These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

ADHD and Food

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I read this interesting post “FOODS THAT CAUSE ADHD BEHAVIOR” from Dr. Frank Barnhill, a pediatrician in SC.  Many parents often wonder if their child’s behavioral difficulties are due to food allergies.  Dr. Barnhill explains below.

A child’s diet often determines whether or not they show signs and symptoms of ADHD.

Many parents have noticed their child’s behavior to be more impulsive or more hyperactive after eating certain foods. This increase in ADHD behavior is particularly more common during times of the year when children and teens tend to eat or drink more foods that contain sugar, dyes, caffeine, and preservatives… Read more here.

sodaphotoIf you are concerned about your child’s behavior it’s important that you log everything he or she eats.  I recommend you keep a log for at least two weeks so you can analyze foods and compare them to your child’s behavior.  In addition to your food log, keep a written record of his or her school performance for the day.  On the day(s) that his or her behavior is poor then really study the foods and food label ingredients to determine if there are any patterns.

Taking this step will help you understand your child even better.

How to teach children to solve their own problems

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Jim Forgan bookKids can use books to learn how to become proactive problem solvers. Often students with learning or behavioral difficulties are characterized as inefficient in recognizing and solving problems. By learning a problem-solving strategy and applying it to children’s literature titles, kids can learn to become independent and effective problem solvers.

The article below is one I wrote for teachers (and it was published in a teacher journal) to help them learn how to teach kids to become effective problem solvers.  Parents can apply these principles too because I believe we want to empower our children to independently learn to solve problems.  You are not always going to be there to solve your child’s difficulties so one of the best skills we can give our kids is to teach them how to effectively solve problems.  This is not a skill most people learn on their own and if they do, it is learned through the school of hard knocks.  Let me show you how to teach your child to be a problem solving superstar by using popular books that you can check out in the library.

Click below to download my article or if you are a teacher, I wrote a book that has 40 lesson plans that you can use and that are accompanied by a reproducible activity for your students.  It is available on Amazon.com.

Forgan Bibliotherapy Article

If you need help with your child then use the form above to contact me.

Astute Parents Notice Preschoolers with Learning Difficulties.

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I evaluate children starting at age 4 and parents often email me with concerns about their child’s learning and/or behavior. I recently received this email from this astute parent. “My son is almost 5 years old. He’s in preschool and the teachers think he may have some issues with his processing and/or maybe dyslexia? Can you evaluate him?”

“Absolutely” was my answer to this question. In fact, I saw the warning signs in my own son start to emerge between ages two and three. The delayed language, difficulty saying words, and difficulty with rhyming, and no interest sounds, letters or playing games with words.  You don’t always have to be a trained psychologist to pick up on the warning signs and astute parents often know their preschool child may have some type of learning difficulties.  If you suspect your young/ preschool child may have a learning or processing issues the next question parents often ask themselves is, “Should I get it checked out or just wait a while and see if they outgrow it?”

preschool testing for ADHDThe research clearly supports that early intervention is effective and helps prevent problems that can surface during the elementary years.  If your preschooler has a learning difficulty then immediately getting him or her working with the right therapist, program, or specialist can make a tremendous amount of difference.  Six months of gains at the preschool age can take eighteen months to make when your child is in elementary school.  My professional opinion is to start now and don’t take a wait and see approach.  An evaluation can help put your mind at ease and /or give you direction about how to proceed to help give your child the best opportunity to learn.

Don’t you want your child to work to his or her potential?  As I’ve written in previous articles, the right tutor, the right program, the right amount of time, and starting at the right age make all the difference!  Start now and trust your gut.  A mother’s instinct is usually right.

Use the contact form or call me ASAP to get started because a little investment of money now will save you from spending a lot of money later.  I’m available to help.

Dr. Jim Forgan

SAT and ACT Testing Accommodations in Palm Beach, Florida

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SAT/ ACT Testing in Palm Beach, Florida by Jim Forgan, Ph.D. 561-625-4125.

ACT SAT Testing Palm BeachSome high school students taking the SAT or ACT need reasonable accommodations. I have tested many high school students for learning disabilities, ADD/ ADHD, etc. so that if the teen has a documented need, he or she can receive SAT/ ACT accommodations.  The SAT is a test that causes stress for students.  This stress or anxiety is doubled or tripled when your child has a learning disorder.  Extended testing time can help your teen.  If your teen already has a 504 plan or IEP (Individualized Education Program) in school they may already have the 50% or 100% extended time already in place.  When it comes to SAT and ACT testing, already having the extended time accommodation in place in high school is a good thing.

See, the SAT and ACT folks don’t usually grant extended time on their tests if the teen does not already have, and use, extended time testing in high school.  The thought behind this is that if the teen does not need extended time on the FCAT, ERB, ITBS, etc., types of tests then he or she probably does not need extra time on the ACT and SAT testing.  If the teen really needs extended time on the ACT and SAT then he or she should need extended time testing on the FCAT, ERB, ITBS types of testing too.  The point here is that if you want extended time on the SAT or ACT tests then make sure you have the extended time testing already in place in school.

My testing to document your teen’s need for SAT and/or ACT accommodations takes place here in my office in Jupiter, Florida.  The testing takes about 4.5 hours and can be done in one day or split between two days.  Testing depends on your teen and in my experience, most teens prefer to knock out the testing in one session.  When teens choose this option we just take breaks every hour or more often as needed.   The main parts of the documentation the SAT and ACT folks look for include an IQ test, academic testing in math, reading and writing, information or neuropsychological processing tests, and sometimes other types of testing depending on the needs of your teen.

An important test to use

One test I use to help document your child’s need for an extended testing time request is the Nelson Denny Reading Test.  This reading test has lengthy passages that are similar to the ACT and/or SAT testing passages.  The nice feature about the Nelson Denny Reading Test is that it has a standard administration as well as a 50% extended time administration.  This helps document your child’s improvement in reading comprehension when he or she has 50% extended time administration.  Not all psychologists use this test so you’ll want to make sure the psychologist you work with uses the Nelson Denny.

Use the contact form above or call me if you’d like to discuss testing for your teen.

Jupiter School Psychologist

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Jim Forgan, Ph.D., is a Jupiter School Psychologist in private practice specializing in evaluating and testing children, teens, and young adults for learning issues such as dyslexia. Dr. Forgan also tests for math problems, writing problems, information processing disorders, gifted testing, and ADHD/ ADD testing  within the Jupiter, Florida area. As a Florida licensed school psychologist, Dr. Forgan’s gifted testing, dyslexia testing, and other testing reports are accepted by public and private schools. Dr. Forgan also tests college/ university students for learning issues so they may receive reasonable accommodations such as extended time on tests.

Jupiter School Psychologist Role

A school psychologist Dr. Jim Forgan works with children, teens, and young adults to determine if they qualify for special allowances or help in school.  The public schools offer two types of help which are either the 504 plan or an IEP.  The 504 plan allows students with documented needs to have allowances in school so that they can perform at the same level as their peers that don’t have school needs.  These allowances don’t cost the school any additional money.  Think about the child that requires glasses to help him or her see clearly when reading.  That’s an allowance or accommodation.  Now think about the child that needs larger print on tests.  That’s an allowance that is made for students if they have the proper documentation.  Dr. Forgan is a Jupiter School Psychologist that does the educational and psychological testing to document that the child’s needs are legitimate.  Once the testing is completed parents can bring the written report to the public school so they can start providing extra help.

The child with more significant learning needs such as dyslexia, learning disabilities, learning disorders, autism, emotional needs, anxiety, or dysgraphia may need specialized help.  Schools provide this specialized help through an IEP or Individualized Education Program.  This program does cost the school district extra money since they have to provide a special teacher or therapist to help the child with the more significant learning needs.  For example, the child with dyslexia requires being taught a different way to learn to read.  The school system provides a special teacher with training in how to teach children with dyslexia so it cost them extra person power.  The state gives the school district more money for each child with an IEP.  Dr. Jim Forgan is a Jupiter School Psychologist that specializes in the testing and evaluation of children.  If your child requires special instruction then you’ll bring the written report to the school so they can start the IEP process.

For young adults, Dr. Forgan tests to determine if they have a type of learning disorder that will qualify them for college accommodations.  The most common accommodation is extended time on tests followed by testing in a distraction reduced environment.  Some college students get the accommodation of receiving copies of notes or they are allowed to audio record the professor’s lecture.

Contact Dr. Forgan, Jupiter School Psychologist, if you need help with your child.