Aloha Notes: My career as a School Psychologist in Hawaii

LONG TERM RETRIEVAL DEFICITS: While a student might learn information adequately, they may nonetheless demonstrate difficulty retrieving it for use in future situations. Long term retrieval difficulties vary from each individual & depend on how the different types of information are presented. When a student experiences difficulty with retrieval of learned information, there are many things classroom teachers can try to support that student. Accommodations : Limit the amount of information to be learned during an instructional session, giving the student fewer concepts or skills to retain at anyone time. Examples might be limiting the number of spelling words to learn for the week or number of definitions to memorize. Provide a cheat sheets for the student to reference in order to compensate for memory deficits. These might be taped to the students desk and should also be available at home. Allow the student to use a calculator during math computation in order to...

SELF STIMULATING BEHAVIORS AT SCHOOL.  Underwear Matters.  Trust me on this.  Over the past couple years, I have had numerous teachers shyly approach me for consultation, looking for strategies on for their students who are engaging in "self-stimulation" during class, at school, and even on field-trips. In one case, just finding the appropriate pair of underwear solved the problem. Basketball shorts and no underwear was not working out so well... but once discussed, it was a trail and error and a simple fix.  Many times, the teachers biggest concern is how to discuss the problem with the parent. Sometimes the behavior is suspected but not as obvious... But it is always better to have a conversation with the parent as soon as possible. To ignore the issue can be extremely problematic and can create habits that later will be difficult to break.  I think it is important to be mindful of parents cultures when bringing up the topic with them. Initially, it'...