Child

Innovative Computer Programs Provide Adequate Teaching Methods for Parents

May 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by San Jose Library via Flickr

Since the inception of the Internet, there has been a variety of different tools provided to people who utilize it on a regular basis. From the ease of searching through vast amounts of information for a seemingly instantaneous answer, to the endless forms of entertainment; the Internet has uniquely shaped society in a number of different ways. However, among one of the more important aspects of society that the Internet has assisted in changing is that of education. There are a barrage of unique and innovative programs and online tools that can be utilized to help children learn while simultaneously having fun.

Useful Information and How-to Guides

As mentioned earlier, the Internet is full of useful and easily accessible information. Due to this fact, parents can find and use proven teaching methods to work with at home with their children. Whether parents are homeschooling their children through Elementary School, or simply getting the ball rolling before enrolling into a public school; there are many inventive and interactive curriculums available online.

Interactive Teaching Programs

In addition to the large amount of useful information online that pertains to teaching, there are also many free and purchasable programs that help make learning fun for children. Generally, these types of programs provide a unique environment in which children can do things that are stimulating to their brain while simultaneously holding their interest. From mathematics to English, there are programs that cover each of the important fundamentals in general education. These types of visually appealing programs tend to be particularly useful for children with learning disabilities.

Filed Under: Teaching Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Child, Education, Elementary School

Hiring A Tutor For Your Child

May 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 03: Tutor Sadie Ho...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Children learn in different ways, and this is especially true for those with learning disabilities. When searching for a tutor for your child, you will want to keep this in mind.

If you are familiar with the teaching method that works best with your child, you can use Canada 411 to find tutors who specialize in that particular method. If you don’t know or aren’t sure, you can look for tutors who have knowledge of different teaching methods. If you’re not sure which teaching method works best for your child, you may have to interview tutors who do not specialize or adhere to one particular method. Even if they have been trained in one specific type, if a tutor is willing to adjust his or her methods to your child’s needs, the tutor may still work out.

If you are interviewing a tutor and it is apparent that her or she uses only one teaching method for all the children he or she tutors, and is resistant to any change or adjustment in the method, you will most likely want to look further. If the teaching method simply does not work with your child, you will be wasting your money and your child’s time by trying to make the situation work.

If this is the case, you can use an online directory to find other sources for tutors. As you continue looking, you should be able to find one who can respond to your child’s needs and is willing to make adjustments or changes.

Filed Under: Family Support Tagged With: Canada, Child, Tutor

How to Hire the Best Tutor for Your Child

May 4, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

When it comes to hiring a tutor for your child, it can be somewhat overwhelming. There are many aspects to consider in ensuring the tutor will be effective in full-filling your child’s needs. In some cases, children have learning disabilities that can pose as a prospective hurdle in their ability to learn specific materials. Choosing the right tutor to help reinforce their individual areas that they might be weak and can be vital to their future success. Due to this fact, it is important to do a few things prior to hiring a tutor for your child that will ensure a positive experience.

Find out What Will Function Best for Your Child

Sit down with your child and get a better feel as to how they respond to learning specific elements. As their parent, you probably already know what kinds of personality they respond to best, as well as their general academic abilities. However, sitting down with them prior to beginning your search for a prospective tutor is a good way to reinforce what you know and allow you to start your search with the right information.

Perform Adequate Research

When it comes to locating a tutor, a parent can never perform too much research. Most parents who are beginning this step will approach generalized forums and or blogs pertaining to tutoring to get a good idea as to what things to look for in an effective tutor over one that is not. Upon finding and considering a few candidates, it is then good practice to research those candidates, whether online or through provided sources to ensure everything looks viable before making a final decision.

Filed Under: Teaching Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Child, Education, Tutor

Math Learning Disabilities

March 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Math learning differences are often overlooked and children with math learning disabilities frequently don’t receive the assessment or remediation they need. About 6 percent of school-aged children have serious math difficulties.

Like reading difficulties, disabilities relating to learning math range from mild or moderate to severe. In addition to different intensities, there are also different types which require different kinds of emphasis in the classroom, adaptations and methods.

Basic Math Facts

Some children have a problem memorizing their basic math facts even though they put a great deal of effort into learning them. These children continue to use their fingers or pencil marks to count because they do not readily know basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. For some children, this is their only difficulty and allowing them to use a calculator or facts chart will allow them to proceed to more difficult computations.

Arithmetic Weakness/Math Talent

Some children have no problem understanding math concepts but do have a problem reliably calculating in math. They tend to make mistakes when it comes to paying attention to operational signs, sequencing steps and borrowing or carrying correctly. While these difficulties might place them in remedial math classes early on, they shouldn’t be held back from higher-level math because of their inconsistent computational skills.

Informal Math Skills versus Formal Procedures

Many young children beginning elementary school actually have a strong understanding of informal math but they have trouble connecting this knowledge to the more formal procedures used in school. Learning the language, symbolic notation and system of school math collides with their informal skills. At this stage, using structured, concrete materials students can move and hold can be a much better teaching tool than pictorial representations.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Child, Learning disability, Mathematics

AD/HD and Executive Skills

March 9, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

When children have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), they often have areas of weakness in their executive function, those brain-based skills everyone needs to understand tasks, plan how to do them and follow through. Although not all children with weaknesses in these areas have AD/HD, all children with AD/HD do have issues in at least one of these areas.

Impulse control—Children with poor impulse control say or do things without thinking first. They often focus on the pleasurable rather than the required tasks.
Emotional Control—Children with emotional control issues often have problems accepting criticism, sticking to work when they are upset about something else or overreact when they lose a game.
Flexibility—Children who are inflexible often have problems adjusting to changes in routine and have difficulty with brainstorming assignments or panic when there are many details to remember.
Working Memory—Children who have difficulty holding onto information necessary to complete a task have problems following instructions, especially when they are given orally, and have problems doing multi-step tasks like complicated math problems.
Self-Monitoring—Children often misjudge how much effort they are exerting and have a hard time realizing when they are not following directions. They may have trouble proofreading their work or they might skip test questions without realizing it.
Prioritizing—Children often become easily overwhelmed by complicated tasks when they find it hard to plan and set priorities. They often misjudge how much time a project will take and they have problems finding the main idea of something they have read or heard.
Getting Started—Children have problems starting their homework and put off tasks until the last minute. They get overwhelmed about how to plan and organize.
Organization—Children with poor organizational ability often do homework but do not turn it in, turn in assignments late, do sloppy work or arrive late.

Filed Under: Treatment Tagged With: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Child, Executive functions

A Passion for Teaching

January 21, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are interested in helping children form the foundation for a happy and successful future, you’re probably already looking at an early childhood education degree. All young children deserve an excellent education, but some children require more care and attention to thrive than others. These special needs children may have fewer opportunities to learn because not all teachers know how to help them. If you want to be a teacher who can help these children, the first step toward that goal is to earn an early childhood education degree that focuses on special needs.

Holding a degree in early childhood education is quite an accomplishment, but holding one that focuses on special needs in particular will mean that you will always be in demand. Individuals with these degrees are highly sought after because few people choose to become special needs teachers. If you also have a deep passion for the work then you will be even more qualified because teaching children with special needs can be challenging on an emotional level as well as an academic one–and your passion can change the course of a child’s life for the better. If you want a rewarding career, one that leaves you not wondering but knowing that you have made a difference in the world, then this is the career for you.

Many universities offer early childhood education programs, but if there isn’t one in your area don’t worry–there are now online colleges offering online degrees in childhood education. There are hundreds of universities to choose from online and thanks to technology you can attend classes at any of them from wherever you live—as long as you have access to a computer and an Internet connection. Whether you go to college online or in person, the education that you receive will be as good as the college you choose, so pick carefully.

Filed Under: Teaching Tips & Tricks Tagged With: Child, Children Youth and Family, Early Childhood, Early childhood education, Education, Organizations, Research, Teacher

The Intelligence Understanding: Learning Difficulty

December 31, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It’s a common accusation. It’s a vicious belief. Teachers deem your child too strange, too hopeless, to educate. They claim his intelligence is lacking — a consequence of his disorder, a proof that he does not belong in the standard classes. He is beyond their help and must therefore be placed with others like himself: branded as a special needs pupil.

And it is not this name that offends you. It is instead the assumption that your child is not brilliant — because you know that he is. He simply can’t offer it in the usual ways, can’t verbalize his thoughts with ease.

Too often is it believed that children with learning disabilities are of low intelligence and cannot be taught. This is incorrect, however, and must be understood immediately as nothing more than a myth. Most individuals with forms of disorders are of above average intellect. They excel with creativity and can offer information in new ways. They are not — despite what so many declare — unable to learn.

The complication that comes from a difficulty, however, is in the way information is absorbed. Children can be precocious but can also be unable to demonstrate this. Words may elude them; numbers can confuse; and the necessary motor skills (such as holding a pencil properly) can disappear, leaving them unable to communicate as others do.

This is not validation of below average potential, though. It is instead a need for unconventional applications — all of which must be utilized by teachers to ensure that school becomes a welcoming environment and not a simple terror.

The misconception that plagues individuals with learning disabilities is that they can never succeed. Their intellect is thought to be weak. The truth, however, is that they are often the most dynamic students in the classroom. They simply must express their skills differently. And this requires patience from all.

A difficulty is not a failing. It is instead merely unique.

Filed Under: Learning Theories Tagged With: Child, Disability, Education, Learning disability, Special needs

The Schoolyard Reality: Learning Disability

December 28, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It’s the slam of a door, the beginnings of a sob — your child goes thundering up the stairs, refusing to answer your calls, hurrying to the safety of her room. She flings herself onto her bed, tugging the sheets up high. And you can coax no explanations, are forced to simply… wait. The minutes are long and terrible; but they finally yield a word you can understand: mockery. She was teased at school, branded ignorant. All friends became traitors. All enemies became merciless. And she never wants to return.

You’re tempted not to let her.

Because your child suffers from a learning difficulty and this scenario is far too common.

Individuals who have some form of disability — whether trouble with reading, an inability to understand numbers or even a lack of vocalization for thoughts — are often the targets of bullying. Their perceived weaknesses mark them appealing to those who wish to gain power by hurting others. Cruel names and physical violence can be offered daily.

And for parents this is almost too much to bear.

They wish to take their children from school. They wish to keep them protected. And, while these feelings are understandable, they’re not entirely fair.

Any child with a learning disability should be exposed to the world. She can gain the skills to handle her problem, as well as make vital social connections. Parents must not simply take her from school, refusing to offer her the chance to receive a proper eduction. Teasing must first be addressed in other ways.

Speak with all teachers, informing them of your concerns. Talk with the parents of the bullying children. Involve your child with extracurricular activities, so she may make new friends and have a better experience. Teach her to be confident in herself and her talents.

These methods must first be attempted before you simply remove her from school. She deserves an education. You must allow her to have it.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Bullying, Child, Learning disability

Integrating Information: Learning Difficulty

December 19, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

It was to be a simple exercise, an exploration of creativity — students were to craft a story, with each child offering their own ideas, allowed to create a masterpiece. And the fable began efficiently: the words were offered easily; the characters were formed. Each boy and girl was given the chance to use their imaginations, the tale bouncing from desk to desk. But the process came to a sudden halt as one child was unable to speak, could offer none of the needed coherency.

She didn’t understand the sequence. She couldn’t recall the events. And the story fumbled, losing all power. Her classmates weren’t pleased; her teacher was confused; and she was humiliated, unable to explain that — though she tried her best — she couldn’t track the logic.

She suffers from an Integration Disability and this must be understood before it can be helped.

Simply defined: an Integration Disability occurs when the brain cannot catalog information properly. Facts are recognized but cannot be placed into the appropriate order. There is no concept of minutes, sequence or organization. Instead all truths become clumsy, unable to be comprehended for their timelines.

And this can lead students to fail at seemingly easy tasks: such as explaining their morning, listing the alphabet or even being aware of the clock. All information is interpreted without true understanding.

This demands therefore aid from all parents and teachers. Students should be accommodated with highly specific instructions, ensuring that all facts can be followed. Extended deadlines may be needed to allow for any complications. Use memory exercises to help encourage learning of basic notions (such as the alphabet or mathematical properties). And be certain that all environments are organized — guaranteeing that items can be found with ease, rather than being forgotten.

Integration is a difficulty that cannot be denied. It can, however, be countered with attention and patience. Understand a child and her needs to make the learning process effective.

Filed Under: Learning Theories Tagged With: Child, Education, Learning, Student

The Memory Failure: Learning Difficulty

December 17, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

A tower of flash cards, a stack of lists: there are words scattered across a room, reminding of simple tasks and necessary sequences. And a child waits on his bed, glancing over his latest set of notes, trying to decipher his own (lamentable) handwriting. The steps were written too quickly, scratched out in haste; and now he can’t understand an assignment. It was meant to be an easy thing. His teacher swore to that — but only her promise was remembered, not the homework itself.

And he wonders what he’s meant to do now.

The effects of a weak memory are burdens many children must suffer: facts can’t be recalled; information can’t be summoned. It is a constant struggle of worry and notes.

It is also a disability — known as Storage Difficulty.

And the name implies its many complications. A Storage Difficulty is the brain’s failure to cling to short-term or long-term memories (but rarely both). Individuals with this condition are incapable of maintaining what they learn. They must instead rely on repetition and constant written reminders to understand the necessary processes. Their minds cannot form the needed connections. Instead they merely let them go, rendering every attempt to learn a challenge.

Such challenges can be conquered, however.

Those who are affected by a Storage Difficulty must utilize daily memory exercises. All facts must be written, read and memorized. Lessons should be offered through visual, audible and physical methods (ensuring a greater impact). And all processes must be repeated as often as needed — without forcing the child to rush through them, ignoring his need to attempt them again and again.

For many teachers this may seem to be too great of a burden; but the truth is rarely simple when applied to disabilities. Exceptions must be made. Tailor the classroom experience to one of complete perception: allowing a child to read what he must, hear what he needs and practice as he desires.

Filed Under: Children With Learning Disabilities Tagged With: Child, Education, Long-term memory