On Saturday I had the privilege of attending the second annual CAADAC Conference on ADD/ADHD. To say that this was an eye opening day would be an understatement. Based on the evidence provided by Drs. Brown and Dietzel, it seems inexcusable to me that Ontario does not recognize ADHD as a legitimate ground for IPRC. When one considers the affect ADHD has on executive functioning (as Dr. Brown put it, it is as though your Windows isn't working but your MS Office would be fine if you could just access it), it seems to make little sense that parents and students need to jump through so many hoops to get the services they so desperately deserve.
This is why I am so excited to a part of our FOCUS program - this tailored approach to ADHD education will allow middle school boys to learn in a way that is effective and meaningful for them. Our hope is that our graduates will feel accepted, confident in their skills, and prepared for high school in whatever context they choose (though of course we hope it's us!). But programs like ours seem to be few and far between, and I just cannot imagine how frustrating this must be as a parent.
What would you like to see in an ADHD classroom? How can we better service your child with ADD/ADHD? Feedback is always welcome....
Monday, April 26, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sights and Sounds
One of the best elements of my job is that I get to work with 'exceptional' learners - those who respond to information and/or the environment differently. I love working with these students because they challenge me to be better, to read more, and to sleuth out the newest and greatest strategies in our field. Oftentimes these come from colleagues and professional development courses, but some of the best information I have has come to me by chance. Today's post is about one of those random, yet revolutionizing, moments, compliments of one of our parents here at NTA...
One of our students recently has begun sporting purple glasses in class, compliments of a new diagnosis from an Irlen Eye Test. The student had struggled with reading for many years, and manifested symptoms of AD/HD. Without getting too technical, it turns out that students with Irlen Syndrome perceive the reading environment differently; though the exact cause is unknown, a simple light-filtering lens can completely change the words on the page (hence the coloured glasses). For our student, it means that words no longer jump around the page when he wears his glasses - and boy, has there been a drastic change to both attention and reading skills!
More and more, we are becoming aware of perceptual issues that are affecting students - whether in their hearing or sight. It is tough to identify these issues because they often present as learning disabilities - we simply don't see or hear what the student is hearing, so we do not know that it is different. I would encourage anyone with a struggling student to thoroughly investigate hearing and sight issues - as we have seen firsthand, it can be a liberating experience!
One of our students recently has begun sporting purple glasses in class, compliments of a new diagnosis from an Irlen Eye Test. The student had struggled with reading for many years, and manifested symptoms of AD/HD. Without getting too technical, it turns out that students with Irlen Syndrome perceive the reading environment differently; though the exact cause is unknown, a simple light-filtering lens can completely change the words on the page (hence the coloured glasses). For our student, it means that words no longer jump around the page when he wears his glasses - and boy, has there been a drastic change to both attention and reading skills!
More and more, we are becoming aware of perceptual issues that are affecting students - whether in their hearing or sight. It is tough to identify these issues because they often present as learning disabilities - we simply don't see or hear what the student is hearing, so we do not know that it is different. I would encourage anyone with a struggling student to thoroughly investigate hearing and sight issues - as we have seen firsthand, it can be a liberating experience!
Monday, April 19, 2010
First Post
Hello All,
So... Doug and I were at the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools' Conference last Friday, and apparently this is the thing to do, so we're going to give it a try! I'm not 100% certain how this blog will evolve; I have maintained edublogs in my time in faculty, and classroom websites when I was teaching, but never anything quite like this before. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm open to suggestions - whatever you as my readers would like to hear about, I'm happy to post about. I'm looking forward to discussing different strategies, books, and educational happenings, and discussing them with you in this new space.
Over the last eight months I have had the distinct privilege of working with some of the most dedicated parents and students in the Greater Toronto Area. The one thing that struck me about the community at North Toronto Academy is how well everyone works together to the benefit of the students. It really is a holistic approach to education here - so refreshing in comparison to some of the larger institutions I have encountered in my career. With that in mind, I hope this blog will become a positive space for building community, making connections with you and amongst yourselves, and a way to keep you in the loop with all things NTA.
Looking forward to our journey together!
Michelle
So... Doug and I were at the Ontario Federation of Independent Schools' Conference last Friday, and apparently this is the thing to do, so we're going to give it a try! I'm not 100% certain how this blog will evolve; I have maintained edublogs in my time in faculty, and classroom websites when I was teaching, but never anything quite like this before. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm open to suggestions - whatever you as my readers would like to hear about, I'm happy to post about. I'm looking forward to discussing different strategies, books, and educational happenings, and discussing them with you in this new space.
Over the last eight months I have had the distinct privilege of working with some of the most dedicated parents and students in the Greater Toronto Area. The one thing that struck me about the community at North Toronto Academy is how well everyone works together to the benefit of the students. It really is a holistic approach to education here - so refreshing in comparison to some of the larger institutions I have encountered in my career. With that in mind, I hope this blog will become a positive space for building community, making connections with you and amongst yourselves, and a way to keep you in the loop with all things NTA.
Looking forward to our journey together!
Michelle
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