In a new book titled Your Child Learns Differently, Now What? The Truth for Parents, authors Roger Stark and Betsy Hill challenge the common assumption that struggling students simply lack motivation. Published by Seabiscuit Press, the book suggests that behaviors such as staring at a homework page, avoiding assignments, forgetting instructions, or giving up before trying may be rooted in how a child's brain processes information rather than a lack of effort.
Stark, CEO of BrainWare Learning Company, and Hill, the company's President and COO, argue that cognitive skills—including attention, memory, processing speed, executive function, visual processing, and auditory processing—form the foundation for learning. When these skills are unevenly developed, students may appear distracted, resistant, disorganized, or slow, even when they are bright and want to succeed. The authors encourage parents to consider whether a child has the necessary cognitive foundation to complete tasks before attributing struggles to motivation problems.
The book introduces a five-step framework designed to help parents move from worry and repeated reminders to a clearer understanding of their child's learning strengths and weaknesses. Instead of offering another collection of parenting strategies for managing schoolwork, Stark and Hill ask a different question: How can parents help their child become a more capable learner? The goal, they say, is to build the underlying cognitive capacity that makes future learning easier, not just to complete today's assignments.
For many families, this distinction can change the conversation. A child who spends two hours on homework may not need another lecture about effort. A student who forgets multi-step directions may not be ignoring adults. A child who avoids reading may not be trying to escape responsibility. The book encourages parents to look beyond broad categories like diagnoses or school labels and focus on the child's specific learning profile.
Stark and Hill bring experience in cognitive training, neuroscience-informed education, and parent advocacy to the topic. Their message is clear: when parents understand how learning happens, they are better prepared to help children build confidence, capability, and a stronger path forward. Your Child Learns Differently, Now What? is available in paperback, hardcover, and Ebook formats.
