The Secrets of School Success

Positive Young Minds provides support for children at school from Prep to Year 12.

Some of the things Positive Young Minds can help with include:

• Conducting cognitive assessments.
• Managing School Anxiety.
• Creating morning and afternoon routines to help avoid meltdowns.
• Assisting with School Can't (also known as School Refusal).
• Reviewing academic progress to help improve learning outcomes
• Reviewing reasons for underperformance at school including identifying learning difficulties and learning disorders - (see The First Step process below)
• Attending support meetings at school.
• Providing guidelines for parent teacher interviews.
• Improving focus in the classroom.

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How Positive Young Minds helps with Learning Difficulties - The First Step

• ​Positive Young Minds offers a step by step process to looking at learning difficulties.  

1. The First Step involves you completing questionnaires and providing documentation including school reports, examples of work and any previous assessments.  You will also complete permission allowing us to speak with teachers as required and to send teachers an information form.
2. After this documentation has been provided, you will come in for an appointment to  discuss concerns and results of the questionnaires.  
3. During this discuss I will outline a recommended course of action, including what, if any assessments are recommended. If  full assessment is recommended the initial session fee for a full assessment will be waived.
4. Alternatives to a full assessment may be suggested including: targeted intervention prior to assessment; phonological screening by a  speech therapist; emotional or behavioural assessments; individual counselling to address identified concerns; and/or other interventions. 

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• ​Feedback and advice will be verbal.  
• A written report can be provided for additional cost. 
• Current price for The First Step is $400.

Prevalence of Learning Difficulties and Specific Learning Disorders (including Dyslexia)

Up to 25% of children have learning difficulties in one or more areas.  These learning difficulties are due to a wide range of factors, some of which can be identified and corrected.  For some children these difficulties are not due to one specific factor and can very hard to correct even when their motivation is high and they receive extra help and support at home and school.  
 
A smaller percentage of students, 5-15%, experience a Specific Learning Disorder in either one or a combination of reading, writing and mathematics.  For these children the causes of these difficulties are genetic and they do not respond very well to most attempts to correct them.  
​To help with finding out if your child has a Specific Learning Disorder it is necessary to gather a lot of information. 
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Categories of Specific Learning Disorders

A child may be diagnosed as having a Specific Learning Disorder in the areas of:
Reading

• Word reading accuracy*
• Reading rate or fluency*
• Reading comprehension

Written Expression

• Spelling accuracy*
• Grammar and punctuation accuracy
• Clarity or organisation of written expression

Mathematics

• Number sense
• Memorization of arithmetic facts
• Accurate or fluent calculation
• Accurate math reasoning.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is an alternative term used to refer to a pattern of learning difficulties characterised by problems with accurate or fluent word recognition, poor decoding and poor spelling abilities (*).  It is the most commonly known learning disorder.

Can I have Dyslexia Screening?

Positive Young Minds use a First Step Process.  This is an initial screening for Dyslexia.  

Assessment of Learning Difficulties and Specific Learning Disorders

​Gathering accurate information is important for an accurate diagnosis. 
Information needed to find out if your child has an SLD is usually obtained through three sources:

1. formal testing
2. reviewing academic history: using school reports and parental observations and student experiences, and 
3. teacher observations including student’s behaviour/attitude in class. 

 
Aside from formal testing, information required is as follows
History of academic achievement.  
This can either be done by:

1. bringing copies of past school reports to the assessment session for the examiner to review;
2. photocopying past school reports and giving them to the examiner; or,
3. sometimes schools have online summaries that they can forward directly to the examiner.  

 
Samples of academic work:
Bringing past workbooks or pieces of writing your child has completed is useful.
 
Evidence of intervention: 
Either at school or privately.  What sort, how long, any pre and post test results.
 
Hearing and vision assessments: 
When looking at whether your child has a learning disorder, including dyslexia, a number of conditions have to be ruled out therefore it is important that your child has an appropriate hearing and visual assessment

Identification of emotional factors impacting on learning including mental health and trauma
Through questionnaires completed by parents, teachers, and completed by child depending on their age; parental interview and child interview and testing observations.

Cognitive ability
Through a standardised IQ test.  Depending on results a functional assessment may be recommended. 

For further information about Learning Difficulties and Disorders

AusSpeld Understanding Learning Difficulties: A Guide for Parents.