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Showing posts from August, 2016

Dyslexia Cognitive Remedial Therapy Defined and Tools for Success

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Have you heard that the brain is plastic? Brain plasticity or neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize, change, and grow new neural pathways throughout the lifespan. But did you know that cognitive exercises can play a significant role in plasticity? This can be a game changer for individuals with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, because these learners can actually strengthen weak areas of cognition. What is Cognitive Remedial Therapy? Cognitive Remedial Therapy is an approach that uses focused cognitive activities to improve core neurocognitive abilities such as attention, working memory, mental flexibility, planning, processing speed as well as visual, auditory, sequential and simultaneous processing. Can Cognitive Remedial Therapy Erase Deficits? Much like a personal trainer can strengthen a weak tendon or muscle through targeted, repetitive workouts, a learning specialist or educational therapist can enhance and improve cognition, through focused mental e

Dyslexia and Learning Through Music: A Podcast with Nathan John

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This blog shares my most recent video podcast, featuring dyslexia advocate and entrepreneur, Nathan John. This is the fourth of many free video podcasts for Go Dyslexia! Having overcome the barriers of being an undiagnosed dyslexic at school, Nathan John became a successful event organizer and DJ while completing a university degree in Applied Economics. Now, Nathan is a successful multi award-winning entrepreneur who has been publicly endorsed by the Prime Minister as well as Richard Branson.  What’s more, he was appointed young ambassador of the year for the Prince’s Trust, granted an entrepreneurship role model for the Welsh Government and represented the UK as a business delegate. Nathan founded Rewise Learning in 2008 and specializes in providing innovative educational solutions covering a range of services including, education, training, e-learning, consultancy, public-engagement and participation events. Rewise Learning is constituted of four distinct brands, each offering a uni

Reading Comprehension Problems: 4 Causes and 12 Solutions

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I'm sure most you have experienced the act of reading a book, while your mind was wandering elsewhere.  So, you can probably appreciate how easy it is for youngsters to miss meaning while reading.  Although teachers, reading specialists and even parents spend an enormous amount of time instructing young learners how to decode the written word, they often neglect to fully teach the metacognitive skills required to comprehend text. What are the Common Causes of Reading Comprehension Problems? There are a number of indicators that can be used to flag students who will likely require explicit instruction in reading comprehension. Learners that have or had weak oral language skills when they were in preschool.   Students that have underdeveloped word decoding skills. Learners with weak executive functioning skills, especially in working memory which involves the use of one’s “inner eye” and “inner voice.” Learners with poor language processing abilities.  They may struggle with any of t

Learning Specialist Secrets: A Free 3-Part Video Course

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Are you a tutor, learning specialist or educational therapist? If not, would you like to establish a business helping learners to reach their true potential? Whether you would like to create a private practice from scratch, or you already have an established business, I would love to help you. For the past 18 years, I have directed my own business, Learning to Learn , and it's been the most rewarding experience of my life. I am so excited to share my course: Learning Specialist Secrets: 3-Part Video Series ! The first part is even FREE!  In this course, I reveal the benefits, mistakes, and strategies for building your own practice as a learning specialist! I will cover: The 5 Key Benefits of a Learning Specialist Practice ( FREE MODULE ) The 10 Most Common Rookie Mistakes.  The 7 Most Common Questions and Answers About Establishing a Practice. As an added bonus, I created a demonstration that shows you how I quickly turn a blog into a video! This can help you to grow your audience

Developing Fine Motor Skills with Osmo's Monster and Creative Set

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I have been a fan of the Osmo from the day it was released, and I'm always excited to see what new interactive app they will create next. Well, I couldn't be more excited about their newest release,  Monster . I just got it today! It comes with a dry erase board and a magnetic eraser that also serves as a storage pouch for a set of six colorful markers. If you don't already have the starter set, you will need that too. Once you get your package from Osmo, all you have to do is download their free app, set it up the ipad as in the image above, open the app and let the magic begin. What is this New Game? Mo is a cartoon character that requests players to make drawings that he then uses in animated activities.  Kids can have hours of fun sketching objects that Mo brings to life on the screen. Are There Any Cognitive or Educational Benefits to Osmo Monsters? Yes.  There are a number of benefits. Drawing helps kids to develop fine motor skills. Creative play helps to develop th