Many students with ADHD struggle with their executive functioning skills. They may have difficulty with time management, organization, task initiation or staying focused in class, amongst other related skills. Summer is a great time to help students with ADHD develop stronger executive functioning skills and jump-start the school year on a positive note. Try some of the ideas detailed below.

Work on Organization

Summer is a fantastic time to help your child with ADHD set up organizational systems to help kick start the new school year. Having strong organizational skills is a key component to success in school. Help your child set up a color-coded system, where each class is given a specific color. For example, math might be green, science might be blue, English might be purple, and so on. Your child should select a folder and notebook for each class using its given color. Once they begin school and start writing down their assignments in their planner, they can highlight the homework assignment for a subject using its chosen color. If your child takes home papers on a regular basis, help them set up an organizational system where they designate one day per week to be their “clean out my notebooks day.” On this day, your child should clean out all the papers they do not need to be carrying with them on a regular basis and file them into a well-organized accordion file. This accordion file might consist of three sections for each class: one section for notes, one for homework, and one for tests and quizzes. On their designated clean-out day, they should file any papers they don’t need to be carrying with them into the appropriate section of their accordion file. At the end of the school year, if they completed a great project or assignment that they want to save, they can file it into an organized file drawer to keep for the long run.

Close Learning Gaps

During the school year, many children with ADHD miss out on key concepts. They might be daydreaming in class, come to school late, miss excessive days of school, or forget certain skills that they should have learned in class. Summer is an opportune time to review content that was taught the previous school year, fill in content gaps, and preview material that may be introduced in the new school year. You may want to reach out to your child’s teacher from the previous school year to discuss concepts they may need to work on during the summer. Maybe your child didn’t grasp multi-digit subtraction or multiplication; they might need to work on the organization of their writing; or perhaps they need extra practice with reading comprehension. Summer is a great time to work on these skills, with less academic constraints from school.
The shift from summer to school can be a difficult one for children who have ADHD. Help increase your child’s self-confidence and improve their executive functioning skills over the summer with these strategies and they will likely feel well-prepared to start the school year on a strong note.

Build Stronger Focusing Skills

Many students with ADHD struggle to stay focused for extended periods of time. You can take advantage of the summer and build your child’s focusing skills using a systematic method like the Pomodoro Technique. To use this approach, select a task and ask your child to work on it for 25 minutes. This might involve completing a math worksheet, writing in a journal, or cleaning out a file cabinet. After your child works on the task for 25 minutes, they can take a 5-minute break to do anything that’s relaxing for them. Then they work for another 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break. Once they have completed three segments of 25 minutes plus subsequent 5-minute breaks, they take a longer break of around 30 minutes before starting the cycle again. Work on this strategy with your child during the summer and then show them how to apply it to their relevant homework assignments once the school year starts.

Develop Better Time Management Skills

Children with ADHD often struggle with time management. They may consistently show up late, think a task will take more or less time than it actually does, or plan too many activities for a given day. Summer is a great time to work on developing stronger time management skills. Try teaching your child the ET/AT, or Estimated Time/Actual Time Strategy. To use this strategy, ask your child to complete a task, such as writing an essay or reading a chapter in a book.
Then have your child estimate how long they think it will take to complete the task and ask them to write down the ET, or estimated time.

Then have your child complete the task, eyeing the time it actually takes them to complete it, and write down the AT, or actual time it takes. When your child begins using this strategy, they will likely notice a large difference between the ET and the AT, but the more they practice this technique, the more these times will begin to merge and the more their time management skills will improve.

Set Up a Workspace

Students with ADHD benefit from a quiet, distraction-free workspace that they can use each day for completing their homework. Help your child set up this space during the summer so they will be ready and organized for the new school year. This space could be a desk in their room or even a designated area on a communal table, like in a kitchen or dining room. Make sure your child has all the supplies they will need to complete their schoolwork, such as pencils, lined paper, highlighters, scissors, a ruler, and so on. When their supplies run low, help them refill the items before they begin their homework to make sure they don’t wander around your home in the middle of a homework session searching for more supplies. Also help them set up a consistent homework time, which could be right after school or after a snack or athletic break. The key is consistency.

The post Summer Strategies for Helping Students with ADHD Build Stronger Executive Functioning Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Going on vacation with a child who has ADHD can be overwhelming. There’s planning, packing, organizing, changing routines, and so many other factors that go into this process. Try some of the ideas below to help your child enjoy their time away and have a great vacation.

Before the trip

Visual calendars

Children with ADHD may be thrown off by a change in their daily routine and unclear expectations of the plans for the trip. Once you have settled on the details for your trip, create a visual schedule to help your child anticipate what is to come. Use a poster board to draw a large calendar and indicate on each date what you plan to do. You might include the departure date; specific activities like going to the beach, zoo, or a museum; and return dates. Tell your child where you’ll be staying (like a hotel or apartment-style unit) and where you will likely eat each meal. Perhaps you’ll have breakfast at the hotel, lunch at a theme park, and dinner at an outdoor cafe. Go over the plan for each day and make sure your child is fully aware of what to expect – though explain that there may be some unplanned deviations along the way.

Make lists!

Your child with ADHD may not know where to start when packing. What kind of clothing should they bring? What types of accessories? How many of each item? Help your child create a list before they begin packing. Will there be access to a laundry machine? If so, they may need fewer items, but if not, they need to plan the quantities accordingly. The list should include items like t-shirts, shorts, pants, sweatshirts, socks, sunglasses, goggles – whatever is appropriate for the trip you are going on. Write out each item along with the quantity needed and put a check box next to each one, then have your child check off the items as they put them in their suitcase.

Set expectations

Before leaving, discuss with your child the expectations for the trip. Will you be meeting up with family or friends? If so, make sure they know how to properly greet relatives and friends, engage in conversations, and be thankful for hospitality or gifts. You may even want to role play scenarios they may encounter, like greeting aunts and uncles, playing with cousins, or eating a meal with a large group.

During the trip

Maintain routines

While this may not always be possible, try to maintain your child’s routine as much as you can, since children with ADHD thrive on structure and routine. For example, while the daily activities may vary, for meals, if your child eats breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm, and dinner at 6pm, try to stick to that schedule. Of course, if they take medication, make sure you bring it with you on the trip and give it to them at their usual time. You can also try to have them wake up and go to bed around the same time to avoid disrupting their schedule and routine.

Integrate downtime

Children with ADHD can become easily overstimulated and sometimes need downtime. Anticipate that your trip will likely involve a lot of activity and movement, so try to build in some downtime. This could be an afternoon nap, reading time, or a window of time dedicated to listening to music. You can even bring fidgets for your child to help them relax and decompress.

Minimize decisions

Children with ADHD can sometimes become overwhelmed with making decisions, especially when they have too many choices. For example, if you go to a breakfast buffet at your hotel, your child may see so many items that look enticing, but they don’t know where to start or what to choose. You can avoid this scenario by pre-purchasing items you know your child likes to have for breakfast and eat breakfast in the room – or order from a restaurant menu with more limited items. You can also help your child choose the activities they will participate in, and if you plan to buy them something from a gift shop, minimize the number of items they can choose from to help make the decision easier and less overwhelming.

After the trip

When you get home from your trip, build in a day or two for your child to relax and decompress before going back to a structured activity, like school or camp. It can be stressful for them to rush back to their usual routine after a vacation. Also reflect on the trip with your child. What went well? Was it an enjoyable experience for your child and your entire family? Was there anything that could be changed or done differently for future trips? This reflection can help make your next trip be even better.

Vacationing with your child with ADHD doesn’t have to be stressful! Try these ideas to help ensure that you have an enjoyable, relaxing, and all-around great vacation.

The post Vacation Strategies for Children with ADHD by Dr. Emily Levy Founder & Director EBL Coaching appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Date published: 8/7/23

Listen to the full podcast here

Dr. Levy appeared on this Bodacity podcast with Jannette Anderson to discuss how to build academic skills and self-esteem for students who struggle in school.

Children with learning challenges often have many gifts. Those with dyslexia may be brilliant artists. Individuals with ADHD may be incredible visionaries who go on to be successful leaders or business owners later in life. Getting through school, however, for these students, can be a challenge. You can help your child with learning challenges excel in school with the strategies detailed below.

Take action!

If you notice your child is struggling with a skill or set of skills, such as reading, writing, or math, or is having trouble staying focused, don’t wait to take action! Many parents don’t learn about their child’s struggles in school until parent-teacher conferences or sometimes even the end of the school year. If you notice your child is having difficulty in school, set up a time to meet with their teacher to discuss what you are seeing at home. Perhaps there are some techniques the teacher can use to further help your child, such as sitting them in the front row or checking in with them periodically to make sure they understood the directions for an assignment. If your child continues to struggle, you may want to seek a formal evaluation to see if there are any learning or attentional challenges. Special education tutoring to address their unique needs may also be beneficial.

Seek services

You as a parent should always be your child’s best advocate! Try to seek services to help your child thrive in school. Once an evaluation is completed and it is determined that your child has a disability, either an IEP or 504 plan is typically created detailing the services and accommodations your child should receive. Services may include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or special education tutoring, depending on your child’s challenges. Accommodations may include preferential seating, extra time on tests, a scribe, modified tests, and many others. Always keep tabs on how your child is doing; certain accommodations may work at a given time but they may need to be tweaked as your child progresses through school. 

Try special education tutoring if necessary 

If your child continues to struggle academically despite receiving support in school, you may want to consider specialized tutoring outside of school. Children with dyslexia, for instance, typically benefit from Orton Gillingham tutoring to build their reading skills. If this approach is not offered at your child’s school, you may need to seek this help
outside of school. Children with writing, math, or executive functioning challenges may need similar research-based tutoring or executive functioning coaching outside of school. Learn more about how tutoring can help your child at Importance of Tutoring to Help Kids Struggling with Reading, Math, Allow Them to Catch Up with Their Classmates.

Many students with learning challenges struggle in school. However, with the right support, you can help your child thrive academically. 

Learn more at Learning disorders: Know the signs, how to help – Mayo Clinic.

The post Dr. Levy on the Bodacity Podcast with Jannette Anderson: How Parents Can Advocate for their Special Needs Child appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Date published: 2/15/23

Listen to the full podcast here

In this podcast, Dr. Levy discusses ways parents can advocate for their special education child to help them thrive in school.

Special education students often have many gifts, but they also have unique and individual needs. Some thrive in math but struggle with reading and writing. Others have strong academic skills but have difficulty with their executive functioning skills, including organization, planning, prioritizing, and time management. Students might have autism, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADHD, or a combination of diagnoses. As a parent, it is important that you consistently advocate for your child, year after year.

Many different services and accommodations are available to special education students based on their needs, as defined by their IEP or 504 plan. Students may qualify for extra time, preferential seating, a scribe, speech therapy, occupational therapy, pull-out special education tutoring, or other related services. You might find that your child is thriving in school one year with a certain set of services and accommodations only to find that the following year – or even partially through the current school year – their performance begins to sink. 

As a parent, you should always be advocating for your child. At the beginning of the school year, schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher and any other service providers. Tell them about your child and what has or hasn’t worked in the past and try to make sure they read your child’s evaluation reports, IEPs, or 504 plans if available. Then stay in touch with them throughout the school year. Schedule periodic calls or meetings; don’t wait until the end of the school year to find out about any struggles or challenges. Be active in constantly evaluating and reevaluating the services and support your child is receiving to make sure they are consistently getting what they need. Learn more about strategies for helping your special education child at Strategies For Your Child with a Learning Disability or ADHD – EBL Coaching.

With the right support, students with special education needs have the potential to thrive academically.

Read more at Navigating the special education process | LD OnLine.

The post Dr. Emily Levy on the My Child Will Thrive Podcast: Tips for Advocating for Your Special Needs Child appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Challenges

Reading & Spelling with Accuracy

Individuals with dyslexia tend to struggle with the mechanics of reading and writing, including accurately sounding out and spelling words. They might look at the initial letter in a word and “guess” at the rest of it, or may simply make up words as they go. They might also replace certain words with others that “make sense” within that spot in the sentence. For example, they might read “Leo efficiently completed his work” as “Leo effortlessly completed his work.” Furthermore, those with dyslexia often have wonderful, creative ideas but struggle to express those ideas on paper when writing. Read more about this at How to Improve Your Dyslexic Child’s Reading Skills – EBL Coaching.

Trouble Articulating

Some individuals with dyslexia have trouble with word retrieval, or finding the right word to use when speaking. This might affect their relationships with peers, since it can be challenging for them to keep up a conversation and have a back and forth dialogue. They also might forget specific words or details within a conversation they had with a friend, leading to miscommunication and misunderstanding, and ultimately negatively affecting friendships.

Low Self-esteem

Many people with dyslexia are exceptionally bright and gifted in a multitude of skills. However, they often find themselves struggling with reading and writing and see themselves as “stupid” or not as smart as their peers. This can lead to low self-esteem and overall negative feelings about themselves, which can sometimes lead to mental health challenges, like anxiety and depression.

Strengths

While dyslexia comes with many academic challenges, those with dyslexia also have numerous gifts. Let’s take a look at some of these strengths:

Great Creativity & Spatial Skills

Individuals with dyslexia are often very creative and have strong spatial skills. They tend to be fantastic artists, painters, and sculptors. They can also visit a place and have an exceptionally strong visual memory of what they saw as compared to their peers. This skill can help them excel in many careers, including architecture, graphic design, engineering, and even surgery.

Strong People Skills

Those with dyslexia often have great people skills. Since they face constant challenges academically, then tend to empathize with their peers in a way that far surpasses those without dyslexia. They know what it is like to struggle and can thus relate to others going through different types of struggles and form a strong bond with them accordingly.

Outside of the Box Thinkers

Many people with dyslexia are forced to think out of the box on a regular basis as they face daily challenges. Since they struggle with reading and writing and may have trouble with daily tasks like writing an email or reading the newspaper, they typically need to find innovative ways to help them overcome these challenges and excel. Their ideas are often unique, creative, and far more advanced than solutions their peers might come up with. These qualities can help them become excellent business leaders and entrepreneurs in life.

Excellent Reasoning Skills

Those with dyslexia tend to have strong reasoning skills. They are often able to understand concepts from different perspectives, analyze and see patterns, and process complex concepts in ways their non-dyslexic peers can’t. While the mechanics of reading and writing are a struggle for them, comprehending the “big picture,” making inferences, and synthesizing the main idea are often strengths for individuals with dyslexia. Many are great problem solvers.

While dyslexia certainly comes with many academic and emotional challenges, it also bears numerous strengths. Those with dyslexia are often creative, bright, have strong critical thinking skills, and show empathy towards others. They hold many gifts that can help them excel in relationships and in life. Learn more about dyslexia at Could My Child Have Dyslexia? – EBL Coaching.

Other Blogs about Dyslexia:

Dyslexia Tutoring NJ

The post How Dyslexia Tutoring Helps Students Thrive appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Does your child struggle at school? Do they have difficulty sounding out new words when reading, breaking down math word problems, or expressing their thoughts on paper when writing? It can be difficult to watch your child struggle. Help your child improve their academic skills with the ideas detailed below.

Be your child’s advocate

If you notice your child is struggling, contact their teacher and set up a time to discuss what you are seeing at home. Find out if the teacher is noticing the same challenges (or others) and if so, ask for specifics. Does your child have trouble staying focused? Has the teacher noticed difficulty with reading, writing, and/or math? Try to get as much feedback as possible, and then maintain regular communication with the teacher to discuss any changes or improvements. If your child continues to struggle, you may want to find out what other resources, including extra help or tutoring, the school offers. If these challenges persist, you might want to request a full evaluation to determine if there are any learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADHD, executive functioning deficits, or other challenges that may require more support.

Build stronger study skills

Help your child build stronger time management, organization, planning, and overall executive functioning skills. To build time management skills, for example, teach your child to estimate how long they think a task will take to complete (and write down the ET, or estimated time) then compare it to the actual amount of time the task took to complete (and write the AT, or actual time). In the beginning, there is often a large discrepancy between the ET and AT, but the more your child practices this strategy, the better their time management skills will become. You can also help your child set up a 3-tier organizational system for filing papers they don’t need to be carrying with them on a regular basis. To do so, select one day per week to be the “clean out my notebook day” and file away any old papers into an accordion file divided into 3 sections for each class: homework, notes, and tests/quizzes. If it’s challenging for you to help your child build these executive functioning skills, you may want to consider hiring an executive functioning coach.

Try using a multisensory approach

Research tells us that using a multisensory approach to help struggling learners is the way to go! For young children who are learning to read and write, try having them practice writing letters in colored sand or sugar. To do so, pour sand or sugar on a cookie tray and have them trace each letter with their finger, while saying the formation aloud, like “around, up, and down” for lowercase a, or “down, up, and around” for lowercase p. For older students, help them build their reading comprehension skills by teaching them to read a passage and then highlight the topic (1, 2, or 3 words describing the passage) in blue, the main idea (what the author is saying about the passage) in green, and the important details in yellow. The more multisensory instruction you can provide, the better!

Hire a tutor

If your child continues to struggle despite your help at home, you may want to consider hiring a tutor. There are various types of tutors who specialize in different areas; for instance if your child struggles with reading, you may want to consider Orton Gillingham tutoring. The Orton Gillingham approach can do wonders in helping your child build stronger decoding and spelling skills. If they struggle with math, you may want to consider a tutor who can use a multisensory approach and lots of manipulatives to build their math skills, or you might also consider a writing tutor or executive functioning coach. The more specialized the tutoring can be, the better!

It can be challenging to watch your child struggle in school. Yet if you advocate for them, help them at home, and possibly consider hiring a tutor, you can help them achieve academic success as they progress through school.

The post How to Help Your Struggling Learner appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Make sure your child receives appropriate support. If your child is struggling in school, proactively ask the teacher for feedback, observations or an evaluation, if needed. Thereafter, make sure your child receives the appropriate support — whether it is specialized tutoring, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and so on.

School is really not easy these days. Many students have been out of school for a long time because of the pandemic, and the continued disruptions and anxieties are still breaking the flow of normal learning. What can parents do to help their children thrive and excel in school, particularly during these challenging and anxiety-provoking times?

To address this, we started a new series called “5 Things Parents Can Do To Help Their Children Thrive and Excel In School.” In this interview series, we are talking to teachers, principals, education experts, and successful parents to learn from their insights and experience.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Emily Levy.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder and director of EBL Coaching, a specialized tutoring program that offers individualized one-on-one home, virtual, and on-site instruction using research-based, multi-sensory techniques. She is also the author of Strategies for Study Success, a 17-part student workbook series that teaches students strategies for test taking, note taking, reading comprehension, writing, summarizing, and executive functioning, along with the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook series, which helps students develop their fundamental decoding and spelling skills. Additionally, she is the author of Flags and Stars Multi-Sensory Math, a multi-sensory math program that helps students develop a stronger understanding of core math concepts, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. These workbooks are currently used at schools nationwide.

Dr. Levy graduated from Brown University and received her Master’s Degree in Special Education from Nova University in Florida. She also completed her Doctorate Degree in Education from Nova University. She performed a five-year research study developing an alternative strategy for teaching reading comprehension and won a fifth place Westinghouse Science and Talent Award for this research. She has spoken at national and international conferences on research-based teaching methods.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us a bit about your “backstory”?

Sure! I actually grew up in the field of special education. My mother was the founder of a school for students with learning disabilities in Florida, so I like to think that being in the field of education is “in my blood.” Formally, though, I received my undergraduate degree from Brown University. I then obtained my Master’s Degree in Special Education, as well as my Doctorate Degree in Education. I started EBL Coaching nineteen years ago, which is a one-on-one tutoring program for special education students. We use research-based, multi-sensory techniques catered to the needs of each student. I am also the author of Strategies for Study Success, a seventeen-part student workbook series that teaches students strategies for reading comprehension, writing, test taking, note taking and executive functioning skills. Additionally, I am the author of the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham and Multi-Sensory Math Student Workbook programs.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of my very first students was a first grade boy with ADHD and dyslexia who struggled tremendously with reading. I worked with him for many years, providing one-on-one Orton Gillingham instruction to build his reading skills. School was a real struggle for him, and he had to work much harder than most of his peers. His mother recently let me know that he is now thriving as an engineer! I could not have been more proud.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference in the world.”

I love this quote, as it really defines the work that I do and my life mission. While I love being a successful business woman and a great role model for my daughters, I truly feel that I have made an enormous difference in the lives of so many children with specialized learning needs. It brings me so much happiness to know that I am making a positive difference in the world.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Listening. I find that listening — and truly listening without distractions — is a key element of my success. Many parents pour their hearts out to me and are often crying, telling me about the struggles of their child. I listen to them with compassion and understanding. I realize how hard it can be to watch these struggles and not know how to help. I speak and share my thoughts and suggestions only after they are done, and feel they have shared enough with me to give a full picture of their child.

2. Perseverance. There have been many instances in my career when I did not succeed at my first try. When I started out as a special education tutor, I essentially went from school to school, telling them about my services and background — hoping they would refer clients to me. Some welcomed me with open arms, but others completely shut me out. Some families (in the beginning of my career) would choose to find another tutor or go in another direction for whatever reason. It was crushing at first, but with every failure, my motto was to analyze what happened, think about what went wrong, and decide what I could do differently going forward to have a better outcome. That has helped me succeed and overcome many obstacles in work and in life.

3. Decisiveness. In my work, I literally make decisions all day long. Some are small and insignificant, such as when to send a certain email or schedule a meeting. Others are deeper and involve more thought, like what instructional plan would be best for a student with Autism and ADHD who also struggles with reading comprehension and writing — or how to guide a tutor towards helping a child who exhibits newfound challenges.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes! I am now working on expanding my COINS student workbook series, which teaches students how to break down math word problems and move from language to arithmetic, and then back to language.

For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit about why you are an authority on how to help children succeed in school?

Sure. I have been working as an expert in the field of special education for over twenty years. Through EBL Coaching, I have been able to help thousands of students build their reading, writing, math, and executive functioning skills, and improve their self-confidence along the way.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. Can you help articulate the main challenges that students face today that make it difficult to succeed in school?

Many children with learning challenges are not receiving the appropriate support they need in school. Some are not identified as having a challenge early enough and continue to struggle in school. Others never get evaluated, or do so far down the road once they have already missed most academic foundations. Others receive some support in school, but either it is not appropriate or not enough support. For instance, students with dyslexia really need instruction using the Orton Gillingham technique — but unfortunately, most schools are not able to provide this support.

Can you suggest a few reforms that you think schools should make to help students to thrive and excel?

Sure. More teachers should be trained in research-based techniques for reading, writing, and math. In particular, using a multi-sensory approach for students who have learning challenges is key. When students are pulled out for support, it should be specific and individualized to their needs, using the research-based, multi-sensory techniques that are most appropriate for their specific challenges.

Here is our primary question. Can you please share your “5 Things Parents Can Do To Help Their Children Thrive and Excel In School?” Please share a story or example for each.

1. Be your child’s best advocate. I hear time and again that parents noticed their child struggling with homework, but their teacher never said anything to them; it was not until the end of the school year that the teacher told them their child struggled and may be held back. It is always important to be proactive, check in with your child’s teacher to see how he or she is doing, and not sit back and wait for the teacher to reach out to you.

2. Make sure your child receives appropriate support. If your child is struggling in school, proactively ask the teacher for feedback, observations or an evaluation, if needed. Thereafter, make sure your child receives the appropriate support — whether it is specialized tutoring, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and so on.

3. Help your child build self-confidence and independence. There are some parents who like to sit next to their child when they work on their homework until every part of it is complete, and correct them along the way. Let your child take a stab at it first; then you can check it afterwards or wait to see if he or she comes to you with questions. Praise them for their effort of working independently and know that by doing so, they will not only improve their academic skills, but will also build their self-confidence and independence.

4. Seek outside support. If your child is struggling, even with the support he or she is receiving in school, seek outside support. That may mean counseling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, tutoring, and so on. Specifically with tutoring, receiving the right one-on-one research-based, multi-sensory tutoring can be life changing for a child.

5. Learn effective ways you can help your child at home. If your child has ADHD, for instance, and struggles with organizational skills, help your child set up systems for cleaning out and filing papers he or she does not need. Help create lists and daily schedules, and aid your child in gaining an accurate understanding for how long tasks can take to complete. If your child has dyslexia and receives Orton Gillingham tutoring, ask the tutor what you can do in between sessions to reinforce what is covered.

As you know, teachers play such a huge role in shaping young lives. What would you suggest needs to be done to attract top talent to the education field?

I think that if teachers were trained in cutting-edge, research-based multi-sensory techniques that truly make a difference in the lives of kids, they will be motivated to enter the field and feel like they are making a real difference in the world.

We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them

I have always admired Sheryl Sandburg for the incredible work she has done to motivate women, seize opportunities and to “lean in.” It would be amazing to share a meal with her :). She also grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida, which is where I am from!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

They can read more about EBL Coaching and myself at the links below.

www.eblcoaching.com

Https://www.facebook.com/EBLCoaching

Http://www.instagram.com/ebl_coaching

Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!

The post Dr. Emily Levy Of EBL Coaching On The 5 Things Parents Can Do To Help Their Children Thrive and Excel In School — An Interview With Jake Frankel appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Originally published on the World website

Educators are trying to provide more help to students with dyslexia

Naomi Peña’s four children have dyslexia. In fall 2020, as her son Lucas learned virtually from home in New York City during the pandemic, she realized just how far behind he was at his public school.

“Mom, I have a small brain,” her son, now 12, would tell her.

After a pricey neuropsychological evaluation, school officials offered some extra support but ultimately couldn’t provide the structural literacy program Lucas needed, according to his mom. By March 2021, Peña began looking for a school more tailored to his needs. She found a private school for students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities and decided to enroll him. The city Department of Education will pay the school’s $75,000 annual tuition, but Peña had to hire an educational attorney to ensure that she followed proper procedures to receive that reimbursement.

Peña is the co-founder of the Literacy Academy Collective. For the past two years, she and six other moms have been advocating for a new public school for students with dyslexia in New York City. In late January, city Department of Education Chancellor David Banks announced plans for just that. A new school for dyslexia students will complement Bridge Preparatory Charter School, a dyslexia-focused school that opened on Staten Island in 2019. No location or opening date information for the new school has been announced. But while many education advocates agree that NYC students with dyslexia need more support, they disagree over whether a dedicated school is the right approach.

According to data from the city’s Department of Education, one-fifth of the school district’s roughly 1 million students have disabilities. Of those, more than 67,000 have been diagnosed with a learning disability. Students with dyslexia have difficulties learning to read and matching letters with sounds.

“The sheer scale of the problem is daunting,” said David Bloomfield, a professor of education leadership, law, and policy at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College. He worries that a stand-alone dyslexia school will serve only a fraction of the students who need help. Instead, he said schools should use COVID-19 funding to staff every school with reading specialists and experts trained in phonics instruction.

While Bloomfield agrees that students at a dyslexia-specific school will benefit from extra intervention, he is concerned the results won’t last: “My worry with schools like this is they may start out with great fanfare and great attention, but because they’re segregated, and isolated, they tend to diminish in quality over time.”

Emily Levy, founder of the New York–based EBL Coaching tutoring service, estimates that more than a fifth of her company’s 200 students have dyslexia. She said that while some students with milder forms of dyslexia may be able to adapt well in mainstream classes, students with more severe needs would likely benefit from an all-school model. She also pointed out that a multisensory, structured literacy approach to reading instruction that includes phonics and decoding skills not only works best for students with dyslexia but also often transfers well to other students: “Kids first off seem to enjoy the multisensory approach—it helps the information stick in their long-term memory.”

Some private schools have found a niche serving students with special learning needs. Molly Arthur founded Educational Pathways Academy in Naples, Fla., in 2017, a Christian school that now serves 82 students from first to 10th grade. All of the school’s students have reading difficulties similar to dyslexia, though not all have a clear dyslexia diagnosis. Some students were adopted after being exposed to drugs prenatally, Arthur said, and one student has a chromosomal disorder. All have average or higher IQ: One sixth grader has an IQ of 135 but reads at a second grade level.

Students at Educational Pathways spend about half of each day in peer groups corresponding to their age and ability and the other half following an independent schedule. Students move to a new classroom and a new teacher every 40 minutes—a design Arthur said is also helpful for her students with ADHD.

Arthur knows the emotional toll dyslexia can take: Her dyslexic sister dropped out of school when she was 16. Many students come to the school with self-doubt, she said, and she wants to focus on the child as a whole person. “God didn’t forget to give you the ability to read well or write well or comprehend well—He doesn’t make mistakes,” she said. “We really try to instill in them that you are made by God for a plan, for a purpose.” She said parents have told her that their children are enjoying school for the first time since coming to Educational Pathways.

Back in New York, Peña said she and others at the Literacy Academy Collective are working toward launching a teacher training residency program. Teachers would receive training and experience by teaching in a dyslexia-specific school, then could take dyslexia-friendly education methods, such as structured literacy, into their district schools.

Meanwhile, Lucas has thrived in his new classroom. “He literally told me last week that his favorite class is reading and writing,” Peña said. “This is a kid that could not string together a couple of sentences to make a paragraph or read a couple of lines.”

The post Schools Made to Fit: Dyslexia Schools and Education appeared first on EBL Coaching.

In an ideal world, your child would love all aspects of school,‎ where they can develop a zest for learning and excel both academically and socially. Yet, if you notice your child is struggling to keep up, loses focus in class, or expresses a hatred for school, there may be something deeper going on. In some instances, it can be helpful to have an evaluation done on your child and possibly seek an IEP (Individualized Education Program).

How Do I Know if My Child is Struggling in School?

• Your child takes a tremendous amount of time to complete homework. While homework policies tend to vary from school to school, the general guideline is ten minutes per grade for night. For instance, your first grader should spend ten minutes on homework per night, your second grader should take twenty minutes, and so on. If you notice your first grader is taking over an hour to complete her homework, that may suggest a problem.

• Listen to your child’s teacher, as he or she spends a significant amount of time engaging with your child‎ and observing their performance. If the teacher indicates that your child is struggling with an academic skill or set of skills, or your child receives poor grades, you may want to consider exploring these potential challenges with an evaluation.

• Your child, who was previously well-behaved in school, begins to misbehave. This may be a coping mechanism to divert attention away from the learning challenges.‎ Rather than vocalizing any issues, they may misbehave instead.

• Your child may have trouble sleeping at night, complain of stomach aches, or lose his appetite as a result of struggles in school that they may not be articulating. He may also suddenly begin to say they hate school or is miserable in class. Any of these actions may be masking a deeper issue.

What Happens Next?
You as the parent must give permission to have an evaluation done of your child, which is typically completed by a school psychologist who determines, based on the evaluation, if your child is eligible for special education services. If so, an IEP meeting is held and an IEP document is created.

What is an IEP?
An IEP is a document that defines the educational program for a special education student and details all of the related services that a child should receive.

Once an evaluation is complete, you as the parent will take part in an IEP team meeting‎, which typically includes the parent, special education teacher, general education teacher, school psychologist, specialists such as occupational therapists and/or speech-language therapists, and others involved in creating the plan. Services that your child needs will be discussed and mapped out in the IEP, including but not limited to speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, Special Education Teacher Support Services (SETSS), and so on.

IEP meetings will take place every year to assess your child’s progress and to create a new IEP for the following year. Re-evaluations are done every three years to assess whether or not your child is in need of continued special education services.

If you notice that your child is struggling, don’t wait; there are many services and resources that are available to help your child feel confident and successful socially, emotionally, and academically.

The post When an IEP is the Next Step for Your Child and What to Expect appeared first on EBL Coaching.

How can you decide if a specialized school is right for your child? Dr. Emily Levy shares the pros and cons of signing up.

Your fourth grade daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia and is struggling to read. Your son with ADHD constantly loses his belongings and has difficulty staying focused. Perhaps you have child with a writing disorder, math disorder, or language challenges who is having trouble mastering basic skills. If any of these scenarios describes your child and she is struggling to stay afloat academically, it may be time to explore a specialized school. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of switching your child to this type of school.

Pros
There’s no doubt that switching your child to a specialized school will provide him with a great deal of support. He may be in a smaller classroom size with a teacher (or more than one teacher) who is highly trained and qualified as a special educator. If he needs accommodations, like preferential seating, untimed tests, or notes printed for him, he will naturally receive them in this type of setting. Additionally, many students with special education needs often spend a great deal of time outside of school receiving speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or the like. In many specialized settings, this support is built into the student’s day, allowing for much more free time outside of school and the chance to be a kid!

Socially, some special education students may feel isolated in a maintream school. They might find that they are “different” and can’t relate to the other kids in their class. As a result, poor self esteem, anxiety, and other mental health issues may arise. In a specialized setting, however, students will be with others like themselves, forming a nice camaraderie and bond with one another.

For kids with severe special needs, being in a specialized school may help strengthen their academics, help them socially, and make them feel better about themselves overall.

Cons
While specialized schools are great environments for some students, for others they may not be the best fit. Socially, while some students enjoy being a controlled environment with students just like themselves, others find it a bit too cohesive, and may enjoy being around other kids with different strengths and weaknesses. Some students thrive on this type of diversity.

Being in a specialized school, especially for a long period of time, can often lead to challenges transitioning to a mainstream school down the road. Some specialized schools, for instance, may lower their standards to accommodate the academic levels of the student body. Students may get used to these standards and expectations, which can be vastly different from those ‎in a mainstream environment, and thus struggle academically when they switch to a non-specialized school.

Specialized schools can also be very expensive and cost-prohibitive to many families. While some government funding may be available, not all students may qualify for this type of funding and not all schools will accept it.

What to Do
The choice between keeping your child in a mainstream environment with special services or transitioning her into a specialized school can be a tough one. If you find that she is able to achieve success and feel self-confident in a mainstream school with services that are helpful but not overwhelming, that may be the best choice—especially for the time being. If, however, you find that the amount of tutoring, therapy, and other services outside of school begins to consume her life, leaving little room for “fun” and extracurricular activities, it may be time to explore a specialized school. Ultimately, you know your child best. Assessing the pros and cons of each option, and observing your child’s success or struggles, will help you come to this important decision.

The post Is A Specialized School Right For Your Child? appeared first on EBL Coaching.