As a parent, I have first hand experience of what can only be described as that re-occurring nightmare of trying to help my kids learn their spellings. My kids both found learning spellings challenging and my attempts to help them usually ended in frustration and tears (and I'm not just talking about the kids). They also did little to help their ...

Those of you who have read my posts before will already know that Will, my son, has dyslexic tendencies and ADHD.

Will often finds it challenging to read and understand text, hates comprehension questions and never chooses to read for pleasure.

As a self-confessed bookworm, it took me a long time to realize why the books that I piled ...

Our now grown children, both with learning differences, have recently embarked on what they both call "adulting" and living away from mum and dad. It has been, and continues to be, a steep learning curve for them and all I can say is thank goodness for video calling and text messages!

Without this technology, our kids could not ...

Will said:

"I would have done it but you didn't ask me."

Will has learning differences and finds it challenging to follow generalized instructions. e.g. tidy up.

The Impact:

Will often fails to do what he has been asked and gets reprimanded. He ...

This is part of a series of blog posts about the learning and organizational strategies that have helped Will succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found here

Will said:

"I ...

Visual prompts, e.g. First-Then boards, support communication, language development and the processing of information. They also encourage the development of independence, confidence and self-esteem.

What is a First-Then board?

A First-Then board is a visual prompt ...

Think about the visual reminders that you use every day to help you remember what you need to do. I know that I use several different types of visual reminders including a,

• calendar or diary
• reminders app on a phone
• sticky notes
• to do lists

Just like us, kids need schedules and reminders to help ...

This is part of a series of blog posts about how Will has developed learning and organizational strategies that have helped him succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found here

Will ...

This is part of a series of blog posts about how Will has developed learning and organizational strategies that have helped him succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found here

Will ...

Will finds copying text and diagrams from a whiteboard, book or print-out challenging. He never completes the copying task in the allocated time and his copied work is full of errors.

Hardly surprising as copying is a cognitively demanding task that involves switching between attentional processes.

Before Will can begin ...

This is the third in a series of blog posts that have helped Will develop learning and organizational strategies that have helped him succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found ...

In previous posts, we have talked about some of the effects of Will's poor working memory on his academic progress but it has impacted his social development too.

Poor working memory can delay the development of higher order pragmatic language skills, empathy and understanding.

Will's inefficiencies in switching attention ...

Will has always has been just Will! A cheeky grin, a great sense of humour and the gift of the gab. Will was an inquisitive toddler, intrigued with all things vehicular. His continual questions, "Why is...?," "What is…?”, whilst exasperating on long car journeys, had us congratulating ourselves as parents that Will was obviously eager ...

This is the second in a series of blog posts that have helped Will develop learning and organizational strategies that have helped him succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found ...

This is the first in a series of blog posts that have helped Will develop learning and organizational strategies that have helped him succeed both academically and socially. A short introduction to this series of posts can be found ...

Somewhere during the process of discovering that our son Will, has a poor working memory, dyslexic tendencies and ADHD, we actually sat down and asked Will what he thought that he struggled with, both in and out of school.

His responses were eye-opening, and to be honest shocking, how on earth had we managed to be parents who had totally ...