Yael Swerdlow & Associates

10/29/2024

After the news that a school banned a child with autism from participating in a school trip, I feel the need to write this. There are boys and girls that no one invites to birthdays for example. There are kids who want to belong to a team but don't get selected because it's more important to win than include these kids. Children with special needs are not weird or strange, they just want what everyone else wants: to be accepted!! 😡Can I ask a question??. Is anyone willing to copy and paste this post on their wall without sharing, like I did for a friend? they also need full love and support. Autism Speaks

05/23/2022

It is hard to believe that summer vacation starts this week! I am a special education consultant and I offer tutoring services and support to families for children with learning and developmental difficulties. We offer many different services including reading, writing,language processing, math, executive functioning and study skills. Please remember this is the best time to allow people like myself and my associates to work with your children if you have any nagging feelings that they are struggling in school. This is the time we can focus on their weaknesses and reinforce their strengths and use them to compensate for their weaknesses. This is the time that there is no new work, no daily homework etc. and we can “play catch up”. It is always hard for me when a student who has been struggling in school starts with me at the beginning of the school year, and I think to myself “where have they been all summer, we could have done so much to get them ready for the next school year. If you would like to learn more about us visit my website www.yaelswerdlow.org to get more information of what we can do to help.

Why Choose Yael Swerdlow & Associates Yael Swerdlow and Associates offers a comprehensive service to children and their families for all their learning and related needs. Central to Yael’s philosophy is to treat the whole child; the focus is on the academic, social, emotional, and family aspects o...

02/12/2021

When you have a neurotypical child, you feel reasonably assured that class participation and decent study habits will result in good grades. These kids have close friends. They get invited to participate in social things like dances and weekend gatherings. They make the teams, auditioned organizations and clubs.

But when you have a child with certain differences, this is often not the case. Learning may take longer, both academically and socially. Despite their tremendous efforts, results are often a fraction of their peers and social acceptance is fleeting, setting them up for painful comparisons and bitter frustration. Instead of a fun and fulfilling experience, school can become a breeding ground for depression and anxiety, and assignments a battle ground at home. It is exhausting for parent and child alike.

This is the week of SPED (Special Education), Autism, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) awareness.

For all the children who struggle every day to succeed in a world that does not recognize their gifts and talents, and for those who are walking beside them, please let this be a gentle reminder to be kind and accepting of ALL people.

Recognize that the "playing field" is not always a level surface.

Children who learn differently are not weird. They are merely gifted in ways that our society does not value enough. Yet they want what everyone else wants: To be accepted.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍

12/13/2020

When you have a "neurotypical" child, you feel reasonably assured that class participation and decent study habits will result in good grades. These kids have close friends. They get invited to participate in social things like dances and weekend gatherings. They make the teams, auditioned organisations and clubs.

But when you have a child with certain differences, this is often not the case. Learning may take longer, both academically and socially. Despite their tremendous efforts, results are often a fraction of their peers and social acceptance is fleeting, setting them up for painful comparisons and bitter frustration. Instead of a fun and fulfilling experience, school can become a breeding ground for depression and anxiety, and assignments a battle ground at home. It is exhausting for parent and child alike.

This is the week of SPED (Special Education), Autism, Dyslexia, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) awareness. For all the children who struggle every day to succeed in a world that does not recognise their gifts and talents, and for those who are walking beside them, please let this be a gentle reminder to be kind and accepting of ALL people. Recognise that the "playing field" is not always a level surface. These children are merely gifted in ways that our society does not value enough. Yet they want what everyone else wants: To be accepted. That is their right.

If you choose, please copy and paste this in honor of all children who need additional support Our world would be far less beautiful without them.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

06/03/2020

I'm afraid I have some very personal reasons for this post. It's in the hardest times in life, you realize who your real family, friends or people are who really have your back. People's true colors come out when attention isn't on them. Unfortunately, some friends are going to press "like", but not really read it because it takes time to read this statement and when they see it's long, they skip it.
Now I look at those who take the time to read this post until the end..... (I think I'll discover that 5 maybe 6 will. Cancer is very invasive and harmful, even after the end of treatment your body continues to struggle to restore damage caused by radiation / chemotherapy. It's a very long process. (100 % true)
Please in honor of a relative, a friend who died, continues to fight cancer or even had cancer but beat it, copy and paste (don't just share) on your page.
So I can verify who read it, 😍 please write "done" so we can see together the power of unity!!!
To all those who have lost someone or are in the battle against cancer, here's a hug for each and every one of you and your loved ones 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽♥️💜💚❤️💜🧡💚💙❤️💜do💯

05/31/2019

http://www.achildwithneeds.com/parenting/learning-websites-for-kids/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

In the digital age, there are so many wonderful resources available for kids. I came across this great resource lately. It includes 10 free learning websites for kids. So although you may be limiti…

05/19/2019

It is hard to believe that summer vacation starts this week! Parents, please remember this is the best time to allow people like myself and my associates to work with your children if you have any nagging feelings that they are struggling in school. This is the time we can focus on their weaknesses and reinforce their strengths and use them to compensate for their weaknesses. This is the time that there is no new work, no daily homework etc. and we can “play catch up”. It is always hard for me when a student who has been struggling in school starts with me at the beginning of the school year, and I think to myself “where have they been all summer, we could have done so much to get them ready for the next school year.“ Please share this with any of your friends that may share their concerns about their child’s or children’s performance in school and go to my website www.yaelswerdlow.org to get more information of what we can do to help.

Why Choose Yael Swerdlow & Associates Yael Swerdlow and Associates offers a comprehensive service to children and their families for all their learning and related needs. Central to Yael’s philosophy is to treat the whole child; the focus is on the academic, social, emotional, and family aspects o...

01/04/2019

Looking forward to starting work on Monday. 2019 is going to be a great year. We will continue supporting our students with their study skills, executive functioning skills and strategies to deal with their attention deficits in addition to the work we do to improve reading, comprehension skills, oral and written expression and math. Take a look at my website www.yaelswerdlow.org for more details of what we do. Happy New Year to you all.

Why Choose Yael Swerdlow & Associates Yael Swerdlow and Associates offers a comprehensive service to children and their families for all their learning and related needs. Central to Yael’s philosophy is to treat the whole child; the focus is on the academic, social, emotional, and family aspects o...

05/03/2018

Summer Executive Functioning Skills Workshop

Executive functioning skills are a complex set of skills. This term has become the new "buzz word", much like ADHD was in the last decade. I have spent many years working with students who struggle with these skills and over time I have come to realize that it takes more than just working with the student. I learned that it is equally important that parents understand what is happening with their children and that they learn how they can be supportive of their children rather than frustrated with them. For this reason I put together a 4-session Executive Functioning Workshop for parents. I have run this workshop several times and have received very positive feedback from parents.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?
• She has difficulty getting started with a task
• He gives up easily as the task gets challenging
• She blurts out and interrupts
• He has difficulty shifting from one topic or task to
another
• She overreacts to small problems and is easily frustrated
• He never remembers what he needs to take to tennis
practice
• He has difficulty with organization:
- backpack filled with crumpled and loose papers
- does not bring home the materials needed to complete
homework, nor does he hand in his completed work
- loses things ...

What are Executive Function Skills?
• Impulse Control
• Cognitive Flexibility
• Task Initiation
• Working Memory
• Organization
• Self Monitoring

The workshop addresses questions such as “How does a lack of these skills manifest in and affect my child’s daily functioning, and what can I, as a parent, do to help?” The above topics are discussed and you will end the workshop with practical suggestions to help your child.

Workshop Dates: June 5th, 7th, 12th, and 14th
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

To register for the workshop or get more information, please contact me at [email protected]

04/24/2018

It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. Most students have completed the milestone assessments, and they are now in their final run to the end of the school year. Have you stopped for a moment to think "Where is my child? How is he or she doing in school?" Do you have any nagging feelings that have been occupying many hours of your thoughts during the school year? These thoughts may include things such as,
"My child reads, but does not seem to understand what he/she reads, or is unable to answer questions about what he/she has read. "
"I listen to my child read and it is not fluent. He/she has difficulty reading words with more than two syllables and often just guesses the word even if it does not make sense in the sentence. In addition he/she substitutes many of the "small" words ex. may say the/and or for/from and many others."
"Math is a strength in some ways for my child, but he/she does not know his/her math facts and this affects his/her math performance in many areas OR my child knows his/her math facts really well, but he/she has difficulty understanding the math concepts."
"My child is a strong student, but his/her organization skills, and his/her inability to plan, stay on task and sometimes even get started with a task often prevent him/her achieving to his/her potential."
"My child spends hours studying for a test, but when he gets his test score, it does not reflect the hard work he/she has put in, and it is very frustrating and disappointing."

There are many other thoughts that may be going through your minds, but please don't just allow these to be thoughts. Use the summer as a time to help your children build some of the skills they need to be successful in school. Although I know many of you believe the summer should be down time, and not be spent doing "school-like" activities, it truly is the best time to deal with many issues that will make the upcoming year much easier and give them a chance to thrive.

The summer offers skilled professionals like myself and my associates the time to deal with the core issues without the pressures of having to keep up with ongoing school work. It is the time we can address the fundamental problems and build solid foundations. 2 to 3 hours a week is really not going to take from the 'down time' you want your children to have, rather those hours spent dealing with the problem areas are a gift for the future success of your child.
If you are interested in working with us, please go to my website www.yaelswerdlow.org for more information of what we do, and contact me through my website or at [email protected]. Please note that in addition to one on one services in person at my office, I now offer all services on line. I am able to, and I do work with students throughout the country and other parts of the world.

10/29/2017

As the school year progresses and the demands on students increase, the need for effective Executive Functioning Skills becomes more critical. However, as the year moves on, I hear more and more from parents things like "He said he did his work, but yet he got a 0 on his midterm for that homework assignment!", "My daughter has difficulty with organization - She opens her bookbag, and there are papers everywhere, some in binders, some crumpled up at the bottom, and others in folders, but not the right folders...", "Johnny cannot filter what he says, he just blurts things out, or interrupts whenever he needs to say something.", "My child gets very frustrated. The smallest thing can set him off into a temper outburst and he has great difficulty switching from task to task."

These are just a few of the messages I keep hearing highlighting the difficulties students are having with Executive Functioning Skills. To help parents understand what these skills are, and to learn how to manage these skills I am running a 4 session parent workshop November 8, 15, 29 and December 6 at 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

For further information and to register please contact me at [email protected]

09/10/2017

Hannah was able to leave the hospital for 2 hours to compete. She is now back in in her hospital bed reading your messages.. Please BREAK the internet....share, share and comment. Please send her messages of encouragement