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Palm Beach Homeschool Evaluations

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If your child is a homeschooled student in the Palm Beach school district then you know each year you must have the annual homeschooled form signed off.  I attached the form (homeschool_annual_evaluation_Palm Beach) so you can have easy access to the Palm Beach Schools homeschool annual certification form by clicking here.

Once completed, return your form to: The School District of Palm Beach County, Home Education Office, 3308 Forest Hill Boulevard, Suite C-141, West Palm Beach, FL 33406-5813.  Their phone and fax numbers are: (561) 434-8052, FAX (561) 434-8447.  The current Palm Beach Home Education director is Beth Gillespie.

I can help test your child(ren) and sign off on the annual homeschool evaluation and it’s a process that takes about an hour.  I assess your child in reading, writing, and math and provide you with grade equivalency, age equivalency, percentile rank, and standard scores.  These scores allow you to compare your child to national norms.  I provide a written report that you can choose to mail the Palm Beach School District Homeschool coordinator.  You mail the results to the address above after I sign off on the certification form.

My son is registered as a homeschool student in the Palm Beach School system so I am very familiar with the annual homeschool certification as well as the progression requirements.  The Palm Beach Homeschool Certification Form must be signed by a licensed teacher or psychologist.  In addition to my testing I can also review your child’s homeschool portfolio and curriculum to make the homeschool progress decision.  One benefit you receive by using my services is that I can look for possible information processing problems or other hidden issues that might cause your child difficulty.  Then, you can teach to these areas and strengthen any areas of need as part of your homeschool curriculum.

Again, I provide psychologist certified homeschool evaluations in Palm Beach and Martin counties.  The cost for the homeschool evaluation certification is $150 and I advise you to schedule your appointment two weeks in advance of when you want to come in.  When your child comes in for the homeschool evaluation tell him or her that I am like a teacher and will work with them one-to-one to do school work.  Make it a low stress and like a typical day of school and they’ll do fine.

Bahamas ADHD Help

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I was over in the Bahamas recently (Grand Bahama) during part of my kid’s week of spring break from school and got to meet some friendly and wonderful Bahamian citizens.  I was not offering Bahamas ADHD help as it was a refreshing vacation where I was able to relax and unwind.  As my Bahamian bus driver explained that in the Bahamas folks, “Go with the flow and ride with the tide.”  I appreciated this advice and him sharing that philosophy with me.  As I sat on the beach with my toes in the water and chair in the sand, looking out at the beautiful blue, green, and turquoise Bahamian waters I felt the stress start to disappear and my creative energy start to flow.  I’ll share another catchy saying I picked up from my bus driver that in the Bahamas there’s, “Nothing to it, just do it.”

Sitting on the beach I watched the Bahamian men at the watersports set up their daily equipment, recruit people to use the various watersports, and enjoy what they were doing.  Some guys would ferry tourists out to a platform where they went parasailing.  Others pulled tourists on an inflatable banana tube, and others worked the equipment.  I couldn’t help but think that is a great job for a boy or young man with ADHD.  It’s fulfilling (they are helping people enjoy their vacation), hands-on, active, and outdoors.  These are qualities that I believe help many boys with ADHD find success in a job or career.

Then I started thinking about boys with ADHD and the similarities and differences between Bahamian boys with ADHD and American boys with ADHD.  My list had many more similarities between the boys with ADHD as compared to differences.  Sure, there are some cultural differences and dialect differences but boys with ADHD are found everywhere.  Boys with ADHD are as common in the Bahamas as they are in the USA.

I offer testing for Bahamians at your location or in Jupiter, Florida.  We can work together so that your son or daughter can reach their potential.  There are a lot of effective strategies you can use with your child to make a difference.

Contact me for personal ADHD help or to discuss more about  overcoming your child’s struggles.  After all, isn’t everything, “Better in the Bahamas?”

Make Your Child’s IEP Great

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If your child has an IEP (Individualized Education Program) have you ever wondered if it’s any good?  As a parent of a child with an IEP, I have.  There are some simple steps you can take to get an expert second opinion on your IEP and take the IEP from good to great.  A colleague and I wrote an E-book “Get A Great IEP in 45 Days or Less” and it’s available as a premium member of www.SeeMyIEP.com.

In this series of 4 short presentations I walk you through the steps of how to get a great IEP for your child.  It takes some time and work to really make your child’s IEP great but it’s well worth it.  Your child’s IEP goals will be strong and really match his or her priority educational needs.

Video one starts out describing days 1-17, how to recognize your child’s priority educational needs, and how to write a great ‘present level of performance.’ http://tinyurl.com/3z7p622

Video two really helps you learn how to write or recognize great IEP goals and IEP objectives. http://youtu.be/LE0PIab0SMM

Video three helps you learn how to advocate for the best accommodations for your child. http://youtu.be/gLMVHFon6Hk

Part four is one of the best parts because it teaches you about the IEP least restrictive Environment and how to ‘pull it all together’ to bring to the IEP meeting. http://youtu.be/a4mLIFvzEwo

Palm Beach Dyslexia Testing

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Dyslexia is one type of a learning disability.  There are different types of dyslexia and most children have phonological dyslexia which means they rely upon their visual memory to take a visual picture of a word and have significant difficulty sounding out made up or new unfamiliar words. Their breakdown occurs because of a phonological processing disorder.  This causes reading, spelling, and writing difficulties.

I test children for dyslexia in the Palm Beach area (including Boca Raton, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm, Wellington, and Delray Beach).  People from all over Florida and various parts of the USA work with me for dyslexia testing. Since I am a state licensed school psychologist my reports are accepted by most schools. Most public school do not test children for dyslexia. In fact, public schools seem to have cut back on the services they provide. Parents that want public testing usually wait at least four to six months. I find this unacceptable because then the child falls further behind. I test children using a customized battery of tests that tells me if there is dyslexia and the best reading program for you to use.

Some of the dyslexia tests I use include reading tests where the child reads aloud for accuracy, speed, and comprehension.  I also use silent reading tests, reading made up words, identifying letter and sound relationships, spelling real and made up words, auditory discrimination, auditory memory, visual memory, visual-spatial thinking.  An important test is one that assesses your child’s phonological processing.  This battery takes about four hours and is priced about the same as a reasonably priced leather couch.  After dyslexia testing you know if your child has dyslexia and the best reading program to use to help your child.

If your child has dyslexia and needs specialized dyslexia teaching, the Barton Reading and Spelling System ( Read a Reading Research summary )is one of the best to use and there are dyslexia tutors in the Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, and Stuart area using this, and other good reading programs. If you reside outside of Florida there are dyslexia tutors in every state using specialized reading instruction for kids with dyslexia.

Dyslexia testing helps you because then you don’t wonder about how to help your child and just do a hit and miss approach to help your child. Time is too valuable. Your child may already be turned off to reading or be feeling dumb. Don’t waste time. My process takes two to three weeks. Start now.

If you are in south Florida and the Palm Beaches, call me to discuss dyslexia testing for your child. The testing investment can help positively change the course of their life. Call today.

Bahamas Learning Disabilities

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Learning disabilities occur in children living in the Bahamas just like they do in kids in the USA. Some kids in Nassau and Grand Bahama require specialized instruction for such learning disabilities as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and math disorders.

One of the most effective treatment programs for reading learning disabilities such as phonological dyslexia is the Barton reading and spelling system. This is an Orton Gillingham influenced multisensory reading curriculum that Bahamian home school parents can use with their child. This program is ideal for parents since there are limited Bahamian dyslexia resources. Bahamian parents interested in using the Barton reading program should take the free tutor screening test. If you pass the Barton reading dyslexia screening test then you can teach your own dyslexic child.

Dyslexia treatment takes between 18-36 months so it’s ideal for Bahamian parents to teach their child or a small group of children during this time period. Teach your dyslexic child using one level at a time by purchasing the Barton Reading and Spelling System. Each level builds upon the previous so most children start with level one and move forward. Teaching your own child with dyslexia is the most affordable way to help your child overcome dyslexia. I can test your child for dyslexia if you want to make sure your child has dyslexia before you begin tutoring. This is the best way to make sure you don’t just do a hit and miss approach but that your child really is dyslexia.

During the summer I can come to the Bahamas for dyslexia testing you or you can bring your child to me during the school year for dyslexia testing. If there is a long weekend I may be able to come test for dyslexia in the Bahamas but there is a charge for travel and time. In addition to testing for dyslexia, I can test children from the Bahamas or ADHD, anxiety, depression, information processing problems, and other issues. Email me for additional information.