These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

Jupiter Counselor

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I’ve recently collaborated with an excellent Jupiter Counselor who specializes in working with families and children. Brian Neal is an experienced Jupiter counselor grounded in Christian principles. Brian’s a family man who has been married for a long time and has four children so he understands the challenges facing today’s moms, dads, and children ranging from addiction to bullying, to social media influences.

If your marriage or family is in a crisis or approaching crisis levels, contact me today to I can connect you with Brian. As a male Jupiter Counselor he maintains a professional and confidential practice. Many Jupiter counselors are generic but Brian’s specialty of families, marriage, and children using Christ centered practices sets him apart . You can restore your family and rebuild broken relationships using his goal directed counseling. Thus, rather than simply exploring feelings, Brian believes in setting goals and directing talk to achieve meaningful and lasting positive change.

When you need help for marriage issues, adolescent issues, anxiety, depression, addiction, or any other area affecting your family, contact Brian.  He will counsel you to hope and healing.

Teaching Students With ADHD: 10 Steps for Success

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Teachers, you can help your students with ADHD by following these 10 steps.

Step 1. Develop a good rapport. Getting to know the child is core to his, her, and your success. Review 504 plan or IEP with the child and parent.

Step 2. Seat the student in his or her optimal area (not always the front row).

Step 3. Pair the student with a buddy or partner.

Step 4. Set up a secret signal, if needed.

Step 5. If needed, give the child a job or responsibility.

Step 6. Make ongoing accommodations.

Step 7. Frequently check in with student during instruction.

Step 8. Before any test provide the following: inform student about the types of questions, provide or complete with class completed study guide.

Step 9. When misbehavior occurs, implement the mess up, make up technique. The student can earn back a privilege if he or she does an act to make up for the blunder.

Step 10. Communicate with parent. Share student’s success and areas of concern. Start the meeting with positive statements.

Stealth Dyslexia Testing

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Stealth Dyslexia Testing in West Palm Beach, Florida. Stealth dyslexia is  hidden form of dyslexia and children with stealth dyslexia often have above average to gifted levels of intelligence and other natural strengths such as a strong memory that help them compensate.  These children often ‘mask’ their dyslexia. Additionally, a child with stealth dyslexia living in a supportive home environment may go undetected for a longer time because of strong parent or tutor support.  Nevertheless, it’s important for parents to trust their instinct because, in my experience, a parent’s intuition is highly accurate.  If you have concerns about stealth dyslexia or another possible learning issue, have your child tested and give yourself peace of mind.  You can rule stealth dyslexia in or out and gain knowledge about how to proceed.

The Stealth Dyslexia Process

A stealth dyslexia testing evaluation takes approximately four hours. There is no one test for determining stealth dyslexia so a group of tests is used during testing.

The process for stealth dyslexia testing includes:

  1. A review of past records, educational performance, and history
  2. A parent meeting
  3. 4 hours of testing with the child which includes:
    1. An IQ test (children with stealth dyslexia are often very intelligent)
    2. Tests of visual-spatial processing (children with stealth dyslexia are often strong in these areas)
    3. Tests of auditory and visual memory (children with stealth dyslexia often use strong memory to compensate)
    4. Tests of auditory discrimination
    5. Tests of phonological processing
    6. Reading aloud and silently
    7. Reading nonsense or made up words
    8. Spelling tests of real and made up words
    9. Self-esteem testing
    10. Many others… depending on your child’s unique needs.
  4. A review meeting including a written report with specific recommendations.
  5. A follow up check in.

The stealth dyslexia evaluation helps identify the best reading program to use with your child because you want to identify the breakdown and provide the right type of support.  Kids grow and develop fast so you don’t want to lose valuable time doing things that don’t help fix the core issue. Use the contact form if you would like to schedule or if you have questions.

Some Frequently Asked Questions about Stealth Dyslexia Testing

1. Does insurance cover testing?  No.

2. Is testing in one day? Testing is 2, 2 hour sessions. For teens 16 and older it can be done in one day.

3. Can you test for more issues than just stealth dyslexia? Yes, I also  test for other learning disabilities, ADHD, processing problems, IQ, and other areas depending on each client’s needs.

4. What age can you start testing? I begin at 5.5 years old and continue through adulthood.

Ready to Schedule? Have Questions?

Call 561-625-4125.

 

 

Psychoeducational Testing Success in West Palm Beach

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I recently worked with a teenage boy and his family to do a psychoeducational testing evaluation here in West Palm Beach, Florida. This teenager was struggling to successfully complete the eighth grade. Prior to testing him I met with his parent to discuss the parent’s main concerns, understand their needs, and create an evaluation that would answer their questions about their son.  Then the teenager came in for two different testing sessions and I assessed his learning, neuropsychological processing, and social-emotional status.  His parents then returned to review my written report with specific recommendations. The parents left with understanding about their son that only the testing could reveal.  This helped them know how to best help their son in ways that targeted his weaker areas and built on his strengths.

Psychoeducational Testing Follow-Up

After the testing and parent meeting, I follow up with parents because I earnestly want to know which recommendations they used and how their child is progressing.

This parent appreciated my concern for his son and below is part of his email update and it’s always fulfilling when I hear your child is improving.

Just in the last 2-3 weeks, he has actually been reading on his own and asking for books to continue a series of books (he NEVER did that before). My son didn’t complete his homweork and 15 min of brain training the first 2 days after school last week. So on Wednesday, it was nearly 9 PM and he was done with homework and other things and he said, “Lets go get my tutoring done and over with.” To you this might not mean anything but that was literally the first time I ever heard him say, lets get my work done and over with… he did his work and got to play on the computer, lets hope success breeds success.

All in all I think there has been movement in a positive direction. Lastly, I think that we owe a great deal to you and your positive attitude in your testing and dealing with our son. He walked out each time positive and upbeat, unlike some other sessions with others in years past.

This email made my day!  While the psychoeducational testing costs money, this father will tell you it was money well spent on his son’s future.

One thing I’ve learned is that some parents thought their child was being lazy, slacking, or unmotivated when in actuality there was an underlying problem that the testing revealed. This gave understanding and specific steps for helping the child.

The time is now, let’s get started helping your child. Call or use the contact form above.

Palm Beach Home Education Evaluation Success

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home education evaluationI worked with an elementary student to complete the Palm Beach Schools Home Education Evaluation and it was a huge success. The young girl came in with her parent and was happy, well rested, and ready to work. I started the home education evaluation by explaining the process and giving her examples of the types of questions I would ask her. She easily answered them and then felt very confident about her abilities. I reassured her that she would do well and this simple explanation helped her get off to a great start. We completed tests from the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement which is a normed test for reading, math, and writing. This young girl appeared to enjoy the work.

This parent also wanted and IQ test for her daughter so we completed that as part of the testing.  The IQ test provided insight into the young girl’s potential as well as how she processed information.  In this case, the girl was highly verbal and excelled on all sections that required talking.  The IQ helped mom understand how her daughter learns.

This young girl was working at her potential and was making great academic progress.  I also reviewed her portfolio and mom’s records and then signed off on the Palm Beach home education (home school evaluation form) Palm Beach Schools. 

Here is the form homeschool_annual_evaluation_Palm Beach and if you need an home education evaluation contact me.