Good Sensory Learning Blog

I find that a lot of parents decide to hide the fact that their child has a learning disability. They want to protect them from negative associations with the label. Most of all, they don't want their child to feel disabled or experience any bullying from his or her peers. Although there might be some short-lived uncertainties and uneasiness associated with learning about one's diagnosis, the research shows that has lasting beneficial outcomes. How Can Learning about One's Learning Disability Diagnosis Help? Learning about one's diagnosis can help in a number of ways. Whether the child is in elementary school...

Teaching students planning, time management and organizational skills is necessary in education. Although some find executive functioning to be quite obvious, there are those that need to learn the process. Executive Functioning is Made Up of Three Core Cognitive Skills Executive functions can be broken down into three key cognitive skills: Working memory:  Working memory is the process of holding and manipulating sensory information in the mind.  It is also a vital skill in both encoding and retrieving information from long term memory. Inhibitory control:  Inhibitory control involves managing one's attention, behavior, thoughts, and/or emotions so that actions are aligned with personal goals. Cognitive flexibility: Cognitive flexibility...

I'm so pleased to feature this heart-felt and beautiful piece by my dear friend and fellow dyslexic, Stan Gloss.  Stan provides a glimpse of his "marriage to dyslexia" and shares his life's challenges as well as his most recent realization that dyslexia is, in fact, a gift. Stan's Dyslexia Story A golden anniversary is an amazing milestone to reach in any relationship. It is even more remarkable when your marriage is to Dyslexia. Although this can be a challenging relationship, you can learn to work together to create success. Please join me on my 50-year journey with Dyslexia. When Did My Relationship...

Not all students require the same remedial process even though they struggle with the same academic difficulties. Diverse combinations of cognitive processing weaknesses and deficits can unite to create the "perfect storm" that can cause challenges with reading, math, writing, spelling and more. Creating an Individualized Approach In fact, no two students have the same cognitive profile, so to provide the optimal solution, one needs to consider both a student's strengths and weaknesses when designing a remedial approach. Spelling Recommendations for A Struggling Speller Occasionally, I like to present the questions emailed to me from parents and teachers. This week, I...

Many families hope that their insurance coverage can help lessen the financial burden of academic assistance for children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities as study skills, development of cognitive abilities, and homework help is often necessary for this population of learners. Although this appears to be a reasonable service, particularly for children that have a diagnosis, upon investigation, you will find that this is not the case. What do Insurance Companies Cover? Insurance companies will often accommodate medical and mental health services, but because tutors, learning specialists and educational therapists, are trained primarily in education, they don’t have the...