Learning Disabilities Charlotte

The term ‘IQ’ actually stands for Intelligence Quotient, which was coined by William Stern in the 1920’s. There are many different theories on intelligence and how and if it can truly be measured.

IQ tests, currently often referred to as cognitive tests, have their limitations.

One may seek out cognitive testing, or IQ testing, for certain purposes. One reason may be to gain access into a private school or to receive enrichment services. Another reason it to gather information on a child’s  thinking and reasoning skills in conjunction with academic functioning to investigate if a learning disability is present.

If you have questions about testing, you can contact a child psychologist at Child and Family Development to see if testing your child is appropriate.

Does your child resist completing assignments that require handwriting?  Does he find ways to avoid writing activities?  

Handwriting is a complex skill that requires postural stability, fine motor strength and coordination, good visual perceptual skills, motor planning, higher level cognitive skills.  There could be several explanations for this avoidance as there are many skills needed to write.

What skills does my child need to be able to write?
1. Your child must have a strong base of support or core muscles to sit upright at a table to complete writing activities.
2. Your child needs adequate fine motor strength, coordination and grasping skills to write for any length of time
3. Your child must have strong visual perceptual skills to allow for visual memory of formation of letters, visual spatial awareness for spacing and alignment, etc.
4. Your child must demonstrate good motor planning or praxis skills and executive function in order to form an idea, organize his/her thoughts, and put his/her thoughts into writing

How do I know what area my child is struggling with?
One of the first steps you can take is to schedule an occupational therapy evaluation for your child.  An occupational therapist will assess your child, focusing on the skills identified above, to determine what area(s) might be impacting your child's success with writing.

An occupational therapist can then provide you with a list of recommendations to address the areas of difficulty that were identified during the evaluation. If your child does not qualify for occupational therapy services, he may be referred for a psychological/educational evaluation to determine if the he may have difficulty with executive function, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or another learning disability.

What can I do to help my child?

• Don't assume that your child is being disobedient or defiant in not completing his writing assignments
• Encourage and support your child, praising him for the work they have completed
• Help your child break down writing assignments into smaller portions so that they can handle them without becoming overwhelmed
• Provide your child with a way to help him organize their thoughts such as a "word web"
• Allow your child to type out his assignments to eliminate the handwriting portion while trying to put his thoughts into words
• Implement other strategies recommended by an occupational therapist, child psychologist or educational specialist

For more information and support, please contact Child and Family Development.

As school gets back into full swing, working on handwriting and pre-writing shapes often comes home in the form of worksheets, or kids are tired of the traditional method of pencil and paper. This is a fun activity that can be used for shapes, numbers, and letters. It is ideal for any child working on handwriting, fine motor skills, or tactile defensiveness such as children with autism or sensory processing disorders. It would also be appropriate for children with dyslexia, ADD, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, or developmental delays.

Feely Shapes: Fun with Spaghetti!  

What you will need: 
- package of spaghetti
- pot with water
- placemats

Activities: Cook the spaghetti and then rinse it with cold water until its cool enough for little hands to touch. Provide a placemat for easier clean up and encourage your child to make shapes, numbers or letters out of this fun new texture.

The following shapes are appropriate expectations: 
2-3 years old: imitate a vertical line, horizontal line, and circle; copy a horizontal line
3-4: copy a horizontal line and circle
4-5: cross, diagonals, square, X
5+: triangle, make a person, create a picture, uppercase letters, & lowercase letters

Adding different types of pasta will increase the tactile input & creative potential during this activity. If children are afraid to touch the pasta, they should be encouraged, but could use eating utencils to lessen the sensory challenge.

This fun activity is shared from the book, "The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Processing Disorder" by Carol Kranowitz, M.A. which is full of great sensory activities for kids!

Child and Family Development is pleased to offer Cogmed Working Memory Training. 
 

Joy Granetz, Ph.D. is one of a few trained Practitioners in our 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 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. She is proud to lead our Cogmed Working Memory Training program, an innovative computer-based training program to help children with attention deficits.

Cogmed Working Memory Training is a home-based program that helps people with attention problems by training and increasing their working memory capacity. Clinically proven results demonstrate that after training, people improve their ability to concentrate, control impulsive behavior, and better utilize complex reasoning skills. Better academic and professional performance can be achieved.

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

To find out if Cogmed Working Memory Training is right for you, call our South Charlotte office (704.541.9080) to schedule an initial appointment.   

What if my child tests “out-of” her dyslexia?

This is a question recently posed by concerned parents. They knew that their child would continue to struggle with specific features of dyslexia even when older. Although her reading decoding was stable and reading comprehension was fine, the speed or automaticity of reading was an ongoing problem for her. She read accurately but slowly. They were concerned that the accommodation such as extended test time would not be granted if the test “numbers” obtained on a subsequent evaluation did not reveal a learning disability “discrepancy” that would support the presence of her dyslexia.

The research on dyslexia is clear: Dyslexia persists through out the life span of an individual once diagnosed with dyslexia. Longitudinal studies* support the persistence of Dyslexia in adolescents and young adults. Specifically, reading speed remains delayed. Dyslexic individuals continue to require time to input the visual word, decode the word and gain automatic meaning. Although the decoding process may no longer be an issue, the speed of decoding generally remains a slower, tedious process for the dyslexic student and adult. Dyslexia, once appropriately diagnosed, persists through life. Dyslexia does not “go away”!

*Pediatrics. 1999 Dec; 104(6) 1351-9

Persistence of Dyslexia: The Connecticut Longitudinal Study at Adolescence; Shaywitz, et al. Dept of Pediatrics, Yale University of Medicine

My previous blog entries have been about what psychotherapy is like and how to get the most out of it. Now here’s a more specific look at the various approaches to therapy.

• Psychodynamic therapies. This approach focuses on changing problematic behaviors, feelings, and thoughts by discovering their underlying meanings and motivations.  This approach is often used to address unhealthy family dynamics and relationships with others.
• Cognitive and/or Behavior therapies. This approach focuses on changing one’s behaviors and thoughts to change one’s mood. This approach is often used to address phobias, anxiety, and depression.
• Humanistic therapies. This approach focus’s on the therapist’s relationship with the client to help the client recognize his or her innate good nature, capacity to make rational choices, and potential for a fulfilling life. This approach is used to address a number of difficulties.

Portions of this post were adapted from The Encyclopedia of Psychology, edited by A. Kadzin (2000). See more at: http://www.apa.org/topics/therapy/psychotherapy-approaches.aspx

Communication consists primarily of verbal communication, whether spoken or written words, and nonverbal communication.  Types of nonverbal communication include facial expression, eye contact, tone of voice, gestures, touch, body posture, and proximity(closeness to a person).  These forms of communication actually convey as much, if not more, information than spoken words.  Children with certain diagnoses, including Autism, asperger's syndrome, and language learning disabilities often have difficulties understanding and using nonverbal communication.  As a result, these children also have difficulties forming peer relationships.  They may stand too close, interrupt others or hug people that may not want to be hugged.

One way to see if your child is able to pick up on nonverbal communication is to simply observe them in play with their peers.  You can also turn down the volume of your child's favorite TV show and see if they can explain what is going on without hearing the words.

If your child does have difficulties picking up on nonverbal messages there are different activities you can do at home to increase their awareness and skills at using this type of communication. 

• Look through a magazine together and have your child tell you about how people are feeling in different pictures.
• Mirror Game - stand in front of your child or have your child play this game with another child.  The first child makes faces(happy, angry), uses different gestures (thumbs up, waving), movements (tapping foot) and the other child tries to imitate what this child does.  Then have the children switch places.
• Social Scripts - write out a simple social script for a particular scenario that includes appropriate body language and expression.  Practice the script with your child giving them opportunities to practice nonverbal communication.

Last November 18^th, 2010 was the 35^th anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act. This federal law has made incredible changes in public education for students with disabilities by mandating free and appropriate public education. Although many more students with disabilities are able to attend public school and learn, there are often instances where state and federal laws are violated and students with disabilities do not unfortunately get the education that their disability warrants.

As an educational specialist at Child and Family Development, I consult with parents of children with disabilities, such as learning disabilities, dyslexia and ADHD.  We can help facilitate the process of special education in public schools. This includes consulting parents with determining special education eligibility as well as the effectiveness of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Parents often wonder about the possibility of learning disabilities and the best time to pursue intervention for their child’s struggles. Earlier research and literature suggested a more “wait-and-see” approach that favored holding out until the student reached the third grade to determine whether or not the issues had resolved. However, by that time, the child may be experiencing anxiety, self-doubt, and failure. Consequently, newer models support more proactive strategies that take into account the student’s pattern of development and early skill acquisition. Because learning disabilities can impact many areas of life, the child’s frustration and failure can be minimized by early evaluation and intervention. By examining the pattern and persistence of a child’s struggles, a parent can better determine whether a problem might warrant a closer look. Over the next few weeks, I will be providing more information about learning diability warning signs across 5 areas of development: language, motor skills, memory, attention, and social behaviors.

Martha Knight, Educational Specialist at Child and Family Development in Charlotte, NC

January is National Mentor Month and what a great reminder of the importance of mentors especially when it comes to education! All children benefit from mentoring, but especially those with learning disabilities such as dyslexia and ADHD as many of these children struggle with poor self-esteem and poor self-concept. When they are able to connect with someone else who either has a similar learning struggle and has overcome it, or someone who takes the time to understand them and help them understand themselves, their self-esteem is certainly boosted. There are many ways that adults and even teens can invest in children and mentor them. This might include being a lunch buddy or a reading buddy to a young student. Think about how you can invest in a student’s future today!

Reading disabilities are the most prevalent learning disabilities identified in school-aged children. While these students often have a wide range of strengths in other areas, they encounter struggles when faced with academic tasks that involve reading. Because most other subjects require reading as a means of acquiring content-area material, these children often have difficulty across the curriculum.

Reading disabilities can result from delays in several different areas of performance. Some students struggle with phonological awareness and phonological memory.  These underlying weaknesses in the way the brain processes language impact the child’s ability to accurately sequence the individual sounds of language. Often, such students find it difficult to acquire early phonetic skills, such as alphabet recall, sound matching, and blending. 

Other children experience struggles that are rooted in their ability to retrieve and organize language. Some of these individuals previously showed developmental delays in their spoken language. Their early difficulty in understanding speech or in putting together words to express their ideas may later present a weakness in comprehending written text. While some of these children may have fewer difficulties in decoding individual words, they struggle to analyze information and to answer critical-thinking questions.

Reading disabilities may also arise from problems with fluency. In order to gain meaning from longer text, individuals must be able to input the information in an efficient manner so that they can recall what they have decoded. Students who struggle with fluency often exhibit a hesitant, choppy reading style. Because they must put forth such significant effort at the level of processing individual words, they are vulnerable to forgetting what they read. Even though they may have just completed a passage, they find that they are unable to tell an adult what they have read.

In order to further explore any of these patterns, it is important to pursue a comprehensive evaluation by a trained professional. Results will help to identify the root of your child’s struggles and to provide information about appropriate educational supports. Early intervention can help your child to overcome these weaknesses and go on to enjoy many happy years of reading.

Martha Knight is an Educational Specialist at Child and Family Development in Charlotte, NC.

Writing difficulties are often seen in children in the upper elementary grades, as well as in middle school and high school.  Many of these children present with or have a history of language delays, language processing difficulties, or even diagnosed learning disabilities.  

As children matriculate into middle and high school, academic writing demands increase dramatically.  Putting thoughts onto paper may be tough enough to begin with, but organizing those thoughts into cohesive, grammatically-correct essays that contain appropriate academic-style syntax can truly throw these children for a loop! Understandably, decreased confidence and motivation for writing assignments goes hand-in-hand with writing difficulties.

A few interesting facts:

-Because it is such a cognitively complex activity, writing is often the last hurdle in treating (and overcoming) a language delay or learning disability.
 

-The majority of U.S. schoolchildren have writing skills that are judged to be below grade level.
 

-Essays written by children with writing difficulties are often too short, due to limited details, and too simplistic. Spelling and grammar errors are typically found throughout. 

 -Children with writing difficulties often free-write instead of following a structured prompt.
 

-Children who present with writing difficulties often speak at an age-appropriate level; that is, their grammar and syntax during speaking tasks may be appropriate or even advanced.

In order to write at grade-level, a child must employ receptive-expressive language skills, working memory, and other organizational and language processing skills simultaneously.  If any of these cognitive functions are out of sync, writing success becomes very difficult to achieve.  

A speech therapist may recommend speech-language therapy in order to address language and processing skills.  A psychological-educational evaluation may also be recommended in order to get a broader look at the child’s learning style.  In addition, educational therapy can directly treat a learning disability that causes writing difficulties.