Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids » learning disability in children

How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child

colleen — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:23:04 +0000

I am often asked to explain what brain training means relative to helping your child be able to learn easier and more efficiently. I often find myself listing out the many benefits that your child can experience. For example, your child will be able to remember more with better imagery and recall the information faster, concepts whether imagery or auditory based will be understood, manipulated and ordered with much greater ease and organization.

Taking tests and studying will become much easier and less anxiety-driven as your child begins to transfer skills back into the classroom. Following your multi-step directions at home will be completed when asked without multiple requests to repeat the information. Your child will be able to follow along in class better and become a more active participant in the overall learning process.

Let’s not forget attending, focus and less fidgeting will be experienced. While this sounds wonderful, I do point out to parents that the joy and life-changing events do not stop there. As your child’s brain continues to dynamically change to the environment, cognitive skills and processing abilities will strengthen even more. Even though we all know that the magic pill, one-stop shopping, does not exist, brain training comes pretty close.

Why? Because, when you provide your child with a stronger foundation and capacity to learn, your child’s horizon has just expanded. Where your child may never had interest in reading before, books are now curiously interesting.

Usually, at this point in the conversation I would begin discussing the “How Can This Be Accomplished?” question. All of this wonderful changes in your child is possible because of the Theory of Neuroplasticity.

“Santiago Ramon y Cajal (a founder of modern neuroscience) expressed this theory in 1894, three years before Charles Sherrington coined the term synapse to describe the connections made between neurons. In the late 1940s the neuroplasticity model was advanced by Jerzy Konorski, who used the word plasticity to describe “permanent functional transformations,” and Donald Hebb, who ascribed testable physiologic characteristics to synaptic plasticity. However, experimental evidence that synapses are capable of long-lasting changes in synaptic strength did not come until the early 1970s, when Timothy Bliss and Terry Lomo described an increase in the synaptic strength of neurons in the mammalian hippocampus (a region of the brain critical for some forms of memory) following electrical stimulation. They termed this increase long-lasting potentiation, now referred to as long-term potentiation (LTP).” (novelguide.com, 2011)

The best part is that you can accomplish a stronger foundation and cognitive skills within 90 days in most cases. For example, I often recommend that while you are still getting “educated” on my site to start out with a home-based program that can be completed with a computer and internet connection.

BrainSkills and BrainWare Safari can begin the whole process of neuroplasticity and strengthening your child’s capacity to learn, remember and process by working the program 3x a week for 30 min. Then, if you even need more intensive brain training and help with transferring the new skills into everyday life and the classroom, you can work with me in-person.

Parts of Speech in Rhyme Form

colleen — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:00:46 +0000

The Parts of Speech in Rhyme

A noun's the name of any thing,

As school, or garden, hoop, or swing.

Adjectives tell the kind of noun,

As great, small, pretty, white, or brown.

Instead of nouns, the pronouns stand–

Her head, his face, your arm, my hand.

Verbs tell of something to be done–

To read, count, sing, laugh, jump, or run.

How things are done, the adverbs tell,

As slowly, quickly, ill or well.

Conjunctions join the words together —

As men and women, wind or weather.

The preposition stands before
A noun, as in, or through a door.

The interjection shows surprise,

As oh! how pretty — ah! how wise.

The whole are called the parts of speech,

Which reading, writing, speaking, teach.

BY Alfred J. Lawrence, Michigan – submitted by Toni Cosgrove of Notebooking Forum on Yahoo.

P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

colleen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:00:48 +0000

This week we discuss what to do if you do not know how to help your child with the subject matter causing stress. For example, with math, you may be a math wiz but your child's school is teaching math a totally different way than how you learned math. To add to this complexity, your child must show their work exactly how the teacher is teaching them.

This leaves quite a few challenges for parents, right? On one hand you are a math wiz and on the other hand, you cannot help your child due to the new math being taught in schools today.

So, here is what you can do. First watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8aW4YuFSiY&feature=related and chuckle a bit to understand it is not just you. Many parents are in the same situation. Their child is struggling but cannot be helped by a parent because the parent was not taught this method.

Next, if you are really that stuck with the new math, search youtube for your child's curriculum. The name on your child's textbook/workbook/journal will let you know what to search for on youtube. Then you can refine your search for specific concepts being taught with the new math approach.

Everyday Math Lattice Method – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29XL99qM6s
Everyday Math Division – partial quotient method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWstA8EZr2w

If after viewing the video, the math still seems way too foreign for you, let your child take a look at the video or corresponding videos. The videos may do the trick and help your child internalize the concept and process easier.

If you still have difficulty after looking at these options, I would look for a tutor that knows your child's curriculum or your child's teacher may be able to tutor before/after school.

Remember, your child could be having math difficulty because of weak cognitive skills!

Please do yourself and your child a favor and purchase the online assessment today. You will get immediate results on the screen and understand exactly why your child is struggling with homework and what options you can take to help your child overcome the weaknesses.

Even if you do not opt to overcome the weaknesses, you will be armed with many "AH HA" moments to better manage the daily homework sessions. Stay tuned for next week's continued article on homework meltdowns and strategies to overcome them.

P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

colleen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:00:48 +0000

This leaves quite a few challenges for parents, right? On one hand you are a math wiz and on the other hand, you cannot help your child due to the new math being taught in schools today.

So, here is what you can do. First watch this http://youtu.be/Vetg7vWitTU and chuckle a bit to understand it is not just you. Many parents are in the same situation. Their child is struggling but cannot be helped by a parent because the parent was not taught this method.

Everyday Math Lattice Method – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y29XL99qM6s
Everyday Math Division – partial quotient method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWstA8EZr2w

If you still have difficulty after looking at these options, I would look for a tutor that knows your child's curriculum or your child's teacher may be able to tutor before/after school.

Remember, your child could be having math difficulty because of weak cognitive skills!

P2 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

colleen — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:07:15 +0000

Last week I gave you some ideas for those families in crisis mode with dealing with homework meltdowns. The number one takeaway from last week is to be proactive, manage crisis situations and get your child's emotions down and under control.

Your child most likely will not be able to tell why they cannot do their homework and asking them, "Why can't you do this if you just learned it today in school?" will just make your child more anxious and feeling less than successful. If your child's emotions start to get out of control use the "I" statements.

As a parent, when you want to confront the situation (make it go away, right?) try working with a statement that acknowledges your child's feelings. Try using "I know doing homework that is difficult for you must not be fun. Take a 15 minute break and then we will try it again." That type of statement will bring your child's emotions down and avoid the homework meltdown. More importantly, it will let your child know that you support them.

You are saying and offering a break statement if the homework meltdown is about ready to explode and happen in real time because your child's emotions are at the tipping point. However, while your child is taking that 15 minute break, you as the parent are preparing for the homework session when your child returns.

Now you can begin to observe your child's learning preferences – styles that lead to successful learning. Doing so will lead to the phasing out of breaks because your approach to homework will not include meltdowns.

Remember, as a parent, your goal is to get your child to complete the homework. By helping your child "experience" that they can in fact do the work they are becoming more confident, stronger and as a family you are beginning to realize the power within yourselves to breakthrough (anything, really).

You will help your child experience success by completing homework using an approach that keeps their attention, for now. Remember, I am a brain trainer (a.k.a. Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapist) so I will do my best to have you help your child strengthen all cognitive skills so they can learn in a variety of ways.

Just recall how many times you "told" your child that it is okay, you can do it. Nothing proves how strong and powerful we are than when we "experience" this firsthand.

Your goal, with my help, is to discover which learning style is your child's preference for learning. Then, you will help your child "experience" just how capable of a learner they really are without much help from you.

When your child's learning style preference is discovered, then use of this style for homework along with strategies, is what your basic learning center asks thousands of dollars for from you to help your child. You can do the same thing with your children if you know how to do it.

The difference with working with me, in-person or online, is that I help "you" help your child strengthen all skills for learning and processing along with creating new pathways. Your child can learn with any style whether it be visual, auditory, etc. Your child will have the edge over other children, yes, but your child will experience a transformation.

This whole process, my passion for doing what I do, isn't about helping a child learn to learn. I do what I do because it is about helping each child and family that I work with realize that they can live their dream with a bit of hard work, support from family/friends, faith and hope.

When I take families through my process and the child comes through the other side, the child has transformed academically but more importantly an internal journey has happened. Your child will have had a breakthrough in their belief system.

That is the first step of any lifelong change. The child and family will always look back on their time with me and realize they did it, not me.

The child and family did this successful transformation. They will realize that from their heart, comes their belief and feelings which then drive their thoughts and actions in their life.

Here is something I want you to work on for those children that do not like (start to shut down and get frustrated) working with worksheets/workbooks. When your child takes out their worksheet or opens their workbook to a page for homework, let your child take a break while you "convert" this homework into their preferred learning style. Remember, this extra work goes away after brain training with me.

For children that prefer to get involved using a whiteboard, per se, this is your time to get a whiteboard for yourself and your child along with an eraser / markers. Your job is to first write out an equation from the worksheet and then request your child to complete the equation on the extra whiteboard.

You can also complete this using a computer, too. Visit http://www.imaginationcubed.com/ for a FREE online whiteboard you can use with your child via the internet.

If your child appears, through your observations, to have difficulty with recognizing operational signs, use a different colored marker for each part of your equation. Perhaps, Blue and Green for each of the addends (if addition) and red for the operational symbol "+".

The above example will work nicely for children who understand the concept being worked but may be in overwhelm and unable to work on a worksheet request. Additionally, this approach works when there are too many equations on the worksheet for your child to focus and gets overwhelmed easily.

Have fun with this and let your child be the teacher and you be the student! Let me know how this works out for you and your child!

Remember, you still have time to strengthen your child's cognitive skills. But first, find out which skills need to be strengthened. My summer sale with BrainWare Safari is still active for only a few more weeks!

Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

colleen — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:00:21 +0000

Well, it is almost back-to-school for our children. Some schools will be opening doors in August across our country. Others will start after Labor Day. The one thing they all have in common is homework. For those students who do get homework, this can be the most stressful time of the day. For families dealing with these students, this can be the time of day that you wish never occurred.

Moms will find themselves up against a child that presents like an oppositional one. Moms and/or dads will raise their voices, some will challenge and yet others will flat out punish their child that presents oppositional towards homework time.

Although parents can google and find hundreds of articles about homework time. All of the articles will most likely tell you how to set up an area for your child to do homework, void of distractions, be sure to have ample supplies in this area, set up a routine for your family and most of all, have patience.

What these articles won't do is help you survive and even overcome the horrid homework sessions. In fact, homework sessions will become independent and fun. Does that sound like a dream to you?

We will begin exploring homework sessions, why they are challenging for some and down right avoided – at all costs – by others. You will begin to understand and even manage your child's homework sessions to eventually lend to overcoming them.

Let's begin. This is week 1 of several week's of pertinent information that will help you, as a parent, take more responsibility towards your child's learning and homework.

For those parents in desperate need of surviving homework sessions, I want to give you some compensatory strategies to keep you moving forward and getting the homework sessions completed while you are learning how to overcome them.

Step 1: When your child begins to avoid homework and procrastinates in starting the homework until the very last possible moment, you need to understand that there is a real reason other than avoidance of homework at play here. Unless your child is perfectly fine, even gifted, and is bored with homework, your child is most likely avoiding it because it is difficult.

For now, your end goal as a parent is to get the homework completed with as little stress as possible while gathering as much information from your child as possible. You will become a detective, skilled at observing your child's mannerisms and responses when working through homework together.

For students that are older and refuse to even allow you to observe, you need to negotiate with them to get your answers. Literally offer them a free pass at something in return for writing you a list of 10 things or less that you hate about doing homework. If you get this much from them, you are off to a great start!

For younger students who will gladly let you sit with them or at least observe them attempting homework, your job is to observe and watch for the following behaviors:

For math homework
- observe if the homework is on a worksheet or in a workbook
- observe how many equations/problems are on one page
- observe when your child's frustrations start —
  - does your child get frustrated when the page is presented?
  - does your child get frustrated after starting on the page of work?
  - does your child get frustrated while involved in showing the work to solve the problem?
  - does your child get frustrated if you begin to "talk" them through the problem?
  - does your child only get frustrated on word problems (maybe trying to read/understand them)?
- For managing the frustration - observe any change in your child's behavior when you
  - only show one equation at a time by covering up the page with extra piece of paper
  - use a whiteboard to actively engage your child to solve the problem using a marker and eraser (its like playing but uses different cognitive skills)
  - use manipulative to actively engage the solving of the problem (helps your child visualize what the problem is asking)
  - use a number line on the table for those students who have not mastered number facts yet (alleviates memory and/or processing speed weaknesses)
  - provide your child with down time during the homework session (allow your child to work for 10 minutes, if possible and then break for 10 min)
For spelling homework
- observe if the spelling words are on a worksheet, word ring or in a textbook
- observe how many words your child is being requested to memorize and spell
- observe when your child's frustrations start–
  - does your child get frustrated when you start "asking" how to spell a word?
  - does your child get frustrated when looking at the list of words to remember?
  - does your child get frustrated when trying to "verbalize" the spelling of the words?
  - does your child get frustrated when "listening" to you read words and often asks you to repeat them?
  - does your child get frustrated when having to "write" the spelling words on paper?
- For managing the frustration- observe any change in your child's behavior when you
  - only show one word at a time by covering up all the other words on the page using an extra piece of paper
  - use a whiteboard to engage and play a game — play hangman, for example using the spelling words
  - use index cards and make 2 cards of the same word. let your child play matching game
  - use a computer and have your child type the correct spelling of the words
  - have your child close their eyes and use skywriting – they use their finger and point to each letter in the sky in the word in the correct order as they spell the word.
  - have your child use different colored ink for each letter of the word when writing it on paper (if allowed by teacher)
  - have your child throw a ball to you as they spell the word out loud

Just understand as a parent, there are many ways that you can manage the homework session successfully while improving your relationship with your child, too. Once you can find a way to lessen the frustration, stick with that approach for now. The homework gets done correctly and neatly while the two of you are having a blast.

It is a matter of knowing what to do and what not do under certain circumstances. It is also very important to understand what weak skills your child is suffering from so you are well prepared before homework sessions resume for the upcoming school year.

Setting People Straight About Dyslexia

colleen — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:08:46 +0000

I found this article online and wanted to share it with you. It is from The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Enjoy!

SETTING PEOPLE STRAIGHT ABOUT Dyslexia




Kacie after MRI. Photo by S. Shaywitz


Source: Overcoming Dyslexia by S. Shaywitz


Finance guy Charles Schwab

You might hear people—even smart adults—say things about dyslexia that aren’t true. Most of them don’t mean to be rude, they just don’t have their facts straight. Here are 6 ways you can (gently) explain dyslexia to them when they get it wrong.

When they say: Oh, dyslexia! That’s where you write letters backward, right?

Tell them: Actually, people with dyslexia might have trouble naming a letter, but letters don’t look backwards to us. Writing letters backwards is something that many kids do when they’re first learning to write, though, whether they have dyslexia or not.

When they say: Most of the kids who have dyslexia are boys, aren’t they?

Tell them: We used to think so, but a big study at Yale found out that the numbers of girls and boys who have dyslexia are about the same.

When they say: But kids with dyslexia outgrow it, don’t they?

Tell them: Nope. Dyslexic kids grow up to be dyslexic adults. But what is true is that there are strategies that can make reading and writing easier for us, whether we’re kids or grown-ups.

When they say: Dyslexic kids must have poor vocabularies.

Tell them: No way! We’re smart kids who know a lot about a lot of things. Like, even when I was little I knew tons about dinosaurs and could tell you all their long names—I just had a hard time reading or writing the word dinosaur, or finding it on the page of a book.

When they say: If you were smarter or worked harder, you wouldn’t have dyslexia.

Tell them: I’m happy to say that one’s really not true. I have a hard time learning to read new words or reading quickly because my brain figures out and recognizes words in a different way than yours does. People with dyslexia have to work harder to read well, but, trust me, we do! In fact, people with dyslexia are usually not only very smart, but also really creative.

When they say:
Won’t your dyslexia make it hard to find a job when you get older? What kind of job can you do, anyway?

Tell them: Any job I want! Even though dyslexia makes some things harder for us, there are dyslexics in all kinds of jobs. Some of them are even famous—ever heard of the actor Whoopie Goldberg, the writer John Irving, or the finance guy Charles Schwab? How about Magic Johnson, or that guy who played the elf in the Lord of the Rings movies, Orlando Bloom? If we can dream it, we can do it—just like everyone else.

Source: http://dyslexia.yale.edu/EDU_dyslexiastraighttalk.html

What’s involved in Testing for Dyslexia?

colleen — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:00:07 +0000

Dyslexia is thought to be a learning disability, but what you need to know is that’s not true. There is a revised definition that came from the International Dyslexia Association and they define Dyslexia as a neurologically-based disorder that interferes with the acquisition and processing of language.

Many people think there is a simple test that can be administered to your child and within a few minutes a Dyslexia diagnosis can be returned. Unfortunately that’s not the case. There are between 10 and 12 tests that must be conducted before a decision can be made.

Dyslexia is not something a school can diagnose due to the lack of training. It’s not a law that schools test for this so you may find the school will give you several excuses for not testing. You may hear them say your child is too little, they have a learning disability, it’s a medical problem, or there is nothing wrong.

With that said, it’s a good idea to find a licensed and certified Brain Trainer that can provide an online assessment for your child. The assessment will highlight all of the main cognitive domains needed for learning and reading which cover Dyslexic Symptoms.

The test will cover the following areas.

Memory (Auditory, Visual, Long and Short-Term)
Auditory Processing
Visual Processing
Phonological Awareness (Word Attack)
Auditory Blending, Segmenting and Analysis

One thing to remember is it doesn’t matter how old your child is, you need to get them the help they need now. This allows your child to move on in life with the ability to learn and function in the world.

It’s important for you, as the parents, to not give up when you feel your child has Dyslexia. That’s the worst thing you can do for your child. Give them the help they need. They’ll thank you for the rest of their life when you do.

Are there Natural ways to cure Cancer?

colleen — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:00:48 +0000

I wanted to offer up this article of research that my team and I found and created for you. Why? Because it hits close to home for me. There is no cure for Shannon's OMS. We are looking at alternative mehods and may be going down this journey. This particular method of healing works, not only for cancer, but for many other ailments – even mental illnesses. Enjoy the read.

As we all know, there are certain types of cancers and other illnesses that are not curable. There are many reasons for this, but some are because of the location while others could be due to how fast it’s spread. If surgery is not the answer, you may be told radiation or chemotherapy are your only options. Those are invasive treatments that could make you sick and they may not do any good.

Giving up on everything is not the answer either. You need to continue the fight all the way. Radiation and chemotherapy will make you sick and you’ll feel terrible. Natural methods won’t make you feel that way.

If you’ve been given a diagnosis of cancer or other illness and you’ve been told there is no cure, you may want to consider natural alternatives to the harsh treatment the doctor may give.

It’s possible changing the foods you eat and doing other things may encourage your body to heal itself. Organic foods and juices along with natural vitamins will help this process. When the body is being attacked by cancer and other illnesses it has a hard time fighting those things off. When you supply natural things, the body is able to do what’s needed to fight off the bad and bring in more good.

The Gerson Institute has been around since 1977, but the treatments have been around since the 1920’s. They offer tips, suggestions, and products that will help you get through this tough time in your life. They also offer training and support for those that are caregivers to a person that has this diagnosis. They are a nonprofit organization that is all about healing and preventing diseases.

They offer a list of clinics you can go to, caregivers you can contact, and support groups you can join. There is nothing worse then to feel you’re all alone in the situation you’re in. Support from those who have been through it or around it make things so much easier and you’ll see there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

There are doctors in this world that are only out there for the money. They don’t believe or have the knowledge to know that natural remedies sometimes work a lot better then the other treatments that are available.

When you get to a point where the natural alternative is the way you want to go, you need support. The Gerson Institute will help you all along the way.

Processing and Cognitive Enhancement (PACE) Webinar Replay

colleen — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:45:43 +0000

Get your copy of the most popular topic in brain training today for only $14.97.

You get a first hand glimpse of the program components, what it entails, how it works and more.

Get all the details now.

Get more details about PACE now

Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids » learning disability in children

How Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids Can Help Your Child

Related Posts:

Parts of Speech in Rhyme Form

Related Posts:

P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

Related Posts:

P3 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

Related Posts:

P2 Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

Related Posts:

Back-to-School Homework Meltdowns and How to Overcome Them

Related Posts:

Setting People Straight About Dyslexia

I found this article online and wanted to share it with you. It is from The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Enjoy!

Related Posts:

What’s involved in Testing for Dyslexia?

Related Posts:

Are there Natural ways to cure Cancer?

Related Posts:

Processing and Cognitive Enhancement (PACE) Webinar Replay

Related Posts: