Whether you plan to brave the crowds on Black Friday or shop from the comfort of your computer or smartphone on Cyber Monday, creating a strategy ahead of time will help keep you organized and make it easier to snag the best deals. ...

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As part of a pediatric neuropsychological assessment, a child’s thinking, attention and organization skills, memory and learning, speech/language, visual-spatial skills, academic development, and emotional/behavioral functioning all may be assessed. The main goal is to help access and guide the direction of intervention services and support. ...

While every college-bound student has individual priorities and needs, those with learning challenges have more criteria to consider beyond geography, program of study, and size of school. Learn ways to help your child navigate the college planning process. ...

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Would-be writers can get help from professional authors during the month of November at Mentor Public Library. The library will celebrate National Novel Writing Month with free programs that are open to everyone, readers and aspiring authors alike. ...

October is Protect Your Hearing Month — a great time to learn some tips and guidelines for protecting your family’s hearing health, as well as examples of noises that are in the "danger zone" when it comes to causing hearing damage. ...

Being able to hear is essential for developing speech and language. However, in Ohio 1.5 in 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss. The incidence rises to 3-6 in 1,000 by the time a child reaches school age. Two red flags that a child may have a hearing loss are if the parents have concerns regarding their child’s hearing or if the child has a speech, language or developmental delay. Learn more warning signs here. ...

As the days shorten and become colder, nature still has one last spectacular show to put on before taking a break for winter. Deciduous trees lose their leaves during the fall in order to prepare themselves to survive the upcoming cold winter months. Find out more about nature's seasonal transition, including where to find some great scenery in the Lake County Metroparks. ...

I am a self-admitted over scheduler. I find it nearly impossible to say no to someone who asks if I can volunteer for something. I have served as a Daisy Scout troop leader, cookie mom, softball coach, school council member, volunteer school librarian, field trip chaperone, school fair ticket seller, book sale volunteer, class raffle organizer, classroom craft helper, T-ball coach...the list goes on. And like many of us, I assume that I can make the schedule work somehow—I mean, that’s why we have the crock pot, right? ...