3D Parent IEP for Your Child

June 30, 2015 by Mira and Mark Halpert

The 3D Parent IEP Drives Results for Your Child – Whether Your Child is Gifted, a Smart Struggling Child, or Has Dyslexia, Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD

In Public and Charter Schools, if your child qualifies for Special Education services, the school will develop an Individualized Education Plan or IEP for your child. For our daughter, this process was cordial, collaborative, but after 7 years we realized that the process had one major flaw:

Our daughter’s reading comprehension was 3 years below grade level

At that point, we developed a Parent IEP — where we solely developed an Individualized Education Plan for our child. Rather than working in a system where we worked “collaboratively with schools, we set the goals and action plans, while working collaborative with both school-based and outside professionals to help our daughter succeed.

With this effort and the 3D Learner Program (R) Mira developed, our daughter was able to improve her reading comprehension 4.2 grade levels in 7 months. We have since helped thousands of students to achieve success in months — but we did not have a formal 3D Parent IEP. To meet that need, …

We have developed our own 3D Parent IEP (TM). We call it The 3D Parent IEP because:

1- It has three dimensions — the parents, the school-based professionals and outside professionals all focused on your child’s success

2- It includes our philosophy of achieving results in months not years with a collaborative effort – we know this is not possible for every child, but it always amazes us how often this can happen

3- We are committed to the goals and open on the how

5 Factors that differentiate the 3D Parent IEP:

1- The present level of performance includes:

– Reading speed and comprehension based on passages comparable to the length and complexity of passages your child will be tested on

– Homework time and stress levels — often a key problem for smart struggling students — from gifted students to students with dyslexia and learning disabilities

– Other parameters that are important to you — self-esteem, self-advocacy skills and whatever is important to you

2- We get to the root causes of the challenges. We know our students often have two, three or all four of the following:

– A Learning Difference — 62% of the students today are right-brain learners who learn best when he or she sees and experiences information

– Eye-teaming issue — where a child skips words and lines when reading

– Attention challenges

– Anxiety

and we know that our students may have working memory, processing speed, auditory processing and related challenges

3- You can set goals that are consistent with where your child is at, what your child is capable of achieving and what time and money are you willing to invest. Schools will often say that our goals are unreasonable, but …

We know that with a smart struggling student, committed parents, and the right investments and hard work — amazing gains can be made in months not years.

4- We then layout what needs to be done to accomplish the goals

5- We coach parents through the process and we are committed to the goals and open on the how.

For those parents whose child has a school-based IEP, we integrate the two. We realize that school based accommodations may be critical to your child ‘s success.

For more information go to www.3dlearner.com, complete our Success Assessment and call us to develop your 3D Parent IEP.

Boca Raton Parent Advocate for Your Child with Dyslexia

May 20, 2015 by Mira and Mark Halpert

In this article on the The Dyslexia Advantage? , Daniel Pink describes the advantages dyslexics have in problem solving, in running businesses and in being a creative force. The challenge is that in school, students with dyslexia can often struggle, because schools want students with dyslexia to learn with a phonics-based approach.

Sylvia needed a Boca Raton parent advocate, got one that fought for a dyslexia program and won, and two years later her son was reading at grade level, but his reading comprehension and test scores were far below expectations.

The parent advocate had done a lot of good. She had gotten extra time on tests, a quiet setting for tests and reduced homework assignment.

The five biggest challenges were:

– Matthew was a right-brain learner and needed a more hands-on approach

– Matthew had an attention issue, the parents wanted to avoid medication and there were no obvious solutions

– Matthew skipped words and lines when reading — a common challenge for students with dyslexia, but no one recognized it

– Matthew needed the test broken down into shorter chunks and the parent advocate did not realize that was possible

– Matthew needed a right-brain approach that played to his strengths — he did not need a reading tutor, he needed a right-brain program that played to her strengths

Sylvia called a friend, who said, just call Mary — sounds like your your two children are very much alike

She called Mary and the two moms found an immediate connection. Mary too had been frustrated, but her pediatrician had recommended 3D Learner.

When Mary went to our website, she was immediately attracted to the no cost book. “Life is a Ball, Do Not Put Me in a Box”

Mary was struck by the concept of a learning difference. The three questions that really got her were:

– Does your child remember places from years ago?

– Does your child learn best when he or she sees and experiences information?

– Are your child’s reading comprehension and test scores well below his or her potential?

Then the no cost Success Assessment really resonated — because her son did learn differently and have both an attention and eye-teaming challenge. We were able to help her son, and Mary was more than willing to share her experience.

“What was totally different was the 3D Learner approach helped my child, it helped both my husband and I, and when we went to the school, the school was open to accept their recommendations, because they showed my son’s eye-teaming and attention issues, in a way that words cannot work. They even got the test divided over a number of days.”

Mary then added, “I later realized that I did not need a parent advocate who was familiar with dyslexia, I needed a parent advocate who knew how to help my son who was a right-brain learner to get the right program and accommodations”.

At 3D Learner, our parent advocate effort is primarily focused on the smart struggling child who learns differently and who often has attention, eye-teaming and/or anxiety challenges.

Mary asked Sylvia the same three questions:

– Does your child remember places from years ago?

– Does your child learn best when he or she sees and experiences information?

– Are your child’s reading comprehension and test scores well below his or her potential?

Sylvia was surprised to see that this described her child, but Mary was not — there are a lot of smart struggling kids who learn differently.

To help you to better understand your child, we offer a:

– Downloadable copy of our book “Life is a Ball Don Not Put Me in a Box”

– A Success Assessment to see if your child learns differently and whether your child has an attention and/or eye-teaming challenge

– A Strategy Session

Whether you are looking for a Boca Raton parent advocate, a Parkland parent advocate or some place in the area, if your child learns differently, we can help

For more information visit our 3D Learner Dyslexia Page — if dyslexia is not the problem visit 3D Learner

Not Dyslexia or ADHD, Please Help My Smart Struggling Child

January 31, 2015 by Mira and Mark Halpert

Please Help My Smart Struggling Child

The school ruled out dyslexia and learning disabilities. The doctor ruled out ADHD. Now Matt’s parents were really perplexed. They then spent a couple of thousand of dollars on an auditory processing evaluation, and a few more on a private psychological evaluation.

She asked her pediatrician who handed her one of our cards with the following questions about her smart struggling child:

– Is your child struggling in school?

2- Does your child remember places visited, even from years ago?

3- Does your child learn best when your child sees and experiences information?

4- Does your child lose focus when bored or frustrated?

5- Does your child skip words and/or lines when reading?

6- Are your child’s reading comprehension and test scores lower than you would have expected?

Mom was perplexed. Matt was a hard worker, who got good grades because he did all his homework, did well on projects, with massive help, and did every extra credit project in sight — but he did struggle in school.

Matt was uncanny at remembering places he visited, even from when he was 3

Matt had trouble reading, but he could put together a dog house with the right tools and material. He certainly learned best when he saw and experienced information.

Matt could hyper focus on that which was interesting, but he really struggled to hold it together when things were boring.

Skipping words and lines she wasn’t sure of. She asked Matt and he said, “I do that all the time”. She asked why he did not share that with her and he said, “I figured everyone else did too”.

He read well out loud, but he really struggled when he had to read long passages and answer questions. The standardized tests were an annual nightmare for him.

What is wrong with my child the mother asked — and the pediatrician said,”Seems like your smart struggling child is a bright right-brain learner. Same kind of problems Einstein, Edison and Disney had.

What happens when you look at dyslexia and ADHD from a strength-based perspective:

1- You realize that many famous people were brilliant out of the box thinkers — but they did not learn the way the schools taught them

2- These famous people with dyslexia also had the ability to hyper-focus on that which is important

3- The students can make dramatic gains in reading comprehension, test scores and learn to love reading if they are engaged in the process

4- The attention and eye-teaming issues could and should be addressed

5- Self-esteem issues can be real, and improvements in self-esteem are a natural result of being supported and becoming much more successful

The key questions to consider are:

– Would you like to read a short and empowering book that might describe your child and explain their strength and challenges?

– Does your child learn differently?

– Does your child have and attention and /or an eye-teaming issue that might be holding him or her back?

– Would you like to know how to help your child to become much more successful by capitalizing on your child’s strengths, while identifying and addressing their challenges?

Mira has written a short book titled, “Life is a Ball, Do Not Put Me in a Box” that can help you to both understand your child and your role

We have developed a comprehensive assessment tool to screen for both a learning difference and attention and eye-teaming challenges

We would like to make this all available to you at no cost at www.3dlearner.com with a no cost consult

Right Dyslexia Treatment for Your Smart Struggling Child

January 29, 2015 by Mira and Mark Halpert

The Right Dyslexia Treatment for Your Child

The right dyslexia treatment depends on your child’s profile.

Two parents had similar experiences. One Boca Raton mom read the psychologist report and was confused. The report said that her child was a visual or right-brain learner, but the psychologist had recommended 3 different phonics-based programs. The mom had already invested in an Orton-Gillingham (R) tutor, her son read well, but he did not understand what he read.

The second mom was in New Jersey and had the same experience but then googled and found this article on the right dyslexia treatment for your right-brain learner

She also discovered the visual-spatial learner

Both moms called us and there was a real connection. Like half the kids we see:

– Both had well above normal IQs

– Both learned differently

– Both has both an attention and an eye-teaming issue

– Both kids thought there was something wrong with them

How do we live in a world that is so smart and have so many well trained professionals recommend logical, sequential and auditory programs for kids who learn best when the student sees and experiences information.

Here are 7 key points they miss:

– Right-brain learners need to be taught how to understand sight words and they do it best in a hands-on way

– Right-brain learners need to be taught to recognize visual patterns and they do it best with a 3-dimensional approach

– Eye-teaming issues are not the same as dyslexia but the two occur very frequently in the same child

– Parents want to address ADHD or attention challenges naturally, in ever increasing numbers

– Right-brain learners often think there is something wrong with them and boring programs that play to their weakness reinforce that opinion

– Parenting a right-brain learner is far easier when the student is engaged in the process

– Very few people show parents how to be the right coach and advocate for their right-brain learner

At 3D Learner, we are dedicated to helping parents of right-brain learners to be Informed, Empowered and Proactive.

Our first three goals are to:

– Empower you to recognize and enjoy your child’s gifts

– Inform you. Most smart struggling students have a combination of learning differently and eye-teaming, attention or all three challenges

– Be proactive. Most smart struggling right-brain learners will struggle for years — and may go through multiple dyslexia treatments or dyslexia programs, many psychologists, a number of medications and far too many nights where your child and you battle through homework.

There is a far better way.

Mira Halpert, the developer of the 3D Learner Program (R), has written a book for you — ‘Life is a Ball, Do Not Put Me in a Box” – you can download and read in less than 20 minutes — and it is written in Dr. Seuss prose

Mira has put together a Success Assessment that can help you to screen for whether your child is a right-brain learner and whether your child appears to have an attention and/or eye-teaming issue

Then we offer a no cost consult

You can access the book and the assessment at no cost by going to www.3dlearner.com

Parent Success University Event Sunday September 14th in Boca Raton

September 1, 2014 by Mira and Mark Halpert

Do You Have a Smart Struggling Child?

We are Focused on Helping

You to Make The Difference

Three common themes to this new school year are demonstrated from these calls:

What is going on? My 3^rd grader in a regular class is reading the same passage my 5^th grade gifted child read last year

These math questions are crazy! They want my child to add 34 to 61, and rather than adding a 1 and a 4, and a 3 and a 6 to get 95, they want him to use a number line and then write an explanation for what he did. Is this the new Florida State Standards, or is the teacher doing something unusual?

The first few weeks used to be a review, but this year the work is hard already – what is going on?

The teachers are under great stress too.

Many parents who have a smart struggling child are calling, and there is a good reason to act. This year will be the biggest change in standards for all Florida public and charter school students. These changes will impact most private school students, too.

To help you to navigate these turbulent times, 3D Learner has created Parent Success University – where you can learn why the work is so much harder, how you can help your child today, and how you can make the difference for your child this school year.

Our 1^st event will be Sunday September 14^th from 10 am to 1 pm at Sugar Sand Park

For more details go to www.3dlearner.com/events or call us at 561-361-7495

There will be a similar event in Pembroke Pines on Saturday, September 13^th from ` 10 to 1. The same events page has details on both events.

If you are feeling like the world got real hard overnight, you are no alone. Our calls over the first two weeks of school are up 240% from last year, and there are three distinct differences:

We have had several calls from parents of gifted children. These students often coasted for the first couple of months. Not this year.
We have had a number of calls from parents whose child is neither gifted nor does their child have dyslexia or a learning disability. The reading material is really hard, the math is very different, and homework is taking far longer with much more stress than the parents would have expected.
The parents of students with dyslexia or a learning disability are finding life incredibly tough. The reading material is much harder, their child is lost in math, and the parents are really frustrated.

While one expected these calls from public school parents, a surprising number of these calls are from private school parents, who are seeing a similar change as the work has gotten much harder.

The reality is that the new Florida State Standards are much harder than the previous FCAT 2.0 standards. What is even worse is that the work will get much harder and when the new Florida State Assessments are given next March and April there is likely to be a significant drop in scores.

Featured speakers at our event will include:

Dr. Lisa Sirota, a pediatrician, who will be speaking on Holistic Approaches to ADHD

Dr. Jeff Krantlzer, a licensed clinical social worker, speaking on Mental Health Strategies

Maggie MaCauley, a parent expert, on how to manage homework challenges

Mira Halpert, 3D Learner Program ® Developer, on Embracing your child’s gifts and teaching to strengths

Mark Halpert, 3D Learner, Recognize the risks, goal set and commit to success

We encourage you to join us, and if you have recommendations for speakers or topics, please e-mail us at parents @3dlearner.com or call us at 561-361-7495.