Bill to Adopt Internationally Recognized Definition of Dyslexia Now Law – Cape May County Herald

See on Scoop.it – Developmental & Behavioral Challenges in Children

By Press Release TRENTON — Legislation sponsored by Senator Jeff Van Drew and Senate Education Chair M.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

This is such an important action by New Jersey for all those with dyslexia.  We as a nation don’t recognize dyslexia as the neurologic, language-based disorder of oral and written language that it is.  It is sad that knowledg has to be legislated but sometimes that is the only way to get people to acknowledge something they need to know more about.  Now lets get the rest of the states that are not already on board (which is most of them) so that accurate identification and remediation can be put in place for our children.

Contact your elected officials to see where your state is (Iowa doesn’t recognize it for example) and push for a bill to be introduced and pushed to passage fort his significant minority of our population (1 in 7 to 1 in 10 depending on how it is classified).

See on www.capemaycountyherald.com

Stressed Out? | Reasons Your Child’s LD Might Stress You Out – NCLD

See on Scoop.it – Developmental & Behavioral Challenges in Children

Parents of children with learning disabilities and ADHD endure many challenges that can trigger stress. Being aware of your own stress levels and specific reasons for stress may help you cope.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

This is a very important article to read because these are real reasons why parents of children with learning problems struggle.

Having worked with these families for 30 years, I know about these stresses and about how many people (friends, family, schools) want to add in their two cents as to what the parents must be doing wrong, or not doing, when the child doesn’t magically lose their learning disability with the interventions provided by the school.

Share this with others who are raising children with learning disorders.

See on www.ncld.org

Want to understand why some children are hard to deal with?

different yet beautiful

I am excited to offer my first free report, O.D.D. Not What You Think. I highlight why some children struggle with compliance despite the fact that all children are born wanting to be loved, accepted, and respected.

This report is the beginning my new project, Parenting Challenging Children.  I am putting together a member site with monthly webinars directed at understanding the 6 neurodevelopmental disorders of 1) Intellectual Disorders, 2) Communication Disorders, 3) Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), 5) Learning Disorders, and 6)Motor Disorders. There will also be webinars providing knowledge and strategies for working with mental health problems that up to 20% of children/youth experience. Temperament will be highlighted on its own and in conjunction with the neurodevelopmental and mental health issues of our young.

I am excited to be at a time and place to be able to share this knowledge and strategies that many families, schools, and other organizations/agencies that work with these struggling youth.  I will update you as the different levels of training are available.

 

Rethinking Education: Why Our Education System Is Ripe For Disruption – Forbes

See on Scoop.it – Developmental & Behavioral Challenges in Children

Our education system is not broken, it has just become obsolete When I think of all the tremendous, seemingly impossible feats made possible by entrepreneurs, I am amazed that more has not been done to reinvent our education system.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

Naveen Jain does a great job of discussing why education needs to change.  He is quick to point out that the problem is not that our system is broken, but rather it is obsolete.  When you look at education you have to agree.  The current system was developed in the 1800s, which was in the midst of the industrial revolution.  The main industries were manufacturing and farming. The goal of education was to make good citizens who would respect their superiors. They were not taught to think independently but to be part of the group.  Society now looks for creative, individual thinkers, who can also work in groups.  Education needs to work with society, not hold it back. Let’s bring in neuroscience and technology into the equation and redo education for the 21st century.

Would you like a copy of my free report on oppositional children? Click here.

See on www.forbes.com

Congress Rewrites IDEA Funding Rule – Disability Scoop

See on Scoop.it – Developmental & Behavioral Challenges in Children

A small change tucked inside a government spending bill this month may have big implications for special education.

Dr. Pat McGuire‘s insight:

This article is important for 2 reasons. 1 – It shows that the federal government won’t allow children with special needs to be the ones who suffer when there are economic problems, 2 – This rewrite also allows those states who are keeping their focus on helping children with special needs can get extra funds if they become available.  It doesn’t just sit in the coffers. I feel that the administration has been an advocate for children with special needs with this effort.

See on www.disabilityscoop.com

Our ignorance of learning disabilities

See on Scoop.it – Developmental & Behavioral Challenges in Children

As the new school year begins this article/survey highlights the needs we have to provide more knowledge and training to our parents and teachers.  I know I will be out there doing my share to close the gap.  Who else will be helping to get the word out?

See on www.washingtonpost.com

Would you want to be treated this way?

It happened again this week.  Not only in my office but in the different stores I went to in order to feed my family and my cats.  Adults chastising children for making mistakes.  Not children intentionally creating destruction, but rather demonstrating difficulty based on their size, age, or developmental level.  I saw a 4 month old being spanked for fussing in the cart as her mother was roaming the isles.  I heard a 6 year old being told that he was a loser after bumping into a shelve in an isle that was overcrowded with carts and people. I had parents tell me that their children are failing on purpose.  They say that they can’t take anything more away to get their children to successfully complete their school work because “the child doesn’t care”.

One out of 3 children are born with a congenital defect.  One child in six has a developmental delay. One out of 7 children have dyslexia, a neurologic language disorder that affects, to varying degrees, oral language and written language for reading, writing, or spelling.  It can also affect mathematics due to the fact that math has a language  too, such as 5 x 6 = 30, which is actually different than 6 x 5 = 30 although the answer is the same.

Even typically developing children are not capable of knowing everything early on.  Babies only have crying to let others know of their distress, be it hunger, tiredness, discomfort, or illness.  They don’t cry to irritate their parents, but only to try to get help for issues that they can’t control themselves.  Preschoolers don’t have the same sense of time as older children and adults but are frequently blamed for making their parents late on purpose.

Is he the one in seven who will have dyslexia?

This is dyslexia awareness month, so it is important to consider how this language-based disorder may be affecting every 7th person, child or adult, that you come in contact with.  If that individual has problems processing what you are saying, they may either ask you to repeat yourself, ask for clarification, or more likely due to fear of criticism, just try to do what they understood. A customer may ask you about something on sale, although to you the information is clearly stated on the banner or flyer, but the customer has significant difficulties decoding words that are not in his sight vocabulary.  They fear that look of disdain or disgust but don’t want to be more embarrassed by buying the wrong things.

Take a moment to remember how you felt as a child when you were criticized or punished for something that you felt you had tried your best to accomplish.  Now bring that feeling forward to provide empathy for the child or adult you are with, so that you don’t just repeat history.  Create a better experience for this child or adult.  At the same time you will be creating a better people skill for yourself.