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This week I am thrilled to feature a blog by the Founder and President of LearningWorks for Kids, Randy Kulman, Ph.D.   ______________________ It can be very difficult to identify slow processing speed in your child. Many kids who process information slowly initially appear to be frustrated, unmotivated, and disinterested. A child’s reaction to difficulty in processing information is often more noticeable than the slow pace at which he completes tasks. As a result, many kids with slow processing speed are misidentified as lazy and indifferent about achieving goals. However, the reality is that many of these kids just require more time to take in information, do something with that information in their brain, and then produce a result. They find themselves falling behind their peers, seeming to take forever to do schoolwork, and feeling frustrated in their ability to show what they know. If you have a child who is not reaching his or her potential, who is clearly very know

When students are spent and stressed from a long day at school, it can be a chore to get them to complete their homework. So how can one entice these passive, unmotivated learners to pick up the pencil and mindfully coast through their assignments? Working as a learning specialist and educational therapist, I meet with most of my students for a single hour each week. Therefore, it is imperative that I use every minute of my session wisely. It took me some time to realize that, for some students, it is a fruitless and frustrating chore to push them to plow through assignments. For these students, I need to commence at a slow pace and pause for 5 to 10 minutes, before they are encouraged to plunge into the pool of school work. What Gets in the Way? There are a number of hurdles that can topple a student session. Low stamina: Many students are cognitively spent after a day of school. Poor motivation : Some students have little to no interest in completing homework. Attention issues : Som

An awesome sunset will likely capture one’s attention for a minute or two, but much of our sensory processing information remains overlooked. Although we are subconsciously processing our surroundings with our senses so that we can navigate our environment, being consciously aware of this sensory input is less common. I’ll never forget a seventh grade student, Mary, that I had in a study skills course. One afternoon, she came bursting into the classroom and eagerly shared a profound revelation. Mary had consciously decided to focus her attention and listen in class, and she was astonished at how easy it was to learn. Individuals of all ages have the ability to get “lost in thoughts,” and these distractions can be past experiences, future predictions, fantasies, worries, or even new and creative ideas. In fact, many of us are so tangled in the past and the future, that we miss the present moment. Students that struggle with processing sensory information in the moment are often diagno

As a learning specialist and educational therapist, I find an individualized approach for each of my students is key. I often begin by giving the Eclectic Teaching Profile, which is an assessment that comes with the Eclectic Teaching Approach , but I also pay careful attention to my student’s mannerisms, sense of humor, and passions when creating a tailored intervention. Just this past week, I was working with Olivia, a 10-year-old that will be entering the 5th grade this fall. In school, Olivia has struggled with maintaining attention, reading comprehension, multi-step directions, and math. This student is a vivacious and voracious learner who loves color and order.  In fact, this past week, Olivia eagerly showed me a strategy that she created to organize her iPhone, and quite frankly, it blew me away. It is not only an approach that I am now using myself, but it provides a wonderful glimpse on how I can best serve the needs of this creative learner.   What is Olivia’s Ingenious Appro

The spoken word gives human’s an incredible advantage over other species, but for those that struggle with language processing, this “invisible difficulty,” can create countless challenges.  What’s more, this problem often goes unnoticed and many of these students are misunderstood and mislabeled as inattentive, careless, lazy absent-minded, and defiant. What is a Language Processing Disorder? Language processing disorders are not uncommon, and it is a difficulty that impacts communication and social relations. This disorder can impact a student’s ability to understand language (receptive language) and/or express their thoughts (expressive language). Like many cognitive based challenges, it can manifest in a variety of ways. One student might struggle to outline their thoughts, while another might battle with accessing the right word or name from their memory banks, following a sequence of directives, or even maintaining attention. In addition, a student may experience difficulties wit