March Break

Don't let March break mean you stop learning! Here are some fun ideas you might like to try:

March Break in Canada!

This is one you won't want to miss ... sign up today! Learn more about what it is like to have a learning disability and how someone like me can help!


Kristin Barbour from NILD

*free 90-minute webinar with Kristin Barbour, Executive Director for the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD), presents participants with a unique exploration of the characteristics of learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Participants will engage in tasks that explore learning activities based on auditory and visual perceptual skills.

Research has indicated that auditory and visual discrimination, memory, figure-ground, and attention significantly impact learning.  When perceptual vulnerabilities are present students can appear disinterested in learning or worse, choose to engage in inappropriate behaviors in order to shift the focus from their learning challenges.

The information you will learn in this webinar includes:

• Identifying three phases of the learning process
• Recognizing auditory and visual processing skills needed to learn and their impact on classroom performance
• Differentiating classroom behavioral problems, low motivation, and learning disabilities
• Learning classroom strategies and home activities to develop processing skills

Learning Ally

free dyslexia screening

take the screening today ... let me know how I can help!

Researched based vs Evidence based

memory's role in writing

"oh, if I could just remember how to make that letter 'd'"

"I can't do it. I just can't"

Maybe you have heard your child say these things, or maybe you've heard someone else talking this way. Sometimes our kids have a hard time remembering how to form the letters. They don't 'see them in their mind' the way the "rest" of us do. Each time they are asked to write, they begin to feel tension building inside them. They hope the bell will ring so they can avoid writing one more time. They may begin to think of themselves as stupid or dumb.

It isn't true! You can be the smartest one in your class but if your memory is overloaded already, it will be difficult to sort through all the files.

"Students with working memory difficulties can hold fewer pieces of discrete information in their mind at any given moment. They hear what you said, or see what is presented, but as more information overwhelms their memory system they lose previous information needed to successfully complete the task."  

canlearnsociety.ca

There are plenty of things we can do to help ourselves remember how to form those letters, though! Take a shallow container and pour some table salt in it, just enough to cover the surface. Laminate some upper and lowercase letters. Take a letter and stand it up against the side of the salt container and, using a small brush, write the letter in the salt, sand, or panko, even!

Use crayons to trace letters on flowchart paper, on an easel. The friction from the crayon helps cement the image in the brain, making retrieval a little bit easier.

Take a peg board and some pegs or golf tees and form letters on the board, copying them from a printout or using the laminated letters from the salt container activity.

Create a game board with lowercase letter words. Make them sight words if you like, using a Dolch word list or Fry's list. Use Scrabble pieces to spell the words, comparing the upper and lowercase letters, for identification. Once you have spelled a word, read it out loud.

SO much fun to be had, casually, while strengthening our visual and auditory memory

IDA Recognizes IMSLEC and NILD for Meeting Teacher Training Standards in Reading

When looking for a tutor for your son or daughter with learning difficulties, be sure to check that they are recognized by someone YOU recognize! I am very proud to say that NILD Canada meets the strict standards of the International Dyslexia Association ... if I can help you, please don't hesitate to contact me:

edtherapykw@gmail.com

Following an independent program review, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA)  recognized the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC)  and the National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) for meeting IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.  IMSLEC and NILD join the nine university programs that were recognized by IDA last year (see list below).

International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and the 
National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) for meeting IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading. 

IMSLEC and NILD join the nine university programs that were recognized by IDA last year.

could your child benefit from a psych-ed?

What Are Some Behavioral Signs Indicating A Child Might Benefit from A Psychoeducational Assessment?

• Anxiety or school refusal: Children who face daily frustrations, struggles and embarrassment at school tend to worry excessively, and their difficulties often present themselves as anxiety-like symptoms. Children who are having trouble learning are often keenly aware that they are learning differently than their peers, and developmentally, they often haven’t developed coping skills or means to deal with the stress this causes.
• Learned Helplessness or passivity with schoolwork: Students who experience consistent failure and difficulty despite continued effort, often give up and put limited effort into school work, as a protective mechanism for their self-esteem.
• Misbehaviour: Children with learning difficulties often engage in disruptive behaviours, and can be aggressive at times to avoid the task at hand
• Boredom:  Children who find some areas of school easy, may need enrichment.

Click here to read more from How's My Child's Brain Learning and Working by Sharon Selby, M.A.

The box analogy

A box has four sides, a bottom and a top, or lid. Think of each side of this box as one of the 5 w's: who, what, where, when, why (and one h, how)

Who: the population you are working with or wanting to work with. Do you have a passion for one group over another? Do you seem to gravitate to one or does your practice naturally fill with certain populations over others (fetal alcohol, dyslexia, autism, auditory processing disorder, adhd, preschool, middle school, adult)

What: this is the therapy you offer? ~ Interactive metronome, Integrated Listening Systems, Irlen screening, Search and Teach, Lexercise/Orton-Gillingham, NILD, ET2, tutoring are mine. Think about your programming, what you can offer from your toolbox and what you would like to continue to research/investigate. Continued education is critical to stay updated and current

Where:  do you have your office out of your home? Are you in a clinic? Do you work online? (Webex, Skype, FaceTime) and what are the reasons for your location or setting. Is it working or does it need to change?

When:  Do you offer your services before and after school only, in the evenings, on weekends or do you suggest parents pull their children out of school to have therapy during the day? Is it twice a week for 90 minutes, 60 minutes, 45 minutes, half an hour? Is it part in your therapy office and part at home? What is the best prescription?

Why:  this is based on assessments, data-driven, measurable goals for accountablilty for you as a therapist (is the client achieving the set goals or are they wasting their money?) what are the perhaps “less obvious” reasons for the therapy and how can those needs be met within a best practice framework?

How:  this is the lid of the box and absolutely must be not only opened, to see inside all the coursework, training, skills and experiences you as a therapist have to offer BUT, most importantly, all of the stuff needs to be taken OUT of the framework of the box (the training) and laid out on the table. This is where the real work and fun begins … personality comes in to play as each therapist brings their unique personality to blend with the client and real learning takes place in a symbiotic way. This is what “out of the box” thinking needs to look like. Don’t throw out the box, don’t downplay the importance of structure and framework, as training and expertise are important.

Just as clothes aren’t made to fit perfectly right off the rack, techniques are meant to be tailored, too. the best learning comes through discovery. So, keep the box for all the items in your toolbox, but don’t be afraid to put it to the side while you work.

back to school!

Tomorrow marks 'back to school' again, a great time for new clothes, new supplies and new friends. I, too, have some new things to share with you! In July I moved to Kitchener, opening up my private practice in a more central location. My new office space is on the second floor, shared with the fabulous Project Read:

#201-124 Sydney Street

Kitchener, Ontario

N2G 3V2

For those of you who know me virtually, through Lexercise.com, Integrated Listening Systems or Interactive Metronome, my physical address may not be practical for you. Never fear, I included you in the newness, too!

I changed my e-mail address to better reflect the many services I offer. I will be continuing to check my personal account, but please add this one to your contacts so I don't end up as "spam"

edtherapykw@gmail.com

Whether you are not sure if you are interested in therapy, a current or a past client, don't hesitate to let me know if you would like to drop by and see the new space ... I would love to show you around! As always, let me know how I can help you or someone you know.

plan therapy as part of your back to school routine!

benefits and drawbacks to tutoring

... and one of many reasons why I am not "just" a tutor!

why I won't promise you a magic solution

summer is the perfect time for tutoring!

Summer is almost here and it's time to get outside and get active! Don't forget about academics completely, though ... without the school schedule filling the day, you've got time for tutoring :)

Summer is a great season for mixing work with fun. June is just around the corner, leaving a few weeks for tutoring, a few for adventures,  and September returns before you know it. What I love about summer tutoring is that it leaves time for lots of breaks, eliminating that feeling of learning overload.

The pace is more relaxed, it can take place outdoors and times are often shortened, too. There are lots of options for summer scheduling.

... don't hesitate to contact me!

What is Interactive Metronome?

YOU'RE INVITED, so save the date!

Spring really IS just around the corner. While I know you're chomping at the bit to fling open the widows, air out your home and do some organizing, why not bring some of that refreshment to your mind as well?

Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12

NILD's Annual Conference

GUESTS new to NILD can attend BOTH days for the one-day rate of 95.00!

Spring Conference brochure

get tested for Irlen!

As a certified Irlen screener, I have seen first hand the benefits of filters and lenses to someone with Irlen Syndrome. If you or someone you know is finding it difficult to read, experiencing headaches, dizziness, poor grades though the knowledge is there? Are you easily distracted when you are supposed to be reading, or do you read and re-read the same passage? Are you bothered by the glare from the sun when you drive, or is it difficult to look at some patterns? 

Who We Help

"The Irlen Method provides a unique service for some children and adults identified with reading and learning difficulties, low motivation, attention deficit disorder, or discipline problems. Even good readers and gifted students can be helped."

 take an Irlen Self-Screening Test

get organized now!

apps for executive function help

because russian nesting dolls, people!

http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2014/02/russian-nesting-doll-game.html

defining dyslexia

I love this quote:

If the dyslexic community could popularize such a definition, then newly diagnosed dyslexics would realize that they, like everyone else, will face their futures with a range of strengths and weaknesses.

The folks at Zaner-Bloser have a fantastic article on

why spelling and handwriting matter

the 'self ' in self-advocacy

this is a wonderful article, from Specialism, about self-advocacy and how it really is like speaking another language

Self-Advocacy: Like Speaking a Foreign Langage