John's Articles
The Great Pre-K Debate
Posted on 8/28/2018
It has long been known, but only spoken of in hushed tones by university professors sitting in darkened rooms wearing Fat Elvis masks, that pre-Kindergarten “jump-start” (aka, “push-down”)...
Read MoreADHD and a Psychological Approach to Child Rearing
Posted on 5/13/2003
ADHD IS PRICE WE PAY FOR 'PSYCHOLOGICAL' CHILD REARING A fellow recently asked if it were true, as he had heard, that I "don't believe" in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? My...
Read MoreMedication and TV
Posted on 4/9/2002
AUTHORS WAGE WAR ON RITALIN, TV Go into almost any elementary school in America just before noon and you'll see a slowly moving line of children outside the main office. Ask and you'll be told...
Read MoreTeacher of 6-Year-Old Who Has Trouble Learning to Read Thinks He Has Dyslexia
Posted on 1/16/1997
IF EVALUATION REVEALS DYSLEXIA, BE SURE CHILD WILL BE TAUGHT BY CORRECT METHOD Q. My 6-year-old is having difficulty learning to read, and his teacher - who teaches by what she calls the...
Read MoreDon't Define Child by Category
Posted on 11/18/1994
IT'S BEST NOT TO DEFINE A CHILD BY A CATEGORY Peruse the Child Care section of any major chain bookstore today and you will find books on the ADD (attention deficit disorder) child, the LD...
Read MoreDefinition of a Learning Disability
Posted on 1/7/1994
LEARNING DISABILITY IS A CHALLENGE; IT DOESN'T MEAN A CHILD CAN'T LEARN Q. What is a learning disability? A. The term "learning disability'' refers to an insidious neurological or...
Read MoreDyslexia Debate
Posted on 7/3/1992
UNPROVEN THEORIES ON DYSLEXIA ARE NO HELP, DESPITE WHAT OTHERS SAY A learning disabilities specialist in Long Beach, Calif., advises that I educate myself. A psychologist in Pennsylvania says...
Read More8-Year-Old Diagnosed with Dyslexia
Posted on 6/26/1992
WHAT WE CALL DYSLEXIA MAY JUST BE A CHILD'S MATURITY LEVEL Q. Our 8-year-old son, a third-grader, was recently tested because of reading difficulties and found to be dyslexic. According to...
Read MoreOpposed to Pulling Learning-Disabled Children out of Regular Classroom
Posted on 2/21/1992
PULLING SLOW KIDS OUT OF CLASS FOR EXTRA HELP? BETTER NOT Q. You seem opposed to serving the special needs of learning disabled children during school hours. If I read you correctly, you...
Read More9-Year-Old with Learning Disability Homework Issue
Posted on 12/23/1990
LEARNING-DISABLED NEED A CAN-DO' APPROACH Q. I just finished reading your latest book, "Ending the Homework Hassle," and I'm disappointed. Your plan for getting children to be responsible...
Read More8-Year-Old Behind at School
Posted on 1/29/1989
HELP BOY CATCH UP IN SCHOOL Q. Our 8-year-old son has fallen steadily behind in his schoolwork since the first grade. He was recently tested by a school psychologist and found eligible for...
Read More6-Yeaer-Old with ADD and Ritalin
Posted on 10/2/1988
USED PROPERLY, DRUG CAN HELP Q. Our 6-year-old son was recently diagnosed by a psychologist as having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. Randal's always been a...
Read MorePreschoolers Do Not Need to Know ABCs (Also Dyslexia Question)
Posted on 7/17/1988
PRESCHOOLERS ARE NOT READY TO LEARN TO WRITE ALPHABET I was talking recently with the parents of a boy who attends a preschool program for 4-year-olds where they've been teaching him to write...
Read MoreQuestions Concerning 7-Year-Old with ADD
Posted on 6/12/1988
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD) CAN BE TREATED Q. We have several questions concerning our 7-year-old son. He's been somewhat of a behavioral problem in school since kindergarten, and both...
Read More8-Year-Old Has Learning Disability
Posted on 3/20/1988
TV MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES Q. Our 8-year-old son has a learning disability that handicaps his ability to pay attention, follow directions and correctly decipher the...
Read More8-Year-Old with ADD on Ritalin
Posted on 2/14/1988
DRUGS FOR CHILDREN SHOULDN'T BE CONDEMNED Q. Our 8-year-old son was recently diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. The diagnosing psychologist referred us to...
Read MoreADD Ritalin Dosage
Posted on 9/27/1987
CONSULT PSYCHOLOGIST ON RITALIN DOSAGE Q. For the past year, we've been seeing a psychologist for help with our son's unruly behavior. He's helped us with a discipline plan, and Robbie's...
Read More6-Year-Old Diagnosed with ADD Watches Lots of TV
Posted on 6/14/1987
SHORT ATTENTION SPAN HURT, NOT HELPED, BY LOTS OF TV Q. My husband and I are seeing a psychologist because of discipline problems with our 6-year-old son. Charlie has also had problems in...
Read MoreParents Looking for Professional Help with Child
Posted on 3/8/1987
PARENTS ASK ABOUT THERAPY FOR CHILD As promised in last week's column, here are some answers to questions asked by parents looking for professional help with a child. Q. What are some signs...
Read More8-Year-Old with ADD
Posted on 12/14/1986
DRUG CAN IMPROVE CHILD'S ATTENTION SPAN Q. After two years of hearing from teachers about his short attention span and incomplete work, our 8-year-old son was recently diagnosed by both his...
Read MorePossible Symptoms of Learning Disabilities
Posted on 11/9/1986
POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS OF LEARNING DISABILITIES As promised in last week's column, here is a partial list of possible learning disability symptoms. Please read them with caution! The fact...
Read MoreDyslexia
Posted on 11/2/1986
COLUMN ON REVERSED LETTERS DRAWS READERS' REACTIONS A recent column of mine has generated some controversy, and I thought you might be interested. It concerned a first-grade boy who wrote...
Read More6-Year-Old Writing Letters Backwards
Posted on 9/28/1986
REVERSED LETTERS MAY NOT MEAN DYSLEXIA Q. Our six-year-old started first grade this fall. We've noticed that on quite a few papers he's written certain letters backward. He did this a lot...
Read MoreDrugs Not First Choice for ADD Treatment
Posted on 8/24/1986
DRUGS NOT 1ST CHOICE FOR HYPERACTIVITY In response to a recent column in which I gave advice to the parents of a youngster diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), I received a letter...
Read MoreWhat Are Effects Of Retaining A Child
Posted on 2/2/1986
WHAT ARE EFFECTS OF RETAINING CHILD? In a recent column, I advised the parents of a "late-birthday" boy to enroll him in kindergarten on schedule on the principle of "nothing ventured,...
Read MoreLearning Disabled (LD) Children
Posted on 10/6/1985
COLUMN ON LEARNING DISABLED RAISES QUESTIONS FROM READERS I've received quite a few responses to a column I ran several weeks ago in which I criticized the guidelines public schools...
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