by Bren Alvarez, Stern Center Parent
The “not learning to read thing” kind of creeps up on you slowly. For my son and me, it was like this:
We loved to read together. Well, actually, I read to him, and he loved his books.
Our shelves were overflowing with books. “Will you read to me?” I would ask him. “No, I like it when you read to me,” he would answer. “That’s ok,” I would think. Then I would tell him, “I’ll read to you. I like to read to you and soon you will be in Kindergarten and you will be reading on your own.”
Then there was Kindergarten and lots of new things to learn and new books to read. I read to him and he loved the new books.
“Will you read to me?” I would ask him. “No, I like it when you read to me,” he would answer. “That’s ok,” I would think. Then I would tell him. “I’ll read to you. I like to read to you and soon you will be in first grade and you will be reading on your own.”
The school conference was so reassuring: Kids learn to read at their own pace and boys, well, boys, they often learn to read later. He is a bright and inquisitive boy. English is his second language and he works hard in his ELL group.
And then there was first grade and second grade and nothing changed. There were lots of new things to learn and new books to read. I read to him and he loved the new books. The school conference was reassuring.
And then there was third grade. But, in third grade they aren’t really learning to read. They are reading to learn. And I still read to him.
by Erin McKenney, Stern Center Evaluation Department
You have made the decision to have your child evaluated. Maybe your child has a learning style difference, which includes being a gifted learner; maybe a learning disability is suspected; perhaps your child has attention difficulties; concerns around adaptive behavioral problems, including autism, may be the issue, or maybe your child is struggling with a neurological handicapping condition. Whatever the case may be, evaluations are a great way to get the full picture of how your child's brain works. It will show your child’s strengths as well as any challenges, and provide a pathway for educators and parents to create individualized instruction plans to best help your child learn.
While this is an exciting time because the evaluation will help you figure out how your child learns best, it can also be very overwhelming, especially for your child. Here are a few thoughts on how you can prepare your child before evaluation day so that everyone involved has a good experience:
Leading up to the Evaluation
- Prepare your child for the appointment to help reduce stress and anxiety, as well as increase cooperation. You can do this by talking with your child beforehand so he or she knows what to expect. Your child is most likely aware of his or her difficulties and if you explain that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses it may help your child feel relieved.
by Ed Wilkens
Depending on family dynamics, you might become aware of any academic difficulties your child is experiencing over family dinner, while driving to soccer practice or in those quiet conversations just before bed. Or, you might be totally surprised to learn from your child's teacher or through a formal written progress report that things are not going as well as you had assumed.
Regardless of how you discover the challenges, what you do next is crucial and it's all about communication and relationships. The essential players include you, your child and the teacher or teachers relevant to the challenge. Potential additional partners might include a counselor, coach or administrator depending on the specifics of the challenge.
