# Solutions for Smart but Struggling Students : The SG Way : Week 2 (26 Sep 2019)

Largely based on this webinar (Free for 36hrs per week)
https://brightandquirky.com/smart-struggling-students-member/

## Week 2: How to Meet Your Child’s Unique Learning Needs
https://hub.brightandquirky.com/sbss-2019/sbss-2019-week-2/

Length of notes indicates how interesting I find the talks....

### Session 1: Finding Breakthroughs with Bizarre Strategies
Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D.
Running time: 24:27
* ADD & Dyslexic himself, he is also a parent to child with similar learning difficulty
* Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist and Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he specializes in the treatment of ADHD, executive functioning issues, and issues that face students with learning differences.
* Junior high school was very difficult for him and he often slept through lessons.
* Although his SAT score only 1000, while the average to get into Harvard is higher (1300?), it did not affect his ability to do very well in Harvard's PhD program.
* Watch this video to listen to how he studies (he studies in a moving train) and does his dissertation (listening to Nirvana).
* He is evidence that standardized testing might not always pick out bright persons.
* He is also evidence that ADD need to be setup in career and tasks that interests them and then they will blossom

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Don't cut off our child's interest too early. Let them learn as much as they want.
* Some children study and do work better when they have music blasting

### Session 2: William Dodson: 5 Ways to Engage a Bright Child with ADHD
William Dodson, M.D.
Running time: 23:38
* Teach ADD how to get into ZONE (or hyperfocus) on demand
* Children need to write their own manual what works for their learning
* Our children need more feedback from parents when things go WELL (they have enough negative feedback in their lives naturally). So that they are aware what works
* Teach them imaginary Buddy double. Start with sitting next to them, then they find their own friends, eventually they do work on their own. Takes a long time, but they will learn.
* Children can turn in a more creative assignment. (eg: black humour Jane Austin for Literature class instead of analysis)
* Most public schools are unable to engage bright & quirky children. Private would be too expensive. Find out in existing schools which teachers are able to engage our children better, write it into 504 the children get to pick the teachers first.
* ADHD problem solve in a different way, they get the answer, but they don't know how they get the answer. Allow them to work backwards from the answer, don't force them to show step by step work in the standard way.
* ADHD have time blindness. Accept them as they are, caregivers plan for that. They tend to do things at last minute, hyperfocus and turns in the work.
* Being a self-scientist in finding what works for the children

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Ask MOE/school to allow our children attend classes with teachers who can engage them better.
* Some children do better in time pressured mode, compressing the work at last minute.
* For Maths, alot of children don't show working. Teach them to work backwards from the answer to figure out the steps.

### Session 3: When the Party in Your Head is More Exciting
Jacqui Byrne
Running time: 18:02
* Instead of telling them need to break project into smaller pieces, ask them what do they want, and what are the steps required
* Use google calendar to do planning
* Start with the GOAL and keep asking them what do you want, how do you want to do that, what do you need.
* Some children are top down (overview). Some children are bottom up (detail oriented)
* Give SN children extra marks when they get a question correct
* Write the Introduction last

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Personally I think her ideas too difficult to implement in SG

### Session 4: One of the Greatest Myths of 2e
Susan Baum, Ph.D.
Running time: 16:06
* Waldorf school seems to be better for kids who have difficulty reading (read the remark by Nicola below the video that presents opposing arguments on this point)
* Don't burden a kid with the thought that unless they do well in school, they won't have a good life
* take the pressure off the child, don't let them think they are not going to be a success if they don't do well in school
* Learning style (visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic) has been debunked.
* See teachers as a partner, share with teacher how the child learn at home, which could be different in school.
* 75% of 2E kids have trouble with production, while school is all about production
* Separate writing skill from knowledge of concepts. Allow kids have different ways of turning in assignments other than writing. Eg: do a play, make a model on planets
* Make learning talent-oriented. eg: kids who can build very well, like to learn in a hands on way
* There is a difference between learning and doing classwork.
* There are many ways to get into college. Showing portfolio of works, internship, writing a letter to make a change ... It is not all about grades

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* How to encourage teachers to separate learning and producing.
* Current system : producing is always writing
* Beef up children's portfolio, get internship opportunities, engage them in their interests

### Session 5: Helping Kids who Feel Like Failures Find Passion & Purpose
Seth Perler
Running time: 22:33
* EXECUTIVE FUNCTION COACH
* Parents might not be spending enough time beefing up children's strength and spending too much time shoring up their deficits
* Kids have to have buy in and engaged
* a must : Healthy, safety and secure relationship between teacher / student / parent
* FOCUS requires foundations : sufficient rest, nourishing & nutritious food, movement & exercise
* FOCUS requires Safe, Sacred, study place that is conducive to studying (no distraction, minimize & downsize things not necessary: declutter, keep away toys etc)
* First thing kids come home from school : kids have to make a plan
* Kids who procrastinate : [use TRAIN THEORY] don't tell them do your homework. Ask them to do the tiniest step and start. What is the next thing. Make it small. Think about them getting them starting and restarting.
* Use TIMERS : don't use phone, but use a separate manual/digital one
* Ask children to make a plan for the next 2 mins
* Define completion. How will you know when you are done, and have them say that.

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* More resources here : https://sethperler.com/index/
* Ensure sufficient rest, nourishing & nutritious food, movement & exercise
* Teach children to prep study area before starting
* Involve child in the design of Sacred Study Space that is conducive to them
* Make children plan their day, first thing after reaching home
* Think about train theory. Praise like crazy when they do it
* Use timers
* Ask children to define completion so that they know what they need to do

### Session 6: When Family & Friends Simply Don’t Get It
Jonathan Mooney
Running time: 19:13
* Parents need to provide context and never too late to talk to children if error was made
* We have chosen to call a narrow band of humans the normal people and that is wrong. .... everyone single human being has a strength because of their differences, and they have a right to be different

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
*

### Session 7: How Shark Tank Saved my Child’s Self Esteem
Roberto Olivardia, Ph.D.
Running time: 33:32
* Know that ADHD/ADD is highly heritable
* Neuro psychological testing has high false negative (tends not to identify ADHD). But neuro psychological testing has value indentifying learning differences (eg: reading difficulty).
* Caregivers need to trust their instincts more, the tests have different sensitivity for different tests. If the test did not test out the difficulty, maybe use another test.
* A more accurate description of ADHD would be irregularity in sustaining attention in things of not interest to them
* Get children to understand that alot of successful people don't do things in the conventional way
* Teach children how to respond to different responses to their learning differences (ignorant people, mean people, surprised people) so they don't feel inferior
* Teach them that ALL brains have strengths and weaknesses. School system are designed for majority and might not be designed for brains with ADHD/dyslexia.
* Acknowledge that it's difficult but can be figured out. Show them examples of successful people.

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Teach kid to do self-advocate

### Session 8: Do More of What Works and Less of What Doesn’t
Willian Dodson, M.D.
Running time: 22:56
* Coral : Ran out of focus myself... not listening
* Great teachers for ADHD kids, are GREAT teachers for all students : most of the time.
* Give kids medication. Analogy if we don't deny glasses to children with myopia, we should not withhold meds for ADHD children

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Find ways to get great teachers to our children

### Session 9: Executive Function Strategies in Plain English
Sharon Saline, Ph.D.
Running time: 21:50
* Best way to teach is part of life and not in separate class
* Aim for progress not perfection
* Start with interests, start with strength. Set limits
* Make a task small enough so that they can start
* 2E tends to spend more of their developmental time in extrinsic motivation and only able to develop intrinsic motivation in their 20s.
* Kids want to be accepted for who they are and not what you want them to be

#### Ideas to implement in SG:
* Use Google Familly calendar
* Remember to validate our children

### Session 10: Let’s Not Invest in the Things that Don’t Matter
Debbie Reber, M.A.
Running time: 24:17

* Parent who SN child.
* Coral : Ran out of focus myself... not listening

#### Ideas to implement in SG:

*