These are ‘hot’ topics of interest

Help Me Help My Child

/in /by

Help me help my child is a theme of many parents we work with.  Like many parents, you want to know if something is wrong with your child and what you can do to help. That’s our specialty.

Cathy came to us and her first grade son was struggling with his behavior in school and at home.  It seemed like everyday the teacher sent a negative report home about him causing trouble. She had already eliminated junk food from his diet. He was taking a focus vitamin she purchased online but neither made much of a difference. She wanted to know if her child’s behavior was developmental or something else.  Cathy did not want to punish her son for something he could not control.

Our school neuropsychological testing assessed his attention, concentration, memory, language, fine motor control, intelligence, and learning to look for a root cause for his difficulty. Some children have poor behavior due to not understanding directions and others process information slower and miss key details.  Some children act out because of an underlying learning disability.  We uncovered Cathy’s son had neuropsychological weaknesses in attention and processing speed and were able to recommend specific strategies to help at home and in school.

Our testing gave Cathy a better understanding of her child so she could provide targeted support.  This saved her valuable time and likely preserved her son’s self-esteem.  Some kids with prolonged behavior issues develop low self-esteem and view themselves as a bad boy or girl. With her new approach Cathy and her husband helped her son have a remarkable turn around in school and at home.

We can help you help your child. We test kids for dyslexia, behavior issues, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and much more.  Call us (561) 625 4125.

Three Ways to Start School Strong

/in /by

Most kids start school with the intention of having a great year but sometimes their intentions don’t match their actions and kids start to struggle.  After all, what kid wants to go to school and face hardship after hardship? Some kids struggle academically while others have social struggles.  Either way, these struggles can leave your child feeling frustrated, developing a negative school attitude, and interfering with your child’s performance. Consider these three ways to start school strong.

Know Your Child’s Teacher(s)

First, get to know your child’s teacher(s). This is especially important if your child has an IEP or 504 Plan because you want the teacher to know how to best help your child.  All parents should consider writing the teacher(s) a short letter explaining your child’s strengths and needs.  I was a classroom teacher and when I received letters from parents it helped me understand and support your child faster.  I knew if a child was a worrier, had math struggles, a history of bullying, as well as kids’ strengths.

Teachers also appreciate it when you volunteer your time or resources to help the class.  Teachers usually have copying, laminating, bulletin boards, and many other tasks that you could help them with. When you volunteer in your child’s class, you get to know the teacher and other students.  These opportunities can help you help your child by having the inside scoop.  Teachers also appreciate it when you donate materials such as copy paper, books, or supplies.  It seems in schools there is always a short supply of copy paper.

Build Your Child’s Mindset

Second, build your child’s mindset that he or she can do hard things with effort.  Teach your child to have grit which is sticking with a task until completion.  Notice the small things that your child does that took effort.  If it took effort for your child to pick up pinecones in the yard before it is mowed, comment on how he stuck with a task that was boring and took effort.  Ask him what he was saying to himself as he worked. Did he say, “This sucks” or “I can do it and I’m helping my mom.”  Hopefully the latter and then say, “Can you tell yourself that when you have a hard task in school?”

Routines Are Important

Third, create routines and seek proactive support.  Kids perform best when they have a predictable daily routine that includes being organized.  Establish a homework schedule, have a consistent place for the backpack, keep use technology to set getting ready in the morning reminders.  Having these reduces stress and saves time.  Finally, when you see your child struggle, contact a tutor, counselor, or skills coach such as www.BeyondBooksmart.com.

We can help you help find out why your child struggles and give real solutions to help. Call(561) 625 4125.

Three Ways to Help Kids With Anxiety

/in /by

Is your child a worrier?  Anxiety in kids is real. Excessive worrying in children might show up when he throws up every day before school, she has to know your whereabouts at all times, she can’t sleep in her own bed, he is afraid of a family member dying, and she worries so much about what peers think so it stifles decision making.

Stress is Real

These are real issues and the pandemic has elevated anxiety in children.  Causes of anxiety include genetics as anxiety often runs in the family tree, past experience such as being bullied, or temperament.  Summer is a great time to help your child and teach new coping skills.

First

One way to help your child is to teach him or her how to identify triggers. What precipitates the anxiety?  Your child might not want you to leave him and when you go to the store he worries you’ll get in a car accident.  Once you know the anxiety trigger, teach your child to decide if it is a rational or irrational fear. Thus, you leaving is the triggering event that leads to his irrational fear of an accident.  This takes lots of discussion as well as teaching him how to self-calm through breathing.

Second

Second, use books or a program. To help a younger child, you could read What to Do When You Worry Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety with your child. For a teen you can read The Anxiety and Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioral Solution by David Clark. Younger children often benefit from using the Coping Cat program with their parent. You can learn more at www.copingcatparents.com.

Third

Finally, if needed, seek a professional counselor.  There are many counselors that use a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to treatment. This type of counseling helps your child change negative thoughts into more positive thoughts.Counseling helps children cope with and manage anxiety symptoms while gradually exposing them to their fears to help them learn skills. PsychologyToday.com is one good source.

Call us if we can help you help manage anxiety in kids (561) 625 4125.

Building Strengths in Children

/in /by

Building strengths in children is a process. What does your child excel at?  As a child I grew up in the Evil Knievel era and I was the best kid in my Miami neighborhood at jumping a bicycle across two open ramps and I have scars to prove it.  Of course, my parents did not see this as my natural affinity and encouraged me to become a dentist.  I didn’t believe I was good at science and did not pursue this career but in hindsight, I could have become a dentist if they would have just kept encouraging me.

At ten years old I already believed I wasn’t good at math and science and this shaped my future career.  I tell you this because you know your child best and you might need to continue to nudge and believe for your child until he or she can believe on their own.  Our kids have free will to decide their career path but as parents we recognize their talents.

Be Intentional When Building Strengths

Building your child’s talents requires intentionality and not every interest develops to be your child’s chosen path.  When my child was a teen he wanted to be a YouTuber.  He was great at technology so I encouraged him to develop that interest but gave him opportunities for new experiences in areas I believed he might excel even more.

Three Ways for Building Strengths

Here are three ways to build your child’s strengths.  First, continue to encourage your child to try different activities including the ones that are out of their comfort zone.  Second, don’t give up on your child.  You might invest time and money into your child’s music or dance only to have her stop a short time later.  No worries as it’s an experience that helped shape her. What’s next? Finally, if needed, seek guidance.  Maybe your child is a happy wanderer with little focus or struggling with his or her identify.  There are counselors and career coaches that can assist.  You can find counselors at www.sfacc.net and a career coach at https://collegecareerconsulting.com.

Do you need help with your child? Call today (561) 625 4125.

Increase Memory in Children

/in /by

Memory is important for learning and a weak memory system hinders your child’s learning. Does your child’s memory seem inconsistent?  For example, some children learn math facts and forget them.  Do you tell your child a word on one line but he or she don’t recognize it a few lines later.  Still other children can remember movie lines or video game stats but can’t remember to turn in school assignments. If you increase memory capacity, you will improve your child’s learning.

Memory Systems

We have three main memory systems: short term, working, and long term memory.  Short term memory is holding information for a few seconds to minutes.  Working memory is the scratch pad of the brain and is our ability to hold information and change it such as doing mental math.  Long term memory is remembering information from days to years later. Identify which one is holding your child back and target intervention to increase your child’s capacity for learning.

Strategies to Increase Memory

Increase your child’s memory and consider these games and activities. First, have your child memorize how to spell his or her name backwards as this will exercise working memory.  If your child found that easy, try reciting the alphabet backwards.  Memorize Pi by learning one digit per day and see how many digits your child can remember.  If your child is younger, have him or her memorize your address and family members’ phone numbers.  Amazon has tons of memory games.  Cogmed is an intensive computer-based memory training program for kids and adults.

Mnemonic Memory Strategies

Most people can remember seven items plus or minus two.  Think about our phone numbers and social security numbers.  They fall within this range and numbers are chunked together a few at a time.  Chunking information helps us remember more material.  First letter mnemonic (pronounced new-monic) strategies also help us chunk information to remember.  One example is ROY-G-BIV to remember rainbow colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet).  Apply chunking or mnemonic strategies to help your child remember more.

We can help you understand and help your child.  Call us to discuss your needs.(561) 625 4125