Show #107- Dr. Stuart Brown- National Institute for Play

Dr. Stuart Brown is a physician and psychiatrist who has been studying the importance of play for many years, and is the founder of The National Institute for Play. He's written a wonderful new book, entitled "Play: How it Shapes The Brain, opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul" which should be on every parent and teacher's book shelf.
Over the course of his clinical career, he interviewed thousands of people to capture their play profiles. His cataloging of their profiles demonstrated the active presence of play in the accomplishments of the very successful and also identified negative consequences that inevitably accumulate in a play-deprived life.

The National Institute for Play includes a catalog of information and research on play in humans and animals; play profiles, and more. You can find out more by going to the website by clicking here. Dr. Brown and his work has been featured in articles in the New York Times (The 3 R's, a Fourth is Crucial too- Recess) and numerous other publications. Dr. Brown founded the Institute back in 1989, and was surprised that much of the play-related research he reviewed was fragmented and lacked quantitative confirmation of factors readily observed clinically. A science and evidence-based way of understanding and suggesting how to improve play hygeine was and still is lacking. He turned to animal play research to gain insights into human play.

With the support of the National Geographic Society and Jane Goodall, he observed animal play in the wild. He became acquainted with the premier animal play experts in the world, and began to see play as a long evolved behavior important for the well being and survival of animals. He subsequently came to understand that humans are uniquely designed by nature to enjoy and participate in play throughout life.

Many of our kids, even in affluent homes, are often deprived of the free play and free time they need to develop skills in critical thinking they will need later in life. Play is fun, but it's also a very serious subject for good emotional and social development in kids, and I think it's one of the things we can often forget about when we try to help improve our kids who struggle in school. We may think extra work is the answer, but extra play might help even more.

In the first part of our interview, we talk about how play is important for kid's development; in the second part, we discuss how Grandparents and play; how important hands on learning is for kids, and how this seemingly "wasteful" activity may be where most of their most important learning comes from. I know you'll really enjoy Dr. Stuart Brown- his new book helped me think about play and how we incorporate it in our lives in a whole new way.

Click here to listen to Show #107- Dr. Stuart Brown- The Importance of Play

Show # 91- Write On Handwriting with Amy Ford Hebert- Part II

In today's show, Amy and I discuss what is age appropriate for motor skills, how many kids have problems with right-left orientation, and how small things like a good pencil grip can make all the difference in a kid's writing ability. Strength and coordination and spatial attributes all contribute to good handwriting, making the overall writing process easier.

We are trying out Amy's program at home (This is not a freebie- I paid for it) and John, my younger child, seems to be particularly interested, and it seems to be showing up in his writing. The daily journal page requirement is not overly popular, and I share some of the funnier moments in today's show. But the bottom line if that writing is both a physical and mental task, requiring the coordination of both simultaneously, and it won't improve unless the kids get more practice- so this is the summer of non-stop practice for this skill.

Click here to download Write On Handwriting with Amy Ford Hebert - Part II

Please check out Pocketful of Therapy for resources like Write On Handwriting, Handwriting without tears, raised line paper, pencil grips, slant boards and other writing helpers. I have been ordering from them for years- this is where the occupational therapists I know get many of their supplies, and this is a convenient resource for these materials that can be hard to find in the local stores.

As always, please email us at ldpodcast@gmail.com with any comments and questions. The survey will be closing shortly, so if you haven't filled it out, please do!

Dale Brown, Part II

In the second part of my conversation with Dale Brown from LD Online, we talk about using professional coaches for ADHD and other learning disabilities, when positive reinforcement works best, and the latest goings on at LD Online.
Dale knows from personal experience what it was like growing up with learning disabilities, and how hard it is to get the help you need. As parents, we need to know how to help our kids learn these self-advocacy skills, because they need to take charge of their learning issues. And there's no one better to learn from than Dale, who has not only advocated for herself, but has been instrumental in helping others learn to advocate for themselves in the workplace.

Click here to listen to Show #39: Conversation with Dale Brown, Part II

Show # 30- Why Handwriting Matters

Click Here to download Show #30- Handwriting

Why Handwriting Matters and What To Do To Help

What's wrong with this picture?

The picture to the right might seem like a typical picture of a cute kid working at school. Having children who struggle with poor handwriting, I see a child who has a bad pencil grip, writing up near her shoulders-definitely not a recipe for legible handwriting.

Why should we care about handwriting? When I was in school, "penmanship" was formally taught, but little time is spent in today's classrooms on penmanship, although we are spending more and more time on writing. Weird, huh? We expect kids to have the mechanics of handwriting down, without giving them much instruction in it, despite the fact that the ease of the act of handwriting has a big impact on the actual composition process.

Kids who have a hard time physically writing, or who are constantly criticized for the legibility of their writing start to avoid writing, and write as little as possible when called upon to do so- they become the great literary minimalists. They use short, concrete sentences, which while fine in early elementary school, becomes more frowned upon as the years advance. Eventually, a child with handwriting issues begins to have serious problems in english and other subjects where alot of writing is required. Teachers ask them to redo work because they simply can't read what the child is trying to express, and the child feels punished in the process, not a way to encourage them to do more writing!

Sure, many kids begin to learn to type early on, but our classrooms and standardized testing still require an awful lot of writing- worksheets, spelling tests, standardized tests- all require a child to handwrite essays and more, and keyboards are simply not allowed unless a child has a special education plan in place that includes this as an accommodation. the simple truth is why can't avoid the handwriting issue when we look at improving a child's writing ability and ability to communicate and think through the written word.

In today's show, I interview Michelle Jones, a pediatric occupational therapist who sees alot of kids with handwriting issues. The handwriting is often the tip of the iceberg, a tip off of larger problems with fine motor coordination- and something that can easily be addressed through therapy and at home. If you have a child with less than perfect handwriting- this is the show for you!

Look for our page on handwriting helpers by clicking here

As always, we love to hear from our listeners! Please email us by clicking here, or call our voicemail line at (206) 666-2343, or leave comments on our blog by clicking here.