Q. How can I try to eliminate a pattern that my daughters have shown? One tries to be perfect all the time; the other perpetually disagrees with me. Both of them are special and I don't want either to be stuck in a certain role.

A. Negative patterns of behavior tend to be eliminated if they are ignored. On the other hand, noticing a positive behavior and complimenting it will, over time, increase the behavior. All children seek attention from parents and will learn to get it with either positive or negative behavior. It appears that your daughter's negativity should be ignored as much as possible andthat behaviors which are positive should bereinforced with attention and compliments.You must also learn to “pick your fights.” There are things worth arguing about anddemanding of your children and others whichyou can safely ignore. Don't expect miracles.Behavior changes take time but will occurwith consistancy on your part, patience, and a sense of humor.

A. Dyslexia (a reading disability) is a reading level two grades below the norm, which is not explained by anintellectual deficit, poor motivation or the absence of proper instruction. These children have difficulty associating the visual patterns of written language with the sounds of spoken language and are unable to sound out words. They may recognize whole words, which are familiar to them, but may reverse letters, make spelling mistakes, and guess words from their length. There seems to be a strong genetic component to dyslexia--it runs in families--and it is four times more common in boys than in girls. It is more common in children who have difficulty learning to speak and in children who have difficulty with spatial relationships. Dyslexia may be predicated before children learn to read by testing for "visual-motor performance," that is looking to see if children can recognize visual stimuli that are rapidly presented.

A. Scarlet fever is a rash that accompanies a “strep throat.” Both the rash and the sore throat are caused by a bacterium known as streptococcus and the sore throat is treated with antibiotics whether or not the rash is present. Only certain types of these bacteria are responsible for the rash; others may cause just the sore throat without the rash. Very rarely a person may have the rash of streptococcal infection and not have a sore throat. Your doctor will do cultures to determine if streptococcus has caused either the sore throat, or the rash, or both and if so will treat with antibiotics.