Brain Training
3 Things You Can Learn From Your Child’s Handwriting
While analyzing your child’s handwriting is by no means a scientific procedure for determining a learning disorder, there are clues that may help parents recognize a need for professional evaluation. Here are a few things to check for. 1. Messy handwriting: Don’t assume your child is just being lazy. For younger kids, an inability to [...]
Top 10 Brain-Building Summer Vacation Toys for Under $10
Stevanne “Dr. Toy” Auerbach, Ph.D. recently released her choices for Best Vacation Products 2010. This is one of many annual reports released by the noted child development authority and Director of the Institute for Childhood Resources. According to Dr. Toy, summertime provides the perfect opportunity for kids to continue informal learning and stretch their minds. [...]
Four tips for improving standardized test scores
Four tips for improving standardized test scores Just because your child is smart doesn’t mean they’re going to ace the state assessment tests or SATs. There are lots of factors that contribute to test performance results. Here are four of the most important with tips on how to help. Poor nutrition To keep cognitive function [...]
It’s easy to skim over the articles on ADD and dyslexia when your child or teen is excelling in school. After all, programs to help ‘train the brain’ are to help kids with learning disabilities, right? Not always.
New studies have found that the brain’s plasticity (the ability to change) is greater than originally thought. In fact, scientists now believe that, contrary to what was previously believed, even IQ can change.
Overcoming shyness: Helping your child excel in school and life
While some scientists may argue that shyness is often due to genetic predisposition, many psychologists will point to strong experiential factors. The latter of the two can often be explained by past experiences of rejection or fears of future failure. But as sad as social confidence may appear, there is good news. For children and teens who suffer from shyness, there are three major steps that parents can take to help.
Beyond Ritalin: An alternative therapy to helping kids with ADHD
If your child has been labeled “ADHD,” you may already feel the pressure to pump him full of Ritalin. But while it’s estimated that 6 million children will take Ritalin or other brands of stimulant medications, that doesn’t mean that a prescription is right for your child.
Many parents are surprised to learn that their child’s IQ score can actually be increased. After all, we were raised to believe that IQ was stagnant – that is, you are born with the IQ you’ll have throughout life. But in the 1990s, brain researchers discovered that the brain is actually capable of changing and regrowing the connections between brain cells.
Two parts to smart: Is your teen college-ready?
Here’s some unsettling information: Just because your teen can remember math formulas or the timeline of World War II doesn’t mean they’re ready for college. In fact, brain experts will tell you that there are actually two parts to smart – knowledge and IQ – and you need both of them to get into the top colleges and universities.
Arts & Smarts; The Correlation between the Arts and grades
When Lew Davis founded the da Vinci Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., he made sure that the mission statement for the K-5 facility was clear: “…to successfully educate and enrich all learners through the integration of arts and sciences…”
Baird Johnson and Rich Frieder had much in common long before they met last year. For one thing, both had long and successful business careers, but were searching for opportunities to start their own businesses. More important, they both had young daughters with severe learning problems: Johnson’s 9-year-old daughter, Rachelle, was diagnosed with dyslexia and memory difficulties; Frieder’s daughter, Catie, 8, suffered from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and language delays. And they both were frustrated by the failure of conventional treatments to help their daughters.
