Learning Disabilities Charlotte

Author Paul Gilbert of ADDitude: Living Well With Attention Deficit magazine recently featured Cogmed in an article titled, Brain-Training Tools for More Attention, Less Deficit:  These ADHD therapies offer fun and games with a serious purpose: increasing your child's focus. 

Here is the link to the article: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/10076.html

Here at Child and Family Development, Joy Granetz, Ph.D. offers this program.  She is one of a few trained Practitioners in our area. Dr. Granetz is a North Carolina licensed psychologist and has over thirteen years of extensive experience.   Dr. Granetz is based at our South Charlotte clinic where she provides neuropsychological assessment and psychoeducational evaluations of children and adolescents with special focus in working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities, attention disorders, head injury, tic disorders, and epilepsy. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. To find out if Cogmed Working Memory Training is right for you, call our South Charlotte office to schedule an initial appointment.    

Visit their website, http://www.cogmed.com/, for more information about this state-of-the-art intervention.  A free parent webinar is available.

In a recent post for The National Center for Learning Disabilities, Bonnie Z. Goldsmith opens her article "Organization: A Crucial Executive Skill for Your Child with LD" with a question:

"What’s one thing that makes for a parent’s unhappy day? Getting a phone call or email from school, informing you that your child — who may spend lots of time doing homework — hasn’t turned anything in for six weeks. This wake-up call may be your first indication that your child is having trouble in school. The information is doubly disconcerting when you find, buried in your child’s heavy backpack, lots of completed homework that was never turned in."

This summer, Child and Family Development will offer ORGANIZING MIND, BODY & BACKPACK, an Executive Functioning Skills Group which will provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their personal school experiences and consider new strategies to help them continue to be sucessful in school.

For more information, contact Jessica DeLing, M.Ed, at (704) 332-4834 ext. 123 or jdeling@childandfamilydevelopment.com

Click here to read the full article by Bonnie Z. Goldsmith.

Special Education regulations always seem to be changing.  It can be difficult to keep up.  As an Education Specialist at Child and Family Development, I am often asked to "demystify" the Special Education process.

Here are some of the most common questions I receive:

MYTH: Changes can’t be made to an IEP once it is signed until the next annual IEP meeting.

FACT:  Parents can ask for a new IEP meeting anytime, for any reason. 

HELPFUL HINT:  Put your request into writing including your reason for wanting to meet. This will keep the lines of communication open and create a paper trail to ensure that your request is met in a timely manner.

MYTH: Special Education only occurs in a special education classroom

FACT: The law requires special education students to be taught in the Least Restrictive Environment.  This means that children should be educated with non-disabled peers in the general education classroom to the maximum extent possible. 

HELPFUL HINT: If your child receives resource to support a specific skill, adding inclusion time will help transfer these skills into the general education classroom.

MYTH:  If I disagree with my child’s IEP, I shouldn’t sign it.

FACT:  Each state is different.  In North Carolina, you have the option to sign either agreeing or disagreeing with the IEP. 

HELPFUL HINT:  If you disagree, include your concerns and which parts of the IEP you disagree with.  The LEA (Local Education Authority, in most cases the school administrator) at the meeting will be able to guide you with next steps to take.

Spring is often referred to by educators as, “IEP Season.”  With initial meetings, re-evaluations and transition meetings, spring is the time to assess an Individualized Education Program progress and prepare for the year.

Going through the IEP process can be mystifying. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a rookie, navigating special education for your child can not only be confusing, but emotional as well.

As an Educational Specialist at Child and Family Development, I regularly work with clients as they prepare for IEP meetings, as well as 504 Accommodation Plan meetings. I encourage you to consider the following suggestions when preparing for your child’s IEP meeting.

1. Remember that you are your child’s best advocate. You have a valuable and unique perspective as a parent.  It is important to remember that you are an integral part of the IEP team.
2. Write down your thoughts, questions or concerns before the meeting. I often encourage clients to notify the IEP Team of these thoughts prior to the meeting.
3. Bring someone with you. There is typically a lot of information being shared at an IEP meeting. It can be supportive to have a spouse or friend accompany you.
4. Make sure your child’s IEP goals are specific, measurable, and realistic. 
5. Have a clear understanding of how the goals will be measured and how you will be updated on your child’s progress.
6. Ask for clarification when necessary. The pace of an IEP meeting can sometimes be quick. Take the time to slow things down; making sure your questions are being answered and your suggestions are heard.
7. Debrief after the meeting. Take time to think about next steps, or suggestions that you need to follow up with.

Further information can be found at WrightsLaw.com and NCPublicSchools.Gov  or schedule an appointment to further discuss your needs.

Looking for pediatric therapy services near Lancaster, South Carolina?

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is less than 5 miles from the border and easily accessible from I-77 and the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary clinic has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs.

We participate in many insurance plans.

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest.

Did you know that Child and Family Development's office in South Charlotte is less than 5 miles from the state line and easily accessible from I-77 and the I-485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary clinic has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs. We participate in many insurance plans. Also, some of our Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy providers accept South Carolina Medicaid. 

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest.

Looking for pediatric therapy services near Gastonia, North Carolina?

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is less than 30 miles from there and easily accessible from I-77 and the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary clinic has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs.

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest.

 

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is under 20 miles from there and easily accessible from the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary practice has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs. Our core services include Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Child Psychology and Education. In addition, we offer specialty services, including aquatic therapy, feeding groups and social skills groups.

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest. 

We are just a hop, skip and jump away!

Our pediatric therapy team does. 

Every month, we are aware of how many children, adolescents, and yes, adults struggle with learning disabilities. Many people are yet undiagnosed and likely don’t understand why they learn differently than their peers. Many feel the long term emotional pain of their learning struggles. Many have felt different and this has taken an emotional toll only they know and feel. Becoming aware that learning disabilities affect roughly 10% of our school age population is the first step to providing positive outcomes for those individuals who learn differently.

Educators at Child and Family Development are prepared to help student and their parents understand why learning might be hard. An evaluation of learning strengths and weaknesses can identify the presence of a learning disability. Most importantly this information can serve as an action plan for students to learn how to “work differently, not harder” and for parents and teachers to help the student succeed.

For more information about learning disabilities, visit the Learning Disabilities Association of America at www.ldantal.org.  

Although the United States has a literacy rate of approximately 99%, there are many individuals in our country that struggle with reading.

For many of these individuals, the reason they struggle with reading has little to do with intelligence and much more to do with the way their brain processes language and specifically words. Research has shown that anywhere between 15-20% of the population has symptoms or characteristics of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a neurologically-based specific learning disability that makes reading and oftentimes spelling difficult. In addition, these struggles are typically very inconsistent with other areas of strength including cognitive skills.

For more information, visit the International Dyslexia Association at www.interdys.org. 

The Educators at Child and Family Development in Charlotte assess and treat children with dyslexia. 

August is National Children’s Vision and Learning Month.

Parents and educators should know that there is a crucial link between vision and learning. Vision can have a huge impact on a child’s learning abilities.

Poor vision can lead to problems with reading and completing classwork. It tends to cause children to be more fidgety, tired and easily frustrated with schoolwork. If vision is not taken into account when trying to decide what is causing the problems, a misdiagnosis of dyslexia and learning disabilities may occur.

A good percentage of children with learning disorders have a vision issue as well that has been undetected or overlooked. One reason vision issues are hidden under the radar is because parents and teachers often think that if their child passes a vision screening at school then there are no problems. In actuality, vision screens provided at school only look at visual acuity and not the more complex visual skills needed for reading and learning. It is important to diagnose visions problems early in childhood in order to help your child become ready for school and succeed to the best of their abilities.

If your child has problems reading or with school work, consult your eye doctor or a vision specialist for a comprehensive assessment.  If visual deficits are present, an Occupational Therapist may also be able to help.

It is important to have your child’s vision checked at a young age and routinely through childhood. 

Information adapted from the following website: http://www.covd.org/Home/ChildrensVisionLearningMonth/tabid/67/Default.aspx

August 31 is the deadline to register for Cogmed and receive $200 off the regular package price! 

Cogmed is a non-medical intervention that has passed rigorous clinical studies that showed significant improvement in working memory, concentration, sustained attention, impulse control and complex reasoning skills in children with attention deficits.

Joy Granetz, Ph.D., is one of a few Cogmed Qualified Practitioners in the Charlotte area.   Dr. Granetz is a North Carolina licensed psychologist and has over twelve years of extensive experience.   Dr. Granetz is based at our South Charlotte clinic where she provides neuropsychological assessment and psycho-educational evaluations of children and adolescents with special focus in working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities, attention disorders, head injury, tic disorders, and epilepsy. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties.

To learn more about Cogmed Working Memory Training:

• click the Psychology tab on the Child and Family Development website
• read about Cogmed on our blog 
• visit http://www.cogmed.com/ for a free webinar

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, then there is some preparation you should do during the summer months.

1. Contact the college disability service center.  Find out the documentation you need to receive services, as well as the services they offer.
2. Have an updated evaluation that documents your disability.  Most, if not all, colleges/universities require an up-to-date evaluation or documentation of the disability. Some require the documentation be within 3 years, others within 1 year.
3. Meet with the staff at the disability service center and get a tour of the school.  Discuss in detail your needs as well as what you feel you need to succeed and see how they can support you to reach your goals.

Two books (one for parents, one for students) that may further assist in preparation for this transition are:

1. Ready for Take Off:  Preparing Your Teen With ADHD or LD for College, by Theresa E. Laurie Maitland, PhD and Patricia O. Quinn, MD
2. On Your Own: A College Readiness Guide For Teens With ADHD/LD, by Patricia O. Quinn, MD and Theresa E. Laurie Maitland, PhD

The Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement- Third Edition (WJ-III) is a widely used individualized academic achievement measurement. It includes assessments of basic reading, reading comprehension, written expression, math calculation and math reasoning. The WJ-III is often administered by public schools to determine eligibility for special education. It is also used in clinical settings to determine the presence of a learning disability such as dyslexia. The measurement is helpful in clinical settings when a clincian is trying to determine the presence of ADHD. Moreover, the WJ-III is often used to document annual progress for home-schooled students.

In addition to several other instruments, this standardized testing tool is a regular part of the comprehensive assessments offered by our team of child psychologists and educators at Child and Family Development in Charlotte. 

As a pediatric Speech Therapist working at Child and Family Development, I am always looking for new ways to motivate children to learn and have fun at the same time. The application that I use almost everyday while in my therapy sessions, is SoundTouch. SoundTouch can ben used for Ipad, Iphone and Itouch.

It has wonderful real life pictures of animals, household items, musical instruments and transportation. SoundTouch can be used in a variety of ways. In speech therapy, I use SoundTouch for labeling, identification, wh-questions (who, what, where, when) as well as following directions. In the home, families can expand SoundTouch's use by indentifying function of objects or describing. It works on both receptive and expressive language skills. 

SoundTouch can be used for all ages. A 12 month old can use it for cause and effect and a 10 year old can use it to create sentences. SoundTouch is perfect for any child, including a child with Autism, Developmental Delays,  Learning disabilities or typically developing. 

The best thing about SoundTouch is that it is user friendly and families can try it out for FREE. If families decide that it a good fit for their child than you can download the full version for $4.99.

A psychologist at Child and Family Development can help kids and adolescents live life to the fullest.

Evaluations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) We provide comprehensive assessments to determine if a child has an attention disorder.  The evaluation may include a cognitive assessment, standardized behavior rating scales and questionnaires completed by parents and teachers, a computerized test of attention and an assessment of executive functioning skills.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Two psychologists, Carol Capehart and Dr. Chris Vrabel, specialize in these assessments and can diagnose ASD. The evaluation may include a cognitive assessment, standardized behavior rating scales and questionnaires completed by parents and teachers as well as a battery of ASD-specific testing tools.

Social/Emotional/Behavioral Adjustment An evaluation to assess overall emotional/ behavioral adjustment may include standardized behavior rating scales, an in-depth interview with parents to collect relevant history, as well as a comprehensive interview with the child, when appropriate.

Neuropsychology Kids are typically referred for a neuropsychological evaluation if they are experiencing difficulty in learning, attention, behavior, socialization, or emotional control, a disease or developmental problem that affects the brain in some way, a brain injury from an accident, birth trauma or some other physical stress. Testing can help determine the effects of developmental, neurological and medical problems, such as ASD, ADHD, dyslexia, epilepsy or a genetic disorder. Dr. Joy Granetz and Dr. Gretchen Hunter have this expertise.

Early Kindergarten Entry/IQ Testing We offer cognitive and academic readiness assessments required by public schools to enter kindergarten as a 4-year-old. We also provide cognitive evaluations that are a required part of the application process to many private schools in the area.

Therapy

Individual Counseling We provide individual therapy for a wide range of difficulties, including ASD, attention and executive functioning difficulties, mood issues, emotional regulation, anger management, family problems and overall adjustment issues.

Family Therapy Many times, we recommend that the whole family to be involved in counseling in order to learn different ways of interacting and resolving problems. 

Groups We provide several group therapy options, including Social Skills training for children and adolescents with ASD, ADHD, or other social interaction difficulties. Also, we offer parent support groups.

CogMed Cogmed Working Memory Training is an innovative home-based computer program that helps people with attention problems by training and increasing their working memory capacity. This program is managed by a Certified Practitioner, Dr. Joy Granetz. Proven results demonstrate that after training, people improve their ability to concentrate, control impulsive behavior and better utilize complex reasoning skills.

With diverse expertise, interests and experiences, we are ready to provide a wide range of evaluation and treatment services to the Charlotte community.

The Family Support Network of Charlotte is offering this free workshop:

PREParation for Emergencies and Recovery:  Supporting Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and their Families

Learn how to be ready when an emergency happens

Winter Storms, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods,

Terrorist Attacks and other emergency situations

 Workshop Topics:

• The Unique Needs of Individuals with Disabilities in Emergencies
• How Individuals with Disabilities Can Prepare
• The PREP Planning Process
• How to create an Individual PREP Plan
• Emergency Response and Recovery

For:

• Individuals with disabilities and their families
• Self- advocates
• Service providers
• Community Response Teams
• Emergency Responders

Location:  Multipurpose Room at the Carlton Watkins Center, 3500 Ellington Street, Charlotte, 28211

Date and Time:    June 28, 2012   9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.              

For more information and registration: Kelly Perez @ 704.336.7173

Limited Seating

Free

Sponsored by the Family Support Program, School of Social Work, UNC-CH.

Funded by the US Dept of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities

Summer time in Charlotte is filled with new experiences, relaxation time and sunny weather. There's one more thing to enjoy in 2012:  a new social skills group for children called Hangin' With Heroes.  

The curriculum is loosely based on Superflex®, created by Stephanie Madrigal and Michelle Garcia Winner.

The group is for children 7 and older.  

There will be opportunities to gain social awareness of self, as well as engage in rewarding interactions with other.  We will have lessons that are centered around the individual and group needs.Children will ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, Autism, Developmental Delays, Learning Disabilities, Non-verbal Learning Disabilities and Social Anxiety may fit in nicely. 

For more information and details, please contact me:

Jayne Walton

jwalton@childandfamilydevelopment.com

704-541-9080 ext. 213