Show #57: Dr. Robert Brooks- Raising Resilient Children

I can’t think of a better way to help celebrate the 1st Anniversary of the LD Podcast, than my conversation with Dr. Robert Brooks. I met Dr. Brooks almost two years ago now, when he gave a lecture at the Centreville School. He was kind enough to read a book proposal I gave him, and indirectly, our conversations and his encouragement gave me the confidence to start the podcast. So a personal thank you to Dr. Brooks for helping me find my own voice.

Dr. Robert Brooks has lectured nationally and internationally to audiences of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and business people on topics pertaining to motivation, resilience, self-esteem, family relationships, the qualities of effective leaders and executives, and balancing our personal and professional lives.

He has also written extensively about these topics. He is the author of a book titled The Self-Esteem Teacher and co-author with Dr. Sam Goldstein of the following books: Raising Resilient Children; Nurturing Resilience in Our Children: Answers to the Most Important Parenting Questions; Seven Steps to Help Your Child Worry Less (with Kristy Hagar); Angry Children, Worried Parents: Seven Steps to Help Families Manage Anger (with Sharon Weiss); Seven Steps to Improve Your Child’s Social Skills (with Kristy Hagar); Understanding and Managing Children’s Classroom Behavior: Creating Sustainable, Resilient Classrooms, and The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life (the latter focuses on resilience in adults). In addition, Dr. Brooks is co-author of a book with Drs. Mel Levine and Jack Shonkoff titled A Pediatric Approach to Learning Disorders and has written a sex education book for the young child called So That’s How I Was Born! Drs. Brooks and Goldstein co-edited a textbook titled Handbook of Resilience in Children; they also prepared a parenting video and curriculum about resilience and have produced a documentary “Tough Times, Resilient Kids” that was a finalist in the 23rd Telly Awards.

Dr. Brooks received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Clark University and did additional training at the University of Colorado Medical School. He is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and has served as Director of the Department of Psychology at McLean Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital. His first position at McLean Hospital was as principal of the school in the locked door unit of the child and adolescent program. He has a part-time private practice in which he sees children, adolescents, adults, and families and has appeared regularly on television shows in the Boston area as well as on national cable television.

Dr. Brooks and Dr. Goldstein also have a new book coming out at the end of the summer, entitled The Self-Disciplined Child- something I know we all want for our kids and for ourselves.

In this first part of our two part conversation, we talk about what it takes to be a succcessful adult. Many kids with LD have a hard road to travel down, but their approach and attitude towards these difficulties can make all the difference in the world. We talk about LD being not an excuse, but an inderstanding of where a child is coming from; holding kids accountable for their actions, finding those Islands of Competence, and taking a strength-based approach to your child.

In part II, we’ll talk more about changing negative scripts, strategies to get desired results, Listening to your children to understand what’s really going on, and knowing how your children would describe you versus how you want them to describe you.

Dr. Brooks has an excellent website where you can find out more about his writings, subscribe to monthly articles, read past articles, and even find out if he is speaking in your area. You can purchase his books through this link to our LD Podcast Amazon Bookstore, where you’ll find links to books we’ve discussed.

We’d like to put together a show all about you, the listeners, so please call into the voicemail line at (206) 666-2343, or send your emails to ldpodcast@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Click Here to listen/download Dr. Robert Brooks- Raising Resilient Children Part I

Show # 55 Conversation with Anne Ford and John Richard Thompson Part II- Helicopter Parenting, Families and Siblings

In this show, I continue my conversation with Anne Ford and John Richard Thompson. Their new book, On Their Own: Creating an Independent Futrue for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities and ADHD has just been published by New Market Press. We talk about how hard it is to let your child succeed or fail on their own accord, and how our involvement with our children with disabilities effects other members of the family as well.

Congratualtions to our winners so far – Kim Mansk, Tracey Bowes, Sue Penicka and Shelly Head! Your books on on their way!

We still have a few books to give away- Please send an email to ldpodcast@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (206) 666-2343 to win!

I have also recently added a chapter from my book-in-progress, in PDF format, if you are interested. If you click on this link, or the home page link to your left, you’ll see it listed as How Learning Works- It’s about the basics of brain and cognitive development in kids, presented in a “Bill Nye The Science Guy” way for parents. For me at least, it always has been helpful to know what part of a child’s issues might be developmental (They’ll get better over time as they get older) and which parts are hard-wired (this is something in their basic makeup and unlikely to change much). I am eager to hear what you think- if you do read it, please send you feedback to me at ldpodcast@gmail.com. Any and all feedback, positive, negative, indifferent- it’s all very helpful to me- think of yourselves as editors!

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Show #46: Quirky Kids: Conversation with Dr. Perri Klass, Part 2

Dr. Perri Klass teaches both Pediatrics and Journalism at New York University. She is the author, along with Dr. Eileen Costello of Quirky Kids: Understanding Your Child That Doesn’t Fit In.

Show 31: A Parent’s Guide to Developmental Delays

Laurie LeComer is a parent of three children, and a special educator. She has written a wonderful book, “A Parent’s Guide to Developmental Delays: Recognizing and Coping with Missed Milestones in Speech, Movement, Learning, and Other Areas.” It is a must read for all parents worried about their children and for teachers and day care providers, who suspect something might be wrong or different about a child, but can’t seem to pinpoint the source or the cause. It is the book I wish I had when my children were young, and I know you’ll find the early warning signs of developmental problems helpful, as well as her pointers on how to have happy and less stressful holidays!

Let us know what you think! Leave comments here, or send us email at ldpodcast@gmail.com. You can also call us at (206) 666-2343 with any comments or questions!

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Show # 29 Lessons 9 & 10 and Wrap Up

Show # 29: Lessons 9 & 10 to Maximize Your Child’s Cognitive Abilities and Wrap Up of Series

In today’s show, we talk about the last 2 lessons in our ten lesson series on Maximizing Your Child’s Cognitive Abilities. Less on 9 is about teaching your children to be able to see things from another point of view, and understanding that criticism is often something they should consider and use as a learning opportunity, not as a badge of failure or short coming. Lesson 10 is about how it’s not the money you spend on your kids that matters, but the quality of their experiences. The Ten Lessons are adapted from a chapter by Williams and Sternberg in Volume 5 of The Handbook of Parenting, a five volume set of books digesting the research on parenting and raising children. It is edited by Marc Bornstein from the National Institutes of Health, and is probably the most complete digest of research into children and parents available. (It also the most expensive, as each volume retails for over $150.00).

The take home message from the series is that parents can be very influential in helping their kids maximize their intellectual potential, but it requires that parents get involved and stay involved in their child’s intellectual development, rather than passing this off as the job solely of school.

Today’s show includes 2 songs- Libery Jones by The Shakes, and Black Coffee by Chaz, available on the Podsafe Music Network.

We’d love to hear from you- you can click the email link at the bottom of this page, or go to the blog, and leave comments! Or even better, call (206) 666-2343 and leave us a voice message!

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Show # 28 Academy in Manayunk Pt. 2 Reading and Self Esteem

Welcome to all our new iLearn Radio Listeners!

In the second part of my interview with Nancy Blair of the Academy in Manayunk, we talk about how important self esteem is to a child’’s success in school. So many very talented people have learning disabilities and have struggled in school but my learning how to maximize their strengths, they have really been able to shine. Whether it’s designers like Tommy Hilfiger, or Businessmen like Charles Schwab, or Actors like Henry Winkler (who now writes books about what it was like to grow up with learning problems) many kids are both smart and LD, and we need to be able to let their strengths shine while helping them overcome their weaknesses.

Please call our comment line at (206) 666-2343 or email us at ldpodcast@gmail.com with any and all comments!

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Show #19 Interview with Dr. Mike Patrick Jr from Pediacast

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I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Dr.Michael Patrick Jr. Dr. Mike is a practicing pediatrician and podcaster, and we sat down and spoke about many things, including discovering developmental delays, the difficulty in balancing parent worry with doctor experience, referrals to developmental experts, and whether pediatricians should treat ADHD. Dr. Mike is the parent of two wonderful children, including a son with ADHD. I think you’ll find this interview informative and fun, as we get to look at parents from a doctor’s point of view.
As always, we encourage feedback! Our voicemail line is (206) 666-2343, and our email is ldpodcast@gmail.com.

[ADHD, ADD, Pediatrician, Pediacast, Mike Patrick, developmental delays, learning disabilities]