Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

The earlier you identify your child’s reading problems, the earlier you get him the right kinds of services, the greater his likelihood of success. The lesson: Don’t wait.

It is critical to identify reading problems early so that appropriate intervention can begin. The facts speak for themselves: It takes four times as long to improve the skills of a struggling reader in the fourth grade as it does between mid-kindergarten and first grade. In other words, it takes two hours of intervention per day in the fourth grade to have the same impact as 30 minutes per day in first grade…. About 80 percent of students with learning disabilities have reading problems. (Spinelli, 2006, p. 220)  Read more...

Yes. His thinking may cause him to quit, or rebel, or ignore what’s taught. This undermines learning and the growth of self-regulation, so important for independent functioning.

Because emotions and actions are often driven by conscious thoughts, we’ll emphasize some of the thought processes involved with self-regulation. But first we’ll define self-regulation, a concept that schools often ignore at the peril of children with reading disabilities. Then we’ll discuss the consequences of two common thinking patterns. Finally we’ll recommend three books to help you help your child.

Self-Regulation  Read more...

Many children suffer emotionally because they cannot cope with academic demands. But they can develop specific skills to help them cope effectively. By doing so, they increase their motivation for learning and decrease their emotional distress.

These skills form the basis of “self-regulation,” which Lyn Corno and Ellen Mandinach (1983) broadly defined as the effort put forth by students to deepen, monitor, manipulate, and improve their own learning. Clearly, such activities are important for learning, which in the final analysis depends on the learners’ willingness and skill to meet the demands placed on them. Moreover, self-regulated learners understand the important links underlying what they think, what they feel, and what they do or don’t do.  Read more...

We all worry and get angry, but we don’t realize how much these emotions affect us. Even relatively minor concerns can compete for our attention, occupy our thoughts, and distract us from our purpose.

For most of us, the worry and anger is not intense. It’s short lived. But many children with reading disabilities and other learning disabilities don’t get over it. The intensity increases. This, in turn, adds to the difficulties they have attending, concentrating, and remembering. They waste valuable time and energy on non-productive thoughts, impeding their learning.  Read more...