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Welcome to The Shut-Down Learner, where we strive to talk to parents in down-to-earth, plain language about the concerns they have for their children. This website has over 500 blog posts organized in categories as well as podcasts, “Two Minute Tidbit” tips, and information about Dr. Selznick’s books.

Come on in and explore.If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Dr. Selznick at shutdownlearner1@gmail.com.

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Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

My Interview with Documentary Film Director, Jamie Redford (#Dyslexia)

(***This blog is a revision of an earlier post.) Understanding dyslexia is challenging, primarily because of the deeply embedded mythologies that we hold. Chief among them is “the reversal thing.” To illustrate, try this experiment. With any friend or relative ask...

Interview with Betty B. Osman, Author: “No One to Play With: The Social Side of Learning Disabilities”

A number of years ago - time does fly by - I was the host of a podcast show that was a part of The Coffee Klatch Network, Special Needs Talk Radio. In that role, I had the honor of interviewing some of the top names in the field. I thought it would be fun to revisit...

“Ongoing Themes: #Dyslexia #ADHD #LD Discrepancy #504 #Parenting”

Those of you following this blog for some time know there are some recurring themes in these posts (that mostly irritate me). For others newer to these posts, I will help to bring you up to speed with some of the predominant ones. The LD-Discrepancy Model: Easily the...

“Math Disability? Not So Fast”

Not sure when the reverence for word problems emerged, but it seems that children are almost exclusively taught math through word problems. I believe it’s linked to the theory that math should always be enhancing “higher order thinking.” Let’s look at Chris, age 7, a...

“Pictures Telling the Story”

Largely supported by the medical model, when parents have their child assessed they are often focused on “the diagnosis.” Such a model embodies a, “Yes, they have it,” or “No, they don't have it,” (whatever "it" is) perspective. In my corner of the universe, I...

“Does Spelling Matter?”

Let’s say your 12-year-old sixth grader spells the following words: (brief) bref (should) shood (grown) gron (success) susess (educate) edcccate (result) resolt (kitchen) kicten Then the child writes the following story to a prompt: “Once a o pon a...

Family Matters #Dyslexia Talk – (Link to the Talk)

I recently had the honor of presenting an overview of dyslexia, shut-down learner and executive functioning to Family Matters: Parent Training and Information Center. Based in Illinois, they have great workshops and material on their site and I would encourage you...

ADHD? Perhaps.

Practically every week I hear an array of concerns regarding distractibility and inattentiveness. There's always the question of, "Does my child have ADHD/ADD" lurking. While talking to parents I try and broaden the narrative, reviewing other factors that may be...

Fillin’ the Cracks

Anxiety over your child’s school-based problems can start very early. A mom recently contacted me after reading The Shut-Down Learner. “My son is drowning in school. Do you think he could be a shut-down learner?” After asking a few more questions, I was struck by the...

“Boy, You’re in Hot Water”

Recently, 8-year-old Marty showed some signs of misbehavior when his mom exclaimed, “Boy, you’re in hot water now.” Marty started having a meltdown, screaming and crying, “I don’t want to be in hot water!!!!!!! I It will hurt me!!!” Seven-year-old Marissa became...