What is Dysgraphia?

An Introduction to Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia: (Greek) dys = impaired   +   graphia = writing by hand

Dysgraphia is a processing disorder which results in problems with writing. There are five types of dysgraphia: Dyslexic, Motor, Spatial, Phonological, and Lexical. "In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), dysgraphia is characterized as a learning disability in the category of written expression when one’s writing skills are below those expected given a person’s age measured through intelligence and age appropriate education." -Wikipedia 

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

• A mixture of upper case/lower case letters
• Irregular letter sizes and shapes
• Unfinished letters
• Struggle to use writing as a communications tool
• Odd writing grip
• Many spelling mistakes (Sometimes)
• Decreased or increased speed of writing and copying
• Talks to self while writing
• General illegibility
• Reluctance or refusal to complete writing tasks
• Crying and stress (which can be created by the frustration with the task of writing and/or spelling. This can also be brought on in dysgraphic students by common environmental sources such as high levels of environmental noise and/or over-illumination).
• Experiencing physical pain in the hand and/or arm when writing
• Poor use of lines and spaces   -Handwriting Solutions

If you suspect your child might have dysgraphia here is more information about the subject and some ideas to help various age groups with this learning disability. An official diagnosis can only be given by a neuropsychologist or a neurologist. Mind the Children does not diagnose learning disabilities.

Attention Skills: ADD and ADHD

Our six year old foster son nearly drove his kindergarten teacher to insanity. She had over 20 children to deal with and our little tornado arrived in her classroom about three months before the school year ended. She came to me literally shaking one day saying, "I guess I'm just going to have to hold his hand the entire day! He needs medication!!!"

No matter how calmly and how often we discussed his behavior with him he still threw several tantrums per day and was a ball of energy. After much pleading from the school we finally went to the pediatrician about his behavior. Before the doctor even handed me the assessment he said, "Yes, he probably will be diagnosed with ADHD and we can put him on medication to help."

I wasn't completely against medication but if another option was available I would have chosen it first. So, I asked the pediatrician if putting him in a smaller school setting would help. He said, "Absolutely!" Unfortunately, foster children aren't allowed to be homeschooled or that would have been ideal for us, but there was also an option of putting him in a very small private school. So, we planned to pay his tuition to attend the next year, especially if we had the chance to adopt him and his sisters. They ended up leaving that summer, though.

ADD or ADHD

The difference between Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the key word "hyperactivity". Children with ADD tend to be quieter and daydream a lot or have trouble concentrating. Children with ADHD get noticed easily like our little tornado in the story above! They are constantly moving and interrupting the classroom. Sitting still for any length of time is nearly impossible. The commonality of disorders is the consistency of this type behavior at home and school and it lasting for a period of six months or more.

Do you suspect ADD or ADHD in your child? Contact a mental health professional and learn as much as you can about these disorders before making major changes, such as medication. Here is a free ADHD test to give you an idea of the probability of this disorder in your child.

Mind the Children does not diagnose disorders of any kind.

How Playing an Instrument Affects Your Brain

Attention Skills: What are they and can they be learned?

Foster Children Listening to "Grandma" Read a Story

When our first three foster children (3, 4, and 6 years old) arrived at our house they possessed no attention skills. So, when we sat down with them at night to read them a bedtime story it was quite a task! They obviously had no previous experience of the joy of listening to a story being read by a parent.

However, one month after our little ones came to our home they looked forward to listening  to a story with anticipation. They also sat relatively still and paid close attention. The CPS worker couldn't believe the change in them! Attention skills can be learned and improved.

Primary Types of Attention

• Sustained Attention is the ability to concentrate on a task, object, or thought and the amount of time we are capable of focusing. 
• Selective Attention is the ability to concentrate on a task while being distracted.
• Divided Attention is the ability to attend to two or more things at once (multi-tasking).

Attention and Learning

Attention and learning are related brain processes, separate but dependent on each other  for successful functioning. 

“Learning” is the way the brain uses and remembers information like a factory taking in raw materials, storing parts and then manufacturing and shipping a finished product. 

“Attention” involves brain controls which regulate what information gets selected as important and gets acted on. 

The attention/behavior control system acts like the executives at the factory distributing the “brain energy” budget, setting priorities, deciding what to produce and monitoring quality control. Late shipments or poor quality products could be the result of any number of “glitches” in either system. Minor problems in one system can be compensated for but when both systems are affected failure looms. Sorting out the breakdown points is critical but can be complicated. -NCLD

FREE Online Geography Games!

I'm convinced that you can probably turn any subject to be learned into a game. Geography can be so much fun! Just having a map on your wall will lead to questions from your kids. In one of my classes in Indonesia I had an inflatable globe and we would spin it around while a child pointed to a random country. We would then pray for the people of that country, but you could go a step further and find library books, videos, and plenty of free information online to dive into learning about that country.

Shepherd Software has free online geography games! Check out the maps and learn the locations of countries, oceans, continents and more! They also have different levels of the games and summaries of various places.If you've got a child who is bored or struggling with geography she might really enjoy the visual and auditory stimulation these games provide!

Multi-sensory Approach for Struggling Spellers!

Sequential Spelling uses the Orton-Gillingham approach which was originally developed for dyslexic students, but has been found to benefit all struggling readers and spellers.

"Rather than teaching lists of thematic words, Sequential Spelling teaches spelling word families (e.g. consonant + eg family....Leg, Peg, Beg).  This enables the child to learn spelling inductively, the exact same way they learned to speak and to walk.  This form of instruction is especially effective for children who struggle with rules, have attention challenges or are dyslexic because the letters are learned in sound context rather than through rote memorization." -Sequential Spelling

It's best to start with Level 1, but if your child already has some spelling experience there is also a free placement test.

Does your teenager need some extra spelling help? Check out their lessons especially for teens or adults.

Read Cathy Duffy's thorough review of Sequential Spelling.

Timelines: Making History Make Sense

I distinctly remember sitting through history class while the teacher lectured in a monotone voice while we took notes. It was a real battle to stay awake. The one thing I remember about that class concerning United States History was a movie we watched about the Civil War. Since I didn't learn much at all I decided that I hated history.

Now, twenty years later, and having taught Bible History, I am starting to become intrigued with the subject. As a visual learner I love the idea of timelines. I can't imagine trying to teach history without one! Funny thing is, I don't remember ever seeing one hanging on a classroom wall through all my years of public school. Surely there were sections of timelines in our books, but I don't remember them at all!

The great thing is that there are several different types of timelines available to put on your own wall now. What an excellent resource to use after watching a documentary, reading a biography, or learning about an interesting event in history. Your child can go to the timeline and see where that event fits in history, and to see what else was going on in the world at the same time.

Learning Through History has colorful classic timelines and also some blank ones and stickers to use.

Add-A-Century Timeline can be used like a notebook where you can easily add pages and you can also stretch it out to hang it on the wall.

There are plenty of options with timelines, but one idea is to have a blank one where your child can draw, write, or glue pictures near the appropriate date of something he learned. I can't imagine a more effective way for the dates and events of history to make sense.

Auditory Processing: Do You Hear What I Hear? (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series I explained what auditory processing is and how you can help your child improve this necessary skill for learning.

Today, I want to go a step further and get into what an actual Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) looks like. 

What is an APD?

An APD, also called Central Auditory Processing Disorder, can manifest itself in a variety of ways. These can include difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, trouble with reading, spelling, and sound discrimination. A disorder is a recurrent problem that interferes with daily functioning. 

"The five main problem areas that can affect both home and school activities in kids with APD are:

1. Auditory Figure-Ground Problems: when a child can't pay attention if there's noise in the background. Noisy, low-structured classrooms could be very frustrating.
2. Auditory Memory Problems: when a child has difficulty remembering information such as directions, lists, or study materials. It can be immediate ("I can't remember it now") and/or delayed ("I can't remember it when I need it for later").
3. Auditory Discrimination Problems: when a child has difficulty hearing the difference between words or sounds that are similar (COAT/BOAT or CH/SH). This can affect following directions, and reading, spelling, and writing skills, among others.
4. Auditory Attention Problems: when a child can't stay focused on listening long enough to complete a task or requirement (such as listening to a lecture in school). Kids with CAPD often have trouble maintaining attention, although health, motivation, and attitude also can play a role.
5. Auditory Cohesion Problems: when higher-level listening tasks are difficult. Auditory cohesion skills — drawing inferences from conversations, understanding riddles, or comprehending verbal math problems — require heightened auditory processing and language levels. They develop best when all the other skills (levels 1 through 4 above) are intact." -Excerpt from KidsHealth.org

An actual APD can only be diagnosed by an audiologist no matter how many symptoms a child has. Find a professional in your area.

"To diagnose APD, the audiologist will administer a series of tests in a sound-treated room. These tests require listeners to attend to a variety of signals and to respond to them via repetition, pushing a button, or in some other way. Other tests that measure the auditory system's physiologic responses to sound may also be administered. Most of the tests of APD require that a child be at least 7 or 8 years of age because the variability in brain function is so marked in younger children that test interpretation may not be possible." -ASHA

Treatment

It is important to remember that treatment is very individualized and no one treatment can work for every child. Here are some examples of the types of treatment available:

Auditory Integration Training 

Electronic Auditory Stimulation Effect 

LiPS Program 

Forbrain Headphones (to retrain the way you process information)

Auditory Processing: Do You Hear What I Hear? (Part 1)

What is it?

Auditory processing is recognizing, interpreting, remembering, and manipulating sounds. These are important skills needed for reading and often referred to as phonological processing, phonemic awareness, and phonics. Perhaps you've heard a child say:

“I can’t tell what word rhymes with toy.” 

“I don’t know the first sound in the word dog." 

“I can’t tell you what sound the letter /m/ makes.”

These are indications of difficulty with auditory processing. There are ways to help your child improve these skills, even with simple games at home. These are great things to do with your preschooler, too!

How can I help my child?

An important thing to remember when trying to improve your child's auditory processing skills is to keep the sessions fun and brief. Take a break even if you feel like you just started, especially if your child is feeling frustrated.

Simple games such as this song that teaches sound isolation to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" make a great starting place.

"What's the sound that starts these words: turtle, time, and teeth?
(Wait for a response from the child - /t/.) /t/ is the sound that starts these words: turtle, time, and teeth.
With a /t/, /t/, here and a /t/, /t/, there, Here a /t/, there a /t/, everywhere a /t/, /t/. /t/ is the sound that starts these words: turtle, time, and teeth..."

Here are some free colored rhyming cards to download. More activities to do at home can be found on this Pinterest board, dedicated to Phonemic Awareness.

Here's a free app for the iphone with 566 images used for phoneme awareness. More apps (to purchase), such as Auditory Memory Ride, can be found at the Virtual Speech Center.

If you've got $445 to spend check out this LiPS Kit to get some serious practice for auditory processing skills!

Also, be sure to check with your child’s teacher to make sure the school’s reading program or your homeschool curriculum teaches phonological, phonemic awareness and phonics skills.

Does your child seem to have a major difficulty in this area? Learn how to get a diagnosis and help for an auditory processing disorder in Part 2 of this series.

Thanks to Reading Rockets, The Access Center, and LD Online for information on auditory processing used in this post.

Reading Approach Designed for Dyslexia!

All About Reading is a program created from the determination of Marie Rippel to help her 9 year old dyslexic son learn to read. It contains the key components to reading:

• phonological awareness

• phonics/decoding

• fluency

• vocabulary

• comprehension

Using a multisensory approach this program capitalizes on the child's strongest learning style while using the other senses also. It is also mastery-based to be sure the child thoroughly learns each important component. Learn more about All About Reading here.

Read Cathy Duffy's review on All About Reading. It's one of her 101 top picks!

Learning Styles: Help or Hindrance?

You have probably noticed that people learn better in different ways. These ways are often called learning styles. There are various ways of categorizing them but one way is this:

Visual:  Learning by sight. Flashcards and pictures can be very helpful to the visual learner.

Auditory: Learning through sound. This child might enjoy listening to music while she studies. She also might need to read the instructions aloud.

Tactile: Learning through touching. A tactile learner might be a child who can’t keep her hands off of things. She will need something to fidget with when learning a new concept.

Kinesthetic: Learning through doing. A kinesthetic learner needs to be moving or doing something while he learns—bouncing a basketball while answering his math facts, for instance.

While your child might fit into a couple of different categories he probably has a primary learning style. Since it's impossible for teachers to adapt every lesson to each learning style children must  learn to adapt to learning in different ways. However, whether you are her teacher at home or helping with her homework you can ignite her learning in the more difficult subjects using her primary learning style. After developing interest and confidence in the subject you can then work on strengthening the weaker areas by incorporating other learning modalities into the lesson.

Mind the Children strives to provide creative resources for making learning easier for children with various learning disabilities and styles.

Here are some books for further reading on the subject:

The Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias
Unlocking Your Child’s Learning Potential by Cheri Fuller
Discover Your Child’s Learning Style by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Hodson
Taking the Mystery Out of Learning Styles by Carolyn Morrison and Jennifer Morrison Leonard
The Big What Now Book of Learning Styles: A Fresh and Demystifying Approach by Carol Barnier

Why Some Kids Can't Sit Still

According to The Centers for Disease Control  there has been a jump in the percentage of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in recent years. While I am sure there are many factors that go into the reason for this increase, Angela Hanscom argues that it is mostly due to a lack of opportunity for movement. Children are required to sit for long periods of time in the average American classroom.

We know that exercise helps the brain gear up for learning. Finland has had this figured out since the 1960's giving their school children a 15 minute break every 45 minutes. This means the teachers also get a break while the children engage in free play. No doubt teachers need a break as much as the kids!

"Pellegrini and his colleagues ran a series of experiments at a public elementary school to explore the relationship between recess timing and attentiveness in the classroom. In every one of the experiments, students were more attentive after a break than before a break. They also found that the children were less attentive when the timing of the break was delayed—or in other words, when the lesson dragged on."

If the average child (whatever that is, since they are each wonderfully unique) benefits from a break every hour, how much more would ADHD students? If you don't have the privilege of homeschooling your child, at least be aware and give him plenty of free play time when he is at home and even frequent breaks during homework. You might be surprised at how much better he is able to focus!

Creative Writing Made Easy and Fun!

My favorite go-to when one of our foster children needed extra motivation in a certain subject was,

"Do you want to play a game?"

I don't know about your kids but our kids could not resist playing a game with Mom or Dad!

Create! Press has a great game for encouraging creative writing for grades three and up. According to their website, Create-A-Story is designed to help students:

• Structure a story
• Develop characters and plots
• Use dialogue
• Set up conflict and resolution
• Write with confidence and imagination
• Experience the joy of writing

Want more reasons for choosing this exciting game? See Cathy Duffy's Review! It's one of her Top Picks, too!

&

Learning® Teachers' Choice Awards Finalist

Does Your Child Have the Guts to Play with This?

Okay, so the title sounds a little creepy, but I challenge you to spark your child's interest of the human body with this tactile learning tool!

What child can resist squishy intestines to play with? If your child can stomach playing with this I would recommend it as a great supplement for life science!

It comes with these components:

• A book that takes you on the journey of your life 
• 12” plastic human body model and stand 
• 12 plastic bones and muscles 
• 9 removable squishy vital organs 
• Body parts Organ-izer 
• Tweezers 
• Forceps

Move Your Body, Improve Your Memory!

Most younger children probably get plenty of exercise just through natural play, but increasing screen time these days can put them at risk of excessive screen time and much less time moving their bodies.

What does this do to their brain? While some games are designed to improve brain function the lack of exercise can be detrimental, not only to children but adults also.

It's been proven that even a little exercise goes a long way. According to a new study, exercising for as little as 20 minutes can boost your long-term memory by around 10 percent. Exercise releases the stress hormone, norepinephrine. 

Movement is imperative for kinesthetic learners, but is helpful to everyone's brain function because it leads to improved blood circulation which leads to sharper thinking. According to another study about exercise and learning new skills, "It may be that physical, aerobic exercise performed right after a memory has been formed intensifies the imprinting, Dr. Roig says. It makes the memory stronger."

With so many positives to your mind and body it certainly seems worth it to put forth an effort to get moving at least a few times a week! Most likely when you start exercising not only will it give you a sharper mind and more energy to parent, but your child will eventually be eager to join you in the fun!

Foster Care Timeline

*This used to be a page but I'm posting it here instead since foster parenting is no longer the focus of this website.

Foster Kids We've Had in Our Home
             we are not allowed to use their real names or show face photos

Sibling Group 3: (November 5, 2012-July 3, 2013)
Valor: 7 yr old boy
Levi: 1 yr old boy

Sibling Group 2: (February 29 - June 29, 2012)
Uno: 6 yr old boy
Dos: 4 yr old girl
Tres: 3 yr old girl

Sibling Group 1 (respite*): We didn't have room for all of these children so we took the oldest two. Another time we had only the youngest three.

Boy9, Girl5 (Jan. 25-30, 2012)

Boy3, Girl2, Boy1-took his first steps at our house!  (February 11, 18-20 2012)

*Respite care is simply baby-sitting for another foster parent so they can have a break.

Licensing Process Timeline
where we are on the journey to getting licensed to be foster parents

• 2/24/12 OFFICIALLY LICENSED!!!
• 2/15/12 Fire Inspection
• 2/13/12 Home Health Inspection
• 2/6/12 Home Study-interview us & check out our home
• Moved and House in order
• Fingerprinting
• Drivers License Changed to new address
• TB testing
• Interactive Training Hours 
• 1/16/12   CPR and First Aid Class
• 12/10/11 PAPH, Meds, and TraumaTraining
• 12/03/11 PRIDE Classes
• 10/15/11 Orientation & Review
• 10/11/11 First Paperwork Requirements

Frequently Asked Questions
Why We Want to be Foster Parents

Read all the posts about our foster parenting journey here.


I want to share with you a great podcast I have found about foster parenting (and adoption). I don't know Tim and Wendy personally but have enjoyed listening to them talk about foster parenting.  

Notice of Changes to this Website

MindtheChildren.com will be undergoing some major changes over the next several months, so if you see some inconsistencies, don't be alarmed. One of the major changes will be moving from Blogger to WordPress, but this shouldn't affect much for readers. I'm looking forward to what the future holds and I thank you for your patience. I think the change will be worth the wait, so sit back and enjoy the ride! :-)

Kerry

An Unexpected Peace

Sometimes I wonder why I write or keep a blog. I guess it's because I have learned so much from other people's blogs over the years and I have a shred of hope that what I say can help someone else. Anyway...

As most of you know Josh and me have spent most of our nearly 13 years of marriage hoping and praying for children, with family, friends, and strangers cheering us on. We had all the fertility testing done years ago and they found nothing hindering conception. We have been firm believers that God opens and closes the womb, so we left it in His hands. 

After nearly 11 years of marriage we decided we would open our home to foster children. Then, we were ready to adopt two boys which didn't work out, so we decided we might adopt some older children. I was satisfied with that but the mother in me wanted a baby, too. Josh wasn't interested in spending that many years being a parent but really had a heart for older children who we would only have a few years with.

Recently, after grieving what seemed like another loss involving children, I have come to accept the fact that we will probably never be parents. Yes, I realize it is possible for me (nearly 36) to still get pregnant or for us to choose to adopt, but spending my days hoping feels pointless and even detrimental to my well being. I think the next time someone says I will probably get pregnant I might tell them that someone could also send them a check for a million dollars. Sure, there's a chance, but you might not want to start living that kind of lifestyle until it arrives. Make sense?

Bottom line: I am at peace and grateful that we do not have children. Josh and I have a unique opportunity in life, and we intend to use it for God's glory. 

I still strongly believe that I am destined to work with children in some capacity since I have such a passion for teaching and helping children keep their love for learning. But I have seen myself as a parent and, for several reasons, I am not happy with the parent I was. I seem to be much better when I have a lot of quiet time alone to prepare myself to be in the presence of energetic, needy children. That's when I am able to pour my entire being into loving, caring, and motivating children for an hour or so. Nothing brings me more happiness than to see a child feel important, loved, and confident.

Josh and I have hopes and dreams for the future. Some of which will take a lot of time, manpower, and money, but we are working toward these goals and trying to walk with God along the way. We are excited about the present and the future. We are more in love than ever, if that's possible, and God seems to be opening new doors in our church and in our real estate business.