As a matter of fact, in my professional opinion – there is no difference between the two. The professional name of “reconstructive teaching” has recently been replaced by the concept of “adapted teaching”. Some people viewed this term as “harmful” towards the students because they should not be corrected; hence, the word correcting is not appropriate here. Since it came to practice – the definition “reconstructive teaching” aimed at correcting the way in which the student learns and not at correcting the students themselves. I do not justify the word “correction” and continue to define myself as a teacher of reconstructive learning. adapted teaching completely changed views throughout the field. This form of teaching adapts itself to the way in which it is right for a child to learn and puts an emphasis on being able to adapt to each student’s needs. A process that is very individualistic to each specific student. This is what progressive teachers did when it was customary to call it reconstructive teaching, and this is what they are doing now when it is called adapted teaching. Both concepts indicate and present the exact same process. As mentioned earlier, the change is purely semantic; the aim is to prevent any “harm” that can be caused by an association to the name “reconstructive teaching”.

Officially, reconstructive teaching is a process of teaching that includes learning methods specially adapted to children diagnosed with learning disabilities in the fields of reading, reading comprehension, writing or mathematics. A learning disability, by definition, is a disability whose source is a disturbance in the reception and processing of information in the brain and does not change throughout life. (I disagree with this, but this is the official evidence of the professionals trials). Reconstructive teaching in its *official* definition is intended for and helps those diagnosed as having learning disabilities to overcome the disability and succeed like any other student. Learning strategies are different methods of learning that help any student whether they have a learning disability or not. Learning strategies actually help to optimize learning. That means – to learn more in less time and be more successful.

But here comes the big truth:

Reconstructive teaching is a collection of learning strategies.

Therefore, when a child comes to a reconstructive teaching lesson, he truly receives tools and techniques – learning strategies – methods to activate his brain in the various stages of learning.

In the end, it can be said that reconstructive teaching and learning strategies refer to the exact same process.

Since most strategies speed up the learning process in students, I highly suggest that not only children with learning disabilities should consider these learning strategies. All students can drastically benefit from them, even students without any learning disability.

Simply put – NO. Attention deficit disorder is caused by a transfer malfunction or a lack of dopamine at certain points in the brain during the stages of absorbing information at the neurological level. It is a problem that impairs the ability to concentrate in certain situations and creates overconcentration in other situations. A learning disability, by definition, originates from the nervous system and the way information is received in the brain. In practice, there are many studies that claim that there is a connection between ADHD and learning disabilities and that children with learning disabilities are often diagnosed as having ADHD. It is worth mentioning here that this is a gray area, and that nowadays there are no blood tests or other medical tests that prove the presence of dopamine at certain points in the brain at a given moment. Therefore, if a child has a learning disability and difficulty concentrating, he can easily be diagnosed as having ADHD, but it is possible that the child’s difficulty concentrating stems from the challenging material and when this difficulty is resolved, as a result of appropriate teaching for those with learning disabilities, the child will easily concentrate in studies. So, in this example, there is no problem with the dopamine level in the brain and therefore there is no problem with ADHD. Attention and concentration disorders, unlike learning disabilities, will manifest into additional symptoms and hence one can be more confident in the distinction of ADHD.

Simply put – NO. Attention deficit disorder is caused by a transfer malfunction or a lack of dopamine at certain points in the brain during the stages of absorbing information at the neurological level. It is a problem that impairs the ability to concentrate in certain situations and creates overconcentration in other situations. A learning disability, by definition, originates from the nervous system and the way information is received in the brain. In practice, there are many studies that claim that there is a connection between ADHD and learning disabilities and that children with learning disabilities are often diagnosed as having ADHD. It is worth mentioning here that this is a gray area, and that nowadays there are no blood tests or other medical tests that prove the presence of dopamine at certain points in the brain at a given moment. Therefore, if a child has a learning disability and difficulty concentrating, he can easily be diagnosed as having ADHD, but it is possible that the child’s difficulty concentrating stems from the challenging material and when this difficulty is resolved, as a result of appropriate teaching for those with learning disabilities, the child will easily concentrate in studies. So, in this example, there is no problem with the dopamine level in the brain and therefore there is no problem with ADHD. Attention and concentration disorders, unlike learning disabilities, will manifest into additional symptoms and hence one can be more confident in the distinction of ADHD.

Surely this is a cliché if we believe that it is one. The truth is that even if we really try, we get the best psychologists, the best coaches, the best private teachers for the child – this is just a cliché. But this is not a cliché when we understand and internalize the most important insight that I think every educator and parent in our world should remember at every moment: Our brain is a machine. And each machine operates a bit differently. As soon as you find the right way to work with the child – there is success. I have been receiving proof of this fact for 22 years already. Sometimes – it takes a little time to understand what the right way is to work with the child, but mostly thanks to my extensive experience, I immediately “score”. The saying, “Initiate the child according to his path” refers to the emotional, educational and value based side of teaching. But on the same principle, we must remember that pedagogical success also comes from personal adjustment to the student. In more advanced schools in the Ministry of Education, it is already customary to work with the learning style called “differential learning” – meaning – learning that is adapted to the student and not just adapted at the classroom level.

But we must remember – the more tools your child’s emotional coach/teacher has, the more he will be able to adapt the right tool/working method for the child/student. This holds true for multiple topics: academic success, improving communication skills, creating beneficial social relationships, increasing self-confidence and belief in one’s own abilities.

I am a neurofeedback coach and a teacher for adapted teaching. In the past I was a teacher and educator for elementary and middle school students in the Ministry of Education. I am certified for reconstructive teaching in Hebrew, math, and English (the unit for foreign studies). Linear neurofeedback trainer – Biokshev Institute for Improving Brain Functions, Dynamic Neurofeedback trainer – Neursence College (representatives of the Neurooptimal company). Instructor and certifies teachers in the field of reconstructive teaching, instructor for parents of children with ADHD (Tel Hai College in collaboration with Idan Parenting College), certified for treatment through the water box method under the instruction of Yael Livna. I am also certified to train children with ADHD (Goma Training and Mediation College). I also hold certification for preparation processes for the first grade on a pedagogical, emotional, and behavioral level (Hila Flor). In addition, I guide many students in preparation for matriculation exams in everything related to learning strategies and preparation for entering/beginning university studies.

I chose to include this question here even though I don’t have an answer for it and that’s because a lot of people ask me about it. Coming from a person that I tried several Ritalin pills and the side effects from each one were so unbearable, even for just a short period of time. On the contrary, I know that there are students that the pill is a savior for them. I will say that in the past I asked a student’s mother – a senior neurologist in Israel and one who is dealing with ADHD – is she against or in favor of the medication? She stated that she is in favor of giving a pill only at the stage when the symptoms of the concentration disorder will interfere more than the side effects of the pill. At the same time, I understood from one of my lecturers in neurofeedback studies, that Ritalin can lead to long term harmful effects, and this should seriously be taken into consideration. I am not even sure that all professionals are aware of this potential long-term damage. In an article on the website, I wrote about this exact topic, and I suggest you read it. I will point this out again just to be clear- there are cases – very extreme – where there is no choice, you need medication.

But if there are severe side effects it is appropriate to try other tools first before jumping straight to medication.

Neurofeedback is a great tool – from personal experience, it worked wonders for me.

Please keep in mind that a child who does not succeed, regularly grows up with such low self-confidence, which may change an entire life path, and this is a side effect in itself. This goes to show you that there can be other devastating side effects, not just from medication itself.

In the article on my website, you can of course read how neurofeedback helps to deal with ADHD and boasts very high success rates.