These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

IEP advocate

Benefits of Advocating for an IEP

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Advocating for an IEP. Many parents sense that their child is struggling in school long before a formal plan is put in place. You may notice difficulties with reading, writing, attention, or anxiety, yet feel uncertain about how to navigate the complex special education process. In these moments, a testing your child to give additional understanding can make a meaningful difference.

Testing is Step 1

School neuropsychological testing provides answers to your intuitions. Testing reveals your child’s strengths but also provides needed data to explain your child’s hidden weaknesses and how those are interfering with learning. Once schools have unbiased data and the report with recommendations, they can move forward with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

For many families, the experience can be transformative. As one parent shared, “With your testing report and the advocate, our son qualified and received an IEP for specialized instruction. We were greatly relieved and encouraged that he would now receive the additional support needed for him to thrive.”

Benefit 1

Testing combined with advocacy gets real results. A special education advocate is a professional who understands the laws, procedures, and language of the educational system and helps your work collaboratively with schools to secure appropriate services for your child. If you feel overwhelmed by acronyms, eligibility criteria, and evaluation data, an advocate provides clarity and guidance.

Benefit 2

Advocates also help you prepare for school meetings. Eligibility meetings, IEP meetings, and school conferences can feel intimidating. An advocate helps you organize concerns, develop key questions, and ensure that the conversation remains focused on your child’s needs. Their presence often helps create a more balanced discussion and ensures that important points are not overlooked.

Benefit 3

Another key role of an advocate is helping ensure that children receive appropriate supports and services. This might include specialized instruction, accommodations, or related services. Advocates understand how to align evaluation data with educational eligibility categories and service recommendations.

Ultimately, an advocate strengthens the partnership between families and schools. By helping you understand the process, interpret data, and communicate effectively, advocates help ensure that your child receives the educational support necessary to reach their full potential.

Have Concerns About Your Child and Advocating for an IEP?

Call (561) 625 4125 to discuss your child and dyslexia, learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anxiety. Learn more at www.JimForgan.com. You can locate an advocate at www.labyrinthconsultingpbc.com/about/ or kbpspecialinsights.com.

Dyslexia Demystified: Signs, Symptoms, and Support Strategies

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Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disabilities, affecting an estimated 1 in 5 people, but it is also one of the most misunderstood. Dyslexia is not a problem of intelligence, motivation, or vision. It is a neurobiological difference in how the brain processes language with the sounds within words and the way those sounds connect to letters. With the right support, individuals with dyslexia can become confident, successful readers.

What Is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia primarily affects reading accuracy, fluency, spelling, and decoding. People with learning disabilities of dyslexia have difficulty breaking words into their component sounds and linking those sounds to written symbols. This makes learning to read and spell more effortful and slower, even though overall thinking and reasoning skills may be strong.  Dyslexia exists on a spectrum and often co-occurs with ADHD, dysgraphia, or language-based learning differences. Because of this, dyslexia can look different being more noticeable in boys and less in girls, who mask their difficulties through hard work and compliance.

Common Signs

In young children, early signs may include delayed speech, trouble rhyming, difficulty learning letter names and sounds, or mixing up similar-sounding words. As children enter school, dyslexia show up as early as halfway through kindergarten. Young students have trouble remembering letter sounds and remembering sight words. Many students are slow readers and guess at words. They avoid reading aloud for fear of embarrassment. Older students may read fluently but struggle with comprehension. Emotional signs are also common. Many children with dyslexia become anxious or believe they are “not smart” because school feels so much harder for them.

Evidence-Based Strategies

The gold standards for dyslexia intervention are Structured Literacy, an explicit, systematic, and multisensory approach to teaching reading and programs based on Orton-Gillingham principles.  These programs teach phonics, decoding, spelling, and language structure in a clear, step-by-step way.  With early identification, effective instruction, and emotional support, dyslexia does not have to limit your child’s future. Evaluating and understanding are first steps to empowering it.

Call (561) 625 4125 to discuss your child and dyslexia, learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anxiety.

autism boy

Social Struggles Can Point to Autism

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A mom contacted me because she was concerned about her adolescent son and wrote, “I wish he could understand social issues so he could respond appropriately. Sometimes I think people take advantage of him.” She wanted to know if his social issues could be related to autism or something else.

Autism is a Social Disorder

It’s understandable for you to wonder about autism when you see your child struggling with social understanding. This mom recognized this was one sign and that further exploration might be helpful. Social difficulties can come from many different causes such as autism, ADHD, social anxiety disorder, language delays, or personality traits such as being an introvert. Thus, social difficulty does not automatically point to autism, but it can be one piece of the puzzle.

Evaluating for Autism and Other Social Concerns

You may want to consider an evaluation if three or more autism-related traits are present, such as difficulty reading body language, voice tone, or unspoken rules, very literal thinking, challenges with back-and-forth conversation, trouble making or keeping friends, sensory sensitivities, rigid routines, a strong discomfort with changes, or unusual social communication skills.

If the concern about social vulnerability is part of a larger pattern, an assessment may be appropriate. Our evaluations help provide you with answers and clarity. Testing helps answer questions such as: “What exactly is he struggling with? How can we support him best?  Are there services or strategies that could make life easier for him?”  Parents often find relief in having clear guidance, whether or not an autism diagnosis is given.

Wonder About Autism?

Contact us if you wonder about autism and feel your child is consistently misunderstood socially, easily manipulated or taken advantage of, unsure how to set boundaries, or confused by peers’ behavior.  Our school neuropsychological testing will help give answers and guide you toward meaningful next steps.

Call (561) 625 4125 if you would like to discuss your child and your concerns for possible autism, social difficulty, learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, or anxiety.

Understanding and Managing Stressful Kids

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Many parents describe a dynamic with their young child that feels overwhelming: “He makes everything difficult. When I’m with him, it’s hard to think or do anything. It feels like stress and chaos all the time.” This experience can be both emotionally draining and confusing. From a psychological standpoint, it often reflects a complex interaction between your child’s temperament, developmental stage, and your stress response system.

Child Arguing

When a child frequently resists, argues, or escalates quickly, a parent’s nervous system naturally enters a state of heightened alert. This “fight, flight, or freeze” activation can make it difficult to think clearly or respond calmly. The first step, therefore, is self-regulation. Before attempting to manage your child’s behavior, take a brief pause to ground yourself by deep breathing, stepping away for a moment, or using a calming phrase to help deactivate that stress response.

What Is the Purpose of the Behavior?

It’s also essential to look beyond surface behaviors and consider the behaviors function. Challenging behavior is often communication. It may indicate unmet needs such as fatigue, hunger, sensory overload, or anxiety. In some cases, neurodevelopmental differences (e.g., ADHD, autism spectrum traits, or emotional regulation difficulties) can make transitions and compliance particularly challenging. Identifying patterns and triggers can help you tailor your responses rather than reacting in the moment.

Support

Behaviorally, structure and predictability are key. Consistent routines, clear expectations, and calm follow-through create a sense of safety for both parent and child. When possible, offer limited choices and acknowledge emotions before setting boundaries (“I can see you’re upset you can’t have more screen time; it’s hard to stop when you’re having fun”).

Finally, recognize the importance of support. Chronic stress in the parent–child relationship can erode both patience and connection. Consulting psychologist, family therapist, or behavior therapist can provide individualized strategies and perspective. Self-care is necessary for effective parenting and encouraging your child’s growth.

Call us at (561) 625 4125 if you would like to discuss your child and your concerns for possible learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, autism, opposition, or anxiety.

What Parents Need to Know About the President’s New Autism Announcement

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What Parents Need to Know About the President’s New Autism Announcement

President Trump recently gave a major speech on autism, and many parents are wondering what it really means for their families. Government announcements often come wrapped in technical language, so here’s a clear breakdown of the key points and what parents should take away.

A New Treatment Option for Some Children

One of the biggest announcements from the speech on autism was a new pathway for using leucovorin, a medication that may help certain children with autism who also have a condition called cerebral folate deficiency (CFD).

CFD happens when a child’s brain doesn’t get enough folate, an important B vitamin, even though blood levels of folate look normal. Some studies show that when children with autism and CFD are treated with leucovorin, parents and therapists see improvements in speech, social skills, and learning.

The FDA will now recognize leucovorin as an approved option in these cases, and Medicaid will cover the treatment for eligible children. This is not a treatment for all children with autism, but for a specific group that doctors can test for using a blood test.

Pregnancy, Acetaminophen, and Autism Risk

The President also addressed growing concerns about acetaminophen (Tylenol) use during pregnancy. Some research suggests a possible link between frequent acetaminophen use in pregnancy and a higher risk of autism or ADHD in children. However, experts emphasize that the evidence is not conclusive. Other studies have not found the same connection, and scientists do not yet agree that acetaminophen causes autism.

For now, the official advice is that pregnant women can still use acetaminophen when needed, but should:

  • Use the lowest effective dose
  • Take it for the shortest time necessary
  • Only use it when truly needed

It’s important to remember that untreated fever or pain during pregnancy can also be harmful, so this is about balance and careful use. Pregnant parents should talk with their doctor before making any changes to how they manage symptoms.

A Big Investment in Research

Another important piece of news is that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be investing over $50 million into new autism research. Thirteen projects will be launched under the new “Autism Data Science Initiative.” These studies will look at possible causes of autism—ranging from genetics and environmental factors to medical conditions—and will work to connect this information with real-life family experiences.

This kind of large-scale research is critical. It may not bring immediate answers, but it helps build the knowledge needed for better tools, therapies, and understanding in the years ahead.

Autism Rates Are Rising

The President also noted that autism diagnoses have been increasing. Current estimates suggest that about 1 in 31 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism, up from 1 in 36 just a few years ago. This highlights how important it is for schools, healthcare systems, and communities to keep expanding services and supports. We provide autism testing using the ADOS, one of the gold standard tools for evaluating children.

What This Means for You Today

For most families, these announcements won’t change day-to-day life right away. The new treatment applies only to children with cerebral folate deficiency, and the acetaminophen guidance is simply a reminder to use medications carefully during pregnancy. The most immediate takeaway is that the federal government is paying closer attention to autism and putting significant money into finding answers.

You should continue to use ABA therapy as a primary intervention.  Follow your pediatrician’s advice, ask questions about testing and treatments, and stay informed as new research unfolds. While uncertainty remains, these announcements show that progress is being made toward better understanding autism and supporting children and families.

We use a comprehensive approach to testing your child for autism starting with an in-depth parent interview.  Then we spend 4 hours over a couple of days testing your child using the ADOS and other autism assessments.  We’ll also gain insights from your child’s teacher or therapist.  We do this to make sure we obtain the big picture of what you see, what others see, all the work from your child, and our clinical observations and testing. Check out my book, Parent’s Quick Start Guide to Autism, if your child was recently diagnosed. It gives you a road map of the best evidenced based practices and steps to take to help your child right away.

Call us to schedule autism testing for your child (561) 625 4125.