Angela C. Kao

12/31/2023

11/24/2023

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08/07/2021

Seafood night!

06/03/2020

Connecting dots.

06/02/2020

Why is teaching Social Skills not working?

Because there isn't one single "social rule" that can be consistently applied for every situation. This COVID-19 pandemic can be a great example. Perhaps we have taught a child the social skill to return a greeting by approaching the person, looking up at the face, and shaking someone's hand or giving a high five. The skill is not a bad skill to learn. The problem with this is that the context has changed and we haven't taught the child to read the context. There is context for EVERYTHING. This is what sets learning social skills aside from learning social competency.

Everybody, this is straight from the Michelle-Garcia Winner methodology of Social Thinking. I have attended multiple conferences and participated in a 3-day intensive training to learn how to teach Social Competency. Who has a child or teen who can TELL you every correct answer for every social skill scenario but cannot DO any of the dynamic social skills needed in the moment?

Please contact me and we can chat about what we can do. I provide Teletherapy and the best time to start this is NOW because social skills has more to do with what you're thinking/learning when you're not around people than it has to do with what you're saying/doing when you're socializing. Let's utilize this time at home when in-person socialization really isn't possible to build up a foundation of social competency so when the world opens up again, there will be skills readily available. Summer session is about to start!

05/31/2020

Do you have a struggling reader? Are you a struggling reader? Maybe you just haven't had the right evidence-based instruction. Contact me for a free consultation to start a plan today. You can learn to read with me from the comfort and safety of your own home this summer. It's time!

05/30/2020

“We’re looking forward to being together again."

We weren't prepared for this. Not as educators, not as parents, and certainly not our young people with disabilities. And the future continues to be uncertain. Preventing the gap from widening has always been our goal but now it feels beyond what we can comprehend. We won't know the true impact on our more challenged learners for quite some time after we return. What if there was something you could to to keep them connected? To help them through this uncertain time? What are you willing to try? Reach out to me and let's talk options.

Each school day, Christy Caez’s son, who has ADHD and dyslexia, sits down with his district-provided Google Chromebook to do his classwork. The Lake Nokomis Community School second-grader does his best to complete assignments, but he’s not yet able to read. That means Caez, a stay-at-home mother

05/29/2020

"This kid is just lazy."

The student who wants to finish their work and turn it in as quickly as possible. There's no rereading, double checking, or spending any extra effort. It's a common trigger for parents and educators. "If they just tried a little bit harder, put in some more effort. They're capable, they're just in a rush."

Sound familiar? I've worked in so many classrooms at so many grade levels and I've sat in on hundreds of meetings with parents and teachers. The blame all falls on the student's character. They're lazy. We, ourselves, may have grown up in a time when our survival depended on us getting things done and getting things done right. Being lazy might have meant the difference between putting food on the table or going to sleep with your stomach growling. I know as an immigrant it was completely disrespectful to my entire race if I was caught acting lazy. Growing up poor may affect the way adults view their children/students. That they "have it so good" and "life is so easy." So the natural conclusion is, "if they worked harder and applied themselves, they could ...." -how would you finish that sentence? Would they be successful? Would they THEN be a great student? Would they get better grades? Would you like them more?

I have another perspective. Perhaps this child is uninspired. Perhaps we are projecting our own views of what success looks like. Perhaps the activity presented to them is boring. And they've already dragged themselves through the past two hours of boredom before they reached your assignment. I challenge us to look through a wider lens and with a bigger heart when we judge young people about their character. Every infant I have ever met has looked at the world with curiosity and an insatiable hunger to do, learn, and master. There is a sense of pride when they accomplish and they don't need to be told what to be proud of. They just go out and seek it. As an educator I really want to help young people keep this fire to learn going. We are not all gingerbread cookies made out of the same cookie cutter. Learning is dynamic and internally driven. Let's start some conversations about what education change could look like.

05/29/2020

05/27/2020

Yes. This!

When a child has challenging behaviors, it's hard for both parents and teachers to know what will really help. Listen as Dr. Mona Delahooke, author of Beyond Behaviors, shares helpful tips using the latest neuroscience. When we ask why and look beneath the surface, the answers will become clear.

When a child has challenging behaviors, it's hard for both parents and teachers to know what

05/27/2020

I cringe and my heart aches whenever I hear about a young person that is labeled a behavior problem, is described as "just doesn't care", or isn't a hard worker. Sometimes the young person is accused of being an "attention seeker", never pays attention, or is a disturbance to others.

How hurtful it is to shame these young people with labels that are meant to do one thing: make them feel bad about themselves. When did we decide it was ok to judge someone else's struggles as a lack of intelligence, lack of discipline, lack of strength, and lack of moral character? And a young person, at that?!

I strongly and whole-heartedly believe that these children are struggling, not because it's their human nature, but because life has just gotten that hard for them. Perhaps they really do seek attention. Perhaps, they're having a hard time meeting the expectations of the institution we call school. Perhaps they haven't been given many opportunities to feel intelligent, or courageous, or honest. Maybe there wasn't anything ever wrong with them to begin with but they have now internalized that message - What's wrong with me?

Yes. I am a speech and language pathologist and I studied communication disorders. But at the core of this clinician are these beliefs. I won't just utilize my "expertise" in communication disorders to work with you or your young person. I will try to connect with this incredible individual that you have trusted to me for 45 minutes or an hour a week. That is what I want to put out into the world. You get all of me. The clinician and the human inside.

05/26/2020

I'm a speech and language pathologist. I'm a daughter. I'm a mom. I'm a sister. I'm a partner. I'm a female. I'm an immigrant. I'm Chinese. I'm Taiwanese. I am an entrepreneur. I am an educator. I am human. I am many identities. I use this awareness to help engage my students and clients. I love getting people engaged and connected. So when I see an individual (young person or adult) that feels lost and isn't engaged, I want to help. Communication is a right. I want to empower people. Therapy sessions can be done from your home, customized for you. I specialize in social skill development and reading remediation. Trained by Social Thinking and Wilson Academy. Contact me. Let me help.