All posts by Amy Kessler

A Prescription for Success | Your Learning Checkup

Australia, Learning Centers, ,

When it comes to physical health and making sure your child feels their best, there are lots of steps we routinely take — from immunisations and teeth cleanings to general conversations with the pediatrician about your child’s health and wellness.

 

Similarly, a learning checkup can provide vital information about how things are going for your child at school. By the time you receive your child’s report card, he has already spent months in the classroom — and sometimes, that means he has spent those months trying to keep up.

 

Grades may set off warning bells that your child is struggling, but they won’t tell you why he’s struggling or what you can do to help.

 

“It’s like getting a fingerprint of your child’s unique learning profile…”

The Lindamood-Bell Comprehensive Learning Evaluation includes:

 

  • Assessment of reading and comprehension
  • Identification of strengths and weaknesses
  • Consultation to review results with a learning expert
  • An individualised learning plan
  • Annual learning checkups

While reading tutors or small group support in the classroom can help a student struggling with a particular concept, Lindamood-Bell focuses on establishing the imagery-language connection for reading, which gets to the root of the issue and can change learning for life.

 

 

Research-Validated

Some students come to us with a diagnosis of dyslexia or autism spectrum disorder while others come to us just to make learning easier. Learn how our research-validated instruction makes a difference for all of our students. Our approach allows students to establish independence and self-correction in learning.

 

Student Success

Check out our student stories to find out more about how we’ve helped students reach their potential and change learning for life for over 30 years.

 

Hear from Lenore, who describes how her son William’s brothers were amazed by his reading improvement: “It’s the biggest deal on the planet.”

 

Read Jack’s own words about how Lindamood-Bell made it possible for him to learn to speak three languages, work as a history teacher and get published in academia, even with a diagnosis of dyslexia.

 

Find Out More

Have questions? Our FAQs may answer them.

 

Learn how you can achieve years of learning gain in weeks of individualised instruction.

 

Want to find out more about your son or daughter’s specific strengths and weaknesses when it comes to school? Your local learning centre would be happy you schedule your child’s learning checkup!

Turn Summer Learning Loss into Learning Gain

Learning Centers

When summer’s over, students go back to school out of practice, maybe forgetting some of what they learned. Months away from school can lead to measurable learning loss in skills like reading and math.

 

Turn Summer Learning Loss into Learning Gain!

Imagine your child returning to school in the fall with better skills, ready to tackle the new year. Students can spend part of their summer at one of our learning centers to turn what could have been a learning loss, into a learning gain.

 

Summer learning at Lindamood-Bell is individualized to meet the learning needs of each student in a short amount of time. Because it’s one-to-one, we’ll only spend time on what your child needs. Learn about our summer programs here.

 

Some students come to us with a previous diagnosis of a learning challenge. Some need learning to be easier, while some use summer learning to get ahead for next year. We start by identifying strengths and weaknesses that may be affecting performance in reading, comprehension, and math.  And, we make recommendations for individualized instruction plans that create learning gains. Students go back to school with more confidence after just a few weeks.

 

Make an impact this summer!  It’s a great time to get ahead for next school year.  Get started today by contacting us to discuss how we can help make this summer everything your family has been waiting for! 800-300-1818

In this short video, Lindamood-Bell co-founder, Nanci Bell describes the factors that add up to student success:

 

 

Turn Things Around at School | Imagine a Fresh Start

Australia, Learning Centers, , , ,

“My teacher hates me!” James exclaimed as he threw his backpack onto the kitchen floor. “She always yells at me for talking or not paying attention, but I am paying attention!”

 

For parents, it can be disheartening to hear that your child feels disliked or disrespected by his teacher — even if you wonder if he’s exaggerating and maybe things in the classroom aren’t as contentious as he makes them seem.

 

By this point in the school year, most classrooms have established a rhythm and it could be that your child’s personality or learning style just doesn’t mesh well with his teacher’s.  But what can be done?

 

  • Ask your child for examples of what happens at school while acknowledging his feelings. “It sounds like you had a rough day at school. I’m sorry to hear that. Help me picture what happened. What did Mrs. Haggerty say? What was happening right before that?”
  • Use imagery language to help your child picture what he could do differently, based on what the issue may be. “I know you were so excited about going to the movies over the weekend. When do you picture is the best time to tell your friends? During homeroom announcements or during recess?” Offering choices can make it easier for students who have difficulty verbalising their thoughts or are hesitant to talk about how school is going.
  • Check in with the teacher. Because tone can often be misinterpreted, it may be best to meet in person. Sending a brief email to set up a time to chat may be helpful. Keeping a positive and respectful tone may help keep things productive: “James seems to be having a tough time meeting the classroom expectations lately. I would love to meet one day to discuss what I can do to help support him.”

James’s mother, Christine, took all of the aforementioned steps: she asked James what was happening and took notes while he was talking so he would know she took his concerns seriously. She met with Mrs. Haggerty and remained neutral despite feeling angry and hurt that James felt disliked and disrespected. Mrs. Haggerty reported that James was disruptive in class, didn’t follow her directions and wasted time instead of completing assignments. They decided that Mrs. Haggerty would send home a note each day reporting on James’s behaviour.

 

Christine sat James down and they talked about what he could do to be a good listener and a good friend in the classroom. They practised examples at home and Christine scoured Pinterest for ideas about motivators and sticker charts she could use to help make James have more fun at school.

 

Despite everyone’s efforts, James came home crying again a few weeks later. “Mrs. Haggerty gets mad at me for not turning to the right page but she says everything too fast. I can’t read the big words in the Social Studies textbook, so I ask to use the bathroom or make jokes about whoever is sitting next to me. Then Mrs. Haggerty yells at me, and I feel so sad because I was trying my best but I just can’t remember what she said to do!”

 

James’s stresses come pouring out between sobs.

 

For students like James, behaviours often begin in the classroom when the workload becomes too hard or when they realise they aren’t able to read as well or as quickly as their peers. They know they can’t always do the assignments presented to them, so it becomes easier to find new and clever ways to avoid tasks. James has a high IQ, so it’s often assumed that he should be able to read and comprehend as well as anyone — and if he can’t, it must be because he’s being lazy or doesn’t care. James’s self-esteem slowly started to plummet as he noticed more and more how much easier reading was for his peers.

 

But if the foundational sensory-cognitive skills for reading are not in place, students may struggle to reach their learning potential. A cause of difficulty in establishing sight words and contextual fluency is difficulty in visualising letters in words. This is called weak symbol imagery. A primary cause of language comprehension problems is difficulty creating an imagined gestalt. This is called weak concept imagery. This weakness causes individuals to get only “parts” of information they read or hear, but not the whole.

 

Signs of weak symbol imagery can be easier to spot (slow, labored reading, difficulty with spelling) than those of weak concept imagery (difficulty with following directions, answering open-ended questions, grasping humor, mental mapping).

 

Like James, Tallulah was struggling at school and wasn’t able to read despite being extremely bright. Watch the video below to hear her mum describe how Lindamood-Bell instruction changed their family’s life: “She took a final assessment at the end, and the results were just incredible. More than what I had hoped for.”

 

 

Click here to find a Learning Centre near you.

How to Nurture Your Reluctant Reader

Australia, Helpful Tips, Reading, , , ,

While you’d like your son or daughter to disappear into the land of Narnia or be swept up in a Harry Potter spell while reading, the reality may be the opposite of this for your child. In fact, they might even say they hate reading and when they finally sit down with a book, you hear cries of, “Am I done yet?” or “How many more pages?” every few minutes.

 

But where does this reluctance come from? Has your child not found the type of books they can get excited about? Are they getting frustrated because they have to sound out every word? Are they a fluent reader who struggles to comprehend what they’ve read? Understanding the root of your reader’s reluctance is the first step in trying to find the best way to help them.

 

Explore Their Interests —  via Books!

Thanks to inter-library loans and websites like Amazon and Scholastic, there are more books than ever available. Tap into your son or daughter’s interests when searching for new options. Animals, Minecraft, Star Wars, My Little Pony – make reading more fun by providing your child with a high-interest topic. Connect a field trip to the aquarium with a book about sharks or find a book about sea life before heading to Sea World.

 

Create a Positive Reading Atmosphere

Establish a time for quiet reading in your household as something to look forward to and enjoy! If your reluctant reader sees you reading, he or she is less likely to see reading as a punishment or something negative. Stepping away from TV time or iPad games as a family eliminates distractions and can allow your child to see reading as something enjoyable.

 

Try Audiobooks and Read-Alouds

Allow your child to be exposed to text in different ways: have a read aloud or listen to an audiobook. Hearing a fun, exciting story may motivate your child to seek out a book on their own. After you read or listen to a story, you can gauge your student’s comprehension by asking some imagery questions. Things like, “How did you see that happening?” or “What do you picture happening next?” can begin a fun discussion of the story and allow you to see what your child is getting out of it.

 

Eliminate the Possibility of a Reading Weakness

No matter how many fun and exciting books your child is exposed to, reading may continue to be a source of strife if he or she has a decoding weakness. Having to sound out the same word every time it appears, slow reading, and difficulty differentiating the letters and sounds within words are all signs of a reading weakness. These challenges may be tied to your child’s symbol imagery, which is the ability to create mental imagery for sounds and letters. Having symbol imagery that’s in-tact is essential for being able to decode new words, maintain sight words and become an independent, fluent reader.

 

Learn more about reading difficulty and solutions here.

 

Tackle Reading Comprehension Head-On

Being a fluent reader doesn’t guarantee strong reading comprehension. Your child may not be making a “movie in their mind” while they read, which allows comprehension to happen. Concept imagery is the ability to create an imagined gestalt — or whole — from language. Listening to audiobooks or being read to won’t necessarily make comprehension any easier for a student who has a concept imagery weakness. Learn about the imagery-language connection for reading here.

 

If you have concerns about your child’s reading or comprehension, please get in touch with your local learning centre: Double Bay (02) 9328 7119 | Chatswood (02) 9410 1006

Academy Week starts July 16 | Join us!

Academy, ,

Join us July 16-20 for Lindamood-Bell Academy Week at our learning centers!

 

Find out why LINDAMOOD-BELL ACADEMY is the RIGHT private school experience for your child. Our research-validated programs and individualized approach to learning make the difference.

 

 

To attend, find a learning center near you. 

 

You may also contact us today at 800-300-1818 or fill out our get in touch form HERE.

 

We look forward to beginning a wonderful learning adventure with your child!

Lindamood-Bell Academy: The Learning Environment You’ve Dreamed About | Enroll for the 2018-19 School Year

Academy, ,

Lindamood-Bell Academy’s flexible and differentiated curriculum—both in person and online—means that the Academy can be the ideal learning environment for all types of students, including:

 

  • Accelerated Learners
  • Learners Who Need a Flexible Environment
  • Students with Challenging Schedules
  • Homeschool Families
  • Students Who Struggle with Reading
  • Students Who Struggle with Comprehension
  • Students Who Have School Anxiety

We develop the imagery-language foundation for success in language processing and success in all curriculum. Our research-validated instruction and individualized learning plans help your child truly thrive.

 

Joe and Brian are twins whose health concerns have affected every part of their lives, including learning. It was difficult to find the right learning environment to help them fulfill their potential. Their mom, Barbara, describes how Lindamood-Bell Academy addresses their unique needs with a combination of our research-validated instruction and an accredited curriculum.

 

 

Jack’s new favorite subject is science!

 

Jack was a bright boy with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that was not making a difference. His mom was determined to find the right school where her fun-loving kid could learn to his potential. When she found the right environment for him, Jack learned to read and comprehend. And love school. No longer wanting to escape academics, he now counts science as his favorite subject!

 

Find out how Academy can be the right solution for your child.

 

Want to learn more or discuss a learning plan for your child? Get in touch. 

 

The Academy is now accepting applications for the 2018-2019 school year. We can’t wait to use our research-validated instruction and individualized learning plans to help make your child’s school dreams come true.

 

Visualise Better Reading Comprehension

Australia, Comprehension, Reading, , ,

Most reading experts agree on one thing: In order to comprehend what they read, students must have strong decoding skills and adequate oral vocabulary. In other words, a child must be able to accurately decode every word on the page, and know what each of the words mean.

 

Unfortunately, many students who can decode well and understand words still have weak comprehension. What is the missing piece for these students?

 

Clinical research over the last thirty years indicates there is a separate comprehension weakness that is rarely identified. This weakness often undermines the reading process. It is a weakness, based in the sensory system, in creating an imaged gestalt or “whole.”

 

Students may have difficulty creating mental images for language. This weakness causes individuals to get only “parts” of information they read or hear, but not the whole.

 

Nanci Bell first became aware of the connection that underlies comprehension while she was teaching students struggling with literacy, many of whom had been previously diagnosed as dyslexic. Nanci has described that at the time, she was unaware of a separate comprehension dysfunction. Like many others, she thought difficulty with reading comprehension was caused by weak decoding and weak oral vocabulary.

 

In the following excerpt, from Visualizing and Verbalizing, Nanci Bell describes the incident that sparked her passion to change learning for students struggling with weak comprehension.

 

Needing a break in the lesson from spelling word after word, I decide to have Allan, [a college student majoring in architecture], read and give me a verbal summary.  Handing him a college level skill book, I ask him to read aloud so I can be certain he is decoding accurately.

 

He accurately reads the page of material, and I take the book from him, saying, “Good job.  Tell me what you read.”

 

Allan gives me the very complete summary, beginning with the main idea and then including all the details.  To my amazement, he infers, concludes, predicts, and evaluates the material. He is confident and involved in the activity – a much different Allan than the one that struggles with spelling.

 

I stare at him, saying, “That was really an incredible summary.  How are you able to do that?”

 

Looking at me, surprised and now shy, Allan replies, “I don’t know.”

 

Realizing that Allan seems embarrassed and unsure of himself because of my question, I reassure him.  “That really was good. You have very good reading comprehension. How did you do that? If I know what you do to remember what you read, perhaps I can teach others to do it.”

 

Thoughtful, Allan replies, “I don’t know.”  Then, after a pause, he says, “I make movies when I read.”

 

A little surprised, I ask, “What do you mean, you make movies when you read?”

 

“I don’t know.  I just see movies in my head when I read.  The words turn into pictures and I just remember the pictures, the images.  Don’t you do that?”

 

Thinking about the books I’ve read, I finally answer, “Yes.  I do. I picture what I read. I guess I’ve just not thought about it.”

 

“Do other people do that, too?”

 

“I don’t know … but I’ll find out …”

 

The statement “I make movies when I read” prompted my twenty-five-year-odyssey exploring the relationship between imagery and language.  Today, twenty years after first writing Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking, I am still passionate about the importance of imagery to comprehension and cognition. (Bell, 2007, pp. 4-8)

 

Over the past 30 years more than 40,000 students have been taught how to learn to their potential at Lindamood-Bell. While some of our students have a previous diagnosis that affects learning, others seek our help to enhance their skills or to just make learning easier—and we make a difference for each one of them.

 

The Visualizing and Verbalizing™ program develops concept imagery—the ability to create an imagined or imaged gestalt from language—as a basis for comprehension and higher order thinking. The development of concept imagery improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, oral vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.

 

A mom describes how Visualizing and Verbalizing improved her daughter’s reading comprehension:

 

 

If you have concerns about your child’s language comprehension ability, get in touch with one of our learning centres to get started:  Double Bay (02) 9328 7119 | Chatswood (02) 9410 1006

Visualise a Better Reader

Australia, Reading, , , ,

At Lindamood-Bell, we believe that all individuals can learn how to read to their potential—including those who have a previous diagnosis of dyslexia.

 

Over the course of nearly three decades, Lindamood-Bell has worked with thousands of individuals. Sitting with a child or an adult who struggles to read a word provides unique insight into the learning process. Our success with students is due to our unique approach, including our research-validated, sensory-cognitive instruction.

 

The Challenge

Unfortunately, many students, even those who have had years of extra help, continue to struggle with year level text. Perhaps they sound out a word eventually—but it is slow and laboured. They may take so long to sound out the word that they miss the meaning of the text altogether. Or, they may substitute words when reading a paragraph. For example, they may read ‘production’ instead of ‘perfection.’

 

For many individuals, even those who have received extensive reading support, sight word recognition remains difficult. They may attempt to use phonics strategies for most words—such as reading  /pee/ /oh/ /plee/ for the word ‘people.’ When they finally conquer a word, they might not recognise that same word when they encounter it in the next paragraph.

 

Also, while a student may be able to spell words phonetically, they are unable to remember the visual patterns of words (orthography). For example, they may spell the word “friend” as “f-r-e-n-d.”

 

A Missing Connection

An important aspect of reading and spelling is symbol imagery, which underlies both phonological and orthographic processing. Symbol imagery is the ability to visualise letters in your mind’s eye. This connection of imagery and language is necessary for sounding out new words, as well as quickly recognising letters and common words. Students who read fluently, and are able to self-correct their errors, have strong symbol imagery.

 

Traditional reading help focuses on how to sound out words as well as reading and spelling rules. While these activities have value, they do not affect the necessary imagery-language connection. They do not change how a student is processing language. This is why reading may still be extremely difficult for students who have received years of tutoring.

 

A Unique Approach

We help make this connection for students at our learning centres. The Seeing Stars® program develops symbol imagery for reading and spelling. Long overlooked in the field of reading research, symbol imagery is an important function that can now be assessed and developed.

 

Our instructors’ language stimulates an individual’s symbol imagery. For example, when a teacher says, “What letters do you see for ‘top’?” she is prompting the student to picture the letters t-o-p. By applying this skill to phonological and orthographic processing, reading, spelling, sight word and contextual fluency skills are improved.  Improved symbol imagery can change reading, regardless of a student’s age or struggle with literacy—including those with a previous diagnosis of dyslexia.

 

Research-validated

We continually monitor student results to ensure that we maintain our exceptional standard of quality. View our Learning Centre results with students who have reading difficulties here.

 

We also actively participate in neurological and behavioural research on our programs and instruction. Numerous peer-reviewed articles based on studies examining the effectiveness of our instruction with dyslexic students have been published in scholarly journals.

 

A University of Washington study recently published in the journal, Nature Communications, examines changes to brain connections and reading performance as a result of Seeing Stars reading instruction at a Lindamood-Bell Learning Centre. Read more and access the full article here.

 

If you would like further information or have questions regarding our instruction, please contact us: Double Bay (02) 9328 7119 | Chatswood (02) 9410 1006

Preventing the Summer Slide

Helpful Tips, Reading,

Months away from school can lead to measurable learning loss in skills like reading. Teachers know all about “the summer slide”— students come back to school out of practice, maybe forgetting some of what they learned. For this reason, your child’s teacher may have encouraged families to make reading a summer priority.  We’ve gathered a few ideas to help get you started.

 

Keep up the momentum

Keep reading skills fresh by scheduling dedicated reading time every day. Putting library visits and/or trips to the bookstore on your family’s summer calendar can help. At home, it may be helpful to create some cozy spaces that are conducive to reading. If your family has hit the road for a summer trip, scheduled reading time in the evening can be a great wind-down activity for everyone.

 

Check in about the books they’re reading to monitor for understanding. Ask, “What did you picture for what happened in that story?”, “What do you think might happen next?”, or “How would you change the ending of the story?”

 

Explore interests

Summer is a great time for children and teens to explore their personal interests. For example, an animal enthusiast can visit the zoo or volunteer at the local animal shelter. Use their special interest to choose summer reading titles.

 

Maintain limits

Screen time, including TV, can prevent kids from being mentally and physically active.  For this reason, it’s a good idea to set time limits on screen time just as you would during the school year, allowing for ample time outside, interacting face-to-face, with family and friends. While TV and gaming can have some value, these activities offer little opportunity for students to visualize language—a key component for comprehension. Reading books, and listening to audiobooks can keep your child’s mind active.

 

Reluctant reader?

If reading is not fun for your child, implementing a summer reading plan may be especially challenging.  A learning ability evaluation can uncover the strengths and weaknesses that affect reading and comprehension. The right learning plan can turn weaknesses into strengths and make school easier. Check out this infographic about the causes of some reading difficulties: [INFOGRAPHIC] Why is my child struggling in school?

 

Turn Summer Learning Loss into Learning Gain!

Imagine your child returning to school in the fall with better skills, ready to tackle the new year. Students can spend part of their summer at one of our learning centers to turn what could have been a learning loss, into a learning gain.

 

Summer learning at Lindamood-Bell is individualized to meet the learning needs of each student in a short amount of time. Because it’s one-to-one, we’ll only spend time on what your child needs. Learn about our summer programs here.

 

Some students come to us with a previous diagnosis of a learning challenge. Some need learning to be easier, while some use summer learning to get ahead for next year. We start by identifying strengths and weaknesses that may be affecting performance in reading, comprehension, and math.  And, we make recommendations for individualized instruction plans that create learning gains. Students go back to school with more confidence.

 

Make an impact this summer!  It’s a great time to get ahead for next school year.  Get started today by contacting us to discuss how we can help make this summer everything your family has been waiting for! 800-300-1818

 

Winter Break: The Perfect Time for Learning

Australia, Instruction, Specials, ,

While winter break can provide some much-needed fun and relaxation, it’s also the perfect time to maintain learning momentum or get support with a challenging subject. Our flexible schedule and one-to-one instruction can allow your child to return to school with confidence.

 

Students in our learning centres experience the magic of learning year-round. Check out how we’re pros at combining excitement and enjoyment with our individualised, research-validated instruction:

 

https://youtu.be/YtVjxTT-6jU

 

We’re offering 10% off instruction during winter break (minimum 20 hours). Get help with reading, spelling or maths.

 

Winter break instruction is individualised to meet the needs of each student.  For example, students can attend for an enrichment program to advance in an area like writing or study skills. Alumni students might attend for help applying their skills to a new task (for example: story problems or reading fluency). Students who are currently struggling with reading, comprehension, or maths can use their school break to jump-start a new or ongoing intensive instruction plan. Winter break is an opportunity to focus on the skills that will make school easier.

 

Contact us to learn more and chat about how you can use winter break to make an impact on your child’s learning. Find your location in Chatswood or Double Bay.