Learn Smarter Podcast

This week, we’re re-airing an oldie but goodie to help with the start of school and the anxiety that may be building around the challenging task of writing. Writing presents a challenge for ALL students--it doesn’t matter if they have a learning or medical diagnosis that interferes with their ability to function in the classroom. Writing. Is. Hard.  In today’s episode, Rachel & Steph do a deep dive into writing and explain why it is often the most challenging part of a child’s day. They (of course!) give a few tips and ideas on how to make it easier.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist

Dr. Sharon Saline, author of What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life, joins Rachel and Steph to discuss her goal of improving the connection between parents and learners with ADHD through improving conversation. She walks them through her 5C’s of parenting which are self-control, compassion, collaboration, consistency, and celebration. They also dive into a conversation about medication.  Connect with Dr. Sharon Saline: www.drsharonsaline.com  What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew ADHD Solution Card Deck  On Patreon, Rachel, Steph, and Sharon continue the conversation with Rachel asking some anecdotal questions she has about kids with ADHD. This leads to a broader conversation about kids who take human growth hormone and parenting twins and siblings who are drastically different.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist

For the final episode of Dr. Braaten month, Dr. Braaten guides Rachel & Steph through a conversation about the differences between processing speed and sluggish cognitive tempo. She teaches that processing speed is related to performance and is measurable, often impacting academic performance. Sluggish cognitive tempo, on the other hand, is observed and reported by parents and teacher ratings and often is identified through problems with daily living activities. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 63: Slow Processing Speed with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Ep 166: How Time Perception Impacts Learners with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Ep 167: How Processing Speed Impacts Social Skills with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Connect with Dr. Braaten:  www.mghclaycenter.org Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist

Dr. Braaten month continues as she, Rachel & Steph dig into the impact of processing speed on social skills. Dr. Braaten redefines processing speed and shares that 40% of kids with processing difficulties will report social difficulties. She highlights that processing speeds impact social life in that children with processing difficulties often are the last one to do something or children miss an opportunity or find themselves in a situation they didn’t mean to be in. She shares that the social impact of processing issues is a combination of the impact of self-knowledge and the environment they’re in. They strategize about how to help learners with processing difficulties mitigate the impact on their social world through preparation and building awareness. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 63: Slow Processing Speed with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Ep 166: How Time Perception Impacts Learners with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Connect with Dr. Braaten:  www.mghclaycenter.org Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist

Rachel & Steph welcome Dr. Ellen Braaten back for Dr. Braaten month! Dr. Braaten discusses how time perception is an incredibly important part of understanding processing speed and ADHD, and she shares some tips and hints to help respond to time perception issues. She explains meta-time blindness and has a discussion about when it is important to keep track of time and when it should be let go. She also chats with Rachel & Steph about how overscheduling actually feels. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 63: Slow Processing Speed with Dr. Ellen Braaten (Author Series) Connect with Dr. Braaten:  www.mghclaycenter.org

We are revisiting this important episode we recorded with Dr. Ellen Braaten to kick off an entire month of episodes featuring her! Dr. Braaten is a leading expert on processing speeds and she joined Rachel & Steph to have a wide-ranging conversation about what processing speed is and how it impacts daily functioning. Her book Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up further explains what processing speed is and the effects slow processing can have on family life, school, and social life. Dr. Braaten also shared what we can do to help the people in our lives who have slower processing while also providing very reassuring and research-based parenting feedback. Connect with Dr. Braaten: www.MGHClayCenter.org Bright Kids Who Can't Keep Up How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist Other episodes mentioned: Ep 57: How to Create Free Time while Maintaining Grades and Minimizing Anxiety with Nikki  Ep 61: The Assessment Process with Dr. Karen Wilson (Local Professionals Series)

Marcelle Waldman joins Rachel and Steph on the podcast to discuss her company, FeelLinks, an intentional tool related to social/emotional learning for young children. Emotional intelligence is understanding, labeling, and managing feelings while knowing and understanding how others are feeling. Emotional intelligence builds responsible decision making, self-awareness, social awareness and empathy. Rachel, Steph, and Marcelle dig into how amazing FeelLinks is, how it can be used in a variety of ways (or explicitly as directed) and why it is so critical to have “feelings conversations” with your learners. Get 10% off for FeelLinks using code: learnsmarter Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist

College Counselor Melanie Tasoff specializes in helping neurodiverse learners and learners with specialized needs navigate the college process. She takes a well-rounded, whole child approach, talks extensively about best fit and what that means, and gives us the latest information on SAT/ACTs. She discusses the specific fears and concerns that parents are navigating through this process, the importance of independent living skills (like navigating transportation/cooking/managing finances/laundry) in assessing readiness and gap year alternatives that can be the right next step for learners.  Email Melanie Tasoff: melanie@magellancounseling.com  Magellan Counseling Bio Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist Other episodes mentioned: Ep 131: Dispelling College Accommodations Myths with Elizabeth Hamblet, LDT-C, M.S. Ed. (Author Series)

Rachel and Steph dig into what re-entry into in-person school will look like and feel like. They discuss the fears, questions, and adjustments learners, parents, teachers, and educational therapists are experiencing as they navigate a slower re-entry into a post-pandemic world.  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/learnsmarterpodcast How to connect with us: Join our FB Group Join our e-mail list Rachel’s Kapp Educational Therapy Group website Steph’s My Ed Therapist website  @learnsmarterpodcast, @kappedtherapy, @myedtherapist Other episodes mentioned: Ep 123: Online Portal Pitfalls (Executive Functioning Series) Ep 02: How to calendar Ep 78: How to Calendar like a Pro (Executive Function Series) Ep 79: The 4 excuses kids have for not calendaring (Executive Function Series) Ep 89: Minimum Viable Product (Educational Therapy Series)

Rachel & Steph continue their conversation from episode 159 with co-authors Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson.  In the second half of their conversation, they dig into self-determination theory even more. They further discuss the parenting shift from helping kids feel safe to helping them learn to be brave. They talk about how figuring out who is responsible for what is critical, how to offer and not force help or our experience on learners and why giving control to kids to make decisions is essential in helping them learn to solve their own problems. Other episodes mentioned: Ep 159: Understanding and Developing Motivation for Your Learner Part 1 (Author Series) Connect with Ned and Bill:  www.selfdrivenchild.com    The Self-Driven Child