From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Stress can severely damage a child’s ability to learn:
When the mind is under emotional stress, it produces the peptide cortisol…. Chronic high cortisol levels eventually destroy hippocampal neurons associated with learning and memory. Even short-term stress-related elevation of cortisol in the hippocampus can hinder our ability to distinguish between important and unimportant elements of a memorable event. (Creedon, 2011, p. 34, references omitted) Read more...
anxiety, chronic anxiety, chronic stress, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, helplessness, high anxiety, high stress, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, stressors, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
As we said in previous posts, frequent, extreme stress and the anxiety it produces can devastate children with reading and other disabilities:
Stress is bad for children. It’s associated with health problems, school failures, and youth delinquency…. High stress levels have been associated with … asthma and depression…. Stress directly affects ‘attention, memory, planning, and behavior control.’ When the mind is under emotional stress, it produces the peptide cortisol…. Cortisol generally is a blessing because we don’t become controlled by our past negative experiences. However, if cortisol is not kept in balance, learning can and will stop. (Creedon, 2011, p. 34) Read more...
anxiety, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, helplessness, independent reading level, instructional reading level, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, stressors, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
As we mentioned before, frequent, extreme stress and the anxiety it produces can devastate children with reading and other disabilities:
If the stress is too severe or too prolonged … stress begins to harm learning…. Stressed people don’t do math very well. They don’t process language very efficiently. They have poorer memories, both short and long forms. Stressed individuals do not generalize or adapt old pieces of information to new scenarios as well as non-stressed individuals. They can’t concentrate. In almost every way it can be tested, chronic stress hurts our ability to learn. (Medina, 2008, p. 178) Read more...
anxiety, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, helplessness, independent reading level, instructional reading level, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, stressors, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Are stress and anxiety really important? Yes: often, far more important than parents, schools, and politicians think. Here are some reasons.
Many children with reading disabilities and other learning disabilities feel excessively anxious about learning. Many believe that no matter what they do, no matter their effort, they will fail. And so they resist reading or put little effort into it:
If a child thinks he’ll fail, no matter his effort, he’s unlikely to try, he’s likely to resist. He’ll think: Why fail? Why prove to everyone I’m dumb? Why embarrass myself? (http://www.reading2008.com/blog/reading-disabilities-how-to-calm-a-struggling-reader.htm) Read more...
anxiety, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, helplessness, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, stressors, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Anxiety overwhelms many children. On Monday Wilson has a school test; on Tuesday he needs to watch his young sister, Estella; on Wednesday he sees his mother crying about the cost the food; on Thursday another test; on Friday he hears the school will fire more teachers. And on Saturday, when he wants to go to the library, he’s told he can’t—it closed, forever. Joe has similar problems. So do Kelly, Ryan, and Emma. Tremendous uncertainty, tremendous responsibility, tremendous loss, tremendous anguish, tremendous anxiety. Read more...
anxiety, diaphragmatic breathing, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, meditation, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, relexation, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, visualization
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Hi — Lori Lite offers many wonderful ideas for helping children to relax. Below is one of them. Of course, if your child has a history of panic or related disorders, or you think he might react adversely to relaxation exercises, check with a qualified professional before trying Lori’s ideas. In any case, it’s good to read about them. – Howard Margolis, Ed.D.
Holiday Relaxation Breathing Read more...
anxiety, diaphragmatic breathing, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, frustration, frustration level, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, relaxation, relaxation training, remedial reading, remediation, resilience, Resiliency, strengthening resiliency, stress, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
A guest blog by
Lori Lite, creator of Stress Free Kids
http://www.stressfreekids.com
adolescents, anxiety, Parenting, stress, Teenagers
From Reading and Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan & Dr. Howard Margolis
How to Reduce Anxiety: Yours and Your Child’s—Part II
In late March, we described three ways you can use relaxation strategies to reduce anxiety—yours and your child’s. We described meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and diaphragmatic breathing. And we quoted the research from 1990. Here’s a more recent statistical analysis:
The [literature shows] consistent and significant efficacy of relaxation training in reducing anxiety. (Manzoni et al., 2008, p. 9 of 12) Read more...
anxiety, breathing, children with disabilities, diaphragm breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, IDEA, IEP, imagery, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, meditation, muscle relaxation, Parenting, progressive muscle relaxation, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, related service, relaxation, relaxation training, self-efficacy, self-esteem, slow breathing, strengthening resiliency, stress, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, visual imagery
From Reading and Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan & Dr. Howard Margolis
How to Reduce Anxiety: Yours and Your Child’s
Many parents of children with disabilities worry—constantly. They fear the future, they feel extremely anxious—constantly. So do their children. Often, extreme, constant anxiety—fear of the future, fear that “I can’t handle it” and the results will be awful— creates physical and emotional distress. Physically, it can cause or aggravate endrocrine, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular problems (Hanson & Mendius, 2009). Emotionally, it can cause or aggravate depression as well as sleep, attention, learning, social, and behavioral problems. Read more...
anxiety, breathing, children with disabilities, diaphragm breathing, diaphragmatic breathing, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, meditation, muscle relaxation, Parenting, progressive muscle relaxation, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, relaxation, relaxation training, self-efficacy, self-esteem, slow breathing, strengthening resiliency, stress, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
The Question
Recently, a tutor of a struggling reader sent us this question: “Do you have any advice on things to say to calm my student down? Sometimes my student gets in a loop of thinking. He cries and says he hates this tutoring, he can do harder stuff than this, his anger and sadness causes him to be in a place where he cannot learn. I plan to have a variety of activities and books available to have an option when one activity isn’t working. Two sessions ago I stopped the session, because my student could not calm down. We made an agreement that day to stop using the books he didn’t like. I continued the session yesterday, but I’m not sure how much he learned. I didn’t want him to think I’m going to give up.” Read more...
anxiety, diaphragmatic breathing, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, exercise, frustration, frustration level, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, progressive muscle relaxation, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, relaxation, relaxation training, remedial reading, remediation, resilience, Resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, stress, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, visual imagery
