Hi Bonnie,

I would be interested to know more about how you make your
visual clocks and what they look like.

-Susan

Susan,

As a teacher of K- H.S. age, I have a lot of resources and supplies. I’m a learning disability specialist and educational therapist as well as parent. I have ADD & have worked with ADHD kids for over 30 years. So, I have a number of telling time work sheets that are blank as well as a large blank clock stamp for making clocks.

The stamp can be gotten from

https://educationalinsights.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?

And, I just did an online search and found this site where you can program in your times on the clocks and then print the sheets.

http://www.time-for-time.com/worksheets.htm

After making them, I would copy them on card stock paper to make them more durable and cut them from the sheets so I can tape them across the top or side of their desk.

You can even color code the hands of the clock or copy them on different colors of card stock to make it even easier for your kids to follow.

Hope this helps.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

P.S.: Don’t forget to sign up for the 10 FREE homework & teaching tips – right above my photo.

Back to School…

What can you do to make your life a lot easier? Anna Weinstein from education.com contacted me earlier this week and asked if she could interview me about what parents of LD children could do to help there kids have a great start to the school year. We recorded the interview, so you can hear it here.

Here are a few of the highlights that you will hear Bonnie talking about:

At 4 min: There is a special tip regarding school supply tips to help your child be more organized.
At 6 min: How do you organize your homework area
At 7:29 min: Specific supplies that help the homework time
At 15:53 min: How much time should kids spend on homework – especially when they have dyslexia or LD?
At 17:30 min: How do you talk to teachers?
At 21:05 min: Specific things to tell the teacher to set your child up to have a great year
At 25:40 min: Can you just contact the teacher via email or does it have to be in person?
At 29:44 min: Isn’t there a system put in place already for me to meet all of my kid’s support team?
At 31:54 min: Doesn’t the teacher already know what my child needs – he was pulled out last year for services?
At 38:45 min: Why you want to have a clear understanding of what is going on with your child
At 40:00 min: Ways to keep track of your child’s assignments
At 42:40 min: Parent self care & support for parents
At 47:30 min: Evening family routine
At 51:27 min: Best way to speak with the teacher or principal

Listen to it here!

I’ve been in contact with two parents regarding using visual clocks to help their children keep track of transition times at school. Thought you might be interested in their questions and my response to them.

Has anyone used visual charts with pictures of items and clock faces
that show time? I am having trouble finding websites so I can get one
set up for school to show my son when he will be doing things. I talked
last year about it but the teacher never did it and I want to try this
year and see if it helps but I can not find sites

Any ideas?

Nichole from MI

Nicole,

I would love to have whatever info you get.  Can you use
Boardmaker?  We asked the school if WE could provide our son with a visual
schedule to help him at school, and they said “no – then the other kids
would want one.”  The sad part is that we didn’t pursue it.  This year,
though, we are at least going to do that at home.
-Susan

Nicole,
I’ve used visual clocks but I’ve made them myself. What I would do is to
make up my own clocks and then go in to meet the teacher and say something
to the effect of “I’m so glad to meet you. We’re looking forward to a
great year with you. I know you have my son’s (daughter’s) best interest
at heart and want to help him/her succeed. I just wanted to give you a
heads up on what has worked for us. Using visual clocks that are on
his/her desk to denote the change in subject or class makes a big
difference in their day. I know how busy you are with the start up of the
year so I went ahead and made them up for him/her. If you could just tell
us your transition times so we can fill them in that would be great.”

This type of statement tells them rather than asks, but tells them in a
nice way and you are being helpful by making them up and taping them to
the desk. It is also giving the teacher credit for working with you to
help your child succeed as well as getting them off the hook with the
statement that you know how busy they are with starting up the school
year.

I hope this helps!

BTW: I’m a parent as well as a teacher
Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

P.S. Feel free to ask you questions and/or leave a comment!

I just came across this article on dysgraphia and thought you might be interested in it:

Dysgraphia and Sequencing

“Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing abilities. It can manifest itself as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper” (National Center for Learning Disabilities [2006], found at LD Online). Those with dysgraphia usually have an unusual pencil grip, often with the thumb on top of the fingers. Their writing is slow and belabored, with unusual starting and ending points. They will usually make spelling errors and will have difficulty with capitalization and punctuation. They may also have unusual spatial organization on the page. Their words may be widely spaced or tightly pushed together. They may also have an issue with directionality, which is often the reason for spelling errors.
Dysgraphia is usually found in connection with dyslexia, since both are language-processing issues and are affected by weaknesses in directionality and sequencing. Writing, in general, is difficult for them but past the mere mechanics of handwriting. They also have an issue getting their thoughts down on paper for an essay or a report. They have a difficult time with proper sequence and organization. This, coupled with the basic handwriting issues, make this a task that most will avoid at any cost. Certain accommodations can and should be made.
A few accommodations would be:

Encourage students to outline their thoughts. It is important to get their main ideas down on paper without having to struggle with the details of spelling, punctuation, etc.
Have students dictate their ideas to someone else to type or into a tape recorder to write down later.
Being able to use a computer will help them with spelling and handwriting issues so they can produce work faster and clearer.
Students should be allowed additional time on writing tasks.
Students should be provided an outline for notes so they can just add the details rather than trying to process the information and copy it down all at once. That is too difficult for them. They are usually too slow and will fall behind.

Those with dysgraphia can benefit from handwriting practice and can work with directionality. Being taught the mechanics of the language in a systematic, sequential phonics program will help them with their spelling, which is a huge hurdle for them in their writing. Giving them clear, concise organization strategies for writing papers will be invaluable to them. Dysgraphia, as with any processing disorder, requires patience and understanding. With time, proven intervention, and applicable accommodations, those struggling with this challenge can achieve success.
Shantell Berrett has a B.A. in English specializing in reading and dyslexia.  She has three wonderful kids ages 13, 11, and 7.  Her 11 year old son has dyslexia and is the reason she works in this field in writing, research and educating in schools and at home. Visit her website at ReadingHorizonsAtHome.com.

Source: http://www.homeschool-articles.com/dysgraphia-and-sequencing/

……………………………………….

Graphic organizers,  fill-in-the-blank forms, will help your children with dysgraphia with their note-taking, paragraph writing, and essay writing.

Yes, it is here! Spring is here, the tulip tree is blooming as is the manzanita tree, daffodils, the wild violets…And the Learning Difficulty/Disability Assessment Tool and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool has arrived!

You will now be able to get your hands on it and be able to informally test your own child or student. You will know the specific areas of strengths and weaknesses of your child. You will know if you need to pursue formal testing, and you will know what kind of formal testing should be done.

By Linda Foster of The LINK (website review)

Without proper diagnosis, a student might spend his/her school years struggling with schoolwork and feeling inadequate. Lacking the confidence to succeed often causes students to ignore instructions and become disruptive. This scenario can occur in classroom or homeschool settings causing frustration not only for the student, but, also, for the teacher/parent. Screening Tool is an excellent guide to assessing a student.

Before any screening takes place, it is important to understand the different types of learning disabilities and difficulties that might be encountered and Bonnie Terry offers a clearly written and easily understood overview of these potential problems.

The LD Screening Tool includes two assessments: A pre-screening tool and checklists of the various processing difficulties that might be encountered. The Pre-Screening Tool consists of a checklist of possible symptoms of learning difficulties, dyslexia, or learning problems and then offers checklists of symptoms that might occur at different developmental stages. In the scoring section, it is noted that it is not unusual for students to exhibit one or more of the symptoms at one time or another and this is not a cause for alarm. Exhibiting three or more of the symptoms, though, over a period of time may signal a learning difficulty or learning disability.

The LD Screening Tool provides information on what to do if a potential learning difficulty or learning disability has been determined. It offers parents and teachers insight into the cause and effect of learning difficulties and learning disabilities on student abilities or behavior in the classroom or the homeschool setting.

It also has two sections designed to offer students and parents alternative resources to assess and manage specific types of learning difficulties and learning disabilities.

Private testing can be very expensive, anywhere between $300.00 and $1000.00. I promised you a reasonably priced informal assessment tool, one that even in today’s tight ecomony you would be able to avail yourself of. You would be able to informally assess your own child in the comfort of your own home. So, it’s not $300.00, not $100.00, not even $50.00. Just go to the LD Screening Tool and order your own copy today for only $37.00.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

Is the Learning Difficulty/Disability Pre-Screening Tool and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool designed for school personnel, and if so, how would you recommend it get used as part of pursuing a more formal evaluation?

Yes, teachers who use the informal assessment tool will get information on whether their student has visual, auditory, or tactile/kinesthetic processing areas of difficulty. Using the informal assessment tool first helps the teacher to know if they should pursue formal testing as well as know which types of tests should be done.

Often when a student is formally tested, a specific problematic area is not identified. This happened to a student of mine recently. He was turned down for IEP services because formal testing showed his auditory processing area was higher than his grade level. In the meantime he struggled in the classroom as well as at home with homework. His teacher knew how he struggled on a daily basis, but didn’t know why.

After going through the informal assessment tool, his parents and teacher were then able to get the appropriate tests done relating to his specific visual processing problems (which came up through this informal assessment tool). The school did further testing and he then qualified for help. The informal assessment tool helped expedite getting to the root cause of his problems.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

If you haven’t signed up for the FREE homework & teaching tips, do it now – it’s FREE with no strings attached!

Laura Doto wrote me several questions regarding the Learning Difficulty/Disability Assessment Tool and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool. I will be responding to them over the next several days.

Hi Bonnie –

Congratulations! — I have a few questions about the pre-screening tool:

Is the informal assessment tool designed for parents so that they in turn could arrive at a decision for formal evaluation?

Yes, this is for parents as well as teachers so they can understand if their kids actually have a learning problem vs. laziness or behavior issues etc. Often a parent knows there child is struggling but doesn’t know why, they just know that schoolwork is really hard for them. Some parents recognize there is a problem but don’t know what to do about it or even how to describe it.

After going through the informal assessment tool, specific learning difficulties are identified. (Parents will understand why some things are hard and some not for their child.) Parents will also understand how the problems impact classroom performance. The informal assessment tool also lets them know if they should pursue formal testing what kinds of formal testing they should have done.

There is a section in the book that lists in-depth formal testing that is helpful when trying to figure out what kind of additional testing should be done. From the results of the informal assessment tool parents and teachers will have insight into which areas of processing need to be tested more with in-depth formal testing.

For instance, if the Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool shows that your child has a lot of visual processing difficulties, you will want to have an additional test done in that specific area. If it shows that your child has a lot of auditory processing difficulties, you will want to have an additional test done in that specific area. If it shows that your child has tactile/kinestietic difficulties, you will want to have an additional test done in that specific area.

The book lists multiple tests for each area of learning difficulty, which allows the tester to choose which test they prefer or are familiar with.

1. Visual Processing Difficulties [6 assessments to choose from]
2. Visual-Motor (Neuro-Sensory Integration) Assessments & Tactile/Kinesthetic

Assessments [18 assessments to choose from]

1. Visual Memory & Learning Assessments [7 assessments to choose from]
2. Auditory Memory & Learning Assessments [11 assessments to choose from]

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

My next post will cover:

Is the Learning Difficulty/Disability Pre-Screening Tool and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool designed for school personnel, and if so, how would you recommend it get used as part of pursuing a more formal evaluation?

The last two areas of visual processing are visual language classification and visual integration. Strengths in visual language classification help to create good comprehension. Visual integration pulls together the tactile/kinesthetic with the vision system. These are learned skills and can be improved even if you have dyslexia, LD, or ADHD.

Visual Language Classification: The ability to classify pictures and objects by category.

1. Teach difference and sameness using plastic bears, coins, chips. The student needs to sort them into groups, classifying them. Then have them describe why they are putting them in those different piles.

2. Classify food according to food groups and explain why you are placing them into the different category.

3. After using objects, use pictures from magazines, sorting them into categories.

4. Sort word lists into categories, again, explaining why you are putting them into those lists.

5. Classify words according to prefixes, suffixes, base or root word.

6. Sort the words from The Sentence Zone game according to colors. Can be done from 1st grade – 12th.

Visual Integration: The ability to integrate body image with spatial and temporal areas.

1. Play obstacle course games with students.
2. Provide experiences for students to experience in, on, down, up, below, beneath, behind, over, under.
3. Place an arrow on the student’s desk, reminding them which direction to start with.
4. Estimate the distance between objects.
5. Give students clues by using colors so they maintain proper placement in math problems. Use graph paper for math problems.
6. Fold a paper into 6 or 8 sections. Give them directions to fill in the sections (e.g. Put a red ‘x’ in the top left section. Put a green ‘o’ in the middle section of the bottom row.)

Definitions of the areas are excerpted from the Learning Difficulty/Disability Pre-Screening and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool.  It will be available soon. The book contains more information on the impact difficulties in these areas have in the classroom as well as how to determine if your student has difficulties in any of these areas.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

Please pass the article along to anyone you think might benefit from it. And, don’t forget to sign up for the FREE Homework & Teaching Tips if you haven’t already done so. Just fill your name and email in the upper right hand corner.

R. B. just asked, “Could you suggest some activities for improving visual processing in L.D or dyslexic children?”

There are 9 areas of Visual Processing that affect learning. So, what I’m going to do is to present a few activities for three of those areas in this post and then post additional activities in future posts.

Visual Motor: The ability to relate visual stimuli to motor responses in an appropriate way.

1. Swing arms in coordinated manner while walking, running, or jumping.
2. Hopping activities, play hop-scotch.
3. Jump rope, leap frog, skipping.
4. Play Simon Says
5. Balance beam activities.
6. Tight rope activities – use masking tape on the floor, pretend it is a tight rope and skip, hop, or jump on the line.
7. Coloring activities.
8. Tracing activities.
9. Copy words, sentences, or paragraphs from the chalkboard or desk.
10. Complete dot-to-dot pictures

Visual Figure Ground: The ability to visually attend to the designated stimulus and not be distracted by the background.

1. Have your student/s find hidden objects in pictures, including geometric shapes.
2. Block out areas of the page so students don’t have too much coming at them – limiting thee background material.
3. Provide books that have hidden pictures in them and look for the hidden pictures.
4. Have your students find specific items in an aquarium.

Visual Discrimination and Form Constancy: The ability to discern similarities and differences visually.

1. Do sorting activities (use nuts, bolts, buttons, seeds, shells, blocks, etc.). After sorting, have students verbally describe the differences and similarities between objects.

2. Use colored blocks, make a pattern with them, and have the student copy the pattern.

3. Sorting activities where students put different objects into respective containers.

4. Sort shapes or letters – magnetic ones or pictures of them.

5. Put a letter on the board or piece of paper and have students circle all of the letters that are the same from a page in a book, magazine, or newspaper.

6. Match letters or words on a page.

Definitions of the areas are excerpted from the Learning Difficulty/Disability Pre-Screening and Informal Comprehensive Identification Tool. It will be available soon. The book contains more information on the impact difficulties in these areas have in the classroom as well as how to determine if your student has difficulties in any of these areas.

A few years ago a parent called me. She was distraught. She didn’t know what to do. She had just gotten off the phone with her daughter’s school. She was informed again that her 9th grade daughter did not qualify for any help within the school system. She had been trying to get help for her daughter for years. Every time the school did an evaluation on her daughter the answer was the same. “She scores very high in the auditory areas so she doesn’t qualify for help.”

The only way her daughter managed was that she and her husband read everything to her after school so she could keep up with her schoolwork and homework. The problem was that they couldn’t follow her around at school all day long year after year reading everything to her.

This practice has been going on for years. When this occurs, all is not lost. As hard as it is, as a parent, what you need to do is to keep advocating. You can actually make a case for a discrepancy if you become a bit educated in what is actually going on.

There are 3 areas of perception. We learn by hearing, seeing, and doing. The areas of perception are auditory, visual, and tactile/kinesthetic. A student can qualify for help when there is a severe discrepancy between the auditory processing and visual processing levels.

There are nine different areas each of auditory processing, visual processing, and tactile/kinesthetic processing. If you go through an informal assessment that is created for parents or teachers, you will be able to tell which areas are strong and which are weak. With that knowledge you can ask the school to do formal testing geared to those areas to see if there is an actual discrepancy. And, if there is, your child will qualify for additional IEP help.

I hope this is helpful.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET