Developmental delay
Developmental delay is the umbrella term used when we first become aware that a child is not achieving his / her developmental milestones as they should. Before I focus further on developmental delay though, I’d like to just pause for a minute and elaborate on what we mean when we say that children are not […]
Learning Difficulty: Label or Diagnosis?
One of the hardest decisions I need to make following an assessment is whether to officially diagnose a learning difficulty or not. As a young Ed. Psych. student I thought it would be pretty simple – identify what’s wrong, name it and send the family off in the right direction, relieved that they finally […]
Is there a link between the MMR-vaccine and Autism?
It is a debate that I thought had been settled a while ago and something we no longer needed to be concerned over – but recent reports have caused this hot topic (and tempers on both sides of the debate) to flare up again. For those of you that are hearing about this for […]
Petit Mal – The other culprit in “inattentiveness”
When children are described as being “inattentive” or “distractible” or to be presenting with “lapses in concentration” most teachers and education specialist immediately suspect ADD / ADHD, but a condition known as Petit Mal (or absence episodes) may also be accountable for these periods of inattention. Petit Mal (or absence episodes) refer to brief epileptic […]
Auditory Processing Disorder
Ever heard of Auditory Processing Disorder? APD is an umbrella term for a variety of disorders that affect the way the brain processes information received from the ears (auditory perception). It is not a hearing impairment as individuals with APD usually have accurate hearing. But their brains do not process the information they hear in […]
ADHD – Tips for Teachers
Managing a busy classroom can be stressful at the best of times. But there is a lot that you can do to support your learners diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. These interventions include classroom layout, lesson presentation and behaviour modification techniques Classroom layout •Arrange desks in rows or semi-circles rather than in groups. •Place the […]
Signs and symptoms commonly associated with Dyslexia
There are about 27 accepted definitions of Dyslexia and experts cannot seem to agree on exactly what this learning disorder is and how it presents itself in young children. There are dozens of Dyslexia Tests on the market, but not one single universally accepted test to try and identify this learning disorder. For this reason […]
Intellectually gifted children with learning difficulties
It’s seems completely contradictory for a child to be intellectually gifted and have a learning difficulty at the same time, right? Yet, experts estimate that about 2% – 5% of gifted children have learning difficulties. Gifted children with learning difficulties are referred to as being twice exceptional (abbreviated as 2e) and may suffer from any […]
Help your child succeed in school
There are general things that you can do as a parent to help your child succeed in school. Success in life and at school is about more than just the child’s intellectual ability or IQ, it is essential that we consider a child’s emotional intelligence, talents and self-esteem. Talents need to be identified and […]
Spelling strategies for kids
There are 26 letters in the alphabet, which make about 44 sounds individually and combine into a possible 577 letters and sounds. This can be intimidating for even the most confident child. Spelling is not quite as simple as understanding what sound each individual letter makes, a child also needs to understand what sound it […]
