first, then go back and try to replace some of the words they originally used with a more “valuable” synonym.

This is something that can happen easily at home, when you are reading with a student. If you come across a new word, try this interactive way for them to learn it independently. It will make mastery of the new word much more likely if they “discover” the meaning on their own, rather than just hear the definition from someone else. This type of activity also is a great way to learn to use either the printed or the online versions of the Thesaurus as well.

Happy vocabulary growing!

Blogger Stacey Seybold Hiller is Speech Pathologist and owner of Indy Pediatric Speech Solutions

via How Do I Teach This Kid to Read?: Teaching Literacy Skills to Young Children with Autism, from Phonics to Reading Comprehension.

Last May, he received more labels of ADHD, learning disabled (dyslexia), and anxiety. When the report came out, and the official, formal label of ADHD was attached to Little Man, it hit me in the solar plexus; not because I didn’t see that he has attention issues, but because of what people think of when they hear the label. They think of a kid who is all over the classroom, who can’t sit in a chair for more than a minute, and who has absolutely no impulse control whatsoever. And, of course, the first thing out of the mouth of the neuropsychologist who evaluated him was, that medication is the only thing that will correct the synaptic defects in his brain (or something to that effect). Well guess what, chicky, meds didn’t help this kid one bit. All they did was ramp up his anxiety so much that he wanted to kill himself. Guess meds aren’t for everyone.

At the same time, his academic performance finally fell far enough below expected performance based on his tested IQ, so an IEP (individualized education program) was put in place.  The goal of this plan is to give him extra help so his grades will go up. So far, with the IEP in place this entire school year, his grades have not gone up one bit. Epic fail on that one. And he still hates school.

So, what’s this new puzzle piece, you ask? Just getting to that. Here it is. Last week I asked a favor of one of the school’s physical therapists. This gal has known Little Man, so when I asked if she could teach him to tie his shoes, she obliged. Little Man went from his day of school to a classroom across the hall, for weekly Homework Club. Half way through Homework Club, I grabbed him to work outside with this PT.

When I got him out there, the first thing I noticed was resistance and fear. He gritted his teeth and said he was embarrassed. I thought he was embarrassed because his teacher’s two daughters were playing on the playground nearby. Upon hindsight, I think he was embarrassed to be learning to tie his shoes at 10 years old. I also learned, later on, that his anxiety about the class field trip was at a high because the teacher threatened the class with their losing the field trip if they wouldn’t quiet down. (Maintaining quiet and order in the classroom has been a struggle for this brand new teacher).

After dispatching the teacher’s daughters to the far side of the playground, the PT worked with Little Man, showing him a specific technique for making an overhand knot. He watched her and tried it himself. His fingers didn’t do what hers did. The unruly laces didn’t knot like they were supposed to. He tried again. Too fast. His fingers still weren’t cooperating. His frustration was mounting like steam in a boiler with too much heat. The PT saw the pressure cooking. She kept working with him, not giving up on him, and not letting him give up.

As Little Man struggled mightily, he began to shut down. At that point, the PT covertly asked me to leave. I got the message and walked away, removing the safety net. I am the safe place where Little Man can shut down or lose it. When I’m not there, he fights just that much harder to keep it together.

Finally! He made 5 correct overhand knots. That was the end of the session. Little Man was beyond done. His volcano was cooked. As we all walked off the playground, to our respective cars, the PT started asking me questions about Little Man, including whether he was on the autism spectrum. On the spectrum? I answered honestly, I don’t know. After more chatting, she suggested having him observed in the classroom to see how he’s doing. Frankly, I wish someone had done that two years ago. Yes! Absolutely! He needs more help!

It hit like a ton of bricks: my special, funny, train-man, creative, builder, empathetic, cute boy might be on the autism spectrum. My head swirled. What does that mean? Do we get him evaluated for yet another label? How and who does this? Will it give him more accommodations in school? Will he have a chance of school not being a nightmare for him, one day? Would he be better served by a different school in our district? Is he really on the spectrum? Could he be on the spectrum?

I called the one person I know who has a son on the spectrum. We talked about our boys’ similarities and differences. As much as they do have some differences, the similarities are several. I asked her if she thinks my son could be on the spectrum. Could be.

Is it important to find out? That’s the next step in the process. I am hoping that Little Man will be observed by a teacher from our district who works with kids who have a lot of challenges. She’ll know what to look for. And she might just think that Little Man would be better served at her school: a school that has a lot of children receiving special ed services, and has a lot to offer to them. My question to this teacher will be: will adding another label to my son garner him more or different services than he is already entitled to? Would he be better served at her school? We’ll see in time. Still discovering more pieces of the puzzle that is my Little Man.

Searching for pieces of the puzzle that is my son.

Raising a Gifted Child is a good article on the subject, but what happens when the child is gifted operating with a learning difference.

Ryan was a classic case — with a 134 IQ, Ryan was gifted, verbally off the charts, but he struggled with reading comprehension, putting his thoughts on paper and math word problems.  The amazing thing was Ryan could solve math problems in his head, have adult conversations on complex subjects and remember places he had been 4 years ago — as if he was still there.

We call students like Ryan GOLD Students (TM) — Gifted Operating with a Learning Difference.

After determining Ryan learned differently, we then asked:

-   Can Ryan hyper-focus on that which is interesting and does he lose focus quickly when it is boring?

-   Does Ryan skip words and lines when reading?

-   Does Ryan get anxious or frustrated when he cannot do something?

Mom thought we had a camera in her house.  Ryan is a very typical GOLD Student (TM).  Even better, there are ways to teach GOLD Students so that the student can:

-  Use their visualization skills to both understand what they read and to create a a video for what they read

-  Pay better attention to that which is boring or frustrating

-  Both read without skipping words and lines and learn to catch a ball — many gifted kids are smart, but coordination is a challenge, because their eyes are not working effectively together

-   Handle frustration — when a child has a sea of strengths and challenges, they need to be able to keep calm when things are frustrating

The visual below shows that many of these students learn differently and have a visual tracking and/or attention issue. 

At 3D Learner, over 25% of our students are GOLD Students – Gifted Operating with a Learning Difference.  We offer an on-line assessment with a debrief at no cost.  To access it, sit down with your child at the computer and go to 3D Learner Assessment and call us for a no cost consult at 561-361-7495

Deena Seifert, MS, CCC-SLP

Get the tissues ready.  Anyone who parents or tutors a child with dyslexia and/or language-learning differences knows what a struggle it can be and will appreciate this.

I got a text message from my high school senior while I was at work this morning.  She had a school paper she left at home. I want you to grab the paper on my bedside table.  My first thought was – what paper? and why didn’t she remember to bring it to school with her.  I drove home at my first break a little annoyed wondering how long it would take me and when would she ever learn.  To my surprise I  found a MLA-style paper on the kitchen table.  It was entitled “A Mother’s Day Project.”  Here’s what it said:

Dear Mom,

First off, I want to tell you how sorry I am that I didn’t do anything for you on Mother’s Day especially since you are the most deserved mother in this world to receive above and beyond gifts.  As you can probably tell, I wrote this letter like I would for school and I did this because I want this letter to be the very last paper I write in my high school years.  Yes, yes…I underlined high school because I know when I go off into college I’ll have endless papers to write.  I feel like it’s an appropriate way to end my chapter in high school because the reason I was able to flip the pages was because of you.  I don’t want this Mother’s Day Card to be all about me, but I want you to realize how much you mean to me and how much of a difference you can make in a person’s life.

 I owe you everything and more.  I would not of gotten through high school without you.  Every time I wanted to give up and listen to the voices in my head that were telling me I couldn’t, you would step in and make your voice louder telling me that I could. When I left Friendship School, I remember feeling so lost.  I did not prepare myself for the challenges I would have to face, but you did.  Even to this day, I still have my moments of wanting to give up and sometimes I would even find reasons to blame you for my mistakes which was stupid because you were the only person holding my hand through every challenge.  You are so special to me because you and I are always going to have a connection that no one will ever understand or ever dare to come between.  You understand me when it comes to my dyslexia, which is something I could not explain to anyone.  I was sensitive when it came to my dyslexia because I didn’t want to be different from anyone else, especially my younger brother or older sister.  I used to think that no one would be proud of me when it came to school or academics, but I realize now that you are.  I also realize that being dyslexic will not define me.  You are always picking me up when I fall down and you make me work harder because you know what I am capable of.  Every second that it takes for me to walk across the stage, get my diploma, shake hands and move my tassel to the other side of my cap…will all be for you.

            You are my number one supporter, you are my cheerleader, you are the voice inside my head telling me that I can overcome any challenge, you…you are my mom.

Happy Mother’s Day – I LOVE YOU.

After I dried my eyes, I realized she really had been listening to me all these years.

…All the times I asked how her paper was going and she rolled her eyes…

…All the many topics we brainstormed ideas for and she wanted to give up…

…All the nights I nagged her to keep going and working…

…All the times she rolled her eyes, said “Oh, Mom!”

…All the “You Can Do It” pep talks and the “No, I can’t” responses…

She listened. She appreciated the journey and she gave me the best Mother’s Day present she could possibly give me….an essay of her thanks.  She gets an A++ from me.  You can bet I’ll be jumping up and down at her graduation hooting, hollering and embarassing both of us.  It was worth the journey…

For students with dyslexia or a learning disability who Learn Differently, the new approach that requires more individual research and group discussion, increases the chances these students will be engaged and raises the risk they will be lost.  The skill of the teacher becomes even more important.

The Common Core Standards will stress teachers, students and parents, but there are three major advantages for students with dyslexia or a learning disability who learn differently:

1-  These students have a chance to be engaged in more meaningful discussions

2-  There is a far greater chance they will get to do more meaningful research

3-   There is a far greater chance they will be interested and stay engaged in the conversation

The major risk for students with dyslexia who learn differently and for students with a learning disability who learn differently is that they will become lost in the conversation.  Students with dyslexia and learning disabilities can excel when they can picture the situation and can be lost when they do not.  The need for the teacher to convey the information visually and experientially, and to be empathetic to those with questions will become critical skills.

This technique has become invaluable to me, doubly so because of my dyslexia. Sometimes my ears can catch details that my eyes may miss, no matter how many edit passes I may make. Now, I do not go so far as to record what I read, but some of you may find that helpful.

Experiment. See what works for you.

But, why does such a thing work? Why does reading things out loud help to edit writing?

I believe it has something to do with differing environments, the mental and physical. While in the mental environment, you deal with concepts and abstracts, rearranging the puzzle pieces to place them in the correct order, to translate your ideas into words that display your imaginings. This process continues while editing, even though you may not be aware of it.

Reading what you have written, on the other hand, brings the work into the physical environment and engages more senses than just sight. You hear the words, feel the voice in your throat and the rush of out of your mouth. These help to solidify, to make concrete the concepts in your mind.

And, as anyone can verify, things in the physical realm can be much easier to understand than the nebulous musings that float through our minds. Now, I am not railing against imagination or anything like that. Some people have very good imaginations and can create living, breathing worlds inside their heads, worlds replete with substantial detail.

The warmth of the sun upon the skin. The smell of salt carried upon the ocean breeze. The sand flowing between wiggled toes. The feel of leather straps biting into the wrists. The nearby pygmy lighting the sacrificial fire, his eyes as mad as his cackling.

And so on.

You may have access to an editor to help tweak and make your writing more readable. Not everyone does. But, as I said, experiment and find out what works for you. I think you may be pleasantly surprised.

And, if you argue that you will feel silly, then remember: most every writer has lost his or her mind at some point. I just made it a point to never recover mine.

There are allot of arguements about dyslexia, allot of common thoughts about wether it exists. This my blog, will agree that dyslexia is a name that exists for a different way of thinking, many will say it does not exist, but unless you have suffered with dyslexia you will never be able to comprehend what it feels like, and how much fight goes on inside those minds. 

So who better then a dyslexic then to get down the nitty gritty to use her own experience and case studies of others to really push forward to find out new ideas and to discuss them.

Feel free to comment at any time. 

Rant over

GirlLostAtHome

~#2′s commentary during the marriage equality debate

Yesterday #2 and I biked to the capitol (Phy. Ed….check) to see and participate in the rally for marriage equality.  We talk a lot about civil rights and social justice at home, so seeing this historic moment was a good fit.

#2 has always had a deep sense of fairness.  Sometimes this is a wonderful trait, like when he expresses and will work for his deep sense of social justice and civil rights…but sometimes his deep sense of fairness is not helpful, such as when he is dealing with his siblings!

I have always wondered where this burning desire for social justice comes from.  Because of his dyslexia, he is incredibly sensitive to the world around him visually, auditorily, and emotionally.  His brain takes everything in and he has a very difficult time filtering things out.  He is normally the first to react when he senses something is not right.

I just started the book Reading David: A Mother and Son’s Journey through the labyrinth of Dyslexia by Lissa Weinstein, Ph.D.  She is describing the process she went through to have her son diagnosed and it’s strikingly similar to my journey.  The interesting part is that her son has written part of the book and talks about how he always knew he was different from people around him.  I asked #2 if he always knew he was different, and he said he did, with tears in his eyes.  I can’t help but wonder if he has known how different his brain worked from others because of how sensitive he is.

Yesterday #2 was able to see our democracy in action.  He saw people of all walks of life participating in a historic day.  It was a great lesson in civics.  He noticed that just because your have a clerical collar on, that does not define what side of the issue you are on (yesterday, more times than not it meant you were there to support marriage equality).  He witnessed many people holding signs expressing their joy of finally belonging to part of our society, the institution of marriage.  It was striking how many people were there that, by appearance only, many times don’t fit into the norm of our society.  We saw many same sex couples showing affection to each other, other people with fluorescent hair, people holding signs expressing their bisexuality, etc.  How long have some of these people felt like they had to hide their identity?

A main theme of the debate yesterday was a sense of belonging.  People in same sex relationships were asking to belong.  They were asking for a tolerance of differences.  They want to openly be themselves and able to express their love in the same way that opposite sex couples do, through a publicly recognized marriage.  They want society to accept their identity and who they are.  This debate took a lot of courage from people who have been labeled as “different” their entire lives and told they don’t belong.  Everyone wanted to be included in something that for to long has been for “us” and not “them.”

Yesterday, everyone belonged to society.  People from all walks of life came together in a sign of unity and acceptance.  #2 was amazed at all the people and loved being surrounded by the acceptance, hugs, music, love and joy.  As I watched him beam I realized that a sense of belonging is what he has asked for his entire life too.  He’s always known he was different, and it was pointed out to him continuously throughout his time in public school.  While the class was reading and writing he was told, in so many words, “this is not for you” and put in front of a computer to play a game. He was taught that his dyslexia was a barrier for his life and a reason he would never belong, instead of the gift that it is.  He was even taught that the thing that makes his life so difficult at times, dyslexia, is something that the school district denies is real and refuses to discuss.

He wants to belong.  He wants to be accepted for his differences.  He wants to be praised for his creativity, ability to care for animals and deep compassion for other people, not ashamed of his low standardized test scores.  I can only hope that someday he will feel this acceptance when he re-enters a public school.

I am filled with gratitude towards the MN legislators who voted for acceptance, tolerance, social justice, fairness and love.  What a wonderful thing that our children will grow up in a world where people of different sexual orientations can all experience the joy of a marriage.  Yesterday we honored the golden rule….may that continue into other areas of our society.

Rating:

7 out of 10 (from 18 votes)

Now: I believe that the AD(H)D individuals are here to create a counter-weight to the logical knowledge worshippers, to bring balance to the whole. However, this can create an imbalance within themselves, but that is not what creates the general problems which are then being called a “disorder”. What is disordered here is that there is a general “either-or” mentality when it comes to the AD(H)D vs non-AD(H)D personality. You’re either able to focus, to control your impulses, and complete tasks without being distracted, control your emotions and have a great sense of time, OR – you are disordered! And the list goes beyond AD(HD). I’m sure everyone has that one thing in their life that could be turned into a “disorder”. You can fill in the blank for yourself, it will always check out!

So, the fear of not knowing comes from the lack of trust in our intuitive knowledge, or if we trust our intuitive knowledge, the inability to bring it into logical knowledge and to act upon it.

Because without inspiration, there is no action, without action, there is no manifestation. Without manifestation, there is not movement, and now ask yourself again why they call it “Hyperactivity”. We NEED the movement. We NEED the change. We can feel the restlessness. Gotta go. Got stuff to do!

But not knowing where to go – that can be very unsettling. And here’s why it is so important to let go of the desire to control and micro-manage everything – because you have all this magical support coming your way to save you the time and energy that you need to invest into your action. That’s why it seems that there is a “deficit” – because you are trying to take over the job of your car’s engine! But your job is to DRIVE – the road will unfold before you, and will take you to the places you need and want to be – magically!

Feel like I have so much more to say, but I need to get going – got stuff to do!

Click on the picture to see a larger, clearer image.

How some of these apps are used.

Polly who is studying for her AS’s, has recommended Penultimate, Evernote Peek and Show Me. Polly uses Penultimate to create hand written notes before importing these in to Evernote Peek to create a series of flashcards that work by slowly removing the iPad Smart Cover. Alongside this Polly uses Show Me to create interactive presentations to consolidate her learning and create a reference point for revision.

Matt who is about to finish his A2s likes to use the note taking app Noteabiliy. He uses it to type, handwrite and draw notes. He’s especially likes it due to the audio record feature which he uses to record his one-to-ones so that he can re-listen to information in his own time whilst adding more detail to his notes.

   Am I the only one who, the older I get, the more I look for things to do?  I don’t mean go to the mall or neighborhood pub, etc.  That’s not my thing.  I mean in my business.  The funny thing is, every day I wake up there is plenty of things (mostly routine) to do, but the child in me is always looking for something new to create, expand make, produce, sell etc.

      About an hour into my morning coffee (I’m a slow drinker), the obsession starts.  “If I don’t create something so new and so different, the world, even my close friends and loving wife, will forget who I am or ever was.”

     Then I come to my senses.  I’m not a pimply-faced 12 year old who wonders why he’s no longer a boy but not yet a man, but it is amazing how fast that feeling can return if I’m not doing something productive.  I give myself permission to play on Twitter and facebook, and of course go mountain hiking with Lee but to me, that’s part of what I call un-work; regenerating or winding down, whatever one likes to call it.  I become a kid again in the forest. I love the flora the smells, the wildlife and yes, even the wildflowers.  If I didn’t  get out in nature far from the maddening crowd at least twice a week I’d explode.  In fact I think Lee has seen me explode once or twice and its so messy.  Fortunately Lee loves it too and it’s not only play for her but a major part of her work. 

      The great irony of it all is that I’m into my 15^th year of Londons Times Cartoons & Gifts and the large core of the work (not quite 5000 cartoons and about ¼ million gift items) are completed.  It didn’t seem like hard work but I know it was.  Actually more discipline than hard work, but staying focused and with a purpose.  I know that just about anyone could do what I have done (if they really wanted to).  Then I start thinking, “But who would want to”.  Then I remember, “Well there’s other nuts out there”.   In that 15 years at one time or another I was certain I was the “most brilliant entrepreneur in the world”.  Then I went back to school at age 47 and actually met some of the real most brilliant entrepreneurs in the world.  I learned humility. I would never come close to being so, but playing pretend can be fun.   I did learn some things from my amazing classmates and wonderful professors.   

       What Lee does is hard work too and she started Lee Hiller Designs very similarly to how I did, virtually with nothing but a computer, a brain and talent.  She got better as the years passed.  She is in her 5^th year and is still expanding and I love watching her work grow.  At first it was almost all nature photography.  Then she started experimented with her art which she’d given up in high school, only to find out it is a public favorite and sells on all types of items worldwide.  Her posters are very popular and several of them dawn our living room walls (next to my silly cartoons), but hey, I do my best.  Lee has about 30,000 products on the market and I remember when she started in late October of 2009.  I couldn’t believe her discipline and work ethic.   It continues and it’s contagious.

      In the strange economies in which we’ve lived the past three or four decades (on and off), I admire anyone who looks at obstacles as something to overcome, work hard, and keep a project or entrepreneurial venture alive.  It’s not magic and it’s not brain surgery.

      For us, this is what it took.  This is not the only way, but if a couple can agree upon it, and live it, they can go far (so can a non-couple)

Tear up your credit cards. Plastic surgery They look appealing when starting up a business, but they are not your friend (unless you own the credit card company) 

1 Pay with cash or debit cards (we rarely even use checks anymore).  We pay as we go. 

2 Advertise for free or cheap.  Why pay for major media or even overpriced newspapers, radio, or tv, when you can often reach as many if not more people consistently using social media.  We use it nonstop (even when we are not at the computer we use pre-scheduling software) which keeps our tweets going.  Many old-school twitterers pooh pooh that idea; but those are the types who often turn into life coaches and other type shadowy types, living on other’s blood and their credit cards, posting their various addresses (of which nobody cares or believes anyway), and don’t tend to do very well financially (or spiritually), which has been our observation. 

3 Never give up.  That’s become so common its cliché’.  I will add, “It’s okay to give up for a little while, an hour, a day or even a week”.  Everyone needs to regenerate and rest.  But know you are going back into the ring with a new plan.

4 It’s your business.  Use an attorney with agreements/contracts.  If you can’t afford an attorney, use one of the legal sites and get affordable agreements, but understand you are not as well protected, generally, as you are with a good attorney who understands your business needs (or even your business).  But they are better than nothing (usually).

5 Hype yourself.  No, nobody wants to know how ethical you are, brilliant you are, creative you are, moral you are, religious you are, etc etc., at least not from your lips.  If someone else says it about you,  it has a lot more credence. If you say it, intelligent people will tend to find people who really has at least one of those qualities and do business with them. 

6 Don’t be afraid of looking silly.  Why? Because no matter what, at some time or another in any startup, you are going to look fairly silly.  So prepare and realize it’s part of falling down and getting back up (which has happened to me more times than I’d like to count).

7 Use barter, talent and sweat-equity wherever and whenever you can. Your service or product is worth something to someone. Make a list of what you need, but perhaps cannot afford, and contact at least 20 people in that business offering your service or product for their service or product.  Out of 20, I usually have always gotten one positive bite. Different people have different thresholds, but the whole idea of a startup is every bit as much “a numbers game” as it is “a talent game”.

8. Scale down.  Have a car note or mortgage that is giving you nightmares?  This is where the tough decisions have to be made.  Sometimes we can’t have it all.  The good news is that a lot more people are scaling down than moving up; we are not in the “yuppie years” anymore.  We are all surviving the best we can.  So getting a smaller house, apartment or whatever might be the right move.  Lee and I have older cars that have been paid for for years.  We keep them serviced and they run like new.  We got a much smaller place, in a better location.  In NYC, our same place would be about $10,000 per month.  We pay a fraction. We have no car note.  At first it was not easy.  We’d both lived “in the burbs” and had picket fence homes in the past.   This is so much more manageable and anyone “turned off” by it doesn’t have to be a part of it (though most think its a very good idea and area doing similar things) and finding their bills are paid on time and worry of debt is not a big part of our lives.  If we can do that, anybody can. 

  Yes you can find venture capitalists but it’s not always as fun as it looks.  A venture capitalist is involved in many businesses and unless a close friend, generally only looks at the bottom line, not your potential (only you know that), and there are sites in which you can attempt to raise money online. If using one of those sites, offer back credits, not ownership. Own your own business.  That is why you got in it, isn’t it?  Aside from expressing yourself in our economy using commerce, it was for freedom, and nothing offers more freedom than being a successful creative entrepreneur. 

So with all this pent-up knowledge am I great, ethical, moral brilliant, etc?  Nahhhhh, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

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Rick London is a writer, songwriter, designer and cartoonist.  He founded Londons Times Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts in 1997 which has been Google & Bing #1 ranked since 2005.   London has shops with funny t shirts and gifts such as Rick London Gifts and also designs Famous Quote Gifts at his RickLondonDesigns.com.  He is married to nature/wildlife photographer and blogger Lee Hiller-London who also owns designer affordable gifts at her Lee Hiller Designs shop.  Together they hike the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas where they live.  

To all the moms out there, we know how hard you work. We see it every day in our office. We see mothers who come in and are doing everything in their power to see that their children are happy and healthy. We love it!

We know it’s a bit late, but we want to express our thanks and gratitude to all the mothers out there. This blog has been created to help many people, yet we know the vast majority of our readers are indeed concerned mothers. Those of you with children in vision therapy and those who are beginning to research the field, you’re on the right track!

We appreciate the schlepping back and forth between school and vision therapy, the hours spent assisting with homework and often dealing with your child’s frustration. It is our goal to help you find the answers and get the breakthrough you’re looking for in your child’s learning. We know it will pay off.  Without you and your dedication we wouldn’t be able to help get your child on track. We wanted to take this time to thank you for everything that you do.

So mothers, this one is for you. Happy Mother’s Day!

Keep an eye out for upcoming post on the “why’s” of vision therapy as Dr. Weinberg will be discussing the links between vision and learning.

-Zach

Wild Song by Jane Eagland

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Thoughts:

First of all, I would like to say that I do understand That this book is intended for dyslexic students/children at about a third grade reading level. I agree with that assessment. The material is easy reading, the language would be perfectly appropriate for the intended age group and the paragraph spacing and formatting is perfect for children that struggle with longer passages of text.

The story itself has a beautiful and somewhat haunting atmosphere. The young heroine finds herself in an impossible situation with an aging and ailing father who is extremely overprotective of her and wishes to keep her from life outside the island they inhabit. He guards her so closely that he refuses to even let her access books that describe life away from their home, although she gets them anyway.

The romance is sweet and does not come to much, so parents don’t have to worry about their child reading something that is too emotionally advanced for them. I liked the interaction between the main character and Rob.

While the writing was age appropriate and the over all story that was emerging was entertaining and piqued my interest, the ending was a somewhat disappointing. I did not feel that much of anything was resolved, and I felt that the book was setting up to be a series, but cannot find any indication that this is true. I don’t see anything anywhere that says “watch for book two coming soon” or anything else.

I found many parts of this book enjoyable, and think that kids age 10-14 would more than likely enjoy it, even with the end not resolving all of the issues raised in the story. My hope, is that there will be another book to follow soon.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher, Stoke Books.

Turkey Bacon
What in Chemical Lab A are they doing to turkey to make it taste like bacon?
And how can that process conceivably be healthy?

Scented Deodorizer
How is this possible? Wouldn’t the deodorizer, by definition! negate the scented?

Self-corrected?
If you are cross-eyed and have dyslexia, can you read without issue? It kind of makes sense. Of course, if you were cross-eyed and could read straight, are you still dyslexic?

Presidential Pageant
How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America? Aren’t they basically being judged on the same stuff? Appearance, education, ability to answer a question. Yet we get 50 choices for Miss America for a single year term and only 2 for President for four! Shouldn’t each state be represented in a true Democracy?

In sounds vs. Out Sounds
You know how you sound different to yourself when you hear your voice recorded? I mean, you listen to yourself all day, every day, and yet when you hear it outside of your head, you think—or say—That’s what I sound like? (or more likely, That’s NOT what I sound like!)Okay, now let’s apply that knowledge to impersonators… If they think they sound like a celebrity IN THEIR HEAD, how do they know what they sound like to the rest of us? And if they sound like the celebrity to the rest of us, what do they sound like in their head?

I know!
That’s it for today– quick Monday Blog.

R is for Random. Thank you for thinking about my Random Thoughts.

Post Script:
I got a virus on my computer yesterday that locked it down. Yay! Thank you f*&^ing hackers. So I’m posting today’s blog from my *WRITING ONLY* laptop. (Yes, blogging is writing, but I really try to keep this machine pristine and safe from f*&^ing hackers.) That said, no images today. And fingers crossed that my files are saved.

Final random note:
I just got news of the new prequel to Ender’s Game, Earth Afire. Even though I thought Book Two, Speaker for the Dead was “meh,” I am excited about this publication.

The list of challenges that students with dyslexia often face include:

• Challenges with the Alphabet – mostly lowercase letters – which can be tricky because some letters have multiple sounds. Others look very similar to each other.
• Writing letters and numbers backward.
• Flipping letters and numbers.
• Difficulty remembering left from right.
• Has a hard time learning to tie shoes so she prefers slip ons only for the time being.
• Trouble with buttons and snaps on clothing.
• Up until recently she had trouble with Rhyming.
• Difficulty with speech and pronouncing words – flipping her words when speaking. I do this all the time.
• Trouble remembering symbols.
• Trouble following directions that go beyond one step at a time – I can’t say to her “the applesauce is in the fridge, on the 2nd shelf, towards the back in the red bowl, on the right side.” That’s too much information at one time.

These factors are not all a direct result of dyslexia,  They are a combination of dyslexia, attention, visual processing and related challenges.

One of the symptoms of dyslexia that we often see is that the child learns differently — that is, they are often right-brained learners who learn best when they see and experience information.

Dyslexia programs are very different from each other.  You want to first understand:

-   Does my child learn differently?

-  Does my child have attention, visual processing or related issues?

-  Will the program help me to be the coach and advocate my child needs?

PS  Click here for the 3D Learner Assessment that looks at the questions:

-  Does my child learn differently

-  Does my child have an attention, visual tracking and related issues

This is a photo of Dog in a fountain in Ohio.

Way down in Ohio, there are tons of dyslexic agnostics who take separation of church and state very seriously.  That’s why their state motto is, With Dog all things are possible.

I am looking forward to meeting Mr. OH. He seems to be constantly making a face that says, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

PS: Fun fact (or is it?) Cleveland boasts America’s first traffic light. I think of this as the first opportunity anyone had to run a red light in America.  FAIL.

Brain games for the mind