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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-10-27, Page 171 Five -year-olds wh Even before a child begins first grade, it's possible to identify the apparently "average" five-year-old who is likely to fail, according to educational psychologist Prof. Marvin Sinner off The University of Western On- tario. Asking the five-year-old to copy simple shapes, like a diamond, a circle or in- tersecting lines will, in the "at risk" child, produce sur- prising results. "You get gross distortions in overall forms. I'm not talking about simple letter reversals,. but unrecognizable shapes, even when the object to be copied is right in front of the child the whole time," Prof. Simner says. A short attention span in pre-school or kindergarten is also a reliable indicator. While a parent might not; be aware of an attention pro- blem because at home. the child is seen in isolation or in the company of one or two other children, the classroom teacher can often spot the child who stands out as easily distractible. The five-year-old should also have mastered the con- cept of relationships, tall versus short, wide versus narrow. A child of this age should also be able to name most colors when the parent points to a simple series of different colored shapes or circles. The child should be able to name a good propor- tion of numbers and letters when they are pointed to at random. -He cautions, however, that these indicators won't work on children 'much younger than five. Prof. Sinner has tested and identified a number of children "at risk" of school failure and says it's very dif- ficult to tell them apart on a superficial basis from the children who do well. They appear to be average, social- ly well -adjusted kids, typical of their age group, which may be the reason parents' may not be aware there is a potential problem brewing. He has developed a prin- ting test, not yet widely available, that can be ad- ministered by a pre- kindergarten, teacher, kindergarten teacher, or public health nurse in about 10 minutes. Scoring takes on- ly two to three minutes. The test itself was tested by administering it to five- year -olds, then following up on their classroom perfor- mance, based on report card grades and promotion deci- sions. It can be used to identify failure -prone children when they register for kindergarten, when they ac- tually enrol, or before they leave kindergarten for grade one. "We don't know why these signs work, even the ones that appear obvious. We're tapping something that might be more basic than it appears on the surface. In many instances these pro- blems might result because these children have a dif- ficult time paying atten- tion." To label these children learning disabled on the basis of these signs alone would be inappropriate, he says. All we can say is that signs like this can be useful in identifying a child who is not likely to do well later in school." APPLIANCE REPAIR Large or small, we'll fix them all... Our repair experts will have your appliance ht tip top shape fast. Call us today. PECK APPLIANCES "IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA" VARNA 482-7103 are likely to fail can The child's sex, age in relation to others in his class, social skills, balance or physical . co-ordination, and birth order are not par- ticularly relevant, he says. While these and other fac- tors play a part, "you can't say, for example, that' because the child was born - in the fall and is the youngest m the class, the child will not do -as well as the others," he says. "There are some simple warning signs, just as there are warning signs for cancer," that should be just as well known to parents if they want their children to avoid school failure and the resulting loss.of self-esteem. He adds that many parents worry needlessly because their child reverses letters, making a backward "s", or writing "b" for "d". Many children also have difficulty drawing diagonal lines. All these errors are quite com- mon. "We don't find any rela- tionship between these er- rors when a five-year-old prints and how well they do later in school." If a child who lags behind is treated as lacking in motivation or discipline or as hopelessly slow, the cumulative effects might result in an elementary school career full of frustra- tion, anxiety, dislike for school and low self-esteem which may be very difficult to overcome. For that reason, says Prof. Simper, "it's important to identify such children before they enter first grade. Special programs can often be structured to adapt to the child's rate of development and help the child pay atten- tion." Rewards for sticking with a difficult task and teaching the child how to break down a commonplace task into organized units which can be completed- individually are effective tools. Interestingly enough, Prof. Simner says, most parents are very aware of their child's ability and can predict quite accurately how well the child will do at nam- ing numbers, letters or col- ors. ' "If you ask the parent how many colors the child is like- ly to know, or how many let- ters, the parent will be able to predict very accurately that the child will only know two out of eight colors or will only be able to recognize one or two numbers out of ten." Unfortunately, if the child doesn't do well the parent is likely to say "oh, well, he'll learn once he starts school", which is often not the case, Prof. Simmer says. Parents don't recognize these signs as possible in- dicators that their child is not ready for school. "It's rather frightening they don't know they have a child who is likely to be at risk of school failure." If a parent misses these warning signs, the chances are good that the kindergarten or first -grade teacher will recognize that a problem exists. Many teachers are becom- ing increasingly aware of the importance of these signs. "Teachers really do pick up on these things. In a classroom of kids, they notice which ones are highly distractible and which ones are not keeping up with_the rest. Teachers are usually very accurate and very con- cerned about their children." The programs which seem to improve the "at risk" child's chances of doing bet- ter in school are the highly structured ones, Prof. Simner says. "Although the changes you bring about might not be phenomenal, they are often enough to prevent the child To. The Electors of.... HULLETT TWP. 1 ask for your support at the polls Nov. 8 for Deputy Reeve. 1 have worked six years on council, the lost two as Deputy Reeve. 1 offer ,you my experience. JOE GIBSON For transportation call 4824229 e id ntifi frornhaving to repeat." The earlier you begin a child in some form of early education intervention pro- gram, the better it is for the child in terms of long-term progress in school. This reflects itself not only in intellectual development, but can also influence the child's emotional develop- ment. "If you see your child has GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1982—PAGE 17 a difficult time copying things, and doesn't know how things relate to one another, if you see your child having difficulty in these areas it might be well to discuss it with your child's teacher. If it were me, as a parent I'd rather have so- meone see my child either to assure me that everything was o.k. or say I'm glad you brought this child in." Caution needed Night driving requires special caution — especially during evening rush hours. These are the hours when most of our fatal traffic ac- cidents occur. Darkness call's for a special type of driving. The most important re- quirements are increased alertness, better control of the vehicle and reduction of speed. Here are a few suggestions for these early darkness months from the 'Ontario Safety League. -Pull into traffic more cautiously at night than dur- ing daylight hours. Not only do you see less at night, but other drivers have more dif- ficulty seeing you. -Pass with extra care. Be sire you have enough pass- ing room because you can't see as far ahead at night. -Never trust your judg- ment in estimating the speed of an approaching vehicle by its headlights. -Stay well behind the vehi- cle ahead of you and be alert for his signals. If you follow too closely, your headlights will reflect in his rearview mirror and reduce his vision. -Be alert for oncoming drivers who may be on the wrong side of the road. -Don't over -drive your headlights. -Put on your directional signals well in advance of turning to allow for decreas- ed visibility. ELECT MICHAEL MORIARTY TRUSTEE HURON -PERTH SEPARATE, SCHOOL BOARD CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF COMMON NATIONAL SHUFFLEBOARD ..r LION GORD MCMANUS lie M. ROSS AND ASSOCIATES LTD. LION BURNS ROSS LION KEN DUNN AKROMOLD (GODERICH) LTD. LION ERNIE TAFEIT W.J. HUGHES REALTY LION EBB ROSS HAYTER CHEV. OLDS LTD. LION JIM HATTER 1 TY SERV .1922 -1982. (THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THROUGH THE COURTESY OF THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES) CHI%HOLM'S FUELS & SERVICE LION BILL CHISHOLM ART'S LANDSCAPING LIONS &!!T BOUPDEAU RIECK PHARMACY LTD® LION DAN. STRINGER GODERICH ELEVATORS LIMITED LION GORGE PARS NS - ROBERT B. WOODALL PLUMBING LTD. LION Rob WOODALL MEE ROGIE ESSO SALES AGENT LION MEL BOGIE DEARBORN STEEL PRODUCTS INC. LION BILL STANBURY BLACK'S GROCERY LI<: N CHRIS BLACK ALEXANDER & CHAPMAN REALTY LTD. LI NI ROGER TURCOTTE SQUIRE GIFTS LION BERT SQUIRE HuIIy .Gull r Next Friday, Sat. & Sun. FEATURING • Farm Work Demonstrations • Special ATV Competitions • The latest in ATV Accessories • High performance pipes EVERYTHING ON SALE EXAMPLE ATV's ATV Trailers priced from '599 priced from *299 NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY Family trail ride Sunday at 9 a.m. Ride it in the country Buy it in the country . at wiervalik isilk 0111 'es ok GULIi1 JUST OFF HWY 4 BETWEEN MENSAL!. ANO'BRUCEFIELD 262-3318 or 262-5809 1 CE lidie,GEE PONTIAC BUICK CADILLAC LION ALVIN McGEE LAKEPORT STEEL INDUSTRIES LION TOM COOKE LION BOB MURRAY MAURICE GARDINER REAL ESTATE LTD. LION PETE BETTGER t EDWARD FUELS LTD. LION DON EDWARD LION CLAM EDWARD CANDLELIGHT RESTAURANT AND TAVERN LION GUS BALKOURAS WILLING,- & ABLE <`Y MARIA METCALFE FOR TOWN COUNCIL result in an elementary school career full of frustra- tion, anxiety, dislike for school and low self-esteem which may be very difficult to overcome. For that reason, says Prof. Simper, "it's important to identify such children before they enter first grade. Special programs can often be structured to adapt to the child's rate of development and help the child pay atten- tion." Rewards for sticking with a difficult task and teaching the child how to break down a commonplace task into organized units which can be completed- individually are effective tools. Interestingly enough, Prof. Simner says, most parents are very aware of their child's ability and can predict quite accurately how well the child will do at nam- ing numbers, letters or col- ors. ' "If you ask the parent how many colors the child is like- ly to know, or how many let- ters, the parent will be able to predict very accurately that the child will only know two out of eight colors or will only be able to recognize one or two numbers out of ten." Unfortunately, if the child doesn't do well the parent is likely to say "oh, well, he'll learn once he starts school", which is often not the case, Prof. Simmer says. Parents don't recognize these signs as possible in- dicators that their child is not ready for school. "It's rather frightening they don't know they have a child who is likely to be at risk of school failure." If a parent misses these warning signs, the chances are good that the kindergarten or first -grade teacher will recognize that a problem exists. Many teachers are becom- ing increasingly aware of the importance of these signs. "Teachers really do pick up on these things. In a classroom of kids, they notice which ones are highly distractible and which ones are not keeping up with_the rest. Teachers are usually very accurate and very con- cerned about their children." The programs which seem to improve the "at risk" child's chances of doing bet- ter in school are the highly structured ones, Prof. Simner says. "Although the changes you bring about might not be phenomenal, they are often enough to prevent the child To. The Electors of.... HULLETT TWP. 1 ask for your support at the polls Nov. 8 for Deputy Reeve. 1 have worked six years on council, the lost two as Deputy Reeve. 1 offer ,you my experience. JOE GIBSON For transportation call 4824229 e id ntifi frornhaving to repeat." The earlier you begin a child in some form of early education intervention pro- gram, the better it is for the child in terms of long-term progress in school. This reflects itself not only in intellectual development, but can also influence the child's emotional develop- ment. "If you see your child has GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1982—PAGE 17 a difficult time copying things, and doesn't know how things relate to one another, if you see your child having difficulty in these areas it might be well to discuss it with your child's teacher. If it were me, as a parent I'd rather have so- meone see my child either to assure me that everything was o.k. or say I'm glad you brought this child in." Caution needed Night driving requires special caution — especially during evening rush hours. These are the hours when most of our fatal traffic ac- cidents occur. Darkness call's for a special type of driving. The most important re- quirements are increased alertness, better control of the vehicle and reduction of speed. Here are a few suggestions for these early darkness months from the 'Ontario Safety League. -Pull into traffic more cautiously at night than dur- ing daylight hours. Not only do you see less at night, but other drivers have more dif- ficulty seeing you. -Pass with extra care. Be sire you have enough pass- ing room because you can't see as far ahead at night. -Never trust your judg- ment in estimating the speed of an approaching vehicle by its headlights. -Stay well behind the vehi- cle ahead of you and be alert for his signals. If you follow too closely, your headlights will reflect in his rearview mirror and reduce his vision. -Be alert for oncoming drivers who may be on the wrong side of the road. -Don't over -drive your headlights. -Put on your directional signals well in advance of turning to allow for decreas- ed visibility. ELECT MICHAEL MORIARTY TRUSTEE HURON -PERTH SEPARATE, SCHOOL BOARD CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF COMMON NATIONAL SHUFFLEBOARD ..r LION GORD MCMANUS lie M. ROSS AND ASSOCIATES LTD. LION BURNS ROSS LION KEN DUNN AKROMOLD (GODERICH) LTD. LION ERNIE TAFEIT W.J. HUGHES REALTY LION EBB ROSS HAYTER CHEV. OLDS LTD. LION JIM HATTER 1 TY SERV .1922 -1982. (THIS ANNOUNCEMENT THROUGH THE COURTESY OF THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES) CHI%HOLM'S FUELS & SERVICE LION BILL CHISHOLM ART'S LANDSCAPING LIONS &!!T BOUPDEAU RIECK PHARMACY LTD® LION DAN. STRINGER GODERICH ELEVATORS LIMITED LION GORGE PARS NS - ROBERT B. WOODALL PLUMBING LTD. LION Rob WOODALL MEE ROGIE ESSO SALES AGENT LION MEL BOGIE DEARBORN STEEL PRODUCTS INC. LION BILL STANBURY BLACK'S GROCERY LI<: N CHRIS BLACK ALEXANDER & CHAPMAN REALTY LTD. LI NI ROGER TURCOTTE SQUIRE GIFTS LION BERT SQUIRE HuIIy .Gull r Next Friday, Sat. & Sun. FEATURING • Farm Work Demonstrations • Special ATV Competitions • The latest in ATV Accessories • High performance pipes EVERYTHING ON SALE EXAMPLE ATV's ATV Trailers priced from '599 priced from *299 NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY Family trail ride Sunday at 9 a.m. Ride it in the country Buy it in the country . at wiervalik isilk 0111 'es ok GULIi1 JUST OFF HWY 4 BETWEEN MENSAL!. ANO'BRUCEFIELD 262-3318 or 262-5809 1 CE lidie,GEE PONTIAC BUICK CADILLAC LION ALVIN McGEE LAKEPORT STEEL INDUSTRIES LION TOM COOKE LION BOB MURRAY MAURICE GARDINER REAL ESTATE LTD. LION PETE BETTGER t EDWARD FUELS LTD. LION DON EDWARD LION CLAM EDWARD CANDLELIGHT RESTAURANT AND TAVERN LION GUS BALKOURAS