Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 04/18/2018 - 9:29am
You are worried that your child is significantly anxious or sad. He is refusing to go to school or goes to school but refuses to come out of his room. She is avoiding friends or activities that she once enjoyed. He is suffering from lack of sleep or sleeps too much. She is gaining or losing weight. If you are worried that your child may need professional help, go ahead and investigate sources of help. Waiting is not a good option under these circumstances.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 04/04/2018 - 10:40am
Every student has experienced stress, mild anxiety or fear. A project due date is creeping up, pressure is increasing and the student begins to feel stress. Mild anxiety or stress can provide the motivation to get started and put aside other more engaging pursuits. The student experiences a sense of relief as the project comes together.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 03/28/2018 - 11:47am
Spring break is on the horizon; the school year will be over in a flash! You and your child are celebrating the gains made this year, the corner that was turned. Maybe your son finally started to show all his work in math or realized that he had to take a few notes when reading the science assignment. Perhaps your suggestions seemed to meet with less resistance, or there was less blaming of other people.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Thu, 03/01/2018 - 3:23pm
As a parent who may be living with a child who processes and works at a reduced pace, it can be difficult to convince teachers that your student is being overwhelmed by school work. You are spending hours on homework! It is not just homework that takes time, but getting dressed or finishing a meal in a reasonable amount of time is a daily challenge. You can’t even explain how frustrating it is to live with this youngster!
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 02/21/2018 - 10:17am
There are many obstacles to student success in school, home and community; some are not in plain sight! In one of her blogs at Understood.org, Psychologist Dr. Ellen Braaten wrote about the impact of our fast-paced world on students who process information at a slower pace. When teachers and parents attempt to push the student to be faster, anger and frustration result on all sides. Adults then mistakenly conclude that the child is not that bright, or worse, lazy.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 02/14/2018 - 12:58pm
During the last five years or so there have been occasional articles in the press about the increasing numbers of women seeking treatment for symptoms of ADHD. The estimate is that four percent of the female population between the ages of 15 and 44 has filled at least one prescription for ADHD medication. It is thought that the rate of ADHD in adults is five percent, so four percent is not an outrageous number.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Thu, 02/08/2018 - 8:21am
In a previous blog we discussed how grade-level benchmarks are used to direct students into intervention, and that meeting a benchmark could mean that they leave small group instruction. Your child’s percentile rank will tell you how he performs in comparison to other students in his grade.
Submitted by Dr. Mary Ann Mu... on Wed, 01/31/2018 - 8:08am
In grades K – 2, students are regularly administered short assessments for purposes of progress monitoring, usually in Reading and Math. If a student was identified for additional instruction, at some point he scored below benchmark for grade level on some academic measure. The student begins intervention with a specialist instructor, likely in a small group meeting several times per week.
You are worried that your child is significantly anxious or sad. He is refusing to go to school or goes to school but refuses to come out of his room. She is avoiding friends or activities that she once enjoyed. He is suffering from lack of sleep or sleeps too much. She is gaining or losing weight. If you are worried that your child may need professional help, go ahead and investigate sources of help. Waiting is not a good option under these circumstances.
When a student is experiencing greater than usual fear, worry or anxiety, what can a parent do? 
Every student has experienced stress, mild anxiety or fear. A project due date is creeping up, pressure is increasing and the student begins to feel stress. Mild anxiety or stress can provide the motivation to get started and put aside other more engaging pursuits. The student experiences a sense of relief as the project comes together.
Spring break is on the horizon; the school year will be over in a flash! You and your child are celebrating the gains made this year, the corner that was turned. Maybe your son finally started to show all his work in math or realized that he had to take a few notes when reading the science assignment. Perhaps your suggestions seemed to meet with less resistance, or there was less blaming of other people.
Girls with ADHD need early intervention as much as boys, so it is important for parents and professionals to recognize the signs of ADHD in girls.
As a parent who may be living with a child who processes and works at a reduced pace, it can be difficult to convince teachers that your student is being overwhelmed by school work. You are spending hours on homework! It is not just homework that takes time, but getting dressed or finishing a meal in a reasonable amount of time is a daily challenge. You can’t even explain how frustrating it is to live with this youngster!
There are many obstacles to student success in school, home and community; some are not in plain sight! In one of her blogs at Understood.org, Psychologist Dr. Ellen Braaten wrote about the impact of our fast-paced world on students who process information at a slower pace. When teachers and parents attempt to push the student to be faster, anger and frustration result on all sides. Adults then mistakenly conclude that the child is not that bright, or worse, lazy.
During the last five years or so there have been occasional articles in the press about the increasing numbers of women seeking treatment for symptoms of ADHD. The estimate is that four percent of the female population between the ages of 15 and 44 has filled at least one prescription for ADHD medication. It is thought that the rate of ADHD in adults is five percent, so four percent is not an outrageous number. 
In a previous blog we discussed how grade-level benchmarks are used to direct students into intervention, and that meeting a benchmark could mean that they leave small group instruction. Your child’s percentile rank will tell you how he performs in comparison to other students in his grade.
In grades K – 2, students are regularly administered short assessments for purposes of progress monitoring, usually in Reading and Math. If a student was identified for additional instruction, at some point he scored below benchmark for grade level on some academic measure. The student begins intervention with a specialist instructor, likely in a small group meeting several times per week.