Jessica Watson

Standardized tests like the SAT and ACT can evoke anxiety for anyone, but for neurodivergent students, the challenges can be overwhelming. However, with the right accommodations and preparation, students with learning differences can show their full potential on standardized tests. Whether you’re a parent, educator or student we will help you understand the accommodations process and how to make it work for you or your learner.
Who We Are
Learnfully has worked for years with neurodivergent st...

Parents now have another important reason to keep kids away from second-hand smoke. A new study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry links childhood smoke exposure to hyperactivity and behavior issues.
Lead author of the study, Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, PhD offers, “There is a lot of emphasis on the dangers of smoking during pregnancy, but our findings indicate that children continue to be vulnerable to the adverse effects of nicotine exposure during the first several years of life.”
And...

Every parent navigating the educational journey of an autistic child faces unique challenges. Whether it’s understanding how your child learns, communicating with teachers or fostering executive functioning skills, the road can be bumpy—but it’s not impossible. During Autism Awareness Month, we’re diving into key strategies for supporting neurodiverse learners from kindergarten to high school and paving the way to independence.
If you’d like to watch the webinar on this subject you can find i...

Schools in disadvantaged areas may be a lot higher quality than they’ve been given credit for.
Despite public perception that schools in affluent areas offer better education, a new study shows this might not be the case. Research published in Sociology of Education studying the distribution of school quality found that “schools serving disadvantaged children produce as much learning as those serving advantaged children.”
The difference isn’t inside the schools—it’s outside the schools.
How d...

Sixth grade is often the first year of a big transition for learners as they become middle school students. During this grade level middle schoolers typically experience new challenges in different subjects, building upon the foundational knowledge learned in elementary school. While sixth grade introduces more advanced concepts and skills, students will also experience different teachers for each subject. This change provides an opportunity to work on organizational skills and a chance to be...

Spend five minutes outside any ice cream or candy store and you’re bound to see a parent or two lamenting how the sweet treat is already “kicking in.” How many times have we watched our kids somersaulting by as the sun is going down or jumping from bed to bed and sworn off sweet treats in the evening?
Believe it or not, according to Dr. Mark Wolraich, chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, who researched sugar’s effect on children in th...

Navigating special education can feel overwhelming, especially with the acronyms, emotions and, sometimes complicated, steps involved. Parents and caregivers often face challenges when asking the school system to support their kids effectively, especially when it comes to Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), 504 plans and Student Support Team (SST) meetings. Our most recent webinar focused on simplifying the process and breaking down each type of meeting so you can confidently advocate f...

Navigating the PSAT score report can feel like trying to decipher a foreign language. Whether you’re a parent trying to make sense of the numbers or a student wondering what it all means, understanding the PSAT is key to planning for the SAT and beyond. Let’s break it down step-by-step and figure out what all those scores, percentiles and details actually tell you.
If you’d rather watch than read, our webinar, Understanding Your Students PSAT Report can be viewed here:
What is the PSAT and wh...

© 2017 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved. Photo by Zach Hyman
Plus four more memorable times the classic TV show taught kids how to embrace differences.My oldest daughter was diagnosed with autism over 15 years ago. When she began school she was quickly whisked away to a special needs classroom in another city with no mention of being included with typical preschoolers her age. She had excellent teachers and made great progress during her preschool years, but she also had zero exposure to ...

A writer reflects on the unexpected joy and gratitude that comes with parenting the siblings of the child she lost.A few years ago, the New York Times published a heartbreakingly eloquent essay about the loss of a child by writer and father Jayson Greene. In his essay, Jayson shares the devastating story of his two-year-old daughter’s death in a freak accident:
“My daughter, Greta, was 2 years old when she died — or rather, when she was killed. A piece of masonry fell eight stories from an im...

When my oldest daughter reached an age where she was able to verbalize some of her feelings about having autism, I was overwhelmed by the things she shared. First, it’s tough to have a kid tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Second, I realized I had underestimated her. There were things she thought and felt that were at a much more sophisticated level than I had imagined possible.
Sometimes we forget, as parents, as friends, and as a community, to ask the people with autism who we are trying...

As our kids inch closer to starting preschool we all hear the stories. The ones about peeling children off legs and peeking in preschool windows to see if your child is still crying. If you’ve got a sensitive kiddo or one who suffers from separation anxiety, chances are you’re picturing yourself in this exact scenario and hoping by some crazy stroke of luck this won’t be you.
My daughter was glued to me from the minute she came home from the hospital. I couldn’t hand her over to anyone withou...

My daughter’s autistic behaviors were recognizable fairly early. She was delayed in meeting all of her milestones. Her speech came slowly. Pretend play was not her strong suit. Despite all the red flags we spent years waiting for a diagnosis. She was diagnosed in the years before autism was as prevalent as it is today and we jumped through many hoops to find a doctor to say that yes, she was on the autism spectrum.
Today though? If I took the toddler version of my child to any park, playgroun...

My eldest child is nearly 22. She was born long before the days of challenging doctor’s opinions the minute they utter the word “C-Section.” When I was told she was breech and we would need to schedule a Cesarean for several weeks into the future I never thought to ask if we could try to turn her. Nor did I question whether having a C-Section to deliver my first child would mean that all of my future children would need to be born the same way. I was young and primarily freaked out about half...

It’s been 10 years since I completed my final round of fertility treatments but I remember the emotional roller coaster of that time in my life like it was yesterday. I clearly remember sitting with a soft-spoken nurse who explained to me what the upcoming weeks (in our case months, then years) would entail and I also remember that none of the procedures — from IUI to IVF — were as easy as those shiny pamphlets made them sound. If you’re about to begin the journey of fertility treatments, I t...