Preparing Parents for the School Year
by Ellen Doman
Your evaluator and coach will be there to walk you through what is the very best course of action to take with your child. You are not doing this school year without our help! But before we even get started on the details of what needs to be done with your child, before you purchase that book bag or order what you plan to use for your at-home school year, I suggest that we get your thinking on track. If you are the at-home guide to your child’s school year success, we need to be utterly sure that your frame of reference is correct. Every year I have parents coming in making statements such as, “Maybe he has ADD,” or, “Maybe he’s dyslexic.” Those of you who have done this have seen me take a very deep breath before responding. Part of our mission at NACD is to educate parents. You need to know what we know. When you don’t know what we know, you get very confused by what others are saying or by what you are reading on blogs, message boards, or wherever you may get information. Our goal is to educate you to become an expert on your own child. Our goal is to educate you so well that you could lead others on the message boards. In our continuing effort to educate you, I suggest that you go to our bookstore and order a CD or DVD to refresh your understanding of your child and the issues that are causing trouble for your child. Whether you listen to“Learning and Attention Issues” or a “Guide to Learning Disabilities” or the “Guide to the Parent Teacher,” you will learn or review basic principles relative to your child and issues that you may confront during this school year. With a firm and refreshed memory of how various neurological functions impact your child’s learning and behavior, you will be much better equipped to interact with your child, teachers, and even your own evaluator. An educated parent is a wonderful thing. Both you and your child will benefit from the calm confidence derived from being well-informed. In just a few minutes a day in the car or while you are doing chores, you can learn and review why your child may be having difficulty learning or focusing and why we do what we do on programs. So take a few minutes and go to the website bookstore. You will find a wealth of informative CDs and DVDs. Help yourself to an education. They make lovely gifts for teachers as well! You may want also to pass them on to grandparents and aunts and uncles. When the extended family is well-informed, they are often also very helpful and supportive. So let’s prepare for the school year by first educating ourselves.
Remember that we expect success! Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 24 No. 2, 2011 ©NACD |
Isn’t it amazing that the new school year is almost here again? Many parents and children really dread the thought. Although some of you are just now starting to actually enjoy your summer, the school year lurks just weeks away. If you are taking a moment to cover your eyes trying to banish the thought of what lies ahead, may I suggest a better course of action?
