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As many of our readers may already know, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) can begin in childhood and continue into adulthood. ADHD and ADD symptoms, such as impulsiveness, inattentiveness and hyperactivity (with ADHD) can cause problems at home, school, work or in relationships.

As we begin the new school year, we wanted to offer information this week that would be helpful throughout the school year to challenged students, especially to those with ADHD. That is why we have written this article about SQ3R, a method of study that has helped many students in all age groups to read and study more effectively and successfully. This method can be especially beneficial to those students in middle school through high school and college. However, can this method called SQ3R help students with ADHD?

Before we answer that question, it will be helpful to understand just what SQ3R is. SQ3R helps a student build a framework to understand a reading assignment and prepare for a test or other assessment. It is a FREE reading and study strategy formed from its letters: Survey! Question! Read! Recite! Review!

1. SURVEY the chapter BEFORE you read it:
• Look at the title, headings, and subheadings.
• Look at captions under pictures, charts, graphs or maps.
• Look at review questions or teacher-made study guides.
• Pay attention to introductory and concluding paragraphs.
• Look at the summary of the section.

2. QUESTION WHILE you are doing the survey:
• Turn the title, headings, and/or subheadings of the section into questions.
• Read questions at the end of the chapters or after each subheading.
• Ask yourself, "What did my instructor say about this chapter or subject
when it was assigned?"
• Ask yourself, "What do I already know about this subject?"
Note: If it is helpful to you, write out these questions for consideration.
This variation is called SQW3R.

3. As you READ:
• Look for answers to the questions you first raised.
• Answer questions at the beginning or end of chapters or study guides.
• Re-read captions under pictures, graphs, etc.
• Note all the underlined, italicized, bold printed words or phrases.
• Study any graphics (photos, diagrams, etc.)
• Reduce your reading speed for difficult passages.
• Stop and re-read parts which are not clear.
• Read only a section at a time AND recite after each section.

4. RECITE AFTER you read a section:
• Orally ask yourself questions about what you have just read, or summarize, in your own words, what you read
• Take notes from the text but write the information in your own words.
• Underline or highlight important points you've just read.
• Reciting: The more senses you use the more likely you are to remember what you read.
For example: “Triple strength” learning: Seeing, saying, hearing
“Quadruple strength” learning: Seeing, saying, hearing and writing!

5. REVIEW---This is an ongoing process

(Source: Study Guides and Strategies---SQ3R Reading Method http://www.studygs.net/texred2.htm)

The steps involved in the SQ3R method make it an ideal tool to use when attention and memory may be issues for a student. For this reason and others, the SQ3R method may be particularly helpful to students challenged with ADHD because it promotes better understanding and retention of what is read and learned. However, to follow each of these steps, it will take time and patience, two things with which those with ADHD are already challenged. Support from others could go a long way in implementing this method. Parents and teachers as well as tutors and ADD coaches would be doing students a great service by introducing them to this SQ3R method of reading and study as well as providing ongoing support.

Additional SQ3R Resources

Strategic Reading Resource Center---Strategy Toolbox: Combinations---SQ3R
There are several strategies related to questioning. The following sources on this page provide some background on questioning, including the SQ3R Method.
http://www.iptv.org/pd/strategicreading/rws_stratcombo.cfm

Studying More Effectively
SQ3R helps you think about what you want to get from a document, study it in an appropriate level of detail, and remember information well.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_02.htm
More information at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_02.htm#sthash.e9n7U6gu.dpuf

Other Related Resources

ADHD: What Is It? (Slideshow)
This online presentation from WebMD defines and describes ADHD, a condition that the National Institute of Mental Health estimates 3% to 5% of U.S. children may have. However, some experts believe the figure could be as high as 10%. Learn more by viewing the presentation via this link.
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/ss/slideshow-adhd-in-children

For information on customizable reading tools:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of: Brennan Innovators, LLC: http://www.focusandread.com/blog/post/3537480

I sat by my laptop with all confidence last night, about to share my #90smusic Friday post, but alas my data quota on swift had been used up! I am beginning to suspect some foul play here. Haba!! Either they have reviewed their charges without warning or they are just confused! I was so mad, I just went to bed. IPNX too was off, I got a warning for that, just didn't realise the days had gone by so fast.

It's my sister's birthday today. Fried rice and jollof rice cooking continues :-). Life is good. Happy birthday Funmi Amoo!!! By  the way, can we all pretend today is Friday so we can maintain the structure of this blog. Hehe. Let us shame Swift and not let them cramp our style. #90smusic Friday it is!!

My song for today is Vanessa Williams' "Save the best for last" . I totally love the instrumentals on this song. The lyrics also make a lot of sense. Artists in my day, spent more time composing songs, seriously!

Enjoy!!

Vanessa Williams - Save the best for last 


Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon
I see the passion in your eyes
Sometimes it's all a big surprise

Cause there was a time when all I did was wish,
You'd tell me this was love
It's not the way I hoped or how I planned
But somehow it's enough

And now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place?
Just when I thought a chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

All of the nights you came to me
When some silly girl had set you free
You wondered how you'd make it through
I wondered what was wrong with you

Cause how could you give your love to someone else
And share your dreams with me
Sometimes of everything you're looking for
It's the one thing you can't see

But now we're standing face to face
Isn't this world a crazy place?
Just when I thought a chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

Sometimes of everything you're looking for
It's the one thing you can't see

(instrumental)

Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes 'round the moon
Just when I thought a chance had passed
You go and save the best for last

You went and saved the best for last

Application: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch iOS 5.0 or greater
Function: NOAA GPS Charting and Tracking
Rating: ***
Cost: 0.99 basic, $11.99/year for full version

Skipper is the latest addition to the many NOAA Marine charting apps already in the App Store.  The Gaia GPS app developers, known for their hiking and topo map apps have put together an equally useful charting and GPS tracking app for the marine environment.

There are numerous apps that will display the NOAA raster charts, but Skipper goes way beyond that with waypoints, routes, tracking, instruments, tides, weather forecasts, NEXRAD radar and Active Captain POI.  The app attempts to do many things, some better than others.

Features:

• Seamless mosaic NOAA charts stored on your device
• NOAA raster charts for all of the US charts is less than 2 GB
• Overlay charts on base maps, including MapBox cloudless aerial, OpenStreetMap road maps, or USGS topos
• Waypoints
• Routes
• Tracking
• Route and Track Export
• Skipper syncs your waypoints, routes, tracks, and photos between your devices, and backs up to the cloud
• Multiple devices can be synced with your cloud data.
• ActiveCaptain Points of Interest information about marinas, anchorages, hazards, and local knowledge
• Weather & Tides
• Offline tide graphs and charts, past, present, and future
• Online weather data from Weather Underground
• NEXRAD overlays, with animation, time stamps, and controls
• Wind, temperature, other vital stats
• Current conditions, hourly, and daily forecasts

Charts:

Skipper provide a very nice quilted display of the NOAA raster charts. The transition from one chart to another is seamless. The raster charts are the scans of the familiar paper looking charts NOAA provides free for the US Coastal waters, the Great Lakes, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

I am a big fan of vector chart but the raster charts provide very useful detailed information which can be used for navigation in coastal waters.

The US raster charts for the US can all be downloaded for offline use while only using 2GB of storage.

Select the Layers icon in the top left of the main chart display. This menu includes a variety of settings for chart downloads, layers and brightness settings. Right at the top of the Layers menu is a brightness slider which increases or decreases the overlay of the NOAA charts. The base map can be selected from Global Imager satellite, OpenStreeMaps, and US topographic maps.

Charts can be downloaded for offline use with the Download Charts selection.  This bring up a map showing the available charts for download. Select or deselect the tiled region you want to download with a tap of your finger and select Done.

At the bottom of the layers menu are more settings for the Radar overlay brightness, show waypoints and latitude and longitude grid overlays.

Waypoints:

Adding a waypoint is done through the instruments display.  Tap the Mark Waypoint selection to Drop a Pin, Drop a Pin near Me or Take a picture.

If you select Drop a Pin, a waypoint pin marker is placed at the center of the screen. A nice little edit window pops up and shows the Name, degrees, minutes and seconds of the waypoint. All of these can be changed by tapping and typing in the desired values. Select the Save option to add the waypoint to your list of waypoints.

Selecting Save and Guide and the waypoints is saved and the distance and heading to that point from your present position is shown at the bottom of the screen guiding you to that point.

To edit, select the waypoint from the list and select the pencil icon in the upper right of the waypoint screen.  You can also tap a waypoint on the chart and select the wrench icon which also brings up the edit window. Options are provided for adding some notes, show on map, email or taking a picture which is linked to that waypoint.

In most apps the waypoints are used to build routes.  That is not the case with Skipper. You have to build you route waypoints separately.  It would be nice if there was a way of building a route that could include points from the waypoint list. 

I had an issue when I deleted a waypoint. The point was deleted from my list of waypoints but it continued to be displayed on the chart.  This appears to be a bug that will hopefully be addressed in the next release.

Routes:
Bring up the Main menu by tapping the arrow on the left center of the screen. Select Route from the menu at the bottom of the screen. The list of your current routes will be displayed. These can be sorted by Date, Name or Distance with selections at the top.

Creating a Route is as easy as tapping your finger on the screen to create the path of your route.

Routes are made visible by selecting the ON button next to the route. Multiple routes can be displayed at the same time.  I personally find this confusing and only like to view the route that I am navigating.  It may be useful for planning purposes to show multiple routes.

To create a new Route, tap the Add button at the top right of the Route Menu. Begin adding your waypoints for your route by tapping your finger on the chart. Notice the new waypoint is added to the list in the top right of the screen. When you are finished adding points select Save, this will add your new Route to the Route list.

Selecting a Route brings up Distance and heading to the first point in the Route. You have options to Add notes, Show on map, Guide me, Export, Driving directions and download maps for track. Delete the whole route with the button at the bottom.

I am not sure why the Driving Directions option is listed on a marine app.  It may be useful if you are trying to navigate by car to the closest marine store.

To edit the route tap the pencil icon in the top right of the active route.  I would prefer the word EDIT rather than a pencil icon. It took me a while to figure out what the pencil icon meant and that it was selectable.

Selecting the Edit button also allows you to delete waypoints in your route.

Tracking:

The Tracking option is located in the instruments menu. Selecting the Record Track option brings up the tracking display.  Simply selecting the Start button initiates the recording. The track will continue to be recorded until the End button is selected.

The Show more Stats bar brings up additional trip information about the track.  A speed profile graph is also recorded along with average and maximum speed values, distance and time.

Saved tracks can be played back on the chart. In this example I took a quick walk and recorded my track on my iPhone. When I returned home the tracks synched to the Skipper website and then to my iPad.  The Skipper Cloud is another cool option that set this app apart from the rest.

Cloud Support:

Many of us are familiar with the various cloud services that have become available in recent years. DropBox, Apple iCloud, Amazon and many others offer free storage of your pictures, movies and files.  Skipper, I believe is the first app to incorporate an automatic cloud back up of your maps, routes, waypoints and tracks.  With your data in the cloud it can automatically be synched between all your mobile devices.  So, you no longer have the problem of trying to keep your devices synched with the same data. Skipper does it for you automatically when you connect to the Internet.  Make sure to have the Synch/Backup Data button turned on in the Skipper Account Settings menu.

Your same Skipper log in and password also provides access to your data on the Skipper Cloud website.

Instruments:

The full line of instruments runs across the bottom of the screen on the iPad version.  The iPhone version has some data under the Trip selection.

Tap and hold you finger on any of the readings and the options for the instrument settings appear as spinner wheels. You can select between coordinates, course, distance, sunset/sunrise, total time, stopped time, moving time, current speed, moving speed, average speed, pace, altitude and ascent.

You have the option to decide which values are displayed where among the eight different displays.

I really like the flexibility to organize the data where I want it, very nicely done! There appears to be no way to get my boats NMEA instrument data to the app over WIFI. This would allow display of additional on board data including depth, wind, speed and heading. Developers take note!

Weather and Tides:

The app has incorporated some robust weather features.  A cell or Internet connection is required to access the real time weather data.  The data is sourced from Weather Underground. The NEXRAD radar is very useful to see approaching storms in near real time.

The control box in the lower right side of the scree allows you to animate the radar image.

Additional weather data can be accessed by tapping the menu arrow on the left center of the screen. Menu options for Instruments, Weather, Routes and Settings appear.

Select the Weather option at the bottom of the screen to show wind direction, wind speed, temperature, humidity, visibility, 5 day forecasts and tides are from the nearest weather station. When you pan around on the chart the weather and tide data changes to the area that you have centered on the chart.  Skipper has incorporated some powerful weather tools that all coastal cruisers will find useful.

Active Captain Points of Interest:

The Active Captain points of interest have found their way onto many apps in the marine charting business.  Active Captain provides this service for free to app developers to promote the use and provide value to it's users. The unique thing about this is that many of these points are crowd sourced by people like you and me.  The information provided goes through a validation process to make sure some mean spirited people are not submitting garbage data.

Skipper provides the Active Captain database within the app. You will need an Active Captain log in and password to activate the database in the Settings menu.  Once the data is downloaded it can be use offline.

Subscription Price:

You can buy the app for just 99 cents and give it a try. The basic charts and satellite imagery are available for use.  Pay $11.99/year to unlock the full functionality of the app. This includes offline charts, Active Captain, cloud backup, real time weather and tides.

The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current subscription. Your iTunes account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Your payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase.

Auto renewal can be turned off via the main Settings at: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4098

Final Thoughts:

Skipper has incorporated a lot of the required features to make it a first class marine app.  The charts, waypoint, routes and tracks are very functional, but work a little differently from some other marine apps.

I had a few issues with the app crashing when I selected Add Base Maps and when I deleted a track on the iPad version.

The menu systems on the iPhone and iPad versions are different.  I found it hard to locate some of the features on both devices.  I would be nicer if both apps had the same menus to keep things easy. 

The weather and tides section was impressive along with the NEXRAD radar overlay.  It is nice to have it incorporated within the app rather than being forced to go to a separate app for weather.

Apart from a few problems which I am sure will be resolved with future updates, I could see myself using this app a lot while coastal cruising.  The price is reasonable but some might gripe about paying $11.99 each year.  I look forward to future updates and enhancements as this app matures.

~~~ Sail On ~~ /)
Mark

I woke up a bit depressed today, happens sometimes, but I never let it gain root. I shake it off with all I've got and choose to be happy, no matter what. One of my depression fighting tools is cooking, lol! I cook and cook till I feel like the world is a better place. If my freezer or pocket is dry (we all have those times, I think), I call up my mum and offer to help them cook, stew, vegetable soup and my favorite, fried rice! That's what I cooked today, a large pot of it. My hubby was happy, the boys were happy, sent some to my folks, they were happy and so was I. The end!

It's #inthelineofduty day and I want to share my experience with my first customer and the next. The very first time someone hands you a cheque for offering that service or product, you just want to scream! During the development stage of your idea, you are never really sure someone will pay you for that product/service - Apart from family and friends who might just want to encourage you. How sustainable is that? Unless you're from Kunta Kinte's (dunno where that thought came from, lol!) large family and they have a lot of money to spare.

The first Trezy men.....

All customers are precious, but the very first ones..... Priceless!!!

My very first job was a stumble on kind of one. A good friend wanted to propose to his girlfriend on her birthday but didn't have a clue what to do. He called me up and I was just reeling out ideas and he said, you know what, just help me organize it and send me my bill. I was super excited, not only was I doing something I absolutely enjoyed, but I was also going to get paid? Yabadabadoooooo

Here's how this one went down. We devised a way to get her ring size using an accomplice; one of her sisters. We ordered a cake and had the ring as well as the cake delivered to the restaurant where they were going to be having dinner. Next, we had little mini cards to say happy birthday, will you go to so and so spa and then join me for dinner at so and so restaurant? I had those booked and sorted. At the restaurant, I had arranged with the chief chef to turn up the music at a certain time and come out with the cake and ring with some noise and fan fare - you wouldn't believe how happy these guys are to do these things. The card and the main gifts, two wristwatches ( he said she loved wristwatches, so we got two) were packaged and delivered to her. The rest is history!

I hadn't registered a name yet at this time, so the invoice I sent was " Mofolusade consult" and I got paid in my personal account. But this experience gave me the confidence and courage I needed to push the idea. The naming of the idea, the account opening and all came after this.Then I called up a few of my friends to say, I just started this business, when's your wife's/husband's birthday or anniversary bla bla bla, just let me know. One of my old colleagues from my FCMB days, liked the idea and promised to employ trezorlandia's service for his wife's birthday. This was my very first job as Trezorlandia.

I sent him options as well as cost implications for the day and he settled for a mix of all three. For a memorable birthday experience, the cake and card are a given, especially if we are delivering to an office! Office folk love sharing birthday cakes, lol. He wanted this to be a really special experience for her and we developed a plan to do just that.

I had to resume at her office way way before she got in so I got help from my friend Maureen and got everything set at her place which wasn't too far from the island. We didn't sleep, It was fun getting everything ready and we went together to the office to set up her table;


Here's what she resumed to that morning, we put a little fruit bowl for her because he told us she wasn't really into cakes. The framed picture there is a little scribble from her daughter which her Dad got her to do.

Guess what? This was just part one. I swear, I enjoyed this job so much. It was a lot of fun to do. Next up, was a cake delivery at around noon. We agreed to deliver a cake, because really what is a birthday at the office without a cake to share?

The grand closing was the main gift package itself which we delivered at about 3p.m. It had a tiffany and co bracelet with an engraved heart shaped locket and pictures of her husband and daughter inside. There were two other items in the box. A handbag that her husband purchased and a perfume, I think;


Now tell me this was not a memorable experience! Even for me, it was.

These two; ladies and gentlemen of my blog family, were my first "trezy men". I am developing a proper description of who a "trezy man" or "trezy woman" is. I'll share it here soon. In the meantime, I just developed this form on google docs, I want you to join the "trezy family". If you would, please fill the form by following the link below.

Trezy men and women

Thank you, thank you and thank you!!!

The week has been sort of a lazy week. It used to be easier for me to get home take a brief nap and get up to work till late; once the boys had gone to bed. I haven't been very successful at this lately. The "naps" have been just it, goodnight nap! It was so bad yesterday that I didn't even know when my husband walked in to the room. I must have been talking nonsense because he claims we had a mini conversation when he came in. I have no recollection of this conversation. I woke up at 2 a.m, but couldn't function so I went back to bed.

I have mustered all the energy within me to stay up tonight. So let's get on with today's post. How many of you caught the Sara Blakely interview on CNN? It was my brother in-law, Tosin who told me it was on and asked if I was watching. He knows I like such things and this one was really captivating. Unfortunately, I was on the road, as usual. But as I got back, I searched for her on the internet, watched her interviews and read  up about her. Hers is a remarkable story and her personality makes it even more interesting. It's worth reading up on and sharing. She's the world's youngest self made female billionaire at the moment. If you missed the feature, follow the link below;

Sara Blakely - Spanx

A couple of reviewers have done their "10 lessons from the Sara Blakely story". Most of them are from the American perspective. I am going to try to bring it home!

10 lessons from the Sara Blakely story;




1. Believe in your dream

To be honest, even I would never have imagined how such an invention would be the next big thing. It just sounds so ordinary. To think that, just tweaking an existing product to make it more comfortable would make that much of a difference is simply amazing.

She mentioned that even the lawyers thought she was pulling a candid candid camera stunt on them when she came to talk to them about her idea. Lol!! She could have allowed this to discourage her, to make her feel this was stupid, but she kept on. She called up several companies to help build the prototype and none of them was interested but she kept going because she believed in the idea. Eventually she got someone to do the prototype.

Sometimes you might have an idea and hear things like, "that can't work in Nigeria", "why would anyone buy that", or "that's so stupid", if you believe enough in your idea, by all means do something about it!

*By the way, I saw a spanx at a lingerie store in Lekki yesterday. I am not into body shapers, but I just wanted to buy it because of Sara!

2.  Keep it simple

Innovation does not always have to be novel or out of this world. Look around you. There are everyday things that exist but could be better. Sara just wanted to be able to wear her white pants and feel great and comfortable without cellulite on display and she went on to create a lasting solution to that.

Perhaps there's something bugging you, it's probably bugging several others too. If you've found a fix, share it without shame.

3. Timing is important

Don’t share too soon. Sara said she kept her idea secret from her family and friends for a while. In her own words “Ideas are the most vulnerable in their infancy. Family and friends often express concern or doubts (out of love) that can stop people dead in their tracks. Share once you’ve invested enough of yourself in it, to the point when you know there is no turning back. If you share too soon, ego has to get involved and you will spend more time explaining and defending your idea rather than pursuing it. But definitely tell the people that can help move your idea forward.”

4. Convert your friends and family first

Her mother, grandmother and other friends and family were the first to test her product after she made the prototype. I have said it before on this blog, if your friends and family do not know anything about what you do, there is a problem.

You might say, oh, they don't believe in me, they think I'm a failure, they don't take me seriously, yada yada. If you can't convert them, how are you supposed to convert the world?

5. Never underestimate the power of Media

Face it, you need the media and not just social media here. TV, radio, magazine and so on. I know you must be thinking, where am I supposed to get the money for that. Let's borrow a leaf from Sara, she took a long shot and sent her product as a gift to Oprah with a hand written note to say how much she inspired her!

A lot of us feel too big for "famzing" as we have named it these days. I agree, there's a thin line between stalking and "famzing" and really, if you don't do it right, it can get annoying. But there's no harm in following strong media personalities on twitter, re-tweeting their tweets, sending them messages when the time is right (Not just on twitter!) and so on. There is no shame in this matter, you have to throw away shame!

*famzing - Derived from the word familiar, describes a person who unashamedly tries to get noticed by a person or join their circles.

6. You can figure it out, you have the ability

One of the things I learnt during my MBA is that if you don't know, you can always find out, by asking an expert or doing research yourself. These days, life has been made a lot easier with greater access to information than ever before - almighty Google is your friend.

The ability to process information and apply it to your advantage is one of the skills you need to be a successful entrepreneur. Sara knew nothing about Patents nor did she know anything about manufacturing undergarments, but she did not let this stop her.

7. Do not spend what you do not have

She had $5,000 which is an equivalent of about 1.3million naira in Nigeria. If you had that money, what would you do with it? Many of us would probably rent an office space, brand a car, hire staff maybe and then hope for a miracle. Lol!!

Money is a resource that is not unlimited. Start-ups should never compare themselves to large, established companies. To cut cost on the patent, Sara took time to read up and write most of the patent for her product. Be true to yourself, only you know your true financial position.

8. Patience is key

It took a whole year to fine-tune her idea and another year to get her first big sale. Many of us want everything now. You spend money you do not have to set up a fancy office, so you look good on the outside and then put yourself under unhealthy pressure to recoup your investment. Even worse, you go and borrow money to keep up the facade.

9. Sell like your life depends on it!

Tips & Tools to Help Struggling Readers

Is FOCUSING a struggle for your child or students when they attempt to read? Or is COMPREHENSION more of a problem? Could the root of the issue actually be memory and RETENTION?

Teachers are well aware that from Kindergarten to second grade, children LEARN to READ. However, beginning in third grade, children READ to LEARN. There is a significant difference between the learning objectives for these two stages of a child’s academic development. When children have LEARNED or mastered the skills to READ, they begin to APPLY those reading skills to all other learning. Unfortunately, if a child has not yet mastered the ability to read, all other learning can be quite challenging or even significantly delayed.

As a result, the third grade is very often the time when student reading issues begin to be noticed. If you are a teacher, you may already have some concerns about a few students struggling to read even though it is very early in the new school year. As the parent of a challenged reader, you may have noticed that attempting to read a story or do homework are almost painful for your child---AND you! You may see that your child appears to be working TOO hard just to READ.

What can be done to begin to help a struggling child or student with these focusing and reading challenges? We have gathered a few tips here involving "color" that we think will give you a place to start. We hope they will help your child or students to enjoy much more reading SUCCESS!

Colorful Tips & Tools for Struggling Readers

1. Reading Focus Cards---These customizable tools combine all the features of many other traditional reading tools and more. The Reading Focus Cards (Patent 7,565,759) isolate 1 to 2 lines of text on a page (depending on font size) AND block out more surrounding text than any other tool available. In addition, these tools allow the reader to change white page backgrounds with a chosen colored filter (included in each package). Because of these features, the Reading Focus Cards can be especially helpful for:

-ADHD
-Dyslexia
-Convergence insufficiency
-Autism
-Low vision
-Stroke recovery or TBI issues
-Other conditions that impact reading success.

The inexpensive Reading Focus Cards can also be used with e-readers like Kindles, Nooks, etc. (Model #001-Shorter) and e-tablets like iPads, Android tablets, etc. (Model #002-Longer) to promote even more focus and concentration. For more information about these unique reading tools, visit http://www.focusandread.com/products.

2. Colored Paper---When reading printed media such as worksheets and other documents, consider requesting that they be copied on colored paper instead of the traditional white paper. Your local school or office supply store will usually be able to provide a ream of several colors to try in one package. Try a DIFFERENT color of paper each week until the BEST color for reading is determined. This color will promote more FOCUS and EYE COMFORT than the other colors. As a result, not only will the individual reader experience more focus, but better comprehension and retention will also be possible.

3. Colored Overlays---Try placing a colored yet transparent plastic sheet over a page of text to be read. These transparent but colored plastic sheets can be purchased at some office or art supply stores. Consider trying a variety of different colored sheets, one color at a time with a resting interval between each color’s trial. There is a good possibility that one particular sheet color may provide more focus and eye comfort for the reader than other colored sheets. Experiment with pastel colors as well as bright ones. Introducing the best or most helpful color can positively impact the appearance of the printed text for a reader with symptoms of dyslexia or other reading challenges. With the use of the most appropriate color, an individual reader may report that the letters “stopped moving”, “waving out” or “shadowing” on the page of text.

These three tips employ color to change white backgrounds on pages of text. A white background can cause what is often called visual stress for some readers. This can be especially troublesome when the text on the page is black. The contrast between the text and the background can be too stark. As a result, such readers often struggle with focusing, which also affects attention and comprehension. These visually-stressed readers can also experience fatigue much sooner, and their retention is often significantly impacted.

If you try the strategies described above here, and the reading problems persist, consider visiting (or suggesting a visit to) a developmental optometrist. This medical professional can test, evaluate, diagnose and treat children, teens and adults with vision-related reading challenges. Please keep in mind that an individual of any age can have 20/20 vision (determined by a traditional optometrist or optician) and yet still have a vision-related reading challenge. To locate such a developmental optometrist in your area, please visit the website of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) at http://covd.org.

Sources

Press Release - Patented ADHD Reading Tools Can Help ALL Kinds of Readers
http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/patented-adhd-reading-tools-can-help-all-kinds-readers

For information on customizable reading tools:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of: Brennan Innovators, LLC: http://www.focusandread.com/blog/post/3537480

Friday is here already! Yaaay. I am dizzy from doing account reconciliations. This whole entrepreneur business is no joke. You have to deal with the good, the bad and the ugly. For me, accounting falls under the ugly!

It's been an interesting week, I re-strategised with Oyamag to make our tweets and social media posts in general, more engaging. I think it's going well, because we are getting more interaction than ever before. I know the main question is, how does this translate to the bottom-line? After all, that's the whole point, not so? Well, seeing as I am a learner just like you, we'll see.... I'll keep you posted. I may not know the answer to the bottom-line impact question, but one thing I know is, slowly we are getting closer to the time when Trezorlandia will be synonymous to gifts in Nigeria!! So help me God.

On #projectjane, I finally managed to open an account for Jane and her mum. But I must say this, it is no wonder there are so many un-banked people in Nigeria, the headache ehn! The only acceptable IDs are company IDs, National drivers license, National ID card(They gotta be joking here!!!) or National passport. Please tell me how many poor road side rice sellers would have any of these. Come on now! There has to be an easier way to bank please.

I also bought the books on the list from the Daystar book shop. I decided to make them compulsory reading for my teens class in church. It'll be like a mini book club, only they have a chief whip! Me! hehe.


Let the reading begin!

I know I promised to do #90smusic on Fridays, but I found this awesome medley (it's medley isn't it?) and I couldn't resist. I am not totally off anyway, it has the 90s in it as well.

I have so many things in my head struggling for attention. It's so crazy. I am driving and something pops up as a topic for the blog, before the end of the day, another one pops up. How do bloggers manage this? I try to calm down and save the thoughts somewhere to be processed later. Some make it; others die before they make it to the top. I think though, that the solution to this would be structure, I have to give a structure to the blog. With Fridays (#90smusic) sorted, I have a thought for Thursdays.

In my walk, I have had many interesting and not so interesting experiences. I believe sharing them would help someone feel better - like, oh so this is not peculiar to me! Yea, I felt that way yesterday when talking to my friend who's a veteran entrepreneur. He mentioned that his accounting was a hot mess for a while. I was surprised and relieved in a way at the same time. For a long time, I would dread the, "what's your monthly/annual turnover" question, because honestly I did not know! *covers face in shame* Lol, I felt like the most unserious entrepreneur on the planet.

Let’s get back to the matter at hand. Thursdays will be tagged #inthelineofduty. Whoop Whoop! Methinks we are making progress. Today, I'll share a quick story about things that the desperation for income can make you do.

The Catering Experience......

Remember when I said as an entrepreneur, you could get so desperate, you want to hawk pure water? I wasn't joking! At a point in time I got really desperate. When you are desperate, your judgment is impaired and you can't think straight. You make decisions for the short term without thinking about the consequences. I needed cash badly. I have this friend, Moji who's always throwing ideas around her head but can't run with them because she has a 9-5. Anyway, on this day I went to see her and we came up with the idea of catering for office parties. My Dad had this cook then, Joe who was very good with packaging take out Chinese amongst other things. We were fired up and agreed to get orders, supervise him and deliver packed meals for people's birthdays and stuff. You know, the office folk like to "wash" everything, Promotions, a new car, birthdays etc, this was going to be great.


At first I thought, where would I get the time, Moji was not available really, but we talked back and forth and concluded that it couldn't be that hard, shebi it is to supervise Joe, what's the big deal really. Anyway, funny thing is, two major jobs practically fell on our laps. A colleague of hers had her birthday coming up and my husband's office folk wanted to do a joint promotion declaration for about 100 people! We close marked our targets, sent in free packed samples to them and got their orders. We had 20 for Moji’s colleague, 100 for my hubby’s office.

The week before, I got Joe to break down the recipe so I could document and buy the right amount of ingredients required. When I bought the Chinese rice, I cooked a few cups to measure exactly how much we needed for 120 people. It was about 3 cups to 5 for decent portions. So I sorted my measurements and passed this on to Joe. I am an engineer at heart; we work with calculations. A lot of preparation went into getting the seasoning right and grilling the chicken in my little oven the night before. At this point, I was already thinking, what have I gotten myself into? Hehe