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New Study Implicates Environmental Factors in Autism (The New York Times)

July 15, 2011 No comments

The New York Time Article: New Study Implicates Environmental Factors in Autism

I recently came across this interesting article about a new study that focused on environmental factors and autism. While the study makes a few very broad statements, it is definitely food for thought and offers good advice by stating: “We need to not just study the environmental factors, but the relation between the genes and the environment.”

How do you feel about the implication of environmental factors in autism?

Boredom-Busting with a Bang!

June 15, 2011 No comments

During the summer, the temptation is great for children to spend hours watching television or playing video games, but these activities quickly lead to bored minds and sluggish bodies. However, with a little ingenuity and planning, summer can be an opportunity to stretch the mind, explore new hobbies and build on skills learned during the school year. Here are some great tips for reinforcing Thinking Organized strategies while having fun:

1. Grow your favorite vegetables.
What better way to learn the basics of science and how things grow than to plant your own garden? You can start with seeds or small plants. Talk about what plants need to be hardy: air, water, sunlight and nutrients. Take out books from the library about the soil in your area, photosynthesis and nutrition.

2. Get theatrical.
Children of all ages can have fun making their own puppet theater. Puppets can be made by cutting off the finger-ends of old gloves, coloring on old socks, decorating paper lunch bags or gluing onto popsicle sticks. Yarn, felt, scraps of old t-shirts or material and sequins all add drama to homemade puppets. Encourage your children to create a story that the puppets can act out.

3. Start a store. Children love to label things and be in charge of their domain. All you’ll need is some stickers or index cards for price tags, a good collection of coins for change, and a notebook for a ledger or a pretend cash register for the ch-ching! The products can be a collection of toys from their room, books or food containers (empty cereal boxes and canned goods work well for this). As long as the students make the change, they’ll be learning.

4. Become an investment guru. Older children will love learning about the stock market. A good way to get started is to investigate publicly held companies that teens are familiar with, such as Apple, Hollister or Nike. Hold a fantasy stock market contest in your family and see whose investment comes out on top.

5. Visit a different country every week. Use a globe or atlas and ask your children about different places they would like to visit. Next, hit the library for a collection of age appropriate books about the new country. You’ll want to learn a basic assortment of vocabulary (how to say “hello” and “thank you”) to use throughout the week. Learn as much as you can about the country, and then at the end of the week, make a meal with unique foods from the region.

Of course, there are many online games that can be played to keep up academic skills (such as sporcle.com or luminosity.com) and the library is an invaluable, free resource for every student. We’d love to hear your ideas for educational boredom-busters.

Supporting your child through final exams

May 17, 2011 No comments

Rah, Rah, Ray! Hip Hip Hooray!

You can pass your exam today!

Sounds corny, right? Yet, if you and your child are trying to follow the Thinking Organized steps of preparing for examinations to the best of your abilities, then your student will be as ready as possible for the sometimes grueling process of showing what she’s learned since January. Now it’s time to bring on the positive attitude and take the role of being your child’s cheerleader. Optimism leads to confidence and success and if strong enough, quickly becomes contagious. Here are some tips to help you cheer your child on to her personal best performance during exam week:

Stay calm. Don’t panic! A parent who paces around the house or voices concerns about failure can make a child a nervous wreck. However, a parent who exudes unwavering confidence will reduce the student’s stress, allowing her to fully focus on the task at hand.
Avoid the “we” mentality. Part of being an effective cheerleader is keeping the focus on your child. Helping create study guides and verbally quizzing her when requested is positive support. However, sometimes parents can become too involved in the process which takes the accomplishment away from the child. Keep the focus on your student’s efforts, while encouraging her every step of the way.
Provide Quality Work Time. Minimize TV watching during exam week and enlist the whole family in avoiding noisy distractions during study time. Parents can help by choosing quiet activities while the child is studying, such as reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle.
Encourage healthy habits. Serve nutritionally balanced meals and minimize the junk food, especially sugar before bedtime. Persuade your student to get enough rest each night. Remind everyone to release anxiety with some form of physical exercise daily, even just a short walk in the evening.

Nothing helps a child succeed like having a parent who believes in her. Let your child know that you understand that she’s under stress. Praise her for being such a conscientious student. Not only will being your child’s cheerleader help her through exam week, but it will also establish a positive attitude toward upcoming academic challenges. So are you ready Mom and Dad? It’s time to get in the game and cheer your budding scholar to success!

Testing Anxiety

April 19, 2011 No comments

Nearly everyone has felt nervous during a test. Anxiety is normal anytime we are being judged. Clearly, the best remedy for test anxiety is feeling well prepared. This involves all the different Thinking Organized strategies: material organization, time management, learning styles, memorization, note-taking and written language. Preparing for tests and exams is an important and weighty matter, and will be the focus of the May 2011 Thinking Organized Tip.

However, some students, no matter how well prepared, suffer from such a degree of anxiety during testing that their performance is adversely affected. Here are some suggestions that parents can encourage their children to try during a stressful test:

Being well prepared is the best remedy for nervousness. Studying well ahead of time will help your child feel certain that the information is secure in memory.
Change positions to help relax. Even a shoulder shrug or a different seating position may help relieve tense muscles.
Use positive reinforcement. Help your student remember to acknowledge that she is doing her best, which is all that is asked of her.
Remind her that some anxiety is normal. It’s just a reminder that she wants to score well. A reasonable amount of nervousness can be a good thing – it can provide extra energy and help students focus on the task at hand.
Don’t panic when other students start handing in their papers. There’s no reward for being the first done.

All of the Thinking Organized strategies take time and practice. Learning to beat test anxiety is no different. Although test apprehension will not go away overnight, facing and dealing with these anxieties ahead of time will help your child learn valuable stress management techniques that will be beneficial far beyond her school days.

Remember to check our May 2011 Monthly Tip for more test preparation ideas and let us know if you have any anxiety-busters that might work for other students.

To err is human . . .

March 15, 2011 No comments

We know it’s true that “everyone makes mistakes,” but still, on March 1st when our monthly tip was emailed with a glaring typo in the heading, the staff at Thinking Organized was mortified. We were so careful! We check and recheck our email blasts before they’re sent. Yet, no one caught “self-advocacy” spelled incorrectly in the title. All we can say now is, “OOPS; we goofed; we’re sorry; we will definitely try to be more careful in the future.”

However, this reminded all our therapists and tutors of a very important point about working with children. Mistakes happen! We’re all human and even the most diligent of editors (hmmmm…) sometimes overlook an error.

So how do you help children accept the mistakes they make, regroup and continue to strive toward, if not perfection, at least academic achievement? Some children (and adults) become so overwhelmed and anxious by their blunders that they give up. Many of the students who come to our practice are afraid to try because they hate failing. What to do? Here are a few suggestions, but as always, we welcome our readers to submit their own ideas:

Gently remind children how true it is that everyone makes mistakes. You can humorously recount stories of personal slip-ups or refer to someone like Thomas Edison who failed numerous times before inventing the light bulb and said his process was “10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.”
Much of academic learning depends on making mistakes. Remind students about how they first learned to speak, count or read. It takes the natural process of blundering and persevering for true learning to take place.
The older we get, and the more responsibilities we take on, the more likely it is to make mistakes. People who are afraid to slip up cannot progress as students or individuals. Life is about taking risks, accepting one’s own fallibility and learning from our blunders.

So, looking again at the typo in last month’s Thinking Organized tip – we made a mistake, we agonized, we came clean, we revised our editing process and finally, we laughed. What else can you do?

Thank you to those readers who good-heartedly pointed out our error, and please let us know if you have any suggestions to help children regroup after making mistakes.

Rhona Gordon, M.S., C.C.C./SLP, Author?

February 15, 2011 No comments

How exciting! We just notified the winner of our first Facebook fan contest that they will be receiving an autographed copy of Thinking Organized for Parents and Children. I hope that it will be as helpful to them as it has been for many of my other clients.

After we kicked-off the Facebook contest, I realized that I’ve never really told the story behind the “story.”

When I began working as a speech and language pathologist and organizational specialist, traveling throughout the Washington DC and New York metro areas and starting my own business, Thinking Organized, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to add “author” to my list of accomplishments. When would I have time to sit down and write a book?

Seeing the needs of children, young adults and even adults in the business world, observing their difficulties and watching their struggles made me realize that if there was a way for them to understand the basis of executive functioning, a concept that has been the air I breathe for years, then maybe I could help them see that they didn’t need to struggle so much. There were so many people who I have been able to help by introducing them to the natural process of effective executive functioning; I wanted to share the story of how success can happen for everybody. If these people had a simple way to get the information they need, it could truly change the way they lived their lives – so I decided I needed to write it down.

At first it was a bit difficult to figure out how to make the book user-friendly for all kinds of parents. But as I moved along, I saw that my thoughts weren’t as hard to get out as I had anticipated. I drafted the book so that my readers didn’t have to read from cover to cover. The chapters are designed to act as a guide so you can skip from one to another in search of the information that you really need. A year or so later, I had successfully finished Thinking Organized For Parents and Children, my unimagined masterpiece.

I gathered my years of experience, my philosophies, and my practices and put them into words – chronicling the journeys of my real life students and letting parents know never to give up hope. This type of success takes time, especially as children get older and segue into their teen years, where they don’t even want to chat about their day at the dinner table, let alone talk about problems they’re having in the classroom.

Knowing that my book has actually made a difference in the lives of so many people, who were once struggling to get ahead, is more of an accomplishment than I could ever have imagined. In the end, students who learn these strategies cannot only manage their academic work independently, but also their everyday lives.

Communicating with your Children

January 20, 2011 No comments

There are many different ways that we try to reach our children and just as many reasons for doing so. Parents are expected to instruct, reinforce, discipline, model, comfort, organize, and negotiate with and for their children, as well as provide emotional, financial, physical and moral support. It’s a very big job.

The best way of getting a message across to a child varies depending on the individual’s age and personality. However, here are some time-honored Thinking Organized tips for communicating and reinforcing effective executive functions.

Toddlers: Make material organization as easy as possible for young children with labels and clear instructions. Provide a specific place for frequently used items such as winter clothes or favorite toys. Take advantage of the preschooler’s desire to help in order to reinforce these basic skills.
Elementary School: When school begins, children learn to bring material to and from school, manage homework and extra-curricular activities and maintain order in their bedrooms. However, parental instruction given during these years is sometimes best delivered with specific goals. For example, “please clean your room” may be less effective than “please throw away your trash,” “put dirty clothes in this bin,” and “make your bed.”
Middle School: As children grow older, so do their parents. If you feel like you are nagging your middle-school children, try written language. Sometimes, a reminder is more acceptable in the form of a note, and a series of requests less overwhelming when presented as a checklist.
High School: Email and texts have become the most efficient way of getting in touch with many high school students. Because teenagers are almost always socially connected, sending a message in electronic form is most likely to be noticed and taken seriously. Furthermore, e-communications have the advantage of being non-threatening to the delicate teenage ego.
College: By the time children leave for college, most are firmly entrenched in more than one communication method. Experiment with different ways to reach students away at school. Sometimes a “goodie” package received in the mail helps them remember that they are loved. Sometimes a text is a good way to say, “I’m thinking about you and can talk if you have a minute.” It is important to respect the independence granted to college students, but keep the doors of communication open.

Despite the age of your children, important information is best delivered and discussed face-to-face. However, for the mundane reminders that keep children on task and on time, sometimes parents need to resort to alternative methods of communication.

We’d love to hear your techniques for communicating with reluctant, resistant or just plain, regular children.

Prepare to relax

December 15, 2010 No comments

“Preparing to relax” sounds like an oxymoron; however, great holiday vacations take some preplanning. Whether or not your child’s time away from school will be spent on the road or around the house, a little forethought will ensure that everyone’s break will be fun, safe and enriching.

Although the holidays can be busy and stressful, it is important to remember to have fun. Plan some pleasurable events that will include the whole family, from the younger children to students home from college. Here is a short list of our ideas for relaxing and bonding activities:

Look through old family albums, or watch videos of the children when they were younger.
Drive around and look at holiday lights, rating them from “tasteful” to “tacky.”
Have a family board game night, pulling out some old favorites such as Monopoly or Scrabble.
Plan a meal together when each family member cooks a different dish.
Volunteer together at a local hospital, soup kitchen or food bank.

With all the bustle of gifts and parties, rest and relaxation can sometimes be forgotten. Scheduling in time for fun with your children is the perfect way to create great family memories and traditions.

Standardized Testing

November 15, 2010 No comments

Standardized testing is a part of every child’s life. From state testing to SATs, ACTs, GMATs and GREs, the longer a student pursues education the more testing he or she will have to complete. Some students become very anxious when asked to perform on an important assessment. Here are some basic tips for parents to help their children relax and do their best, but we’d love to hear your ideas as well:

Early preparation is better than cramming the night before. Younger children who practice math facts and reading comprehension strategies can face testing with a solid plan in place. Older students who take practice exams well before the big day will feel more confident with both the format and content of their test.
Healthy routines reap rewards. If a child has a regular, reasonable bedtime, then there is no benefit to altering it the night before a test. Trying to put him/her to bed early might cause unnecessary anxiety and actually postpone sleep longer. Likewise, a healthy breakfast is always the best start for a day of learning. Feeding your child significantly more than he or she is accustomed to eating can cause sluggishness.
Most importantly, stay positive. Encouraging your child to do his/her best and exuding confidence are the best tools for success.

However, many of our most practical suggestions come from parents and teachers. What works for you? Please reply to this blog with your comments and ideas.

Could it be a learning disability?

October 15, 2010 No comments

At some point in most students’ academic careers, work becomes more difficult and many children begin to struggle to achieve high grades. Many parents ask me, “How do I know if this is normal or if my child has a learning disability?” Some general signs that it may be time to have your student tested by a professional include:

Difficulty in reading or writing
Symptoms of A.D.H.D. such as maintaining focus or impulse control
Trouble following spoken or written instructions
Poor memory
Making poor grades despite significant effort
Frustration with school and homework and
Low self-esteem.

Adults often live with undiagnosed learning disabilities such as ADD or dyslexia. Many of the executives that visit my practice are very intelligent, successful individuals. However, as they’ve risen up the company ladder, it becomes increasingly difficult to “keep all their balls in the air.” They constantly feel like they are juggling to keep track of their materials, their appointments, commitments, written communications, etc…

When is it time to consult a professional?

In a child, if the suspected disability is interfering with either your student’s ability to learn or his/her self-esteem, a diagnosis from a professional is warranted. It can be beneficial to address any learning problems early in a child’s life before the difficulties become compounded. Possibly some modifications and adjustments in your child’s structures could improve many aspects of daily life.

Similarly for adults – if you are reasonably successful and have been dealing with a learning disorder your whole life, it may not be necessary to have a formal diagnosis. Certainly individuals who feel that they have characteristics of ADD or ADHD will benefit by strengthening their executive functioning skills, which can make one more productive and less anxious at any age. By practicing effective executive functions, you will find yourself better able to keep track of your belongings, schedule your time efficiently, work productively and organize the chaos in your brain, home and office.

WE’D LIKE TO KNOW. Deciding to have psychological or educational testing can be a nerve wracking proposition for some people. What made you decide to get professional testing or assistance for yourself or your child? When did you know it was the “right time?”