The “Special” In Special Education

Posted by admin on March 23, 2012 No comment

~ The resources are out there, here’s how to find them ~

Not long after Ruth Bond of San Francisco gave birth to twin boys in 2004, she and her husband Seth noticed that their sons, though born together, are developing differently. Their pediatrician referred the family to a child development center at a local hospital, which in turn referred them to another facility that provided services for children with developmental delays. After pursuing evaluations that included several genetic and neurological tests for more than a year, Bond learned that her son had a neurogenetic condition called Angelman Syndrome. The disability causes delays in development, speech and motor skills. As an attorney, Bond was aware of the laws that protect people with disabilities, including learning disabled children. Once the child turned school age, Bond researched and visited local schools designated “inclusion” schools – once that allowed children with disabilities to learn alongside their peers, with assistance of an aide.

“We wanted him to have all the same opportunities as his peers and we believe that special education students should not be isolated from the rest of the school unless it is absolutely necessary.” Today, Ben attends second grade in the same public school as his brother, Max, and receives physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and support from a full-time aide.

If you suspect your child has a learning disability,

1) Don’t wait another minute
African-American children’s disabilities have historically gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed in the early years when intervention can make a difference. For your child’s sake, take steps and do not give up until you get support the support you need.

2) Talk to your child’s teacher
The teacher is an important source of information about your child’s progress. Meet with your child’s teacher. Ask about what steps you can take home to support your kid’s learning.

3) Seek an assessment
You can ask your child’s school to provide an evaluation, which can help determine not only what type of disability your child has, but what kind of help he or she needs to succeed.

4) Exercise your routine
By law the public school system must provide an Individual Education Program, or IEP, to children with learning disabilities to ensure they receive a free, appropriate public education. Make sure that your voice is heard in the development of that program.

5) Search resources
The National Center for Learning Disabilities offers a searchable database of state-by-state resources for evaluation, treatment, financial aid, legal or other services. The National Association for the Education of African American Children with Learning Disabilities provides facts specific to the Black community.

Chiropractic Care For Children

Posted by admin on November 21, 2011 No comment

Word of mouth, not research, bring most parents to family chiropractic office. Parent are usually referred by those whose asthma went away or who got rid of severe headaches or got back pain relief through chiropractic adjustment. While chiropractic services are known to bring positive results and relief to many adults, a lot of parents are still doubt if their kids can benefit from chiropractic services.

Medical research conducted by National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows nearly 3% of children in the USA were treated with chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation in 2010, making it the second-most common form of complementary or alternative medicine for children (Most common: natural products, such as fish oil and herbs.) There are several other studies under way that investigate the benefits of alternative medicine, such as chiropractor services, as treatment for children.

Chiropractors say they welcome the scrutinity.

What do chiropractors do?

The most common therapy is spinal manipulation: The chiropractor uses hands to apply controlled force to joints in an effort to relieve inflammation, pain and muscle tightness. Advocates say manipulating the spine, skull or other body parts also can relieve irritated nerves causing symptoms elsewhere. Those who treat children say they use a very gentle touch. Similar therapies sometimes are performed by osteopathic physicians, physical therapists and others.

What training do chiropractors have?

All have four years of professional study; some have additional training in pediatrics or other specialties. All states license chiropractors, and many insurers cover their services.

While Virginia Beach chiropractor Dr. Mike Geheren at New Life Chiropractic does not promise to cure any ailment in a particular child. Instead, he emphasizes broader goals: “Taking stress and tension off the nervous system affects their whole physical body and their mental state. We look at the whole person.”
Dr. Geheren has been providing family chiropractic services for the last 18 years. He says he is comfortable treating kids based on preliminary research, 100 years of chiropractic history and his own experiences.

How Children Learn Foreign Languages

Posted by admin on September 14, 2011 No comment

Many of the difficulties of learning a foreign language exist in the minds of adults. Learning a foreign language won’t be difficult for your child if you can replicate some of the same conditions that proved successful when he was learning his first language with parents. They include creating the same supportive atmosphere of sharing and talking about what is going on.

Too many adults underestimate children’s ability to pick up languages. This may be because many don’t understand how children learn a language, and a foreign language in particular. Some imagine that children learn a foreign language in the same way as adults, but more slowly and with the content modified and represented in childlike images. Others think that the role of the adult should be tutorial. This might work for subjects such as history and science, but it isn’t how children learn a foreign language.

Learning language is something young children know how to do innately. They can do it if adults let them and don’t hold them back. They have already had the successful experience of learning their own language – in fact, some of them are still doing it. They have worked out their own language learning strategies. Kids know how to analyze language to find out the systems that govern it. They can reuse those same strategies for learning a foreign language, and they will enjoy doing so, if we give them enough of the right type of interesting and fun opportunities to interact with us.

To begin with, they will want to learn spoken language as they did when learning their native language. The time they spend on spoken language will depend on how quickly they progress. Once they say simple things, those who can already read well in their own language will quite naturally want to find out about reading and writing in the foreign language.

Bath Time

Posted by admin on June 16, 2011 No comment

Anyone with a child knows that kids consider bath time to be terrific or torture, usually depending on their mood. Clever parents have devised a lot of ways to make this necessary event a pleasant one.

Here are a few of the best ideas for bath time:

  • To make hair washing easier for kids, buy a rubber shower spray attachment for the bathtub faucet. This inexpensive device is often used on a kitchen sink but does a great job rinsing kids hair and keeping water out of their eyes.
  • Clean out the empty liquid soap pump-bottle and fill it with baby shampoo. It keeps kids from using too much shampoo because it regulates the amount that comes out of the bottle. It is also a great when washing an infants hair because it keep your hands free to hold the baby.
  • It is also to use a pump bottle of tear free baby shampoo for hand-washing instead of soft soap. Kids often don’t rinse soap completely from their skin, and when they touch their hands to their face, the liquid residue can burn their eyes or mouth.
  • Wear cotton gloves when you bath an infant. You can use them as a type of washcloth, and they will help to keep a slippery baby secure.
  • To keep kids from splashing water all over the bathroom floor, install a clear plastic shower curtain and keep it closed while they bathe. The clear curtain will allow you to keep an eye on the children, but help keep most of the water in the tub.
  • A great way to get reluctant bathers into the tub right after dinner is to offer serve them dessert in the tub. Let kids sit in the tub while they enjoy an ice pop. It is mess-free and cuts down on nagging kids to take a bath.
  • In the summer time, try bathing your kids outdoors. Fill a small wading pool with water and add a wash cloth and soap. Kids can wear bathing suits or not, depending on the privacy of your yard. Let them play while they soak clean, and rinse their hair with a garden hose or watering can if necessary. It turns a chore into a fun activity at the end of a summer day. Enjoy!

Healthy Sleep Habits for Grade Schooler

Posted by admin on February 28, 2011 No comment

Typical sleep at this age

Between the ages of 5 and 8, kids generally need 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night, and all but a few have given up naps. Most children this age go to bed between 7:30 and 9 p.m. and get up between 6:30 and 8 a.m. Once your child starts school, especially if he’s switching from half- to full days, you may find that he actually needs more sleep and is ready to go to bed earlier than he did when he was younger. What’s more, not getting enough sleep can have a major impact on your child’s daytime behavior and school performance. (For more on sleep patterns at various ages, see our chart.)

Here’s how to help your child establish healthy sleep habits

Potential pitfalls

Nightmares and bedtime fears are common in school-aged children, especially now that they’re more aware of the sometimes scary world around them. Fear of monsters under the bed is gradually being replaced by concerns about burglars and other “real” dangers. Talk to your child about his worries, provide reassurance (“I’m right across the hall, and I’d never let anything happen to you”), and discuss how you cope when you’re scared. Books and personal stories about handling fears are always a great help. If your grade-schooler’s bad dreams or nighttime fears persist, look for sources of anxiety in his daily life and talk about how he can deal with them. As he gets older, for instance, worries about school performance and friendships may lead to difficulty falling asleep at night. Get more tips on easing nighttime worries.

As he grows, your grade-schooler may also start resisting an “early” bedtime. Talk to him about the importance of sleep and how much better he’ll feel when he gets a good night’s rest. While it’s important to let your child have some say in the matter (allowing him to read for an extra 10 minutes after you tuck him in, for instance, or to listen to quiet music after lights-out), stick to your guns on this issue. After all, an extra half-hour of television at night isn’t going to do anyone any good. See more strategies for winning bedtime battles.

Related reading:

Why You Need More Sleep