What is sensory processing disorder?
The term sensory processing disorder is often bandied around – but what does it mean? Sensory processing (also known as sensory integration) is, in essence what your brain does with the information it receives from your senses. Without even realising it our sense organs are constantly gathering information from the environment around us and our […]
Assessment as a tool to help plan support for a child
The aim of an assessment is not only to help identify a learning difficulty. Undoubtedly it is a relief for most parents to finally know why their child has been struggling, but this is only the first step. Once an in-depth assessment has been done and we have an overall, integrated picture of how the […]
What to do if your child has a slow handwriting speed
Having slow handwriting can be very distressing for children during timed tasks such as tests and exams. I often get panicked phone calls from the parents children in higher grades about this. Unfortunately a slow handwriting speed is usually only identified in higher grades, when children simply can’t keep up with volume of work required. […]
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 […]
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 […]
