Get Ready, Get Set for the School Year
Rick Lavoie is back with another LD OnLine exclusive!
Does this sound familiar? "I know the bus is here… but I can't find my backpack and I think that I left my coat at Taylor's house."
Rick Lavoie has written a new article about how to deal with the one challenge that seems to touch most kids with learning disabilities: organization. Children with LD have difficulty keeping track of their time, their things, and their actions — which makes it even more difficult for them to be successful in school.
As the summer is waning and the school year is looming, now's the time to start helping your kids develop good organizational skills, and Rick Lavoie's latest article Organizational Problems and the Beginning of the School Year can help! Here are some tips from the article:
- Help your child get her bedroom ready for studying. For most children, it usually serves as their "office." Open shelving and color coding will help them know where to put their belongings, as they often cannot remember what is unseen in the drawers or closets.
- Put a monthly calendar up in your child's room. Discuss upcoming events at school or home with him and put them on the calendar.
- Post checklists that outline steps that she needs to follow at bedtime, in the morning, and on the weekends.
Learn how to get electronic books — e-text
Do your students or children have trouble reading their textbooks? Or can they read them but not understand the meaning? If so, they are not alone. Many people with disabilities struggle with reading. To help them, the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) provides a central clearinghouse where schools can obtain instructional materials in e-text.
E-text is the print from a textbook transformed into digital information that computers can read aloud, turn into large print, highlight, color, or transform into almost any format. Obtaining this material can be time-consuming for teachers and parents. To assist you, LD OnLine has partnered with the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to provide a guide to finding e-text for educators and a guide to finding e-text for parents.
read more >>
Get the news about learning disabilities each day!
You can stay current on the latest news on learning disabilities, special education, or ADHD by signing up for our free LD NewsLine service. These daily headlines often include inspirational stories. This service is newly available by RSS feed, enabling you to get the headlines right on your home page, personal digital assistant, or other RSS reader. Of course you can still subscribe and get an e-mail sent to your inbox.
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You ask. We answer.
LD OnLine regularly features a trio of renowned experts who answer some of your challenging questions about learning disabilities:
- Larry Silver, M.D., a well-known author and psychologist, answers questions about organizational problems, prescription medication, and evaluation of learning disabilities and ADHD.
read more >> - Matt Cohen, Esq., special education attorney, tells you about websites on disability law, removing low scores from your child's permanent record, obtaining accommodations that the school does not want to provide, and more.
read more >> - Tracy Gray, Ph.D., our tech expert offers information on computer games to improve math skills and helping a college student with learning disabilities access computers.
read more >>
New at the Learningstore!Teaching the Learning Disabled 
The landmark TLD Video Program, a series of eight videos, includes topics dealing with motivation, organization, reading concepts, math strategies, multisensory learning techniques, and science. The series was produced with outstanding master teachers in special education to help professionals working with kindergarten through adults teach LD students across the curriculum. |
Featured articles
For All of Our Readers
- Dyslexia Basics
This fact sheet from the International Dyslexia Association tells you the causes, symptoms, prevalence, and effects of dyslexia. How is it diagnosed? And how do you treat it?
read more >>
For Parents
- Dyslexia: Beyond the Myth
Learn detailed information on the symptoms of dyslexia, related disorders such as ADHD and dysgraphia, instructional strategies, and evaluations.
read more >>
For Teachers
- Dyslexia: What Brain Research Reveals About Reading
While watching pictures of the brain at work through functional brain imaging, scientists have found out that the brain really does work differently for people with dyslexia. Find out the facts by reading this article.
read more >>Reading and the Brain is a 30-minute video about brain research on dyslexia and other disabilities. It shows how rigorous, research based reading instruction can help children read and actually change the brain. Visit our sister site, ReadingRockets.org, to view it.
watch now >>
For People with Learning Disabilities
- Dyslexia and Driving an Automobile Read about Tom, a man with learning disabilities who overcame his difficulties driving a car.
read more >>
In the news
- Brain Chemical has Key Role in ADHD, Studies Show
- Is My Child Normal?
- A Different Way of Seeing: Artist Focuses on Learning Difficulties
View more headlines in LD News >>
New in our Yellow Pages
Professionals
- Bass Educational Services, LLC
- Crystal Solution, LLC
- Educational Success Advisors
- El Paseo Children's Center for Psychological and Education Assessment
- Forest Alliance Coaching
- Mental Mastery, P.A.
- Park Ridge Psychological Services
Schools
Resources for Professionals
Advertise in the LD Online Yellow Pages
Reach more than 200,000 parents and professionals each month. Since 1996, LD OnLine has been the number one source of trusted information for parents and professionals.
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All the best from LD OnLine!
- Noel Gunther, Executive Director
- Kelly Deckert, Web Producer
- Sun Kim, Web Coordinator
- Karen Lange, Revenue Manager
- Christian Lindstrom, Senior Producer
- Alan Lundy-Ponce, Director
- Joanne Meier, Ph.D., Research Consultant
Newsletter Editor: Dale S. Brown
