Here's how I got my dyslexic daughter hooked on reading when she was a dyslexic teenager, very resistant to reading after years of frustration. I read out loud to her the best books I could find in the children's fantasy genre. I would try to pick a cliffhanger spot to stop reading at to keep her hooked. (Hey, it works in tv.) If she seemed anxious ( Read more... )

This came up in response to a previous comment--why do we give adult employees more protections from a potentially hostile work environment than we give children in the schools we send them to all day every day? Adults have far greater ability to defend themselves, seek other jobs, negotiate with employers and supervisors, and cope with stress than ( Read more... )

MENTOR, Ohio - Sladjana Vidovic's body lay in an open casket, dressed in the sparkly pink dress she had planned to wear to the prom. Days earlier, she had tied one end of a rope around her neck and the other around a bed post before jumping out her bedroom window ( Read more... )

I was moved to write the following in response to this excellent post which was, of course, a response to the recent gay teen suicides.My abuse started in second grade when I gained a little weight and was slightly chubby. It was relentless, starting with the verbal (fatty, fatty two by four...) and moving on to constant threats of violence. No, ( Read more... )

I ran across an interesting CNN article today that provides a glimpse into the development of ADHD kids' brains. Finally there is objective, physical evidence that this is a biologically-based disorder and not something psychological or made-up, exaggerated or faked.

Excerpt:

Crucial parts of brains of children with attention deficit disorder ( Read more... )

In a 2003 article entitled Planet Autism, author Scot Sea mentions an essay entitled "Welcome to Holland" by Emily Perl Kingsley.

I recommend both pieces to any parent raising children with learning, psychological or physical disabilities.

Excerpt from Salon article:

Sooner or later, parents raising children with severe learning disabilities ( Read more... )

It's Wednesday evening and I'm worn out already. I've had a bad migraine week so far and I've already used up my allotted medication days (so as to avoid rebound headaches). So today I caffeinated and went to babysit G., the son of a friend of mine. I really feel for my friend, dealing with single parenting and the special education system. Been ( Read more... )