;e struggling learner . . . . is using way too much battery
energy to write or remember sight words or phonics for reading.
We see the battery drain happen before our eyes.
2. Writing Processing Gate
When the child’s act of writing or his vi-
sual/spatial skills haven’t transferred into
the automatic hemisphere, he o;en looks
like he’s sloppy, lazy, or unmotivated. His
papers are poorly spaced, or he refuses
to write much of anything for the par-
ent. ;is is the most common learning
gate that is blocked in gi;ed children. It
seems like they are “allergic to a pencil.”
Transferring his thoughts into writing,
or just copying something, takes a huge
amount of battery energy for this child.
Characteristics include these:
•;Frequent or occasional reversals in
letters a;er age 7 (even if only “once
in a while”)
3. Auditory Processing Gate
A common myth about auditory processing is re;ected in this statement: “My child
has an auditory processing problem because he can’t remember three directions
at once.” ;is is likely more of a focusing/
attention issue. For example, if we would
ask him to “go into the kitchen and get a
candy bar, a glass of chocolate milk, and
a dish of ice cream for yourself,” the child
would likely remember these directions.
A child who is su;ering with an audi-
tory processing problem generally has
trouble with reading. Common charac-
teristics include these:
•;Phonics sounds don’t stick, no mat-
ter how many games you have played
•;Sight words are hard to memorize—
even learning alphabet letter names
can be hard
•;Sounds out same word over and over
in a story
• Can’t easily sequence sounds, like
months of the year or skip counting
•;Is a “word guesser”
• No phonetic pattern to spelling—
doesn’t hear consonants, e.g., ;urs-
day is ;esday
www.; eHomeschoolMagazine.com
4. Focus/Attention Gate
;is can be the most puzzling blocked
learning gate to identify. A child may
look like he has no memory, or a true
learning disability, when what is really
going on is that this child has to use too
much battery energy to remain focused
during the instruction or completion of
the lesson. ;e child may look like he is
“paying attention” to your lesson, giv-
ing you good eye contact; however, in
his head, he is two doors down, playing
with his friend or playing in the dinosaur
village. Here are some characteristics of
a child who has to use too much battery
energy to remain focused:
education classes. You will see that it is
not hard to do. It just requires some tools,
strategies, and techniques that you may
not be familiar with right now.
•;Inconsistency in performance from
one day to another
•;Needs to have someone sit with him
to ;nish work
• Forgets previously learned work
much of the time—seems to have a
“memory” problem
•;Can have impulsive behavior—easily
getting upset when things go wrong
•;Sensory processing problems (little
things bother him a lot, like tags
on shirts, loud noises, transitions,
foods, etc.)
Be assured that you do not need to be
an expert or professional to make learning easier for your child at home. In the
upcoming columns for ;e Struggling
Homeschooler, I will discuss each learning gate individually and show you the
corrections that I developed as I taught
these wonderful children in my special
Questions? Email Dianne short questions at: cra;@ ecentral.com.
Dianne Cra; has a master’s degree in
learning disabilities. She speaks widely
at homeschool conventions across the
country. Her books, Brain Integration
;erapy Manual, Right Brain Phonics
Program, and her DVDs,
Understanding & Helping the Struggling Learner,
Teaching the Right Brain Child, Smart
Kids—Who Hate to Write, and ;e Biology of Behavior have helped hundreds
of families remove learning blocks in their
struggling children at home. Visit her
website, www.diannecra;.org, for many
articles on children and learning and to
download her free Daily Lesson Plans for
the Struggling Reader and Writer.
