By William L. Smith Ph. D. Autism is defined as a neurodevelopmental disorder that reveals itself in a pronounced abnormal social interaction, patterns of interests, patterns of behavior, and communication ability. The specific cause of autism is unknown, some researchers suggest that autism results from genetically-influenced vulnerabilities to environmental triggers. It is estimated that autism occurs in as many as one child in 166 in the United States. Families that already have one auti

By: Susan Kruger Do you know why you have ADD/ADHD? Because you are extremely intelligent! No, I am not being sarcastic. In fact, I could not be more sincere. Most people with ADD/ADHD (herein called ADHD) have such a strong interest in a great variety of things, they have a hard time maintaining focus on one thing at a time. Of course, there are additional reasons too, but I am here to tell you that every person I know with ADHD (friends, relatives, and students) have an extraordinary numb

By Anne Clarke Dealing with selective mutism in the classroom can be very difficult and frustrating for teachers. After all, sometimes it seems that a child with selective mutism is merely acting up by not speaking or participating; and, also, it can be hard to judge how much the child has learned when he or she will not read aloud, etc. Selective mutism is usually a symptom of an anxiety disorder, and the full impact of this disorder is usually not manifested until the child starts schoo

By Donna Betancourt My daughter skipped kindergarten and high school. I ran into resistance from the school system and you will likely run into similar resistance if you try to grade skip your child. First, understand that school systems very rarely volunteer to grade skip a child. So, if you've heard of other kids who have been grade skipped, the skip was, more than likely initiated by his or her parents. School systems don't like to grade skip. They often prefer to package the kids by a

By Donna Betancourt Is your child bored in school? Does he need more advanced academics? Are you thinking that he needs to be put ahead a grade or two? Making the right decisions for your child can be a hair pulling, sleep losing, teeth gritting experience. Deciding to skip your child ahead is a difficult process because society doesn't like parents to take kids out of the 'traditional' way of doing things. Grade skipping is not for every kid, but absolutely essential for others. Is it the

by Linda Simpson Are you a parent of a child with a learning disability? The deck is stacked against you for achieving a quality, special education IEP. Learn how to get the best possible program for your child. What is an IEP ? The special education IEP (Individualized Education Program) process was created by the Federal law called IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) to ensure that students with learning disabilities would receive an appropriate education. The IEP process

by Jay Ashley Special children should be given a great deal of help. Special education is offered to children to help them live normally and deal with their society. When you are helping an autistic child, there are instances that you may feel a little frustrated or disappointed. Special education conducted to these children should have continuous, multi faceted and special approach of intensive guidance and care. These autistic children with 60 to 70 IQ rating have better chances of lea

By Mary Gusman Your child has autism and you’ve been told that social skills deficits are to be expected. So what can you do to help your child learn how to behave properly, make friends, and get along in the world? Like me, you may have been told that your child needs to be in a school setting with other children to be socialized. Let’s consider for a minute what kind of social skills a child with autism may learn in school. 1. In a school or classroom setting, your child is exposed to

By DeAnne Joy Experts estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the school-aged population in the United States is learning disabled and approximately 3 to 10 percent of the population as a whole is diagnosed with ADD. This growing problem impacts many areas of society and there is a growing need for effective solutions. Parenting or teaching a child with ADD or learning difficulties can, no doubt, be an enormous challenge. It requires patience of you that you may not have thought you had; persisten

By Nelle Frances Children with Asperger’s Syndrome the world over share a common trait – meltdown – otherwise known as a tantrum, a “birko”, a “go-off” or “spack-attack”. The visible symptoms of meltdown are as varied as the Asperger children themselves, but every parent is able to describe their child’s meltdown behaviour in intricate detail. Meltdowns can be short lived, or last as long as two hours. They can be as infrequent as once a month (often coinciding with the lunar cycle/full moo