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100 Powerful Learning Specialist and Educational Therapy Materials

This week I wanted to tell you about my online store, Good Sensory Learning. I’m Dr. Erica Warren, and I established this site so I could share all the materials that I have created over the last 20+ years as a learning specialist and educational therapist. When I first began my private practice, Learning to Learn, I had great difficulty finding fun and multisensory materials for my students that were effective and engaging. So back in 2005, I made it my mission to design and distribute high-end, remedial products as well as memorable, motivating lessons that bring delight to learning. If you would like to try a free sampling of my activities , CLICK HERE . How Are the Products Organized at Good Sensory Learning? You can download my Free Printable Catalog or you can browse the site using the grey “search all products” bar in the top right of any page with keywords such as dyslexia, working memory, and executive functioning. What’s more, drop down menus in the red banner allow you t...

How to Assess a Student's Reading Needs

Over the years, when I have worked with struggling readers, I have found that they all come with knowledge as well as knowledge gaps.  In fact, each student presents their own unique patchwork of knowns and unknowns.  I believe that it is my job to quickly evaluate, uncover, and fill the pits an pockets so I can forge a strong foundation and play catchup to a forward bounding curriculum. Why Should I Assess the Reading Needs of a Struggling Reader? I have found that no two students have the same strengths and weaknesses.  Likewise, struggling readers, even those that come with diagnoses such as dyslexia, all come with a different knowledge base and areas that require instruction and remediation.  Unfortunately, many reading programs make all participants go through a lengthy process from square one and progress can be slow and time-consuming.  In contrast, evaluating foundational reading skills at the beginning of any program can uncover acco...

How to Address Spelling Needs and Nurture Student Success

This week I am thrilled to share a case study of a fabulous teacher named Kim, from Cape Town in South Africa. Kim teaches a 3rd-grade class at a special needs school. The children range from 10-12 years old and most are bussed in daily from very disadvantaged areas all over the peninsula. Kim reported, "I was so thrilled to have stumbled across your website when I was drowning in a sea of unrecognizable words and paragraphs which were proudly presented to me by 8 out of my16 pupils." Kim knew they were capable, "as most of them could do math with the greatest of ease. So what was this?" How Could Kim Meet the Diverse Needs of Her Students? Kim signed up for my course: Spelling Instruction: Assessment and Focused Remedial Approach .  She shared, "After studying your course, I realized that my student's brains were wired differently as far as language processing." Kim learned that her struggling students had different cognitive based weakness...

What are the 5 Important Steps to Navigating Dyslexia?

Navigating and then overcoming the challenges that many individuals with dyslexia experience is a process that requires both time and patience. What's more, a vital approach that tames the turbulence is revealing and addressing inherent weaknesses while embracing the many gifts that come with this diagnosis. What are the Five Steps to Navigating Dyslexia?                       You can also see the  free dyslexia screener at Goodsensorylearning.com Thorough Screening and Assessment:  The first step is to complete a  free dyslexia screener , and, if needed, pursue a comprehensive psycho-educational assessment.  This will help to uncover the specific areas of difficulty that need to be addressed and it will also define each student's "genius" qualities that can be fully realized and utilized. In-Depth Understanding:  The second step is to have a comprehensive understanding of the unique strengths and...

Free Dyslexia Screener - Should Testing Be Pursued?

From dyslexic jokes to the many documented strengths recently touted in research and the media, having the learning disability, dyslexia has become a “cool” badge that many now proudly display. Because of this recent change of heart, people are continually disclosing to me that they are a self-diagnosed dyslexic that slipped through the system. Additionally, parents are now openly embracing this label, and with a formal diagnosis in hand, students can receive “reasonable accommodations” that can help them to actualize their true potential. If you've wondered if you or your child may have dyslexia, you may also wonder what you should do first. The Steps to Determine a Diagnosis of Dyslexia and Acquiring Accommodations The first step: Use my dyslexia screener . This quick, free, 20-question evaluation can be administered and scored by a parent/guardian, teacher, or taken by the individual who may have dyslexia. This will help to determine whether there is enough symptomology t...