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Showing posts with the label learning disabilities

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...
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Slow Processing Speed - 5 Ways it Impacts Learning

Dear Friends: The next two weeks I will be writing about processing speed. This week I will focus on how processing speed can be evaluated, the causes of a slow processing speed, and the 5 ways that a slow processing speed can impact learning. Next week, I will be sharing 7 powerful strategies for student success as well as reasonable accommodations in the classroom. Have you ever noticed that it takes some students longer to make sense of questions, generate an answer, copy from the board, complete a project, or get everyday tasks done? While some learners can quickly absorb information and complete tasks, others require a greater amount of time. Processing speed, or the speed at which an individual makes sense of incoming information from the senses and then generates a response, is a cognitive task that impacts learning. How Can a Student Be Tested for Processing Speed Deficits? There are a number of psycho-educational subtests that measure processing speed such as Coding...
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Finding the Best College for Students with Learning Disabilities

Finding the best college is tricky for any student, but for those with learning disabilities (LDs) it can be an even bigger feat. In fact, the perfect school is out there for practically anyone, but finding it, takes some time and persistence. There are a number of options for students with LDs from colleges that cater primarily to this population to larger universities that offer specialized programs. With the proper testing in hand, all schools are mandated to provide reasonable accommodations, but not all institutions make it an easy task. What Are My Options? Pre-colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities: These programs help to prepare students for the rigors of college and make sure they have the study skills, basic math, reading and writing capabilities needed to be a successful student. This might be a summer program or an additional year - commonly called a 13th year. For example, Thames at Mitchell College is a unique transition program on a college campus. ...
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How Can I Improve my Executive Functioning?

What is Executive Functioning? Executive functioning, or what I like to call the conductor of the brain, is the process of the mind gathering together and making sense of all the information we receive from our instruments or senses. Helping us to create meaning from what we see, hear, touch, taste and experience, executive functioning also allows us to focus our attention, think about new information, and make connections to what we already know. Many teachers and parents have trouble understanding how simple tasks such as remembering appointments, using an agenda or turning in assignments can be difficult, but unfortunately these and other similar tasks can be extremely challenging for some individuals. However, the good news is the part of the brain that manages executive functioning, which is called the frontal lobe, continues to develop through high school and college. Therefore, many kids that struggle with executive functioning can significantly improve their abilities....
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List of Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications for Students with Learning Disabilities

Getting the best reasonable accommodations for struggling learners with disabilities can be a challenge.  The list of possible options is rarely made available to parents, so many remain unaware of the diverse options.  The first step is the understand the difference between reasonable accommodations and modifications.  Accommodations vs. Modifications? The United States clumps accommodations and modifications under the term reasonable accommodations, but other countries, such as Canada make a distinction between the two. An accommodation describes an alteration of the environment, curriculum format, or equipment that allows an individual with a disability to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks. Since accommodations do not alter what is being taught, instructors should be able to implement the same grading scale. Some examples of accommodations include: preferential seating, audiobooks, and speech to text technology. A modification describes...
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Cognitive Remedial Therapy for Student with Learning Disabilities: What is it?

The brain is much like the body. If we exercise areas that are weak or underdeveloped, we can overcome significant difficulties. In fact, we may even be able to turn a weakness into a strength. Just like a personal trainer or physical therapist can strengthen an underdeveloped bicep or repair a sprained ankle, a learning specialist or educational therapist can remediate troublesome cognitive processing areas like visual processing or auditory memory. In fact, I often tell my students that I'm a personal trainer for the brain. What is Cognitive Remedial Therapy? Cognitive remedial therapy involves activities that improve mental abilities such as attention, working memory, reasoning, visual and auditory processing, cognitive flexibility, processing speed, stamina, organizational skills, time management and more. In addition, educational therapists and learning specialists can use activities to strengthen other areas of weak cognition such as language, as well as visual an...
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26 Best Homework and Learning Sites

As a learning specialist and educational therapist, it is imperative to keep up with the best online sites for homework and learning. This blog offers a list of my favorite internet resources that can be used to assist all students - but particularly "out of the box learners" or those that have learning challenges. What's more, many of these sites offer multisensory options and tools that bring the fun factor into learning. I have sorted the sites under a number of headings to help you sift through the online resources. Instruction: reteaches academic content Assistive Technology: adaptive devices that make learning easier Test Preparation: sites that help students prepare for tests Tools for Learning: a tool that assists with learning Strategies: ideas that help learners encode information Resources: texts and videos that help with the learning process Resource Description   (IN = Instruction, AT = Assistive Tech, TP = Test Prep, TL = Tools...
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