Welcome to the newsletter for Dealing With Learning Disorders.

Now that the new year is here I hope you all are back into your normal routines after the holidays.

We had a wonderful time relaxing, spending time with family, and enjoying each others company during the 15 days my husband had off work. I must say it was hard to get back into the normal schedule.

We did get to go to Kansas City for a few days to enjoy the lights, see family, visit the museums, and go ice skating.



Come to the discussion boards, introduce yourself there and tell us what's been happening with your family.


We've had some great things added to the site recently. Here are just a few.

Featured Articles

The Diagnosis of ADHD
Dr. Kenny Handelman-Featured Expert on the site

Essentially to get the diagnosis of ADHD you really need to see a professional who has expertise in assessing and diagnosing ADHD. It may be helpful to listen to (or read) educational products like this or go to web sites or get other information but to really get the diagnosis you're going to have to see a professional and have a thorough assessment.

Now let's go through the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. There are two main categories for the diagnosis: Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity.

Here are the DSM-IV criteria are for Inattention:

1. fails to give close attention to details and makes careless mistakes in school, work or other activities
2. often has difficulties sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
3. often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
4. often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish school work, chores or other duties in the work place (and this is not due to oppositional behaviour or failure to understand instructions)
5. often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
6. often avoids, dislikes or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort like schoolwork or homework
7. often loses things necessary for tasks or activities like toys, school assignments, pencils, books or tools
8. is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
9. is often forgetful in daily activities

Here are the DSM-IV criteria for Hyperactivity/Impulsivity:

1. often fidgets with hand or with feet or squirms in ones seat
2. often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations which remaining seated is expected i.e. church or family meals etc.
3. often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate. In adolescents or adults may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness, so they may not be so overtly hyperactive.
4. often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
5. is often on the go or acts as if driven by a motor
6. often talks excessively
7. often blurts out answers before questions have been completed
8. often has difficulty awaiting one's turn
9. often interrupts or intrudes on others - like butting into conversations or games


Could Dyslexia Be the Cause of Your Child's Reading Difficulty?

JoAnn Collins

According to Susan Barton of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia the word Dyslexia can be defined as this:

-Dys: Difficulty with -Lexia: Reading

Dyslexia is also described as: A specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding skills. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to the child's cognitive abilities, and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

Most special education personnel believe that Dyslexia occurs very rarely, and does not account for most children with Learning Disabilities. I disagree with that thought and believe that many children with Dyslexia go undiagnosed.

Susan Barton also states that some of the Warning Signs of Dyslexia are:

1. Delayed Speech

2. Late establishing a dominant hand

3. Trouble memorizing their address, phone number, or the alphabet.

4. Dysgraphia (inability to perform the act of writing

5. Extreme difficulty learning cursive writing

6. Slow choppy inaccurate reading

7. Terrible with spelling

To see the articles in full join: DealingWithLearningDisorders.com and get full access to the membership area where you will find all kinds of great resources.

Discussion Board News

In our “Discussion Board” we talk about many interesting topics every week.
Here we find a private place to share with others, make friends, and ask questions of the Featured Experts on the site.

This week some of the topics we covered were:

Places to get audio books, motivation for losing weight, finding healthy meal plans for the whole family, and the tragic death of John Travolta's son.

Come join us. You can try it out for only $1.00


Tip of the Week

Raising a special child takes 180% of parenting. Often a spouse or other siblings feel left out.

Consider the following:

1. Family Reward Chart. List several special things to do. When a reward is due, have the LD/ADD child pick from that list. (It could be as simple as a trip to the park.) When the family goes or does the special event, others in the family can compliment the special child because they are all rewarded. (Builds self esteem too!!)
2. Try to maintain family dinners as much as possible. Each one should tell what happened during the day.
3. Mom and Dad need to support one another. If one has given a rule or punishment, the other should support and enforce what has been said. NEVER allow the child to come between you and your spouse. If you disagree with what has been done, do it later when the child is not around.

Blessings to you all.
Robin
www.DealingWithLearningDisorders.com