Smart Kids With LD

As parents, we’ve become acutely aware of the downside of social media. Even if we’re not technologically savvy, we see the horror stories of cyberbullying, sexting, and pedophiles preying on innocent adolescents. In fact, much of the early research into social media has focused on the scary aspects that have made us all a lot smarter, and presumably better equipped to manage our children’s online behaviors.

However, don’t be too quick to throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Writing in The New York Times, Dr. Perri Klass recently reminded us that social media is neither negative nor positive—it’s how it’s used that matters. In Seeing Social Media More as A Portal Than as A Pitfall, Klass suggests that social media and the Internet are simply different environments in which children today are coming of age:

Our children are using social media to accomplish the eternal goals of adolescent development, which include socializing with peers, investigating the world, trying on identities and establishing independence.

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media issued a clinical report, “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents and Families.” It began by emphasizing the benefits of social media for children and adolescents, including enhanced communication skills and opportunities for social connections.

“A large part of this generation’s social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cellphones,” the report noted.

Our job as parents is to help them manage all this wisely, to understand—and avoid—some of the special dangers and consequences of making mistakes in these media. (We can expect the same kind of gratitude that we get for all of our guidance: mixed, of course, with an extra helping of contempt if our technical skills are not up to theirs.)

“Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all harm model, one of the questions parents need to ask is, ‘How is this going to interact with my child’s personality?’ ” said Clay Shirky, who teaches about social media at New York University. “Digital media is an amplifier. It tends to make extroverts more extroverted and introverts more introverted.”

And both parents and researchers need to be sure they understand the subtleties of the ways teenagers interpret social media.

At a 2011 symposium on the Internet and society, two researchers presented information on how teenagers understand negative talk on the Internet. What adults interpret as bullying is often read by teenagers as “drama,” a related but distinct phenomenon.

By understanding how teenagers think about harsh rhetoric, the researchers suggested, we may find ways to help them defend themselves against the real dangers of online aggression.

The problems of cyberbullying and Internet overuse are serious, and the risks of making mistakes online are very real. But even those who treat adolescents with these problems are now committed to the idea that there are other important perspectives for researchers—or parents, or teachers—looking at the brave new universe in which adolescence is taking place.

Social media, said Dr. Rich, “are the new landscape, the new environment in which kids are sorting through the process of becoming autonomous adults—the same things that have been going on since the earth cooled.”

Safety Zone

For children with LD and ADHD, who may have challenges when it comes to making and keeping friends, social media may be a way of connecting with others, exploring concerns in a safe and anonymous zone, and practicing friend-making skills.

Join the Conversation

Let us know ways in which social media has benefited your child with LD or ADHD. Share your thoughts below

It’s not too late to nominate an outstanding student with learning disabilities or ADHD for the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. The $1,000 award recognizes the strengths and accomplishments of young people with LD and ADHD.

Previous winners of this award have proven their excellence in community service, art, music, science, and athletics. Any student 19 or younger with documented LD or ADHD who has demonstrated initiative, talent, and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field is eligible. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.

All applications must be postmarked by February 28, 2012. The winner will be presented with the award at Smart Kids’ annual benefit on Friday, June 8, 2012 in Norwalk, CT. Transportation and hotel accommodations will be provided for the winning student and his or her parents.

Download the Smart Kids Youth Achievement Award application at www.SmartKidswithLD.org and nominate your smart kid today!

January is a time of renewal—the perfect time to establish, or reestablish, the reading habit. If your child has learning disabilities and struggles with the written word, don’t assume he doesn’t like books. In fact, a good story can compel a reluctant reader to stick with reading even when the going gets tough.

With that in mind, we encourage you to set aside a time for reading with your child each day. And by reading we mean anything your child enjoys that involves the written word: comic books, magazines, electronic books, audio books, and of course traditional books.

Whether you read to her, she reads to you, or you read silently side by side, the act of consistently interacting with words and stories will help develop important literacy skills, provide valuable learning opportunities, and encourage an appreciation for reading that may last a lifetime.

Where to Begin

For some titles that are likely to spur your child’s love of literature, check out the lists of books for all ages, suggested by our experts:

• Reading for Pleasure: Recommended Books for Elementary School
• Books to Ignite Interest In Your Middle School Kids
• Books to Expand the Horizon of High School Kids

Many students are returning to school from the holiday break with new technology in their backpacks. For those with learning disabilities, technology is an important tool in leveling the playing field, providing struggling students with the ability to access educational material that may otherwise prove challenging to understand.

As Assistive Technology (AT) continues to evolve, the task of evaluating what makes sense for your child becomes more complex. Thankfully there are professionals that can help.

It all begins with an AT evaluation, which should be conducted by a professional or team of professionals, often including an independent evaluator, who are knowledgeable about the specific needs of the child.

The evaluator should have experience and training in AT devices, services, and implementation, and be able to integrate the technologies into the curriculum through the IEP or 504 plan.

A thorough evaluation may include the following components:

• Review of evaluation results and IEP goals and objectives
• Discussion with parents and those who work with the child
• Interaction between the child and the technology
• Trial in a variety of settings in which the device is likely to be used
• Consideration of the child’s and the family’s feelings about the devices
• Observation of the child using a full range of devices, moving along the continuum from no technology to low-tech to high-tech
• Analysis from trials regarding the child’s ability and accuracy when using various technologies, including positioning and settings that work best

Reviewed by Mark J. Griffin, Ph.D.

Peg Tyre’s new book, The Good School: How Parents Get Their Kids the Education They Deserve is a must read for all parents who want the best possible education for their children. The book is especially helpful to parents of children with learning disabilities and ADHD as it’s filled with information and advice on how to navigate the school system to ensure that children with special needs receive the services necessary to maximize their education.

Tyre takes a no-nonsense, practical approach to showing parents how to assess the effectiveness of their child’s school and to bring about change, when necessary. Her roadmap includes asking the right questions, getting actively involved, and fostering respectful relationships with school personnel—elements important for influencing change.

Her advice reflects a harsh reality of education today as parents find themselves in the unenviable position of knowing little about education, yet being pressed to make critical decisions and judgments about their children’s schooling.

The Good School helps parents to “look under the hood” and get up to speed on the most important issues that are likely to impact their child’s educational experience.

Tyre escorts the reader through the mainstays of education—reading and math—confirming that we do indeed know how to teach these subjects effectively, yet often do not. She shows that good evidence-based practice in all content disciplines exists, is readily available, yet does not get used in the classroom as often as it should.

Step-By-Step Guidance

Perhaps most important, Tyre does not simply describe the issues, shortcomings, and frustrations that abound in education today. She rolls up her sleeves and shows readers what they can do to choose schools wisely, and help to improve them by becoming a well-informed partner in the educational process.

Throughout the book, Tyre makes a strong case for balance—balancing the way we assess students’ progress, and creating balance in the curriculum. She argues that recess is as important as other subjects in the development of the whole child. And in this era of high-stakes testing, she warns against teaching to the test, suggesting that doing so is robbing us of opportunities to really educate children.

At the end of each chapter Tyre provides succinct, critical “Take Aways” which will help parents grasp the critical features of the content. Readers will find themselves referring to these themes as they embrace their important role as active participants in their child’s school and education.

The Key Ingredient

When all is said and done, Tyre points a knowing finger at the most critical component of a child’s successful educational experience. After plying the reader with statistics, content area exploration, the testing phenomenon, class size, politics, funding, school culture, and a myriad of other defining features of our education system, she focuses squarely on the most important mediating variable – the effective teacher.

Good teachers it seems matter more than almost anything else in a child’s education. Tyre suggests that the best schools have created a school-wide process to develop and retain excellent teachers. They provide deliberate, focused mentoring programs and multilevel teacher evaluations that include evaluation of test scores, class observation, and parent and student surveys. All those variables are used to inform and improve teacher and school practices.

Tyre leaves us with food for thought as she describes what the “perfect school” might look like and then nudges us back to reality by telling the reader there really is no such thing. She does suggest, however, that parents in a true partnership with schools may be able to come pretty close.

Mark J. Griffin, Ph.D. is an educational consultant and founding headmaster of Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, CT for children with learning disabilities. He is on the board of directors for the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and is a member of Smart Kids’ Professional Advisory Board.