Children with autism learn, behave, socialize, and communicate in ways that are different than their peers of the same age. The spectrum of autism is wide; some kids can speak clearly, while others are completely nonverbal. Certain children need intensive help with daily living skills, while others are more independent.  It is important that children with autism receive specialized services to help strengthen their areas of weakness. However, when services are scarce, or when your child is also receiving them at school, you can further support skills development at home with the ideas detailed below.

Create a Schedule

Individuals with autism thrive on routine. Changes in that routine and new, unexpected events can throw them off and lead to negative behaviors. Try sticking to a regular schedule at home for meals, wake up time, bed time, therapy, after school activities, and other daily activities. You should also create a visual schedule that your child can see. It should beia large chart indicating the time for each event, along with a description and corresponding picture. For instance, you might write 7:00 am wake up (with a picture of someone waking up), 7:30am breakfast (with a picture of someone eating breakfast), 8:00 am school (with a picture of a school), 3:30pm speech therapy (with a picture of a child receiving therapy), 6:00 pm dinner (with a picture of someone eating dinner), and so on. The more structured and consistent the schedule is, the better.

Use Rewards

Children with autism respond well to regular and consistent rewards. Every time you see your child doing a good job on a task (like completing a homework sheet or putting their dish in the sink), praise them and give them a reward such as a sticker or special prize. Try not to wait too long to offer the reward; the more frequent the rewards come, the better. Also, try to individualize the rewards based on your child’s interests. Some children like physical toys while others prefer watching a television show or playing a video game. Some kids are even fine with just a hug or a nice praise.

Try Play Therapy at Home

Many children with autism struggle to interact and play with other kids. Instead, they often play alone and repeat the same motions over and over again. While play therapy by a professional is likely the best option for developing play and social skills, you can also help your child build these skills at home. To do so, start by laying out a mix of toys in front of your child, like cars, trains, dolls, and animals, or even squeaky toys or bubble jars. Have them look at all the toys and decide which one they want to play with at that time. Later, you can try to engage with them using a more interactive game. You can also be more directed in your approach by presenting toys that offer specific learning opportunities. For instance, present your child with a baby doll to help them learn life skills like dressing and undressing the doll, bathing it, feeding it, and so on. You can also use kitchen toys (including a pretend kitchen) to build play, social, and life skills. Have your child say the names of different foods, make a meal, and then discuss the meal with you. You can ask pointed questions, like “What’s for dinner tonight?”, “What vegetable are we eating?”, and “Is there anything for dessert?” Playing with play doh can strengthen your child’s muscles, which can help with writing, and allow them to be creative in forming shapes while also improving their cutting skills.

Play Games!

Playing games is a great family activity that can also help your child with autism build important skills. For instance, to build sequencing and following directions skills, try playing Simon Says – where kids follow commands that engage gross motor movements. Commands might include “Simon says, hop on one leg” or “Simon says, touch your nose.” So as to build speaking and listening skills, you can play the game Conversation Cubes. This game includes thirty-six cubes; each with a conversation starter question on it, like “What do you like to do in cold weather?” and “What foods do you like?” Players can answer the questions orally to build oral language skills, or you can even use them as writing prompts to help your child get started with a writing piece.

Children with autism respond well to services from professionals during, and often outside of, school.
However, the additional support you provide at home can help them further develop their social, academic, and general life skills.

The post Parental Resources for Autistic Children During Post Pandemic Times appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Have you noticed your child struggling in school? Perhaps they are having a hard time learning to read, can’t grasp multi-step math problems, or are having difficulty staying focused in class. Their self-esteem is plummeting as schoolwork becomes increasingly challenging, and their struggles seem insurmountable. Your child may have special needs and, if so, the sooner you can identify these needs and address them, the better it will be for their overall confidence and academic performance. So what can you do?

For starters, if you see your child struggling, talk to their doctor ‎and teacher. Discuss milestones they may or may not have met and determine if their teacher notices the same challenges you see at home. If you feel these struggles are getting worse or think they may benefit from additional accommodations at school, you might consider having them tested. This testing can be done for free either through your state’s early intervention program (if your child is under age three) or through your child’s school district. The evaluation and specific tests administered may range, but evaluators will typically test your child’s IQ and will likely also test language, motor, behavior, and achievement skills.

Psst…Winter isn’t over, here are Perfect Snow Day Activities for Kids in NYC

IEP or 504 plan
Depending on the evaluation results and your child’s needs, your child may qualify for either an IEP or a 504 plan. An IEP details your child’s specific goals and a plan for what your school will do to help meet those goals, including specific services, like speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and academic support. A 504 plan helps provide accommodations for support within the classroom, such as additional time on tests, an aide in the classroom, preferential seating, and/or modified homework. Typically students who have a less severe disability (like anxiety, ADHD, etc.) and not a diagnosed learning disability will receive a 504. Students who need more services, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, special education teacher support services, etc., would receive an IEP.

Know Your Rights
Federal law indicates that every child is entitled to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment possible. Three specific federal laws apply to children with special needs, including the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Ace, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These laws’ specifics can vary by state, so it’s important for you to understand the procedures and criteria specific to your state.

IDEA‎ stipulates that a child’s issues must fall into one of 13 categories to be eligible for special education services. Section 504 mandates that schools cannot discriminate again students who have disabilities and are required to provide appropriate accommodations to them. Students covered under Section 504 usually have less severe disabilities or do not fall into one of the categories stipulated under IDEA. The ADA indicates that children with special needs cannot be discriminated against and must be provided appropriate services and programs suitable to their needs. If your school district refuses to provide appropriate services to your child, you may initiate a due process hearing to challenge their decision.

Focus on Your Child’s Strengths
It is easy to go into a bit of negative space when dealing with your child’s educational support. Remember to focus on your child’s strengths; they may struggle with reading and writing but may excel with math computation. Or maybe your child is incredibly social, empathetic, and ‎kind. Perhaps they are a beautiful artist, a great storyteller, or a whiz at building Legos. Praise your child for small accomplishments, like sitting next to a friend at lunch who seemed sad, drawing a beautiful flower, or creating an elaborate Lego tower. As you help your child academically with areas where they may struggle, continue to build their self-esteem, and explain that no one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses, as well as areas we need to work on improving. Your special needs child can still have dreams and aspirations that can be achieved with support and guidance.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder of EBL Coaching, a tutoring program that specializes in one-on-one home and on-site instruction for students in grades PreK-12 in NYC, NJ, and Westchester. She is also the author of Strategies for Study Success, a study skills workbooks series emphasizing test-taking, note-taking, reading comprehension, writing, and executive functioning strategies, and the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook series.

The post Is Your Child Missing Milestones? When the Next Step is an IEP appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Many kids have difficulty with scheduling enough time to complete tasks without getting overwhelmed; this can be even harder for those with ADHD.

Time management is a real struggle for many elementary, middle, and high school students. Maintaining an organized homework schedule, completing multi-step projects, and systematically studying for exams can be difficult for just about any child. Yet for students with ADHD, managing their time effectively can seem insurmountable. Help your ADHD child develop stronger time management skills with the ideas detailed below.

Time and Sequencing
You can begin working on the concepts of time and sequencing with your child at a young age. Start by discussing her daily routine. Explain the activities she does as a series of steps, like wake up, brush teeth, have breakfast, play, take a bath‎, eat dinner, and go to bed (add in the appropriate ones for your child). You may even want to draw or cut out pictures depicting each activity and have her color the pictures while you discuss what is involved with each one. Then hang them on her door in the proper sequence and discuss various sequencing terms. For example, you might point to “have breakfast”, then ask her to tell you what comes before breakfast and what comes after. Use terms like “first, “next,” “finally,” and so on, all of which will help her gain an understanding of concepts related to sequence and time.

Use a calendar!
Around age six, you may want to introduce your child to a weekly calendar. Use a whiteboard or a large sheet of construction paper to create a calendar for that week. Write the month on top (i.e. October), then mark each of the seven days with the month and day (like 10/22, 10/23, and so on). On the calendar, write in every activity for that week—afterschool classes, birthday parties, dinners, sports games, etc. You may even try designating a different color for each family member. At the end of the day, have each person cross off his or her completed items for that day (that’s always a great feeling of accomplishment!). Getting used to write down obligations and then crossing them off once completed will help solidify important time management and planning concepts.

Clocks
Teach your ADHD child to read and use a clock—preferably analog since it’s easier to see how time passes, but digital works too. Then practice timed activities to give him a sense of the passing of time. For instance, tell him he can play with his Legos for 10 minutes and set a timer for when 10 minutes are up. Likewise, you may tell him he has 12 minutes to eat breakfast, five minutes to make his bed, or eight minutes to complete a worksheet. For each of these tasks, set a timer for the given number of minutes, then discuss the timing when he is done. Did it feel short? Long? Adequate? The more he is exposed to different segments of time, the more he will understand how long tasks take to complete, and the more his sense of time will begin to improve.

Estimated vs. Actual Time
Once you have practiced the ‎activities above with your child, try doing some estimated versus actual time exercises. Estimated time is the time she thinks a task will take to complete, and actual time is how much time it really takes. Have her set the table for dinner, for instance, but before doing so, ask her how long she thinks it will take (perhaps three minutes) and write this ET (estimated time) on a whiteboard. Then start a timer or simply note the time and compare it to the AT (actual time) it takes to complete. Write the AT next to the ET on the white board and discuss the difference. Was the ET much lower than the AT? Or vice versa? The more you practice these types of exercises with your ADHD child, the more realistic she will become with how long tasks actually take to complete.

Maintain a Planner!
It is imperative that students with ADHD maintain a planner. They may think they can “remember” their assignments and can “get them done” without writing them down, but in reality, as they move through school, this “memory” approach becomes almost impossible to sustain. Encourage your child to write down every upcoming test and assignment, along with all other obligations, like sports practices and games, parties, family activities, and so on. Make sure he crosses off completed assignments and encourage him to break down long-terms projects and assignments into steps, then write each step in his planner. He can apply the ET/AT strategy within his planner, estimating how long he thinks each assignment will take and comparing it to the actual time, then order the assignments based on which one he wants to complete first, second, third, and so on.

Time management can be an increasing struggle for ADHD students as they progress through school. Encourage your child to try these strategies and she will become more organized, on top of work, and ready to tackle any task that comes her way.‎

The post Time Management Tips For Kids With ADHD appeared first on EBL Coaching.

If your child has dyslexia, there are plenty of great ways to keep them reading.

Kids with dyslexia tend to struggle with reading and writing. They often have difficulty blending sounds together to form words and ‎expressing their thoughts effectively on paper. While traditional structured approaches are useful for building these skills, there are many fun, interactive apps that students with dyslexia can use to help further strengthen their reading and writing skills. Try some of the ideas below:

Bob Books #1 and #2
The Bob Books apps are great reading reinforcement tools for kids in grades pre-K-4. The first app, Bob Books #1, teaches pre-K and Kindergarten students foundational phonics skills, including individual letters and their corresponding sounds, and how to blend those sounds together to form basic words. ‎In the Bob Books #2 app, students are introduced to stories with engaging characters, along with fun, interactive games to develop mastery of basic to more advanced words. These apps follow Orton Gillingham patterns for reinforcing foundational decoding skills.

iWriteWords
‎Many kids with dyslexia have trouble properly forming letters and numbers and spelling words correctly. This app helps kids build these skills in an enjoyable and engaging manner. Using a multi-sensory format, students use their fingers to trace upper and lower case letters as well as numbers, while learning how to appropriately write them using top-to-bottom formations. They later work on spelling basic words to reinforce encoding and phonics skills. The images are colorful and child-friendly, keeping kids engaged and happy.

Montessori Crosswords
This app is a useful tool for helping dyslexic kids in grades pre-K-4 build basic to more advanced spelling and reading skills. With the app, students have fun building words using a drag-and-drop method, beginning with consonant-vowel-consonant words, then moving onto words with consonant blends, words with digraphs, and words with more complex patterns. There are also “themes,” such as Christmas, clothes, and food, where kids build words that fall into these categories. The pictures are playful and colorful, and the app provides ample practice for building key reading and spelling skills.

Read2Go
Read2Go helps elementary and middle school students engage with books and further develop their reading skills with eBooks. With this app, they have access over 200,000 eBooks through its partnership with Bookshare. Students can search for specific book titles, peruse book categories, download books, and read them directly from Bookshare. They can also highlight important text to practice active reading and study skills, can change the text’s font size and color, and can even have books read aloud to them as part of the app’s text-to-speech functionality. It’s a great tool for students with reading challenges who benefit from more interactive options than paper books offer.

StoryPals
‎StoryPals helps elementary and middle school students with dyslexia build stronger reading skills. With this app, students can choose to either read a passage aloud or have it read to them, then answer corresponding comprehension questions. Kids love the animated characters, colorful artwork, and interesting topics that these 24 stories offer. The app also saves student quiz scores so parents can track their child’s reading comprehension progress.

Building reading and writing skills doesn’t have to be a boring task! Students with dyslexia can have fun strengthening their skills with these interactive apps, helping them to ultimately achieve academic success.

The post Best Apps For Kids With Dyslexia appeared first on EBL Coaching.

The education trends parents should know more about.

Your child is struggling to sound out words, write simple sentences, and solve even single-step math word problems. He has a learning disability and is drowning in school, as he watches his peers learn to read, write, and calculate with ease. You have tried just about everything to help him—workbooks, flash cards, drills, computer games, and the like—but nothing seems to be working. We now know that using evidence-based techniques for teaching students with learning disabilities, a trend in special education, can solve this long-standing dilemma of how to truly help struggling learners. So, what exactly are evidence-based techniques, and how can you reinforce this instruction at home?

Several techniques and interventions for students with learning disabilities are scientifically-based and have been found to be effective. One such technique is direct instruction, which uses straightforward techniques to explain a concept, and can help a student with a learning disability retain new material. For instance, an instructor might directly teach students that proper nouns or new sentences always begin with a capital letter—or they might directly explain the “floss” spelling rule, where we double the last letter if a single syllable word ends with an f, l, or s.

Strategy instruction is also evidence-based, and is an effective tool for students with learning disabilities. With this technique, a teacher provides a clear strategy that helps students come up with a response or solve a problem. For instance, the “OINS” strategy can help students with learning disabilities solve math word problems in an organized fashion. With this strategy, students read a word problem, then break it down into four steps: O (Operation, where they write down correct operation symbol), I (Information, where they write the relevant information needed for solving the problem), N (Number Sentence, where they write the complete number sentence), and S (Solution Sentence, where they write the solution to the problem as a full sentence).

For reading, however, using a sequential, multi-sensory approach has been considered one of the most effective evidence-based approaches for teaching students with learning disabilities. Multi-sensory instruction engages more than one sense at a time. As a basic example, your child may learn about shells in school. Rather than simply reading about them in a book, he may collect shells in their natural environment, then feel them, smell them, and even put them to his ear to listen to the sounds they may project. He might also search for facts about shells online, forming a connection with this information from the visual, auditory, and tactile modalities he used when studying the shells.

Multi-sensory instruction can help students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities in particular develop their basic reading skills. Orton Gillingham pioneered this approach, by helping students make connections between letters and sounds and learning to blend these sounds together to form words. Many Orton Gillingham-based programs now exist, but they all share the common elements of using the auditory, visual, and tactile approaches to help students develop their reading skills. Some multi-sensory components of these programs, many of which you can reinforce at home, are detailed as follows:

Audio-visual card drills: Students learn to connect a given letter and sound to a key picture. The letter is often written on the front of a flash card with a key picture on the back—like P (on the front) and pizza (on the back), or a (on the front) and apple (on the back). An instructor might orally model to the student that “P makes the sound p, like in ‘pizza’” and have the student repeat back that sequence.

Sand or shaving cream writing: Using a tactile tool like sand or shaving cream can help students further connect letters to sounds and remember these connections for the long run. In doing so, they trace a letter in the sand or shaving cream while saying its formation. For instance, when writing the letter P, they would say aloud, “around, down, and across” as they write the letter—followed by the sound it makes, which in this case is p.

Skywriting: Students utilize muscle memory with sky writing to help them further connect sounds to letters and form the letters properly when writing. They may stand up and use their gross motor muscles to write a letter formation in the sky with their pointer and middle fingers, like “down and across” for the letter T.

Magnetic tiles: Students can learn to effectively combine sounds to form words using a multi-sensory tool such as magnetic tiles. An instructor may dictate, for instance, the word “cat,” and ask the student to spell the word using magnetic tiles. The student would select from a group of letters first the letter C (which says c), then the letter A (which says a) and finally the letter T (which says t)—then blend those sounds together to form the word.

Students with learning disabilities often continue to struggle as they progress through school and the academic demands increase. Yet the trend towards evidence-based instruction in the classroom can help ease this struggle, ultimately helping students with learning disabilities feel confident and successful in school.

The post Evidence-Based Instruction Opens Doors For Students With Special Needs appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Writing a well-organized paragraph or essay‎ is a task that can be daunting for many students. Yet for students with ADHD, the writing process – one that involves coming up with a topic, creating a plan, structuring ideas, writing well-written sentences, and spelling words correctly, amongst other skills, can be downright grueling. In fact, research indicates that over half of children with ADHD struggle with writing. Yet as students progress through school, the writing demands increase exponentially. The ideas detailed below can help your ADHD child develop stronger writing skills.

Listing
For some students, even initiating the writing process can be challenging. They often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the thought of having to compose a well-written paragraph or essay. To combat these fears, encourage your child to start by simply jotting down ideas about a given topic. For instance, if your youngster is asked to write a paragraph on why he likes summer, he can start by‎ listing ideas about the joys of summer. He might write in list format, for instance: one can play outside, spend more time with family and friends, go to camp, swim, travel, and lay at the beach. Once these ideas are on the page, he can then highlight the three or so points he plans to include in his writing.

Brainstorming
After your child has selected the points she plans to elaborate on in her paragraph or essay, she should brainstorm these ideas in an organized fashion. While there are various formats she can use for brainstorming, a web diagram is a useful tool. She can, for instance, brainstorm for a basic five sentence paragraph by writing the topic in a rectangular box at the top of the page, then connecting it to three circular bubbles beneath it (for the three key points, such as playing outside, spending time with family, and swimming), and finally ending with another rectangular box at the bottom for the concluding sentence. Computer-based programs, such as Kidspiration (for younger students) or Inspiration (for older students) can also serve as engaging multi-sensory options for brainstorming.

Writing
Once your child has listed his ideas and then created a brainstorm diagram, he can turn those boxes and bubbles into complete sentences to form his paragraph. Have him turn the “topic” box into a topic sentence, such as “There are many fun and engaging activities one can do during the summer.” Next, he can turn each detail bubble into full sentences. For example, “You can play outside at a park or playground. You can spend more free time relaxing with friends and family. You can also swim in a pool or at the beach.” Finally, he should turn the bottom box into a conclusion sentence, which can express his opinion on the topic, such as “I love summer” or “Summer is my favorite time of year.”

Self-Checking
Many students with ADHD have a tendency to speed through their work to “get it over with” and often neglect to self-check their writing. Rather than telling them to simply “check” their work, teach them specific tools for how to go about doing so, such as the COPS acronym, which stands for Capitalization, Organization, Punctuation, and ‎Spelling. Have her write the COPS acronym vertically at the bottom of her essay with a check box next to each letter. Once she is done writing her paragraph or essay, encourage her to go back and check for each individual item on the check list (one at a time) and check off each one once she makes the relevant corrections.

As students progress through school, the writing demands increase rapidly. Help your ADHD child learn to effectively express his ideas on paper in an organized, well-structured manner and he will be well on his way to academic success.

The post Writing Strategies for ADHD Students appeared first on EBL Coaching.

These tips will help reduce careless mistakes

Your child comes home from school, eyes his newest video game, and speeds through his school work to “get it over with” and start playing. Does this scenario sound familiar? Many students rush through their schoolwork, doing the absolute minimum required, and make careless mistakes along the way. Rushing through work in this fashion can harm students’ grades and negatively affect their overall performance in school. Help your child slow down and improve his homework skills with the ideas detailed below.homework

Use a Timer
Identify a specific amount of time that your child should spend completing homework in a given night, and set a timer for that period of time. A general rule of thumb is 10 minutes of homework per grade per night. Thus, if your child is in first grade, she should spend roughly ten minutes per night on homework; if she is in third grade, she should spend about 30 minutes per night. When she sits down to begin her homework, set a timer for that specified amount of time. If she finishes before the timer rings, have her do another academic activity, like writing in a journal or reading a book.

Find the Right Homework Time
Children tend to perform best at various times in the day. For some children, completing homework as soon as they arrive home from school is best. Yet others many feel frazzled or overwhelmed after a long day of school and, if expected to do homework right away, may rush to “get it over with” and relax. Rather than forcing your child to work at a time that is not ideal for him, try to assess when he works best. He may need some down time after school to play outside or have a snack before beginning his homework. This approach can help him slow down and feel both focused and refreshed when starting his homework.

Encourage Self-Checking
Many students rush through their assignments and neglect to go back to self-check their work. Rather than telling your child to simply “check” her work, provide her with tools for doing so. The COPS checklist, for instance, is a useful one for self-checking writing assignments. Once she is done writing a paragraph or essay, have her go back and check individually for C (Capitalization), O (Organization), P (Punctuation), and S (Spelling). You can create similar checklists for math sheets, book reports, projects, and so on, and individualize them as much as possible to common errors that your child makes.

Prioritize
Encourage your child to prioritize his assignments. Some students prefer completing longer, more arduous tasks first. Others enjoy the confidence and momentum they gain by starting with smaller, easier tasks. Try to understand your child’s preference and help him order his assignments each night accordingly. For instance, if he prefers the harder assignments first option, help him number his assignments in order from most to least arduous, such as: “1) Complete essay; 2) Answer reading comprehension questions; 3) Complete math problems.” Encourage him to prioritize assignments in a manner that suits him best.

Talk to the Teacher
Some kids rush through their work simply because they are challenged by it. Rather than trying to grasp a confusing topic, they may choose to rush through the assignment just so they can be done with it and put it aside. If you notice this pattern, talk to your child’s teacher to see if she is noticing these patterns at school, too. If so, help your child (or seek outside support) to truly understand the content being taught.

Many students experience slipping grades and poor work products as a result of rushing through their work. Use these tips to help your child slow down, stay focused, and ultimately excel in school.

The post Help Your Child Slow Down and Focus on Schoolwork appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Back in the day, kindergarten brought visions of dramatic play, circle time, sumptuous snacks, and class pets. “Academic” instruction was minimal, and emphasis was placed on social, emotional, and creative growth. Yet with our current age of rising academic standards and testing demands, kindergarten has now become, in essence, the “new” first grade. If your child is on the young end of his grade, you may be considering holding him back from starting kindergarten, the “redshirting” option that has become increasingly in vogue. Yet before you jump on the bandwagon and opt for this choice, carefully consider all of the implications.

Maturity
To thrive in today’s kindergarten classrooms, children must be able to stay in their seats for extended periods of time, remain focused during lessons, and follow multi-step directions. Socially, they need to share appropriately,  take turns, and know how to interact with their peers. Some kids are just not emotionally ready for these increased demands. Due to the redshirting effect, in certain cases, as much as a 16 month age gap can exist between the youngest and oldest kids in a class. Being the youngest, least “mature” child in the classroom can feel overwhelming to a youngster, as she may not know how to interact appropriately with kids who are significantly older. Ultimately, she can feel confused and sad, and can develop a poor self-esteem. On the flip side, kids who are on the oldest end may find it hard to socialize with and relate to kids who are significantly younger. Being on the very end of either side of the age spectrum can have its challenges.

Academics
Standardized testing has become a reality in most districts around the country. Schools are held accountable for their students’ performance on these exams and, as a result, structured learning has been “pushed down” so that more academic work is covered at a younger age. Play-based kindergartens have been replaced with rigorous, acadamic-based curriculua, with schools hoping to boost test scores and increase performance. Kindergarteners “back in the day” may have been expected to learn very basic skills such such as letter and number recognition, but in many classrooms they are now expected to fully read, write stories, and solve math problems by the end of the year. Certains kids thrive with these rising academic demands. Yet for others, it’s a recipe for disaster. These children, who are not quite ready to jump into the current kindergarten demands, may benefit from the “gift” of an extra year.

Special Needs
Some kids are held back from starting kindergarten due to what are perceived as “developmental delays,” even if their age falls into the appropriate cut off date. Yet some of these kids may in fact have real special needs, rather than generic delays, and, moving into kindergarten could open up a plethora of special education services that could truly help them. Holding these children back actually creates a disservice to them. Instead of being evaluated and subsequently receiving appropriate services, they are instead held back, losing a year of valuable instruction and services.

What to do?
The decision of whether or not to hold your child back can be a stressful one. A 2006 University of California study indicated that elementary school students who are amongst the oldest in their classes scored 4 to 12 percent higher on standardized math and science tests over the youngest kids in their grades. Yet other studies show that the benefits of holding kids back are significantly reduced after the beginning of elementary school and that by the time kids reach third grade, skills usually even out. ‎Ultimately, there is no clear cut answer. Only you truly know your child. Observe your child interacting with other kids. Talk to her preschool teacher about how she socializes with per peers, follows directions, and pays attention. If you feel she is mature enough and ready for the demands of kindergarden, then go for it. But if you feel she is not quite there – socially, emotionally, or academically – then give her that extra year.

Ultimately, you will make the right decision for your child.

The post Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten or Should You Wait? appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Children with ADHD are typically disorganized, lose papers and homework, and have trouble managing their workload.  They often struggle to stay focused for long periods of time and study effectively. Yet as students move through school, each of these demands increase exponentially.  As a result, children with ADHD often face diminishing grades and school performance with each passing year. Help your ADHD child avoid this downhill path and excel in school with the study strategies detailed below.

Break down studying into chunks

Studying for a multi-chapter science test, completing a research project, or learning pages of information for a quiz can seem like insurmountable tasks to students with ADHD. ‎You can help your child feel less frustrated and more in control of her workload by encouraging her to break down each task into smaller chunks. For instance, if she has a history test covering18 pages of class notes and 3 book chapters, help her spread out her studying over one full week by perhaps ‎spending two days studying one book chapter and six pages of notes, the next two days studying  the second book chapter and six additional pages of notes, and the subsequent two days studying the final chapter and six more page of notes. On the final day she can focus on reviewing all of the material, in sum breaking down a seemingly daunting task into seven manageable days of studying for smaller increments of time.

Use a planner!

ADHD students often think they can remember all of their assignments without writing them down. While this memory-based approach may work for the early years of school, it becomes increasingly hard to do, especially as students approach upper elementary school. To make sure your child doesn’t miss any assignments, encourage him to consistently use an assignment book. While paper books work well, he can also use a computer or phone-based planner. On a daily basis, it is important that he writes down (or types) all tasks that are assigned, even if his school uses an online portal. He should add any after school activities, sports games, or other non-academic events, making his planner the central point for all of his obligations.

Identify your child’s learning style

Each child with ADHD learns differently. Some prefer silence when studying and work best at a quiet desk in their bedroom. Others prefer a slight buzz in the background, like white noise or soft music playing. Some learn best with movement – rocking on a rocking chair while studying, for instance, or throwing a ball as they define vocabulary words. The key is identifying the style that best suits your child and sticking with it.

Find an optimal study time  

‎Some ADHD children work best immediately after school when they are still in “school mode.” They may feel relieved by completing their assignments and “geting them over with” so they can move onto non-academic activities. Others feel fried by the end of the school day and need a break before starting their homework or studying. For these children, a snack and some physical activity before sitting down to work is more optimal. Many students, especially older ones, work best later in the day, thriving on that post-dinner rush. Generally, however, encouraging your child to plan out and prioritize his work as soon as he comes home can help make sure critical work isn’t overlooked or pushed to the very last minute.

Avoid Distractions

Children with ADHD tend to be easily distracted by almost anything going on around them. To minimize distractions, try to implement household rules during studying time, such as “No TV” or “No Electronics.” You can also build in rewards for earning these banned activities. For instance, if your child completes one hour of focused school work, he can earn10 minutes of electronic time. This reward system may motivate your child to stay on task and complete his school work.

Use Active Studying Techniques

Activing reading strategies can help your ADHD child stay focused and remember the material she is learning. Try a tri-colored strategy for helping her learn material from a text book, rather than simply reading a chapter from start to finish. Before reading, have her peruse the chapter for pictures, captions, headers, and subheaders to give her an overview of the material. Then have her highlight the topic (one, two, or three words fescribing the passage) in blue. Next, she should move through the sections one sub-section at a time, highlighting the main idea of each sub-section in green (what the author is saying about the topic) and the important details in yellow. Once she is done with the chapter, she can create a two-column study guide, writing the topic at the top, main idea of each sub-section on the left, and the important details using bullet points on the right. This technique will help her actively learn the material and effectively plan for an exam.

The rigors of school can be challenging for many ADHD students, as the executive functioning, organizational, and studying demands often feel overwhelming. By implementing these strategies, however, your child can face these challenges head-on and be well on his way to academic success.

The post Study Strategies for your ADHD Child appeared first on EBL Coaching.

Originally published on the Macaroni Kid website

For most dyslexic children, reading is an arduous task. They often struggle to sound out words and read with fluency and, as a result, find little pleasure in reading. While most children with dyslexia benefit from multi-sensory instruction from a trained professional, you can help your child develop her reading skills – and joy for reading – with the strategies detailed below.

Word Attack
Children with dyslexia typically have trouble with sounding out words – especially ones they haven’t seen before. Many students look at the beginning sound and guess at the correct word or simply skip certain words when reading. In doing so, their reading becomes inaccurate and may lead to a loss of meaning. To develop these decoding skills, your child will likely need comprehensive multi-sensory reading instruction,  but you can help reinforce these skills by encouraging him to sound out shorter words and syllabicate longer words when reading, rather than guessing. For a young child, have him trace letters in colored sand, salt, or shaving cream for a tactile experience. If your child struggles to spell a word, rather than immediately providing the correct spelling, use a set of magnetic tiles and ask him to spell the word sound-by-sound using the tiles.

Reading Fluency
Reading fluency is a key component to reading for meaning. Help your child improve her reading fluency with this four-step choral reading process:
1. Select a passage to read, slightly below your child’s approximate reading level. Have her read the passage aloud as a cold read.
2. Next, you read the same passage aloud to model appropriate fluency.
3. Your child then reads the same passage with you, keeping up with your pace.
4. Finally, your child reads the same passage out loud as a final read. Draw her attention to the difference between her first and final reads and empower her with the improvement!
Repeatedly practicing this strategy with your child will help build her confidence and fluency when reading.

Reading Comprehension
Becoming an active reader can help students improve their overall comprehension and memory skills. To build this skill, before reading a passage or text book selection, ask your child to review any headers, sub-headers, pictures, picture captions, and vocabulary words. You can also talk to him about prior knowledge he may have about the topic before reading, and have him predict what he thinks the passage will be about before he begins. Also, as he reads, have him highlight the topic (one, two, or three words describing the passage) in blue, main idea (what the author is saying about the topic) in green, and the important details (important information describing the main idea) in yellow. These active reading strategies will help improve his processing and overall reading comprehension skills.

Vocabulary
Many dyslexic children respond well to visual graphics ‎for learning new information. To help your child learn new vocabulary words, try this multi-modal approach:
Have her write each vocab word using a black marker on the front of a flash card. Then have her turn the card around and divide the back side into three horizontal sections. ‎At the top, she should write the definition of the word in her own words (not verbatim from a dictionary). She should then draw a horizontal line beneath it, and write a detailed sentence integrating the word. Finally, at the bottom she should draw a picture illustrating her sentence to help her remember the definition.
As students progress through school, the reading and language demands increase rapidly. Try these tips and strategies to help your dyslexic child feel more confident and successful in school‎.

The post How to Improve Your Dyslexic Child’s Reading Skills appeared first on EBL Coaching.