Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Reading Problems -- Your Reading Brain; Dyslexia/Reading Disability & Common Sense; Old School Concept #1: Stages of Reading/Literacy Development; Sanctity of the Stages; Stage 0; Kindergarten Mom: Help! My Child is Shutting Down!; Stage I: Getting on the Bike; Stage II: Riding the Bike; Mom! Theres Lincoln Whatever Field; Stage III: Independently Riding the Bike; Old School Concept #2: Task Analysis; Old School Concept #3: Instructional Level; Listen to the Moms; All Aboard the Curriculum Ship; Messages from the Life Boats; Was this a Problem That Could Have Been Averted?; Low-Frequency versus High-Frequency Words; Simple Low-Frequency Word Strategy; Daddys Tied Up in Traffic; Hmmm, Let Me Think About It; Comprehension in a Nutshell; BRDD: Boy Reading Deficit Disorder; There is No Joy in Educationville for Teaching Reading Has Struck Out; Establishing a Family Reading Hour. Part II. ADHD & Learning Disabilities -- Step Right Up, Folks!; The Blind Men & the Elephant: (Dissecting Childhood); Two Roads; Doing the ADHD Dance; Clogged Fuel Lines; Age-Adjustment Strategy; ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) = BDD (Boredom Deficit Disorder); ADHD Kryptonite: Lunchroom & Playground; Scene 1: The Lunch Room -- Jacks Brain; Scene 2: The Playground -- Jacks Brain; Scene 3: The Classroom -- Jacks Brain; Does Your Child Have Curriculum ADHD?; Playing the Odds: Which Horse Would You Bet?; Common Sense & Reasonable 504 Plans; Killing the Rainforest One IEP at a Time; Winning the Battle but Losing the War; Should a Child Be on Medication While Being Evaluated?; Going Columbo; The Zone of No Zone. Part III. Learning Disabilities & School Variables -- Inside the Head of a Boy with a Learning Disability!; Go to a Carpenter, You Get a Nail; The House Looks Fine: Whats the Problem?; IQ Adding to My GQ; Help! I'm Being Held Hostage to My IQ; Inclusion: Support in the Deep End of the Pool; Howard Beale -- Where Are You?; How Do We Fix It?; In the Neck Ache Business; Got the Cure for the Summertime Blues?; NLD (Nonverbal Learning Disability) in a Nutshell; Open-Ended Writing: A Heavy Load for Many Kids; Opposite Approach to Open-Ended Writing; Screeching on the Violin; Learning Disabilities in the Mideast: Issues Essentially the Same; Musings from Happy Hour -- Happy Birthday Mel!; The Game Changer: Logan Elementary School; Organizational Issues; Executive Function Deficits: No Orchestra Leader; We Keep Telling Him, You've got to be organized! You've got to be organized!; Go Up to Your Room & Do Your Work: The Perils; The School Keeps Saying Stay Out --They Have to Do It on Their Own; Homework: The Great Battleground; Sluggish Cognitive Tempo; Weighing the Pain; Anger: You Cant Make Me; Pain Avoiders in College; Putting Fuel in the Shut-Down Learner Tank; Study Skills Coach: Readiness Is Everything; Organizing the Disorganized -- Skill of the Month; A Compound-Interest Mentality; Master Notebook: Keeping the Disorganized on the Straight & Narrow; Parental Grade Monitoring on the Internet; Social Skills Issues; I Dont Want Greg at My Birthday Party; No One to Play With; Sharks & Minnows; Sharks & Minnows (Continued); School Bus Blues #1: Riding Shotgun; School Bus Blues #2: Get Out of Bed, Pop; Shyness -- Perhaps; Hot Cross Buns & Dolly Madison; Avery: A Water Torture Personality Type; Jake -- A Socially Reticent Child; How Can Parents Support the Jakes of the World?; Socializing in the 21st Century; Those Little Interactions; Little Remorse & Not Much Compassion; Life According to Martin; Social Skills -- The Last Word; Final Words: Two Roads Diverged in a Snowy Wood.

About the Author

Dr. Richard Selznick is a psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, graduate school professor, and university professor of pediatrics. As the director of the Cooper Learning Center, he oversees a program that assesses and treats a broad range of learning and school-based behavioral problems in children. The Cooper Learning Center is a Division of the Department of Pediatrics of Cooper University Hospital. Dr. Selznick is the author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child and School Struggles: A Guide to Your Shut-Down Learners Success. Dr. Selznick speaks to parents and educators on a variety of topics related to school struggling. A down-to-earth presenter who discusses difficult topics in non-jargon terms, he has presented to educators in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as throughout the United States. A native of New York, Dr. Selznick lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey. He can be reached by email at selznick-r@cooperhealth.edu. For more information, please see www.shutdownlearner.com, Facebook.com/DrSelz, and Twitter @DrSelz.

Reviews

School Struggles addresses common school concerns that keep parents awake at night. Dr. Selznick presents material in a comfortable, down-to-earth style that will provide comfort to parents. Parents will take away many great suggestions and ideas to keep in mind for their struggling children. --Michele Borba, Ed.D., author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions Dr. Selznick UNDERSTANDS THESE KIDS which is why his new book, School Struggles, is a very welcome addition to our resources for parents and professionals alike! In clear, no-jargon, non-pathologizing language, he describes the roadblocks encountered by many children and adolescents and provides practical, effective ways to help them along their rough roads. I highly recommend this book and appreciate Dr. Selznick's willingness to share his accumulated wisdom and ideas with us. --Laurie Dietzel, Ph.D., co-author of Late, Lost & Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning Dr. Selznick did it again. His new book, School Struggles, is practical, powerful, and sensitive. Full of Tips and Takeaway Points, School Struggles will help parents better understand their children's struggles and shows them how to help their children succeed. Insightful, straightforward, practical, and valuable: a book that will help parents do the right things while avoiding the all-too-common traps that hurt so many struggling learners and their families. --Howard Margolis, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus, Reading Disabilities & Special Education, City University of New York Dr. Selznick's new book helps parents understand their child as a whole person and why school may not be as easy for them as we all hope. More importantly, he helps you find ways to pinpoint particular struggles and address them, rather than waste time with solutions that are one-size-fits-all. --Whitney Hoffman, producer of the LD Podcast (whitneyhoffman.com), author of The Differentiated Instruction Book of Lists When a child struggles to learn, it can snowball into a much bigger problem. "School Struggles: A Guide to Your Shut-Down Learner's Success" is a guide for parents and teachers in reaching out to struggling school children and how to answer these problems felt by struggling students and helping them learn to their complete ability. "School Struggles" is a top pick for educators, school psychologists, and parents of these types of students who want to consider every option for helping the students. --Midwest Book Review