Time to Move!

Children are meant to move and be active, it is part of their natural development.  Movement has a purpose, it helps their muscles grow and bodies develop.  Movement leads them to explore their environment and learn through all their senses.  This is the very foundation of all our future learning.

Just because a child can sit still and inhibit their movement, it doesn't mean that they should. Of course as children get older they have to realise that different behaviours are expected in different situations. When you travel in a car it would be dangerous to be jumping around.  On a plane there are other passengers to consider and you should try not to move around. But in a park you are free to move and should do exactly that.

Schools should be mindful of the important role of movement in learning.  As there is pressure for children to achieve academically at a younger and younger age, it is the practical, active learning that seems to be lost. Schools should be the places where children can move and learn in a way that it natural to them.  Children should learn largely by doing and exploring. These experiences are often much more memorable and meaningful than simply being told the information by the teacher or reading it in a book.  As parents we know that some the best learning experiences for our children arise when they are playing, exploring or visiting a new place.

As adults we know there are many skills that can only really be learnt through experience. When we learn to drive we all know that we can not do it by simply reading a book or being told how to do it. Of course we have to know the highway code but we can not learn to drive a car without getting into a car and trying to drive. We also know that it takes practice and we need practical, hands on experiences again and again to master a skill.

Yet both teachers and parents try to by pass these practical, hands on experiences because of the pressures of modern life.  Teachers are under pressure to deliver an overloaded curriculum and are judged by their children's achievement in certain areas.  Very often there isn't time to find interesting objects to look at to trigger discussion, questions and observation.  Instead to save time we use a picture or a video clip and tell the children the answers. As parents, limited time and tiredness mean we let an ipad entertain our children rather than playing a board game with them or encouraging them to use their imagination make something from junk materials.

Having a more active curriculum would have huge benefits for everyone.  Movement is important for all children and but perhaps even more important for children with learning difficulties.  Children with ADHD may be constantly moving and interventions are often focused on controlling the movement. We often think that the movement is distracting and will stop the child from learning. However current research by Michael Kofler suggests that the excessive movement does in fact have a purpose. It is the body's way of trying wake the mind up to be alert and focused enough to learn. Any strategies that we employ should not be about inhibiting the movement but encouraging it. Very often when we ask a child to stay still, they put all their energy into not moving  and as a result they are not able to listen to content of the lesson. If we allow them to move they are actually more likely to listen and participate in the lesson. As a teacher I have observed children who read better when they are allowed to fidget and move than when they are made to sit still.

Movement is particularly necessary for tasks that require working memory, which is known to be a deficit in many children with ADHD (and other learning difficulties).  Studies have shown that more demanding the task in terms of working memory the more movement is observed.  If we want children with ADHD to perform well in school we need to look at ways of incorporating movement into lessons. In my opinion this should be more than allowing the use of fiddles or wobble cushions (which are helpful strategies.)  It should be more about planning activities which allow children move and explore resources and record their understanding in a range of ways. 'Seating arrangements' should be flexible there should be opportunities for children to stand and sit while listening to the teacher or working on tasks.

Again if we think of our adult work lives we naturally find ways of of incorporating movement into our day even if it is just going to make a coffee when we feel our focus waning or asking a colleague in another office a question to take us away from our desk.  Also think about what you would prefer, to listen to art lecture for an hour or go to an art gallery and wander around observing and discussing the paintings with a friend or guide and then maybe using this inspiration to do your own sketch. As adults most of us prefer active learning and we should encourage the same for our children.

The importance of the Early Years

Many people do not realise how crucial the early years are in determining a child's future development.

Professor Allan Schore of UCLA has found that eighty percent of the brain cells that a person will ever have are manufactured during the first 2 years of life. Brain scans of children who have been neglected compared to a 'typical' child show huge differences in the size of the brain. The interaction between the child and their main care givers at this time is crucial. The neuro pathways on which further learning is based are being laid down from 0 to 2, the foundations for language development, coordination, motor skills, visual skills, listening skills and focus are all being put in place.

It is not about 'hot housing' children or forcing them to do activities they are not ready for but being aware that play and interaction are important right from the start.


If you observe and interact with a group of pre-school children of 3 - 4  years of age the difference in the range of skills some children have compared to others is already huge.

Much as many people hate to say it, the advantage some children have at this stage will stay with them all throughout school.   The differences between children are partly genetic and partly due to their environment.  Of course nothing is straightforward, children all develop at different rates.  Some children are 'late bloomers' and some children have learning difficulties and developmental issues to deal with.  But stimulating and interacting with our baby and toddler will always make a difference to their later skills and ability to learn.

If you take a typical nursery or kindergarten class and ranked them in terms of language development, motor skills, focus and readiness to learn.  Then you looked at the attainment in reading and maths for the same group of children at the end of primary school at 11 years old you would find the order is pretty much the same.  It is not to say that schools and parents do not make any difference but they can only build on the foundation that is already there.

The purpose of this article is not make any one feel bad about their child or their parenting but just to raise the awareness that those first 2 years can make a real difference.  Many parents are unaware of what they can do to encourage and nurture their child at this early stage.  Many educators and parents are increasingly concerned about range and level of skills of children coming into school. But the answer is not to do more in pre-school or bring educational goals lower and lower.  The answer is in supporting parents and other caregivers and their children before pre-school.

So what can we do?

Many people still think that a quiet baby is a good baby and while we can not change a child's temperament we can encourage all children to interact and respond to their environment.

1. Talk
Talking to your baby as much as possible is important for future language development.  Some people think that because the baby can not understand you, that it is not important to talk to them. But the baby can pick up on the rhythm and sound patterns right from the beginning.  They recognise tone of voice, they recognise their care giver/s voice/s above others.  It is also not necessary to use baby talk, if you use the correct words you will find that when a child is ready to talk they will use these words too. Reading and sharing books right from the beginning is also a great way to introduce children to a whole range of vocabulary and the world beyond their own experience. Most children it love too!

2. Movement and curiosity
Encouraging your baby to reach for objects and touch things is also important. Let them have plenty of time out of their pram or cot to explore what is around them. Let them look at and touch everyday objects (as long as it is safe). We don't need fancy toys; as we all know at Christmas, when the baby or toddler plays with the box as much as the toy inside!  Encourage curiosity as much as possible, let your baby or child watch you do all the everyday things that need to be done - cooking, cleaning, shopping.  Lying on their tummy for some time each day, as well as their back helps to strengthen muscles and helps later coordination.  When they are ready to crawl let them go and explore, try not to contain them much as practical.  Babies experience to world through all their senses and we should encourage this as much as possible.

3. Play
Play, play and more play! Play is how we are meant to learn the boundaries of our environment and ourselves. It is how we learn cause and effect, how we learn to problem solve and focus.  Many of the 'traditional' toys are best - building blocks, shape sorters, jigsaws, matching games. We also want a balance between adult directed play and child directed play.  We don't always need to show a child how to do something 'properly' they can learn a lot by playing with a toy or game the 'wrong' way and then working out what to do.  Messy play with water, mud, sand or paint are all fun and hugely beneficial.

'Play' is currently a hot topic terms of pre-school, school curriculum and education but the point is play is important right from the beginning.

See https://www.zerotothree.org/espanol/brain-development video clips and great practical tips.

Also take a look at https://www.education.com/reference/article/infants-toddlers-ages-zero-two/  for further reading on early development.

The complexity of writing

Writing is a complex process which does not develop naturally in the same way that spoken language does.  Writing is a craft that needs time and explicit practice to develop and hone.

We don't expect everyone to be a great painter or sculptor but we expect all children to be great writers.  Often in schools, we expect children to write well, long before they have sufficient knowledge or skills to write proficiently.

Through history people have communicated in a wide range in ways through storytelling, songs, paintings, arts and crafts, plays and dance. For a long time only few people were able to write, as it was considered to be difficult skill to master.  Now in our modern world we want everyone to write and from a very early age.  We forget how challenging writing can be and that many people are better suited to other forms of communication. Of course writing is an important skill for most jobs and to function in our daily lives we need to be able to write.  But for many the writing proficiency needed for everyday life is very different from the complex creative writing required at school. 

Too often we wrongly equate the ability to write with intelligence.  If a child is verbally capable we expect them to be able to translate this easily to writing.  We forget that writing is not a natural process but is something we need to train our brain to do. It also involves learning many different processes from letter formation to spelling,  which in English involves both mastering phonics and spelling rules and learning many irregular high frequency by sight. In addition, we have to develop our vocabulary and we need to be a able to remember an idea while we compose a sentence. Finally we have to consider the purpose of the writing and know the features of that genre.

We also think that reading and writing go hand in hand and that if someone can read something they can write the same thing.  However they do not develop at the same rate, learning to write is significantly harder. It requires us to master many different skills and use them together.  Reading is decoding where we decipher what is actually there but writing in encoding we have to draw on what is in our own head to make marks on the page. Being faced with a blank page can be very daunting,  even for adults.

Giving time for each skill to develop and become automatic is important if children are going to become good writers.  Many schools rush to get children to write independently before some of the basic skills are secure. This is one of the reasons that writing can be so daunting for dyslexic students. They typically need more time to develop their letter formation. They can have difficulty controlling the pencil and remembering starting point and the sequence for each letter.  They also need explicit teaching over several years to learn common letter patterns or to remember high frequency words. They do not just pick the spellings by seeing them in texts or writing them out 3 times. When so much energy goes into these basic skills, there is little energy left for composing the sentence or thinking about interesting vocabulary.

Another challenge for dyslexic children is having a weak working memory, this can make it hard to keep a sentence in their head while they write it down.  Typically they will forget the sentence half way through or they will miss out words.  Correct punctuation can also be a challenge if you can not keep a whole sentence in your head.

The key to helping dyslexic children is trying to reduce the number of skills being used at once and fully appreciating how hard they are working to perform basic tasks. In addition it is vital that they receive regular explicit practice of weaker skills outside of the regular writing lessons.  There are many ways to help depending on their stage of development.

If they are still struggling with letter formation then an adult could scribe their ideas or they could label picture rather than write sentences.  Regular practice of letter formation can be done separately using tactile materials like waxy doodles and playdough, finger writing in a salt tray or on sandpaper help to develop the muscle memory, rhymes can also be use to help remember the sequence for each letter.

To support spelling they should be encouraged to make phonetic approximations in line with the phonetic they have been taught. They should be given the spelling of words that are beyond their spelling level. They should also be given word lists of task specific words and high frequency words. Spelling should not be corrected during a writing task but common errors can be noted by the adult and be worked another time with multi sensory methods.

Another way to support writing is for an adult to act as their working memory.  The child verbally rehearses the sentence and then the adult reminds them of their idea a  word at time. Talk tins which record a sentence at a time and can be replayed by the child can help older students remember their ideas.

The use of assistive technology is also very helpful in allowing a child to write at their intellectual level while their other skills develop.  There are many voice to text apps and programs that allow children to turn their verbal ideas into text. Word processing can also be easier for some children where a lot of energy is taken up by the physical process of writing.  Programs like Kidspiration can help with the organisation and sequencing of ideas which can be another area of challenge for dyslexic children.

Finally we need time, understanding and patience so that writing skills can develop at the child's pace rather than the school's pace.

Living with a gifted child - the beginning

As cliched as it sounds my son was different from the very beginning. Even in hospital after he was born he was very alert, he never liked to lie down or sleep. I can remember going to post natal physiotherapy classes, all the other children were sat happily in their maxi cosi but he could never sit through a whole session even through he had fiddle toys. He wanted to move and do something, he was interested it what was going on. He even tried to comfort another baby who was crying by patting their hand. My son was always active and he did not like to sleep.

People continually debate nature v nurture and I often feel I get the 'blame' for my son's advanced development. Of course we can do things to enhance or hinder our child's development but I still believe that certain things are intrinsic to your child.

I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about how I would bring my child up but as I am dyslexic I decided two specific things.  I decided to give a running commentary about what I could see and what I was doing from the day he was born, as I know many dyslexics often have delayed speech.  I always spoke to him as if he was another person who understood what I was saying long before he could speak or respond for himself. I used the proper terms for things like 'bamboo' and 'roses' as we walked around our neighbourhood. Imagine my shock when at 22 months he said 'Look condensation' pointing at a window covered in condensation!
 
My other decision was to read to him every night as soon as he could sit up and focus on the book. I did this from the age of 6 months, again I didn't worry about whether he could understand what I was saying. I just went ahead and read the story and talked about the pictures. I did this because I thought it might encourage his love of reading and reading skills and compensate for any dyslexic traits he might have. Strangely enough by the age of 2, he had progressed to an encyclopedia, which I had to read 2 pages of every night before he went to sleep. When he was 3, I read him the Wizard of Oz a chapter at time each night. By then he was articulate enough to talk about the characters and he understood that each character asked for the characteristics they already had.

By the age of 2 he knew the alphabet, as my husband sang the alphabet song while he changed his nappy. By 2 and a half he knew all the letter sounds as we played 'I spy' in the car. He would point out letters in the environment.  I still remember being a shopping centre when he was 22 months and he said 'look mum there's a Z' as he saw the ZARA shop sign. By 3 and a half he had started to learn to read as he had memorised whole books so that he could pretend to read and he was constantly asking what words said.

Many people think we must have 'hot housed' our child but I have to say that the things it always felt like our son was the driving force rather than us. It was exhausting because he was so active and once he could talk he never stopped. Most activities we did were just the things he wanted to do and many of them we discovered by accident. Like his love of archeology which started because my father in law was watching 'Time team' while my son was playing. My son became fascinated by digging for artefacts in the garden and pretended to find Roman pottery. He joined the young archeological society and found out as much as he could about history.  When he was about 4, he woke up one morning and his first comment of the day was to ask me if the Egyptians had hypocausts like the Romans.  These sort of questions came thick and fast at any time of day and in any situation and an immediate answer was expected.

So what do you do? Ignore your child, tell them they are too young to know about or do these things, force them to play with age appropriate toys? Or let yourself be swept along with 'the force of nature' which is part an parcel of a gifted child. I believe most parents in the same situation, would answer their children's questions and look for interesting activities and books for their child.

The lack of understanding from other parents is the hardest part to deal with, alongside not being able to share the joy of your child's achievements with friends and family.  Having to try to 'hide' your child's abilities and interests and guarding what you say and share is very tiring.  At the same time you are struggling to meet your child's needs, are exhausted by their constant activity and are worrying about whether you are doing the right thing. But you are completely isolated and no one has any sympathy for you, as surely it is easy to have such a bright child?

The challenge of writing

One of the reasons I am so passionate about early identification is that if dyslexia is not spotted early then many other difficulties arise. Often the child is mislabeled and the support and interventions that would have helped to overcome their difficulties are not provided.

As these children learn to compensate for their difficulties not all the strategies they use are positive. Very often children will find ways of opting out of literacy tasks. Children will pretend that they don't want to do a task rather than not being able to do the task..... "This is boring!", "Its too easy!", "Its babyish!" Teachers and adults then focus on the behaviours rather than what is causing the behaviour. In my experience teachers still find it puzzling when a child can verbally explain answers and show a real understanding of concepts but then struggle to write a few 'simple' sentences.  But this is not an unusual profile.

Writing is a complex process and if any of the many building blocks are weak, it will be a struggle. There is the physical process of writing - gripping the pencil,  remembering the correct orientation and letter formation. Then you need to be able to spell the words or at least be able to make a phonetically pausible attempt and you have the 200 odd irregular high frequency words to contend with.  Next you need to formulate an idea and which idea should go first? And you can't just write how you speak or think, you need to consider the genre, audience and purpose before composing a sensible sentence with an opener and a connective. Oh and don't forget to pick your best vocabulary...don't use 'said' or 'big' or 'nice'.  Finally you need to keep the whole sentence in your head while you write it down.  Easy - right ?!

Of course there are many children who pick up these skills quickly and easily and as an adult we hardly think about the writing process as most of it is automatic for us.  However for a dyslexic child there can be a breakdown in any area and very often in more than one area.  Writing then becomes a very hard and laborious process. If our mental energy is taken up on physically writing there is no energy for formulating sentences. If you have to think about the spelling of nearly every word again their is no energy left to think of ideas or creative vocabulary or even punctuation.

It all sounds obvious, but teachers are now so programmed to push writing and particularly creative, independent writing that they forget that without strong underlying skills writing can be a nightmare!
They start to think the dyslexic child is being lazy or difficult.

We have all been in situations where we feel overwhelmed by a task or situation.  I can remember attending a teacher training course in French.  Although I have functional French, I do not know 'educational' French. Understanding French is not an automatic skill for me. So after a couple of hours of focusing hard and coping, suddenly my brain was overloaded and I could no longer follow anything. Luckily no one asked me any questions or put me on the spot and I could just let the information wash over me.

Imagine if this was your daily experience, overloaded and struggling to keep up......
Many dyslexic students are given tasks every day, even every lesson that are actually beyond them. They do not have enough automatic skills to successfully complete writing tasks. And so they are overloaded.

The best way to support dyslexic students is to honestly evaluate their skills in each aspect of writing. In any writing task a child should only have to focus hard on one skill, the others should be automatic or supported. For example if a child struggles with the physical process of writing, consider scribing for the child or using a computer so they can focus on vocabulary and composition.  If the child struggles with spelling provide a word list of key words for the task in front of them.  If the child struggles with remember their ideas, a teacher could record them on Post its or a whiteboard.  'Talk tins' could be used to record a sentence so the child can play back their idea while they write each word down.

Weaker skills need to be worked on in isolation and over a longer period of time through interventions and daily practice. While the skills are developing scaffolds and adaptions must be made for a dyslexic student to succeed.

What to do from 0 - 2

Many people do not realise how crucial the early years are in determining a child's future development.

Professor Allan Schore of UCLA has found that eighty percent of the brain cells that a person will ever have are manufactured during the first 2 years of life. Brain scans of children who have been neglected compared to a 'typical' child show huge differences in the size of the brain. The interaction between the child and their main care givers at this time is crucial. The neuro pathways on which further learning is based are being laid down from 0 to 2, the foundations for language development, coordination, motor skills, visual skills, listening skills and focus are all being put in place.

It is not about 'hot housing' children or forcing them to do activities they are not ready for but being aware that play and interaction are important right from the start.


If you observe and interact with a group of pre-school children of 3 - 4  years of age the difference in the range of skills some children have compared to others is already huge.

Much as many people hate to say it, the advantage some children have at this stage will stay with them all throughout school.   The differences between children are partly genetic and partly due to their environment.  Of course nothing is straightforward, children all develop at different rates.  Some children are 'late bloomers' and some children have learning difficulties and developmental issues to deal with.  But stimulating and interacting with our baby and toddler will always make a difference to their later skills and ability to learn.

If you take a typical nursery or kindergarten class and ranked them in terms of language development, motor skills, focus and readiness to learn.  Then you looked at the attainment in reading and maths for the same group of children at the end of primary school at 11 years old you would find the order is pretty much the same.  It is not to say that schools and parents do not make any difference but they can only build on the foundation that is already there.

The purpose of this article is not make any one feel bad about their child or their parenting but just to raise the awareness that those first 2 years can make a real difference.  Many parents are unaware of what they can do to encourage and nurture their child at this early stage.  Many educators and parents are increasingly concerned about range and level of skills of children coming into school. But the answer is not to do more in pre-school or bring educational goals lower and lower.  The answer is in supporting parents and other caregivers and their children before pre-school.

So what can we do?

Many people still think that a quiet baby is a good baby and while we can not change a child's temperament we can encourage all children to interact and respond to their environment.

1. Talk
Talking to your baby as much as possible is important for future language development.  Some people think that because the baby can not understand you, that it is not important to talk to them. But the baby can pick up on the rhythm and sound patterns right from the beginning.  They recognise tone of voice, they recognise their care giver/s voice/s above others.  It is also not necessary to use baby talk, if you use the correct words you will find that when a child is ready to talk they will use these words too. Reading and sharing books right from the beginning is also a great way to introduce children to a whole range of vocabulary and the world beyond their own experience. Most children it love too!

2. Movement and curiosity
Encouraging your baby to reach for objects and touch things is also important. Let them have plenty of time out of their pram or cot to explore what is around them. Let them look at and touch everyday objects (as long as it is safe). We don't need fancy toys; as we all know at Christmas, when the baby or toddler plays with the box as much as the toy inside!  Encourage curiosity as much as possible, let your baby or child watch you do all the everyday things that need to be done - cooking, cleaning, shopping.  Lying on their tummy for some time each day, as well as their back helps to strengthen muscles and helps later coordination.  When they are ready to crawl let them go and explore, try not to contain them much as practical.  Babies experience to world through all their senses and we should encourage this as much as possible.

3. Play
Play, play and more play! Play is how we are meant to learn the boundaries of our environment and ourselves. It is how we learn cause and effect, how we learn to problem solve and focus.  Many of the 'traditional' toys are best - building blocks, shape sorters, jigsaws, matching games. We also want a balance between adult directed play and child directed play.  We don't always need to show a child how to do something 'properly' they can learn a lot by playing with a toy or game the 'wrong' way and then working out what to do.  Messy play with water, mud, sand or paint are all fun and hugely beneficial.

'Play' is currently a hot topic terms of pre-school, school curriculum and education but the point is play is important right from the beginning.

See https://www.zerotothree.org/espanol/brain-development video clips and great practical tips.

Also take a look at https://www.education.com/reference/article/infants-toddlers-ages-zero-two/  for further reading on early development.

Movement helps us learn

Children are meant to move and be active, it is part of their natural development.  Movement has a purpose, it helps their muscles grow and bodies develop.  Movement leads them to explore their environment and learn through all their senses.  This is the very foundation of all our future learning.

Just because a child can sit still and inhibit their movement, it doesn't mean that they should. Of course as children get older they have to realise that different behaviours are expected in different situations. When you travel in a car it would be dangerous to be jumping around.  On a plane there are other passengers to consider and you should try not to move around. But in a park you are free to move and should do exactly that.

Schools should be mindful of the important role of movement in learning.  As there is pressure for children to achieve academically at a younger and younger age, it is the practical, active learning that seems to be lost. Schools should be the places where children can move and learn in a way that it natural to them.  Children should learn largely by doing and exploring. These experiences are often much more memorable and meaningful than simply being told the information by the teacher or reading it in a book.  As parents we know that some the best learning experiences for our children arise when they are playing, exploring or visiting a new place.

As adults we know there are many skills that can only really be learnt through experience. When we learn to drive we all know that we can not do it by simply reading a book or being told how to do it. Of course we have to know the highway code but we can not learn to drive a car without getting into a car and trying to drive. We also know that it takes practice and we need practical, hands on experiences again and again to master a skill.

Yet both teachers and parents try to by pass these practical, hands on experiences because of the pressures of modern life.  Teachers are under pressure to deliver an overloaded curriculum and are judged by their children's achievement in certain areas.  Very often there isn't time to find interesting objects to look at to trigger discussion, questions and observation.  Instead to save time we use a picture or a video clip and tell the children the answers. As parents, limited time and tiredness mean we let an ipad entertain our children rather than playing a board game with them or encouraging them to use their imagination make something from junk materials.

Having a more active curriculum would have huge benefits for everyone.  Movement is important for all children and but perhaps even more important for children with learning difficulties.  Children with ADHD may be constantly moving and interventions are often focused on controlling the movement. We often think that the movement is distracting and will stop the child from learning. However current research by Michael Kofler suggests that the excessive movement does in fact have a purpose. It is the body's way of trying wake the mind up to be alert and focused enough to learn. Any strategies that we employ should not be about inhibiting the movement but encouraging it. Very often when we ask a child to stay still, they put all their energy into not moving  and as a result they are not able to listen to content of the lesson. If we allow them to move they are actually more likely to listen and participate in the lesson. As a teacher I have observed children who read better when they are allowed to fidget and move than when they are made to sit still.

Movement is particularly necessary for tasks that require working memory, which is known to be a deficit in many children with ADHD (and other learning difficulties).  Studies have shown that more demanding the task in terms of working memory the more movement is observed.  If we want children with ADHD to perform well in school we need to look at ways of incorporating movement into lessons. In my opinion this should be more than allowing the use of fiddles or wobble cushions (which are helpful strategies.)  It should be more about planning activities which allow children move and explore resources and record their understanding in a range of ways. 'Seating arrangements' should be flexible there should be opportunities for children to stand and sit while listening to the teacher or working on tasks.

Again if we think of our adult work lives we naturally find ways of of incorporating movement into our day even if it is just going to make a coffee when we feel our focus waning or asking a colleague in another office a question to take us away from our desk.  Also think about what you would prefer, to listen to art lecture for an hour or go to an art gallery and wander around observing and discussing the paintings with a friend or guide and then maybe using this inspiration to do your own sketch. As adults most of us prefer active learning and we should encourage the same for our children.

Slow processing speed - what does it mean?

 Do you ask your child questions and wait a long time for them to respond? 

Do you get frustrated that when you are in a hurry to leave the house and your child is always slow to find their shoes and put them on? 

Does a simple homework task that should have been finished by dinner drag on for the whole evening?

Does your child panic in timed tasks and spend more time watching the clock than doing the task?

All of these could be signs of slow processing.  It is not that the child can't do the task they just can't do it quickly.

Children with slow processing are often misunderstood and their real difficulties overlooked. Often their slowness is misinterpreted for not knowing or not being very bright. Many teachers still equate speed with brightness. They will regard the children who give the quickest answers as the brightest in the class.  In doing this they overlook the fact that many deep thinkers do so slowly. Many bright and gifted children are misjudged and given inappropriate work because teachers can not see past their slowness. They may not be given extension work because they do not complete routine tasks well in the time given.

Maths, in particular, is an area where the teacher's desire for quick answers is misguided. Of course we want children to be familiar with their number bonds and time tables and not have count and calculate every time they need them. However not being able to give an immediate answer does not mean the a child does not know their number facts. Maths has many facets and we want to develop reasoning and problem solving skills as well a calculation skills. Those who are quick at maths may not be the best mathematicians. My son has known his times tables since he was 5 and learnt them almost instantly. However if he is put on the spot and asked a times table question there will always be a time delay. If you judged his maths ability on this you would completely miss his deep understanding of maths and ability to make links between concepts and solve complex problems.

In writing tasks teachers often seem to value speed above content. If two children complete a task to a similar standard the teacher is likely to praise the child who finished first.  A child with slow processing may have written an excellent start to a story but the fact they have not finished their story will always be a problem. Sometimes the teacher will barely acknowledge the quality and effort that has gone into the writing they have done but just focus on the fact it is not finished. The child may also be wrongly accused of being lazy and not trying hard enough. Part of the problem is that the school day is divided in 30 minute to 1 hour slots and a certain amount of content has to be covered in each lesson. Teachers are constantly under pressure to cover the curriculum and this leaves little scope for extending a lesson and allowing more time for tasks when a student needs it.

So what is slow processing and how should we be supporting these learners?
For those familiar with IQ testing, processing speed is one of the 4 areas tested alongside verbal skills, non-verbal or visual perception and working memory. It is an important aspect of the child's learning profile and explains how a child may approach school work and everyday tasks. However it seems to be an area people know little about. Processing speed is the speed at which we can take in information presented visually or verbally and make sense of it or use it.  It is not related to overall intelligence.  It is perfectly possible to have high verbal or perceptual reasoning score but a low processing score.  Slow processing can be part of a learning difficulty like dyslexia, ADHD or auditory processing disorder. There are 3 aspects of processing - visual processing, verbal processing and the ability to respond with a quick motor response - child may have difficulty in one area or a combination of these. This can mean a child's response may vary from task to task.  This can be confusing for adults dealing with the child and can lead people to think that there is a lack of effort or motivation from the child. A child can be slow to answer verbal questions even if they know the answer. They may have difficulty with multi-step instructions and tasks, although they could do each step in isolation. They may be slow to complete written assignments particularly if there several parts. They may need to read information more than once before understanding and answering comprehension questions. They may have difficulty taking notes and become overwhelmed if there is too much information given at once.

There is an assumption that when we say something it should be immediately understood and acted upon. We do this a lot as parents and teachers and get frustrated when the child doesn't respond quickly to our instructions or questions.  Similarly when information is presented visually in a textbook, on a poster or on an interactive whiteboard it is assumed that everyone can process and make use of the information quickly and easily.  

Many adults do not realise that a child can struggle to process information at speed, but they may actually have a good understanding if they were given more time. If a child does not respond quickly to something there is an assumption that their understanding shaky or they need more practice. Sometimes a teacher may lower their academic expectations of a child because they think they are struggling with concepts that in fact they understand well.

What can you do to help?

If you are concerned about your child's processing speed you should seek professional help from an Educational Psychologist who can carry out an educational evaluation.  This will help everyone to understand your child's strengths and weaknesses better.

Make sure the teachers are aware if your child has slow processing speed and openly discuss what allowances can be made.

At School - advice for teachers
Allow more time to answer verbal questions - either ask the question and say that you will come back to the child in a few minutes or ask the question but then avoid direct eye contact or looking impatient while they are formulating their answer. If necessary check a child's understanding privately when the rest of the class are not listening.

Break tasks into small achievable steps and give praise when each part is completed. For example ask the child to complete the opening paragraph of the story rather than the whole story. Alternatively scribe for the child to quickly get down their ideas and then ask them to focus on the end of the story. Value the quality of the work rather than the quantity.

Avoid 'busy' pages of information and questions. Cut them up and present one part at a time. Provide a paper copy of any information displayed on the board.

Use checklists to show the steps involved in a longer writing task or maths questions.

Allow time for children to re-read texts before answering questions and encourage then to do so.

When possible avoid using timers, or time a task without drawing attention to it.

Set a realistic target for the child to complete in a lesson rather than letting them feel they have not finished or have failed.

Whenever possible allow extra time for tasks. Allow the child to complete one task while other children complete two.

Continue to present tasks that match their actual ability. For example let the child complete the most challenging parts of the lesson first, don't always keep the extension tasks for those who have finished the initial task.

At home - advice for parents
Plan out with your child how and when homework tasks will be completed. Allow at least double the time you think is necessary for each step.

Occasionally practice timed tasks but make the task fully achievable in the time given. Set a small target and slowly increase over weeks and months.

When going out make sure your child knows what they are expected to do before leaving. Ask them to repeat back to you what they need to do and prompt them in plenty of time to get ready. Provide visual checklists if necessary.

Talk to your child openly about their difficulties and reassure them that they can get things done and are capable they just have to give themselves enough time. Encourage your child discuss any frustrations at school and follow up with the class teacher if appropriate.

Draw attention to what they are good at and give examples of tasks that are better done slowly and carefully.  Discuss jobs that require a slow and careful approach.

Gifted and active ?

Many gifted children are very active from the beginning. They are constantly asking questions, they want to touch and explore everything, they want to be doing something interesting all through the day. They never seem to stop and they don't want to sleep. For those observing, they seem to be constantly on the go and for parents it can be exhausting trying to keep up with their intensity of interest in a particular area or the world around them. It is not long before family or friends may suggest that there is a problem. When they start school their excitement to learn may lead them to blurt out answers rather than waiting their turn.  They may get distracted from the task a teacher has set when an interesting thought pops into their mind. They may miss the teacher's instructions as they are engrossed in the book they are reading. They may be constantly moving as they try to act on the ideas they have straight away. Again it is not long before the teacher suggests that your child has ADHD.

Gifted with ADHD or just gifted?  What difference does it make?

Quite a lot really, when we focus on the 'behaviours' rather than the reasons for the behaviours we can come to the wrong conclusions.  We always have to consider whole child before we make any judgements. The trouble with misdiagnosis is that the child receives the wrong 'treatment' and the real cause for their difficulties is not dealt with.

James Webb and his co-authors of 'Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults' estimate that as many of 50% of gifted students who are given a diagnosis of ADHD do not actually have ADHD but rather are displaying characteristics that are inherent to gifted students. While it is perfectly possible to be gifted and have ADHD the treatment for this is different to a gifted child who is having attention difficulties in a specific context.

There are many areas of overlap between a gifted child and a child with ADHD and so it easy for confusion to arise even with teachers, educational and medical professionals.  The Conners' rating scales lists 50 or so behaviours for teachers and parents to consider and rate on how often these behaviors are seen. Gifted children may display many of these behaviours but for a different reason than a child with AHDH. Considering the context of any behaviour is very important as is considering the child's strengths and weaknesses.

Inattentiveness can be caused by boredom and lack of challenge for many gifted students. This can then lead to daydreaming, disturbing class mates or finding creative ways to occupy themselves. It needs to be noted whether the problems occur at school or home or both. If at home a child can sustain their concentration to complete a task that they find interesting and mentally challenging then they probably do not have ADHD.  This does not include computer games or TV as these stimulate the brain in a different way.

Gifted children can appear not to be listening as they are deep in their own thoughts. They can also be distracted by sensory overexcitabilities. If you are absorbed by the annoying label in the back of your shirt or the buzzing of the lights it can be very hard to focus on what the teacher is saying. As an adult we can learn to filter out these annoyances but this often not possible for children.

Many gifted children are naturally active, have high energy and need less sleep. Psychomotor overexcitabilities can easily be mistaken for ADHD. As the child's mind is bombarded with thoughts so the body moves too. Sometimes a gifted child is so excited by what they are thinking or have discovered that they speak quickly, move excitedly and want to act on the idea straight away.

The things to look out for in a child who has ADHD are lack of attention to detail, difficulty sustaining focus even in play activities, failing to finish tasks, difficulty sustaining mental effort, being disorganised and being easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.

When seeking professional advice it is important that IQ testing is included and that environmental factors are considered.  For ADHD to be diagnosed it should occur in two or more contexts. It is also important to consider the child's developmental history or early childhood.  If the problems only occurred when the child started school or as the curriculum became more demanding then the difficulty is probably not ADHD.  Signs of ADHD should be evident before the age of 7 for a diagnosis to be made.

For those who are simply gifted we need to take a serious look at what is causing problems at school or in another context. A better understanding of gifted children by may be needed for those involved with the child.

Once we have the diagnosis right, how do we help a gifted child with ADHD?

Medication is one of the first things mentioned when we think of ADHD.  While it clearly does help many children it does not need to be our first or only strategy.

Occupational Therapy can be hugely helpful for many active children and those who find it hard to focus.  Occupational therapists are able to identify if there are sensory factors or other factors causing the movement and they can help children learn to regulate themselves.  Children can be over stimulated and they need strategies to calm down to focus on academic tasks or they may be under stimulated and need strategies to wake the brain up. Movement breaks with a specific programme of activities are key in helping a child to remain focused. Simply having a toilet break or a drink is often not enough, sometimes children need a much more active break with star jumps, running, press ups, bouncing on a yoga ball.

Adapting the environment and the expectations of the child is also important. This can be easier to do at home than at school which is why parents often do not see the problems in the way schools do. We may naturally incorporate active tasks and breaks into our day as we know what works best for our child.

In school, tasks do not need to be less challenging but rather they should be broken down into 10 minute blocks with breaks in between.  Some children need to be allowed to fiddle or move as it actually helps them focus. Trying to prevent movement is usually counterproductive. It is more a case of finding things that work in a school context and are not disruptive or distracting for others. Again there are many things that can be trialed: velcro under the desk, bendy rulers, theraband around the chair, blue tac, wobble cushions, standing desks. However we have to be careful that these things do not become a distraction in themselves.

ADHD can also affect the way the brain processes, plans and organises tasks. Very often children know 'what' to do and 'how' to do it but their brain does not tell them 'when' and 'where' to use the skills and knowledge they have.  For example the child many know that they have a homework project which requires time for research and making a presentation but they may not think about when to start it or which part to do first. So they may leave it all the the night before the project is due. Check lists and visual prompts can be helpful in helping a child to organise themselves to work through a task in sequence and to know which skills to draw upon. These will need practise and adult prompting initially before a child can use them independently. The child may also have a poor sense of time, so the use of timers can be useful in helping a child know how much time has passed or encouraging the child to stay focused for increasing amounts of time before taking a break.

This article is only a brief overview of some of the issues connected with giftedness and ADHD, for more reading and information have a look at www.additudemag.com and www.understood.org
 

Dyslexic or not that is the question?

As teachers and parents we probably spend far too much time time debating whether a child is dyslexic than we actually should. Of course we do not want to mislabel a child but equally we should not waste valuable time while we debate.

If a child is struggling to read or write we should just get on and provide support and interventions. In truth dyslexic interventions work for all children. The only difference is that most dyslexic children can not learn to read and write properly without them where as typical children can.

Sadly there are many children who are 'mildly' dyslexic or have dyslexic 'tendencies' who are never given access to these valuable resources and approaches. They struggle to read and write throughout school and often never really show their true potential. They puzzle their teachers because they may have excellent verbal skills and general knowledge or they are good at problem solving and are very observant but their writing is terrible.

For this reason I prefer to take a much more pragmatic approach and use dyslexia as an umbrella term. There are a whole range of learning difficulties that happily sit under this umbrella, typically these children have working memory difficulties (please see my previous articles for advice on identifying and supporting working memory difficulties). In addition they will have a combination of the following difficulties - visual perceptional difficulties, visual memory difficulties, auditory discrimination difficulties, auditory processing difficulties, motor skill and coordination difficulties, attention difficulties.  Any of these children may benefit from a different approach to learning to read and write.

It is important to me that every child experiences success at school and for this to happen we have to accept that children learn differently. Many children (and adults) learn by doing rather than listening or looking at something. We also have to remember that letters and numbers are in essence abstract and we have to train our brain to process them. This is where multi-sensory approaches which involve hands on activities and interacting with words are so effective.

Children who struggle to read and write typically lack the underlying skills necessary to read and write effectively.  This could be due to dyslexia or a related difficulty. However it is not always necessary understand why these skills are missing or under developed but rather focus on how we can help.

In education we tend to take the approach that these skills develop naturally with age and we set our goals and curriculum based on the age of the child rather than evaluating their underlying skills. Parents also take the schools lead in where their child should be in their literacy skills and then puzzle when their child struggles to do a seemingly 'simple' reading or writing task.

We would never try to bake a cake without all the ingredients and if one was missing we would substitute it with something similar honey instead of sugar for example.  But if we left out the eggs it would be a disaster! And yet in school we often try to teach reading and writing when not all the necessary skills are in place or fully developed. We should take more notice of where children are developmentally rather their age when teaching literacy skills. We give many children and parents an unnecessary sense of failure because they do not follow a conventional timetable.  In my 16 years of experience as a specialist teacher, I have not met a child who was not able to learn to read, it just took a different approach and more time. Unfortunately many schools are unwilling to allow the child the extra time they need to develop these skills properly. A bettter understanding of dyslexia and the reading and writing process may help to change this.

There are many excellent resources and approaches that both parents and teachers can use to help support those who are struggling.  It is important that we try to strengthen the weaker skills while using the stronger skills to compensate. Some of the best resources are featured on the Teacher page - Dyslexia where I list my top ten dyslexia resources.  Also see the Parent page - Dyslexia where I suggest some activities and approaches to use at home. I will discuss some of these resources and approaches further in future articles.

If you feel your child if having more difficulty with reading or writing than you expected don't hesitate to ask your child's school for advice or seek professional help. Don't wait for your child to feel like they are 'failing' or start avoiding difficult tasks before you take action. The earlier you intervene the sooner difficulties can be overcome and your child can begin to experience some success. It is likely to be a long road of hard work but there is light at the end of the tunnel for dyslexic learners.

The Problems of Misdiagnosis

A lack of understanding of the full range of characteristics of gifted children (and adults) by parents, professionals and teachers can often lead to the misdiagnosis of learning difficulties. The problem with misdiagnosis is that the 'treatment' or strategies employed are not effective in helping the child and  the real reason for the difficulty is ignored. This can often make things worse and lead to frustration and depression.

Many characteristics that are inherent to gifted children can be misinterpreted as a learning difficulties.  It is important to realise that many of the 'problems' or behaviours that concern parents and teachers are not actually problems for the child themselves but are the result of unrealistic expectations or a mismatch between the child and the environment they are in.  This is probably one of the reasons parents and teachers can often view a child quite differently.  

At home the parents often adapt the environment to suit their child.  Although they may receive criticism from friends and extended family, in many cases it is simply a case of survival as a family or a parent. For me, my son was like a 'force of nature' from the moment he was born, he was impossible to ignore. He was interested in anything and everything and he never kept still.  He also didn't like to sleep. It is exhausting to clash with your child numerous times everyday. And why should we? Our children's demands are normally not 'bad' just 'unusual.' We have our child happiness and well being at heart.  So if this means reading two pages of the encyclopedia to your two year old every night, as I did, we will do it.  Many parents also recognise themselves in their child and so are more willing to make concessions to aid family harmony.

In school however there is a very different agenda, most schools want children to conform and look for what they consider to be 'good learning behaviours'.  Listening to the teacher, sitting still, completing tasks as the teacher asked in a timely fashion, cooperating with their peers are just a few.  However most of these simply do not match with a typical gifted profile.  Gifted students don't want to listen, they want to find out for themselves or ask the questions. They can struggle to sit still as their active mind demands action. They often have unique ways of viewing things and will often adapt a task to make it more complicated or interesting. They may get distracted by other ideas and not complete the task in time. They may find it hard to work with other children who have such different interests and views. 

One the main characteristics of gifted children is their intensity or 'overexcitabilities'.  Polish psychologist Kazimierz Dabroswki developed the idea of overexcitabilities as he studied the characteristics of gifted children.  He suggested that there are 5 main areas: psychomotor, sensual, intellectual, emotional and imaginational. Most gifted children and adults will have one main area but they may also have multiple intensities.  As I discuss these intensities it is easy to see how they can be confused with the characteristics of various learning difficulties.

Many gifted students are hyper aware of their surroundings and can be overly sensitive to sound, light, visuals, touch, smell, taste and textures. This can make the typical classroom environment very distracting.  The colours, visuals, sounds and bright lights can feel overwhelming to some children and make it impossible to focus on the task in hand.  Even as an adult I find my eye drawn to patterns or bright colours on a display and I get distracted from the conversation I am having.  Teachers should consider who the displays are actually for and whether they really enhance the learning experience for children.  School uniform can be another distraction, if the fabric or labels 'rub' or irritate. A child may avoid a particular room or area of school because of particular smells.  Lunches can also be difficult for some children who are very sensitive to taste and texture. Packed lunches and school dinners are not the same as the food a child has at home.  Picky eating can lead to low blood sugar which in turn can lead to distractability or emotional outbursts. Playgrounds can also feel uncomfortable with the noise and constant movement. These sensitivities are often associated with autism and again can lead to a misdiagnosis.

Those children with psychmotor intensities have an intense need to move. They love movement and have endless energy. They will often speak rapidly, fidget and want to take immediate action. The slowness of the classroom and the need to sit and listen to the teacher can be hard to bear. They are excited by learning and just want to get on and do it! This excessive movement and spontaneity can often be mistaken for ADHD as many of the characteristics overlap. Although the cause and solution for gifted students can be quite different. I will discuss this further in a future article.

Some children with intellectual  intensity have a mind like pin ball machine where they are being constantly bombarded with different thoughts and ideas. Sometimes this is referred to as a 'rainforest mind' and there are useful websites that discuss this further. It can be very hard for children to filter and prioritise these thoughts making it hard to focus in class. Particularly if work in class is very routine and unchallenging. Students may want to act on their own ideas or may be intellectually excited by a new idea, causing excessive movement. Again the student can seem distracted and too active, leading to suggestions of ADHD.  The child's area or areas of intellectual passion may not relate to the school curriculum at all and may not even be discussed or acknowledged within the school context.  This very hard for a child who is literally bursting to share their new found knowledge.  When my son was in Nursery school he avidly watched 'Time Team' and would pretend to find Roman artefacts in the garden. One morning he asked me if the Egyptians had hypocausts like the Romans. But at school he was supposed to colour pictures and pretend to be an aeroplane with the other boys. Even as a Primary school teacher I was not prepared for the stark mismatch between what he did at home and what he was allowed to do at school. Many schools and teachers are equally unprepared for children with intellectual intensities.

There are no easy solutions for the mismatch between home and school. An honest and open dialogue is the best place to start. Many teachers have not had adequate training in giftedness to realise a child who is not conforming may be gifted rather than 'difficult'.  In my next article I will talk about how to  approach a school and talk to teachers about your gifted child.

www.verywell.com and www.rainforestmind.com have a wealth of useful advice and articles

 

Twice Exceptional - what does it mean?

Is she gifted?

Is he gifted?

Many people are unaware that gifted students can have learning difficulties. 



They still have the narrow view that gifted students are 'straight A' students who breeze through school.  It is probably one of the reasons that many teachers are reluctant to give any extra attention to gifted students, after all school is so easy for them!  There is also resentment from other parents as they feel the gifted student has an unfair advantage over their child.

It is not uncommon for gifted students to be dyslexic or autistic or have ADHD or a whole range of learning difficulties. The difficulty is that giftedness can mask the learning difficulties as bright children can often find ways to compensate for their difficulties.  On the other hand sometimes the learning difficulties masks the giftedness as teachers and adults focus on the behaviours and deficits rather than he child's abilities.

To add to the confusion gifted children also have overexcitabilites which can be misinterpreted as a learning difficulty like ADHD. They can be perfectionists, be rigid in their thinking and have difficulty socialising within their own age group which can be mistaken for autism. Their asychronous development can also mean that their motor skills and writing skills do not match their intellectual ability and can seem like a dyslexic type difficulty.

The result of these uneven profiles is that many gifted students are never recognised as 'gifted' within the school context.  Their parents will see how rapidly they learn new things at home, their extreme curiosity and hunger understand the word around them, their advanced vocabulary and heightened sensitivity and awareness.

But at school, the teachers are unimpressed - they complain about the child being distracted, not listening to instructions, rushing to complete tasks, not completing written tasks carefully. They are frustrated that the child seems to want to follow their own agenda rather than dutifully completing the task as the teacher instructed.

And so the journey of disappointments, frustrations and misunderstanding begins for the child, the parents and the teacher.

As a parent and a teacher I can see both sides of the story. I understand why teachers behave in the way they do, as they rely on children's responses to a narrow range of activities in the classroom.  But I also know the frustration when teachers do not see your child as you see them and they do not value your insights from your experiences at home.

The best way to identify twice exceptional children is for there to be an open and honest dialogue between teachers and parents.

The missing part of the puzzle is very often information that only the parent will have. There needs to be an acceptance that if a parent says their child is gifted the chances are that they are gifted. I don't even like the word 'gifted', I don't use it to boast, I use it because it the most helpful way of understanding my child.  I find that very often my motives are questioned when I draw a teacher's attention to my child's abilities. Like all parents the well being of my child is my main concern, its not about 'status' or having unrealistic expectations. In fact I spend most of my time keeping quiet about my child's abilities with both friends and family.

Parents often see a different side of their child which may not be obvious in school.  Teachers should not forget that parents have been observing their child from the day they were born and are quick to notice when their child does not behave or react to things in the way other children do. Often parents will spend many years puzzling and piecing together observations and researching possible causes for their child's difference. Parents know things about their child that teachers would never know from the school context. And just as many adults have a work persona and a home persona, children can present very differently at home and at school. Teachers need to value a parent's insights more and think about how it relates to the child they see in school.

In my experience, teacher's can often misinterpret a child's behaviour or shortcomings and the reason for these difficulties. They often blame parents when actually those things are very intrinsic to the child. And no amount of correction or persuasion will change it.  My child is a perfectionist and no matter how many times I tell him it is ok to make a mistake, he still cries or gets angry when he does.

From a teacher's point of view, many have not had training about how giftedness may present itself in the classroom or the full range of gifted children they may come across.  They are trained to value and judge a child's ability by how successfully they complete routine classroom tasks. There continues to be a big emphasis on what a child can record in writing.  This can lead some gifted children to be grouped with 'lower' ability children because they are easily distracted or their writing is weak. Of course gifted students do need to learn to focus and improve their writing skills if this is an issue.  But if we put all the focus on  child's weaknesses and do not acknowledge or give time for them to be challenged or excel in their area of strength, this leads to frustration and demotivation. Which in turn can lead to behaviours which further distracts the teacher from the giftedness and a downward spiral begins.

Well informed teachers and parents are the key to the success of gifted students and particularly those who are twice exceptional.

Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the full range of twice exceptional students and the dangers of misdiagnosis.