I grew up in Kempton Park and in the “80’s” you were not diagnosed with dyslexia you were just not good at language.

My mum took me all over the place to find a reason for my reading problems. I went to speech therapy, occupational therapy, reading therapy, educational psychologists, a neuro-psychologist and optometrists.

In my primary and high school days I always had that one person who I trusted with this secret.

A good pencil grip has three benefits … neat writing, reasonable speed and the ability to write without tiring easily. A bad pencil grip will obviously have exactly the opposite effect.

I am thinking often the long suffering mothers of children with dyslexia that often don’t always get the proper credit or recognition that they richly deserve.

Tony and I have been avid fans of the thrift store experience, even before it was popular. We recently took Morgan on an excursion, and we will never forget it.

Those homework battles are brewing right now. It’s that time of year when the rubber meets the road as far as conferences and report cards go, and sadly, they aren’t always happy or glowing reports.

We have students at our Harp Learning Institute learning centers play an assortment of games that support the activities that are taught in their sessions.

A few months ago, I enrolled Morgan in dance lessons, so every Wednesday afternoon, we have our special grandmother/granddaughter time.

Today, young learners, both male and female, are forced to digest a sour bowl of academic mush every school day. They rarely leave their seats, and those who need the most exercise, boys, generally miss recess for incomplete work or as punishment for impulsive “boy” behavior.

Do you have battles with your child over math? Does your child do well with understanding the concepts taught but when it comes to computation, it’s a disaster?

Do you rely on your smartphone to instantly pull up a phone number or other piece of information? I know I do. So do our kids, even if they’re just using their parents’ phones.

For most people, school is in session now, and this can be quite emotional for kids with learning issues. A new teacher, a new set of classroom rules, and often, a new set of friends can spike fear and anxiety through a child.

My friend, Michele, keeps crabbing at me to write about how boys need to move and how…here it goes…schools try to turn our boys into girls.

As summer comes to a close, many of you might be stressed about a new teacher for your child. It might seem like your child just figured out the last teacher’s classroom system, and now you’ve got to do it all over again.

I love my job! I get to help kids overcome learning problems and meet wonderful people who share the same goals.

I’ve promised more auditory games, but I couldn’t wait to tell you about the fun Jelly Beadz I discovered.

I’ve promised another fun game to help kids with auditory processing issues. Here’s one that helped my kids a lot.

Knock knock jokes I told you that I’d be giving you more auditory games to play with your child or student. I intended on giving you a different game to play, but my grandson, Landon, who is seven delightful years old, has led me on a different path. Do you remember hearing your child, sibling, […]

If you’ve noticed my absence the past couple weeks, it’s because I took an overdue vacation.

We’ve been playing a lot of auditory games lately. I get such a kick out of how much the kids enjoy these easy games! Their smiles are infectious.

How did this thing creep up on us – Puberty?
It’s tough on Lucas, who has the body of a 14 year old but very much the mind of a toddler.

Ons het baie goeie nuus om met u te deel!
Dis met trots dat ons u in kennis stel dat Study Buddy nou beskikbaar is vir alle Afrikaanse skoliere vanaf graad 4 tot 6!

If there’s ever been a hot button to push, it’s that bright red button called ADD/ADHD. Parents, administrators, and teachers all seem to have an opinion on this issue.

RADAis a non-profit organization that offers support and recommendations for dyslexics and their families.

Dyscalculia includes different kinds of math difficulties. Observing the child and taking notes are good ways to find the best strategies and supports for the child.

I’m not sure what’s happened to cursive writing, but it seems a bit lost in our school system in general today. This is sad for students with dysgraphia, as cursive writing can be their biggest helper.

I’m constantly telling parents to listen to their “guts” as far as their kids go. This seems so simple, but our tricky brains will want to talk us out of those perfect intuitive feelings we have about our kids or even our dogs.

In a previous post we reviewed activities that strengthen gross motor skills to help a student struggling with dysgraphia or writing. Today, let’s refine these activities and focus more on fine motor skills.

Spring is here and with that, it’s a good idea to revisit the importance of motor skills and how they affect learning. Getting kids outside or providing the opportunity to move can be a fantastic way to get the job done.

Dysgraphia has many different components, and it takes a comprehensive approach to put all the pieces together to enable a student the ability to write.

I get more requests for help with math skills than any other subject. It’s no wonder! With new expectations, math now involves both reading and writing, which penalizes a student who struggles in language arts but otherwise might succeed in math.

Students with poor auditory processing skills are often the most angry and frustrated of all. It’s no wonder!

Auditory processing problems are on the rise! One thing that goes hand and hand with this frustrating condition is the inability of the student to understand oral directions or commands.

Boogie into writing I stumbled upon this wonderful tool, the Boogie Board, which has helped our students with dysgraphia in so many ways.  To begin with, the “Scribbler” version has four delightful, yellow writing utensils that, when used properly, help enforce a proper pencil grip.  Then, the fun comes in! When writing on the Boogie […]

Legible writing is important for academic success, yet more and more we are finding students struggling to perform this crucial skill.

Do you have a child or student who isn’t doing well in math? Perhaps this student has been diagnosed with dyslexia, dyscalculia, or another learning difference.

One of the most important skills we work on at our Harp Learning Institute learning centers is visual memory. This is the ability of the brain to hold and retain images that are presented visually.

I thought I would give you a few of our favorites learning tools at Harp Learning Institute. Even though time is limited to just one day of shopping, if you are looking for a learning game that makes an impact, following are some I would recommend to be not only fun but educational as well.

Typically, we all start off with lofty goals but somewhere along the line we taper off and fall back into the same patterns as before.

Kids with learning problems often have sensory issues. A few weeks ago I wrote about our therapy sand, which kids love.

I’ve made it my life’s mission to be compassionate toward people with visual and especially auditory processing disorders.

I recently purchased an app for dyscalculia, and was astonished to find that it was simply addition and subtraction facts practice.

At one point in time, it was generally thought that dyslexia was primarily a visual issue, but new research indicates that dyslexia also has an auditory component as well.

I usually don’t like the thought of kids glued to Ipads or phones. It isn’t conducive to building the body and brain through physical exercise among a host of other things that can actually interfere with proper development.

It’s that time of year, and excitement is in the air. School clothes shopping, supplies, wondering who your child’s teacher will be.

Last week I shared a poignant blog posting from a mother of a child with autism. It spurred me to think, once again, what students with learning disabilities face every moment of their lives.

I was reading a blog that caught my interest, and the post literally brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to share it with you.

I’m going to make this short and sweet, something I’ve “harped” about a lot.

So, we have been working on those writing skills that seem to plague so many students these days. Today I want to add another step.

Okay, so now that you have a few ideas to strengthen the hand muscles, it’s time to take it to the next step.

I am constantly amazed at the excuses people and professionals make for students regarding writing skills.

It never fails. Whenever I ask a young student what his/her favorite subject is (besides recess, of course) the student almost always says science

Did you know than mental math is actually an auditory processing skill?

Spelling is a particularly difficult subject for students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, or other learning issues.

Do you have a child or student who isn’t doing well in math? Perhaps this child or student has been diagnosed with dysgraphia, dyslexia, or another learning difference.

Did you know that there are six muscles attached to each eye? And that these muscles control the movement of the eye?

Dyslexia has become a dirty word, and I don’t know why. Schools are generally not equipped to deal with it. Parents are frustrated because their child is smart…but still can’t read, write, or spell.

Have you caught your child daydreaming instead of doing important homework assignments? Is your child musical or an excellent dancer?

As you are well aware, there are some Dyslexic students whose strength is maths, however there are those who find learning, time tables in particular, a chore.