So SAD

So SAD

SAD is the acronym for the Standard American Diet.  Amongst those in the know that the typical diet of Americans is indeed tragic we find it to be a most fitting label.  So many conditions clearly point to a dietary cause.  Including but not limited to leaky gut, celiac disease, crohn’s disease, the rise of diabetes in younger children, enuresis, high blood pressure due to too much salt, to name a few. Here I would like to discuss the two main contributors to our dietary woes. Sugar and overindulgence. Sugar is the biggest cover-up since the carcinogenic effects of smoking …

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The Most Common Toxin?

The Most Common Toxin?

As I said in the last post, otitis media is the most common childhood illness. At least 80% of children experience OM. The most prescribed treatment for OM is antibiotics. This medication does not discriminate, it wipes out all biotics, the bad and the good. In order to maintain a healthy gut you need the good biotics. In the 1950’s Dr. Orian Truss began exploring ways of treating what he called “antibiotic syndrome” and published his book, “The Missing Diagnosis”. Candida yeast is this missing diagnosis, caused mainly by antibiotics. Leaky gut seems to be the result of poor gut …

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The Ears Have It

The Ears Have It

Dr. Bock went for cute with the 4-A title. According to Dr. Bock the immune system is compromised in these children and food sensitivities trigger the immune issues, keeping the child in a vicious endless cycle that is responsible for distracting the body from developing normally. Since the body and brain are too busy fighting off perceived invaders, as that is what an allergy is, it cannot expend sufficient energy to learn. Hence the connection between the medical issues and the developmental delay(s) or educational difficulties. Here let us take a look at otitis media. I choose otitis media (OM) …

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Recommended Reading (1):  Healing the New Childhood Epidemics

Recommended Reading (1): Healing the New Childhood Epidemics

Recommended Reading 1: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock, M.D. and Cameron Stauth In When Learning Goes Awry we discussed many possible contributors to a student’s lack of performance. Since then we have focused mainly on physiological function. This to some extent, reflects the artificial divide between the services schools provide as “educational” vs. what insurance will cover as “medical” with the many gaps in between, as well as the move away from the country doctor who knew you personally and had a more holistic approach …

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Remediation

Remediation

You have a good differential diagnosis, now you need to figure out how to treat the problem. We call this remediation.  There are other terms that are used interchangeably, which leads to confusion as each term has its own meaning.  Here I will clarify.  Consider Remediation the overarching plan to treat the problem, one that has different spokes, or parts, to it. There are three branches to remediation: 1) Rehabilitation 2) Compensation 3) Accommodation Rehabilitation is the work we do to strengthen or fix the weak area.  This may mean a corrective surgery, exercises or simply time to recuperate. Compensation …

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To Treat or Not to Treat, That Is The (Million Dollar) Question, Part I

To Treat or Not to Treat, That Is The (Million Dollar) Question, Part I

Sammy and Jake both have a hearing loss.  Do they need speech and language therapy? Some of you may know that hearing loss would be considered a presumptive diagnosis.  This means that this condition automatically qualifies these children for support services.  What therapy should you give them and how often? Should they get the same therapy?  If you answered “yes” would grouping them be a good fiscally efficient option? Without knowing anything more about each of these children it is hard to answer the above questions. What if I told you that Jake is 10 years old and has a …

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Just an Observation Part 2: Differentiating

Just an Observation Part 2: Differentiating

In part one we discussed the difference between an observation and a judgement. Ideally you would have the opportunity to have all the relevant and varied discipline specific professionals present on how to improve the proficiency of your observations for better targeted referrals.  Until this comes to fruition what can you do? I like to call this process the “Whole Task Analysis”.  It is very common for instructors to think about the sequence of steps necessary to accomplish a task.  This makes it easy to recognize where in the process the learner is getting stuck.  The next step is to …

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Way 21: Patience

Way 21: Patience

The translation of the original text is “slow to anger”. This one is easier to understand in light of our frustration with a president who seems to impulsively tweet instead of taking the advice so many are giving him to stop and take time to listen more carefully and respond more thoughtfully and maturely. We previously discussed that there are character traits that are non-academic that are imperative to learning, here we are discussing one of the most important ones. Anger does not only manifest in the extreme of anger and rage. It comes under many guises such as frustration, …

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Way 15-20: Balancing Act

Way 15-20: Balancing Act

So many people suffer from anxiety.  This is due in part to not understanding the importance of limits, boundaries and knowing how to prioritize.  You feel pulled to put in 120% at work to impress your boss.  You feel pulled to spend more time with your family because they keep complaining that you are not present enough.  You want to socialize more with your friends, enjoying their light-hearted banter.  You feel pulled to spend more time exercising because you know it is healthy, but can’t seem to find the time with the pull of work and family.  You want more …

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Way 14:  Study the Texts

Way 14: Study the Texts

There are two points I would like to focus on here.  The first is ascertaining the truthfulness of your text.  If you compared a Russian, Iranian and American history textbook you would have a very different picture of the last hundred years. Which version is true?  You have to seek truth and do your research. The second point is reading.  Since you cannot study a text if you cannot read it, it is important to understand how to foster reading and how to differentially diagnose “dyslexia”.  I put dyslexia in quotes because in my professional opinion it is a term …

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