Questions and Issues for Discussion Chapter 1 Getting a Mind to Work 1.What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the term "lazy" to describe a student? 2.What might be some signs of output failure in a student? 3.What are some key differences between output during an adult's career and output during the school years? 4.How might someone have low output as a kid and then go on to become a high output adult? How might the opposite phenomenon occur? 5.What are some of the features of written output that make this activity so difficult for many students with output problems? Chapter 2 Russell Strinberg: A Case of Low Motor Turnout 1. What are some of the factors that contributed to Russell's very deep feelings of inadequacy and sadness? 2. How can we protect kids with output failure from experiencing public humiliation in school - and at home? 3. How can we describe Russell's motor deficits and their impacts? 4. Why is it that a kid can be good at arts and crafts and have serious problems with the motor aspects of writing? 5. What can be done to bypass a student’s graphomotor dysfunction? 6. What can be done to fix or remediate a student’s graphomotor dysfunction? 7. How can we help kids like Russell who have trouble playing sports? Should they have to participate anyway? 8. Should every child be able to exhibit some form of motor excellence? Chapter 3 Clint Walker: Forgetting How to Remember 1. How would you summarize Clint’s profile of strengths and weaknesses? 2. In what ways does memory function impact on output? 3. What school problems would you expect to see in a kid who is much better at understanding than he is at filing and finding information in long-term memory? 4. What’s Clint’s outlook as an adult? 5. What words would you use to “demystify” Clint so that he might understand the reasons for his output failure? 6. What can be done to sustain Clint’s self-esteem in school? 7. What if Clint had a teacher in high school who insisted he was just plain “lazy” and continually criticized him in public? What can or should his parents do if this occurs? What would you advise Clint to do under these circumstances? 8. Should Clint aim to go to college? What factors should enter into this decision? Chapter 4 Ginny Caldwell: Repeated Energy Crisis 1. How do Ginny’s problems falling asleep relate to her academic difficulties? 2. What suggestions might we make to Ginny’s teacher regarding her problems staying focused in class? 3. How do we account for Ginny’s extreme inconsistency when it comes to schoolwork? Does the fact that she can do her work very well some of the time prove that she has mainly a motivation problem? 4. What are some ways Ginny’s sleep difficulties can be managed at home? 5. What are the pros and cons of putting Ginny on medication for her attention? Should a child be forced to take medication against her will? What if one parent is opposed to it? 6. How does Ginny’s active working memory dysfunction when added to her attention deficits affect her writing? 7. How can we help Ginny overcome the effects of her active working memory problems? 8. Would using a computer for writing help Ginny? Chapter 5 Scott Murray: Controls Out of Control 1. What are the special pressures a child endures when parents are highly successful and driven in their own careers? 2. What are the risks of growing up overindulged materially and with ultra-entertaining life experiences? 3. What are the roles of the production controls of attention? How were they deficient in Scott’s case and how did their weaknesses impact on his output? 4. How can we help Scott improve his production controls? 5. What traits might we see in a kid who is insatiable? Is it always bad to be insatiable? 6. How can a parent and a school manage a kid’s insatiability? 7. What were the complications of Scott’s output failure and lifestyle? What other complications might occur in some students? 8. How could Scott’s plight have been prevented beginning, say, at age 9? Chapter 6 Darnell Mason: Words That Can't Describe 1. What was Darnell’s principal neurodevelopmental dysfunction? 2. What strengths were evident in Darnell? 3. In what ways did this boy’s environment interact with his neurodevelopmental characteristics? 4. What is the connection between an expressive language disorder and aggressive, acting-out behavior? 5. What are the academic impacts of weak language production? 6. How can parents help their adolescents with expressive language weaknesses? 7. What bypass strategies and interventions can be used in school to improve the output of kids with expressive language dysfunctions? 8. How can we deploy a student’s strengths and affinities in trying to manage his/her expressive language deficiencies? Chapter 7 Robert Chan: Deflation Ideation 1.What might cause children to have trouble generating ideas? 2.What kinds of recreational activities might enable kids to generate ideas of their own and what forms of entertainment require no ideation? 3. How can a parent tell if a child gets stymied when it comes to the output of ideas? 4. Is it possible that a child is good at generating ideas is certain areas or subjects but not others? If so, how can this be used to help a child become proficient at ideation? 5. What are some things parents can do to encourage brainstorming? 6. How do we go about finding and fostering a strong creative outlet for a child? 7.How can parents foster critical thinking? Chapter 8 Sharon and Mark Taylor: Falling Prey to Disarray 1. What are the common forms of disorganization? Are some children “intentionally” disorganized or is the problem likely to be part of their “wiring”? 2. What are the specific signs that a child is having problems with time management? 3. How can parents instill more effective time management in a child? 4. What are the signs that a child is having difficulty with material management? 5. How can parents arrange a home office for a child and take other measures to ensure enhanced material management? 6. What might be the signs that a child is having problems prioritizing? 7. How can parents encourage prioritization in everyday life? Chapter 9 Output's Inputs 1.What are some environmental factors that can influence a child’s level of productivity? 2. How can a family life contribute positively to a child’s “work life”? 3. How can family values and role models stimulate a work ethic in a child? 4. How can overindulgence interfere with a child’s output? 5. In what ways do peers influence a child’s output? Are there ways to minimize the negative impact of a very successful, all consuming, social life on productivity? 6. What factors are likely to influence whether a child is motivated to work hard or not? 7. How do we foster optimism in a kid with output problems? Why do we need to do this? 8. How can the use of his strengths help a child become more productive in school? Chapter 10 The Righting of Writing 1. What are some interventions for graphomotor dysfunction? 2. How can we improve oral language ability in a middle school student? 3. How can kids be helped to improve their time management? 4. What are some means of enhancing the management of materials? 5. How can kids be encouraged to become more effective brainstormers? 6. What are some ways we can instill an install a “project mentality” in kids? 7. How can technology improve output? 8. What are some ways that schools can become more flexible in their writing demands without “watering down” their expectations for steady growth in writing ability? Chapter 11 Cultivating and Restoring Output 1. How practical were the measures taken by the Barton family? Can they be implemented in most families? 2. What sorts of collaborative projects can be undertaken by families? 3. How can we describe an ideal home office for a student? 4. What are some ways to document and reward productivity? 5. How can school better foster productivity in students? 6. What are the most important forms of personal output a child should experience? 7. Under what conditions might medication improve output? Is it ever the “total cure” for output failure? 8. Would you agree or disagree that there is no such thing as a lazy child???? Chapter 12 Epilogue: Output's Outcomes 1. In reviewing the cases described in this book, what might have been some other outcomes, results that might have taken place without good understanding and management of a student’s output failure? 2. What are some things that make a big difference in the life of a child or an adult with output failure? 3. From the point of view of a work life, is it easier to be an adult or a child? 4. How can the right career choice enhance a person’s productivity? 5. How can we keep Sisyphus happy while he is struggling?
© 2008 All Kinds of Minds. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied, reproduced, modified, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means without the express written consent of All Kinds of Minds. Visit www.allkindsofminds.org/legal.aspx for more information.