Automaticity: Why Some Kids Struggle to Keep Up
What Automaticity Means, and Why It’s One of the Most Important Concepts in Learning If I had to name one concept that explains more struggling learners than any other, it would be automaticity. Automaticity is the ability to perform a mental task quickly, accurately, and without conscious effort. In reading, it’s often called fluency. Researchers […]
Five Ways to Support Your College Student
Sending your child off to college is an exciting milestone—but it can also come with a wave of questions, worries, and emotions. As a parent, you want your student to thrive, but you may wonder when and how to support your college student. The truth is: challenges are a normal part of the college transition. […]
Neurodiverse and Thriving: University Support in the UK
We explore how UK universities support students with learning differences and how to set students up for success!
Resources for struggling college students
You’ve finally made it to campus after a much-awaited college search and you are practically jumping with excitement. We get it! We experienced the same excitement when it was our turn to head to campus years ago, and we see it from most of our students year after year. But, one of the first things […]
Is My Teenager Ready for College?
On one of the first fall days of September, Michelle and Rebecca were invited to speak to the Colorado Consultants Association to answer that vexing and nagging query: is my teenager ready for college? Utilizing their extensive experience and professional backgrounds, they addressed the various social-emotional needs, learning difficulties, and even current cultural challenges that […]
Quoted: Michelle in the Washington Post
Taking a special needs child abroad? Do you live abroad already with a child who has special needs? How have you made it work? Jackie Spinner takes us on her incredible journey to Morocco with her young adopted sons who are on the Autism Spectrum in her Washington Post Perspective special, “Special needs parenting in Morocco.” It was […]
Recently Published: Psychoeducational Testing for the Bilingual Student
Check out Michelle’s latest article, which appears in our monthly educational consultant newsletter, IECA Insights. She explores the process of getting high-quality psychoeducational assessment, e.g. psychological testing for learning disabilities, for non-native English speakers. Here’s a snippet! Finding good psychoeducational and neuropsychological testing in the United States for native-English speakers is a difficult task. But if […]
Talking to Children and Teens About Being Different
I was 7 when we moved from Portugal back to Washington, D.C. On the first day of school, I immediately knew that I was different. Even though I was only in second grade, I recognized that most of the kids had known each other what seemed to be their whole lives. I don’t remember feeling […]
Michelle in Print: “When School is Hard…”
Hello all! Sorry for the silence here on the blog– it’s been a busy few weeks. I wanted to share that The Foreign Service Journal has published a piece I wrote about what it is like when school is hard for your struggling child or teen. I share what you can do and how to […]
Is There a College for D Students?
A colleague asked me that question this morning. Seems the young man she is working with is “not working up to his potential”. I see this so often that I am dropping everything to write about this very important topic. I work with all kinds of kids, from the superstars going to top tier colleges […]