Kate Middleton’s Brother James Reveals His Struggle With Depression, Dyslexia and ADD The coin is sharp and two-sided: We know that people with learning disabilities and developmental differences can have tremendous lives, professional success, great fulfillment and joy. There is however, always a shadow, and ignorance of the increased risks our/these children, teens and […]
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There are support groups, blogs, and websites that land on one side of a false choice about kids and school. Parents and some professionals tend to land on one side or the other. Are Dyslexia and related learning differences and even Autism Spectrum a gift in some way? Or are they burdens filled with deficits […]
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photo credit: TOMSICKOVA TATYANA / SHUTTERSTOCK Children with Learning Disabilities are at higher risk for anxiety-related struggles. It’s not surprising when you think about how the brain’s system for vigilance/hyper-arousal is frequently activated when kids are not receiving the right kind of help in schools. Given that they are more likely to be on high alert […]
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Michael Cammarata discusses ignoring negative messages of failure and instead despite his dyslexia-related school struggles, became a highly successful serial entrepreneur. Support the dreams of your child with Learning Differences My family motivated me to do things differently: they encouraged me to reject the traditional way of learning and to be innovative. My Mom never […]
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For me, one of the best parts of doing an evaluation for learning and learning disabilities has been going over the results, including the test score numbers with the student and his/her family. I’ve learned how to discuss the data and what it all means, in clear language so it makes sense to the student […]
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The myth that having dyslexia automatically means you’re either a) artistic, b) have visual-spatial talents, c) have other gifts that are part of and caused by your dyslexia, can minimize or distract us from struggling with the proven risks of shame and school-based trauma. Results of these can be devastating. Some people with dyslexia are […]
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I’ve been tracking and have been a part of the changing attitudes about learning disabilities for decades. Historically there’s been two major paradigms, two lenses through which people think of LD and in particular kids and struggling teens. On the one hand there’s been a growing perception that in spite of all the school […]
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1. Be Real This is the essence of connection. Inspiring kids and helping instill confidence isn’t about “being positive.” It’s not about trying to be inspirational. Being real and authentic is what gets you where you want to go with your kids. In any close and effective relationship, we must be brave in this […]
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Sometimes the language of self-development can admittedly feel awkward or to some, pretentious. Since the field is relatively new and language evolves, it can be a little uncomfortable to use it at first when at the family dinner table with Uncle Frank and Aunt Edith :). Nonetheless, “Self-Compassion” describes ways of thinking and behaving that […]
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In my opinion, coming to grips with the number of teenagers with addictions who also have learning disabilities (estimates towards 60%), requires understanding how isolating it can be. School stress is often the number one stress teenagers face, and when you’re struggling extra hard in the core competencies of academic success, it’s not hard to […]
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This is a post from a few year back that remains highly relevant, so I thought I’d repost: Teenagers and young adults with Asperger’s Syndrome or with High Functioning Autism need some targeted and extra help understanding and negotiating romantic and sexual relationships. Moving from Social Skills or Social Thinking/Cognition curriculums to dating, sex, love, […]
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The Sun or The Moon? Sometimes I feel like a bit of a downer and in contrast to other popular LD-centered websites, because a fair amount of my writings, posts and presentations concerns the risks and vulnerabilities that can go along with having a learning disability or learning difference. It’s a little out of character […]
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