Book Review: Seeds of Learning

 

If you work with school aged children, you NEED "Seeds of Learning" by Tera Sumpter (affiliate link). It is amazing! 

Tera thoroughly explains all the functions of the brain needed to do academic and communication tasks in a way that highlights their connections to each other. She dives right into executive functioning - which, I'll be honest, is not an area that I feel like I have a ton of knowledge about as it pertains to children. I feel so much better equipped to assess and understand how underlying executive functioning deficits impact academic and communication skills. Furthermore, I feel better able to explain it to parents! 

Speaking of assessment, this book outlines exactly HOW to do a thorough assessment of these skills. Tera explains exactly what tools she uses and looks for throughout assessment. She also discusses what various results mean. To have a handbook that explains "if a child can do X, but not Y, then...." is so valuable! 

While the book does not delve into treatment, Tera promises that there will be future books that do this. Even without information on treatment, I feel better equipped to plan treatment based on the diagnostic information I have learned. Throughout the book, I realized I had missed important assessment information for several of my patients. Now I can go back, look at those skills, and edit my therapy plans as needed. 

This book is well worth the money. I will be waiting very impatiently to purchase any future books from Tera about treatment!