Looking for Help in All the Right Places

September 6th, 2010 | By: Fred Nystrom

Could your child be reading sooner, or with more ease?

At some point in the sweep of being a watchful parent comes a moment when you begin to wonder if one of your children is struggling more than normal with schoolwork. Could your child be reading sooner, or with more ease? Is it math that confounds him? Is she getting decent grades when she could be doing more?

These are all normal questions. Some concerns ease either as a child matures or seems to “get it” at some point. But for those parents whose questions remain unanswered or who see learning delays become more pronounced, there comes a time when action is called for. That is when an even bigger question is raised: What are the right steps to take?

Step one: get valid information

In January 2009 issue of this magazine I wrote about the experience we had with our daughter. I suggest that you go to the web site at isandbeyond.com and read the article “Rewire Your Child’s Brain for Lifelong Learning”. The article will provide in-depth information on current brain studies and learning theories.

What we discovered is that gaining specific knowledge of your child’s cognitive skills is the critical first step to getting the right help. In that article we suggested using an online test to access the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of your child. In lay terms, a cognitive skill is a brain skill individuals are born with. But it does not have to remain a static gift.

Since that article was published, a new business has opened in Issaquah that specializes in accessing the cognitive skills of students and adults. LearningRx, located on the eastern end of Gilman Boulevard, specializes in “brain training.” As center director Cornell Atwater explains, “Each of our students is given a battery of tests which assess up to 14 different areas of cognitive processing. The measures used to assess these different abilities include the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, the third edition, and the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement, third edition. These are nationally standardized norm-referenced tests which are often used by educators and psychologists to measure cognitive skills and academic abilities.”

Atwater says, “I often give parents a very insightful quote from Dr. Sally Shaywitz, M.D, the co-director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention. Shaywitz says, ‘Because I have witnessed so many parents lose precious time by wanting to “wait a little longer” or to “give it time,” I want to remind you that no amount of denial or rationalizing will change the situation; it only puts your child further behind and damages his self-esteem. A child needs help before he fails.”

Once you have a scientifically valid assessment of your child’s underlying mental skills required to learn, you are in a position to make valid decisions on how to best help that child.

If the assessment shows cognitive skills deficiencies, LearningRx has several programs available to retrain the student’s brain and improve his or her ability to function and to learn. After a 10-year public study, the National Institutes of Health concluded that the cause of 88 percent of specific learning-to-read difficulties resulted from a single weak cognitive skill known as phonemic awareness, which is an inability to blend, segment, and analyze sounds.

This cognitive assessment is the critical first step to take in helping any struggling child. The test will show what skills need to be developed, and once they are, the child will learn more easily and progress more quickly. If your child has no significant cognitive deficits, you can go directly to step two or seek professional help in finding the reasons he or she is not functioning well in school.

Step two: catch up with grade-level academics

Make no mistake, brain training will make it easier for your child to learn, but it will not teach your child math, reading, or science, or help your child catch up in school with academic content. This is where academic tutoring is so important.

Locally we are blessed to have a variety of professional tutoring programs, from nationally acclaimed brands, such as Huntington and Tutoring Club, to independent companies, such as The Learning Curve, all available to work closely with children to bring them quickly up to grade level and keep them there.

Having been through the process as a parent, I believe the best way to help your child is to (1) have your child’s cognitive skills assessed; (2) if your child needs cognitive skills or brain training, start there and get it done; and (3) find a good academic tutor to help your child catch up on missed academic concepts. All of these steps have a cost attached, so spend your money wisely and take these steps in order.