BLOGS

There are several types of educational assessments used for children with learning disabilities and ADHD. Each assessment measures specific cognitive, academic, or behavioral areas, helping to create a targeted, personalized educational therapy plan. Here’s a breakdown of these assessments and their relevance to designing programs at EmpowerKidz:   1. Psychoeducational Assessments What They Measure: These […]

At EmpowerKidz, we know that navigating your child’s assessment report can feel overwhelming. Whether it’s a report on cognitive abilities, academic skills, or social-emotional functioning, each section is packed with valuable information that can guide you in supporting your child’s growth. Here’s a simplified guide to help you interpret these reports and turn insights into […]

How to manage Dyscalculia?   Before we dive into the topic of “How to manage Dyscalculia”, let us first define what it is. Dyscalculia is a disability that makes it difficult for a student to learn arithmetic, such as difficulties understanding numbers, manipulating numbers, or performing mathematical calculations. A person with this disability has difficulty […]

      How to Prepare for an IEP Meeting: A Parent’s Guide from the EmpowerKidz Perspective. Preparation for anything can work to alleviate a lot of stress; however, preparing for an IEP meeting can sometimes feel overwhelming. It doesn’t matter if it is your first meeting or your thirtieth meeting. Being prepared guarantees you […]

IEP and 504 Plan: What’s the Big Difference?   Type of Support: IEP: Provides accommodations and special education for students with special needs. 504 Plan: Provides benefits but no private tuition.   Legal Basis: IEP: Under the IDEA, special education laws have strong statutory protections. Program 504: Except for section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Civil Rights Act provides for equal educational opportunity.   Eligibility: IEP: The student must meet 13 disability categories, and the disability must have a significant impact on their ability to learn. Program 504: Students are eligible if they have a disability that severely limits one or more essential life activities, even if they do not require special education.   Parents’ responsibilities: IEP: […]

  EmpowerKidz Parenting Guide Navigating the world of special education can be difficult, especially when trying to understand the difference between an IEP (Individual Education Plan) and a 504 plan. different support systems. At EmpowerKidz, we believe that understanding differences is the key to keeping your child safe. Here is a list to help you make the right decision.   What is an IEP? An IEP is a legal plan that outlines special education services, accommodations, and goals for students with disabilities. It is part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a […]

  Understanding the Role of an Educational Therapist: The EmpowerKidz Cognitive Skill Development Approach As parents, you are often guided to provide your child with proper academic support; however, when regular tutoring does not ‘step up’ or solve more fundamental learning problems for your child, it is a good time to seek an Educational Therapist. […]

As a mother of two, I realize summer is a challenging time for parents and planning for the summer activities for kids can be overwhelming. The last two years of COVID limited the traditional summertime activities such as sleepovers, visiting the library, setting up a lemonade stand, visiting a children’s museum, swimming at the community […]

How do children learn in school?   Learning is dependent on more than just the teacher and the curriculum, but the student and his or her ability to learn.   Through this blog, I want to talk about the SOI-IPP program, that I have been using in my practice for over 10 years.    SOI-IPP […]

How to spot Dyscalculia?   Learning Disability Symptoms   Let’s be real, Math is a difficult subject for many students but with regular practice, some students get the hang of it. However, what happens when even practicing math can’t help a child grasp the concept of math? What do we call this learning difficulty? We […]

Math anxiety v/s Dyscalculia   Learning Disabilities Types Let’s be honest, math is hard for many students. But for others, it can be more than just difficult. As students begin to learn math in school, they are often overwhelmed and nervous about the subject, especially during their first math exam, but after they have learned […]

Perceptual-Motor skills   Motor Skill Development   Perceptual motor skills are movement skills that are vital to the development, learning and growth of children. It is the ability of a child to use their senses and their motor skills in conjunction with their environment to interact with it.  For example, In order for a baby […]

Does dyslexia and dyscalculia co-exist?   Treatment For Dyscalculia and dyslexia. Before we get into the nitty gritty of finding out whether Dyslexia and Dyscalculia co- exist, let’s brief up on what Dyslexia and Dyscalculia really are. Dyslexia is formally known as  a learning disorder that affects a child’s ability to read, write, speak and […]

What are executive functioning skills?   Some of us may have heard of the term “Executive functioning skills” floating around on blogs or other forums which is often associated with learning disabilities like ADHD, or sometimes applied to any learning difficulty. Whatever the context may be, it may have raised certain questions in our mind […]

Perceptual motor skills are movement skills that are vital to the development, learning and growth of children. It is the ability of a child to use their senses and their motor skills in conjunction with their environment to interact with it.  For example, In order for a baby to crawl, push objects, and eventually walk; […]

Improve Reading Skills   How to Improve Reading Skills?   Reading is an essential part of any child’s development on an emotional and intellectual level. By learning new words, a child will improve his/her language association skills, as well as improve their fundamentals of the language. If you are worried about your child’s reading ability, […]

Types of Dyslexia    There are many children who have certain types of reading difficulties. These difficulties stem from those with reading disabilities such as dyslexia or learning disabilities or those who simply lag behind and could use some focused reading assistance. Children with reading difficulties can severely impair their academic performance and, if it […]

Learning Disability Here are some common myths that we can fact check:   Myth 1: Learning disabilities usually occur in children with low intelligence or aptitude.   The statement is incorrect. Children with learning disabilities typically have a high IQ level. The learning disabilities are only visible in children with average or above-average intelligence. Nevertheless, […]

Neuroimaging(Brain Imaging)   Here are some common myths & Facts of ADHD:   ADHD myth #1: It’s not a real medical condition.   There is growing scientific evidence that ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a legitimate diagnosis, including that of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Education. The Diagnostic […]

How to Boost Memory Power How To Increase Memory Skill (Working Memory)? We may have heard teachers say, or as parents, we may have said to our children, “We just studied that paragraph yesterday!” “How many times do I have to say it?” or “Could you please concentrate?” These are just some of the phrases […]

Early Childhood Education Reading With the Fast ForWord Program, a child can gain 1-2 years worth of reading skills within 40-60 hours. Research over the past 30 years shows that specific learning disability and Auditory Processing Disorder is the cause of most reading problems. Reading is not something innate in the brain, but rather a […]

Some of us may have heard of the term “Executive functioning skills” floating around on blogs or other forums which is often associated with learning disabilities like ADHD, or sometimes applied to any learning difficulty. Whatever the context may be, it may have raised certain questions in our mind like “what are Executive functioning skills?” […]

Children with hearing impairments often experience a delay in language acquisition and reading, typically because their experience with spoken language and other forms of auditory input is limited. When the brain is unable to process sounds, it is hard for it to tell the difference between words, such as rock, rocks, and rocked. The majority […]

The ability to process information quickly is key to becoming a proficient reader. Despite reading being considered a visual activity, it relies heavily on an individual’s oral language skills. So most people may not realize how important auditory processing is to reading skills. Here is some information about the correlation between sound and reading; read […]

Frequently, parents of children with specific learning disabilities ask how they can support their childrens at home.Typically, infants or toddlers can understand what their parents are saying much before they can speak. As they get older and their communication skills develop, they learn how to articulate their feelings. But for children, that may not be […]

We may have heard teachers say, or as parents, we may have said to our children, “We just studied that paragraph yesterday!” “How many times do I have to say it?” or “Could you please concentrate?” These are just some of the phrases we use when we or the teacher are frustrated with our child’s […]

We’ve all heard the terms ‘Long term memory,’ which refers to a large storage of information and a record of past events, and ‘Short term memory,’ which refers to the ability to store small amounts of information and keep it readily available for a short period of time. But are we familiar with the term […]

The brain is definitely a fascinating part of our body’s central nervous system as it holds quite a lot of mysterious and complex functions. Like a computer, it is always changing and making new connections. From birth to the age of five, a child’s brain develops more than any other point in their life. Although […]

Caring for Children with Disability – Every child needs love, encouragement and support, especially children who have learning disabilities. We may find it challenging to really figure out what appropriate steps we can take at home to improve our children’s self-worth and confidence. Firstly, we must consult a specialist that can really guide us through […]

It can be daunting for parents of children with learning problems to try to help their children learn even the most basic skills. It’s natural for parents to feel driven to entrust their child’s education to professionals who have spent countless hours learning the specifics of their child’s disabilities. We must remember that as parents, […]

Orton- Gillingham is a teaching approach used by a well-trained and experienced instructor to help struggling readers by taking a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic and prescriptive way in helping individuals with reading, writing and spelling. Professionals use visual and auditory tactics as well as some methods that involve movement and touch. With this […]

Dyslexia is a learning disability characterised by difficulties in recognising spoken sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Dyslexia, often known as reading difficulty, affects the parts of the brain that processes languages. Dyslexic children frequently have normal vision and are just as intelligent as their peers. However, they have more […]

Dyslexia Screening Tests – How can you know if a child’s challenges with spelling, reading, writing, or numeracy could be signs of dyslexia? First let us know what Dyslexia is? Dyslexia is a learning disorder that impairs a person’s speech and written language, making it difficult for them to understand and read words and numbers. […]

Dyslexia is a common learning disability that makes it difficult to understand and master the ability to skillfully read and use verbal language. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that is inherited. This means that a child can inherit this condition from a parent, and it can impair their neurological system’s performance. So, Is Dyslexia Genetic? […]

Dyslexia Awareness Month 2021 – Despite the fact that most of us have heard of or are familiar with dyslexia, there are numerous misconceptions about it. This is why it’s critical to spread the word about it! What exactly is Dyslexia? Dyslexia is a type of learning disability characterised by difficulty in reading which results […]