Academic Remediation

Four myths about self-advocacy in the university setting

From the always-useful LDOnline, Self-advocacy for college students.  The article particularly

Given that self-advocacy is essential for prospective college students with learning disabilities to be successful, this article will present four myths about what self-advocacy is for these students as well as responses to these myths. They were chosen because of their prevalence among students with learning disabilities and their parents. Further, these myths often have had a decisively negative effect on these students' ability to meet needs critical to their success in a college setting. The responses presented address these myths and highlight some best practices for self-advocacy. 

False myth  #1. It's better to avoid the label "learning disability" because such labels are ultimately damaging to the student's self-esteem.

False myth #2. Now that there are programs or students with learning disabilities at many postsecondary settings, their existence guarantees that students' essential needs will be met.

False myth #3. Obtaining the highest grades possible is the major yardstick of effective self-advocacy. Better grades lead to increased options upon leaving a postsecondary setting.

False myth #4. When students encounter a very difficult academic situation, it's best to let their parents take over.

The Reading Brain New Evidence of Neurological Differences in Dyslexia

Science 24 February 2012: 
Vol. 335 no. 6071 p. 893 
DOI: 10.1126/science.335.6071.893-a

• EDITORS' CHOICE

NEUROSCIENCE

The Reading Brain

1. Pamela J. Hines

Developmental dyslexia, which manifests as difficulty with reading, can have long-lasting and detrimental effects on a child's experience with education, with echoes that persist long into adulthood. Raschle et al. have leveraged the indications of familial risk for dyslexia to distinguish differences in brain structure present before reading from those that arise after the battle with reading difficulties is well engaged. The authors studied a total of 36 5-year-old children, all pre-literate, characterized by whether or not their family had a history of dyslexia. Even at these pre-reading ages, functional brain imaging revealed an aberrant signal similar to that found in older children with a confirmed diagnosis of dyslexia. Development of the brain network supporting phonological processing appeared to be delayed. On the other hand, the two groups of children showed no difference in other networks that are hyperactivated when persons with dyslexia are reading. Those networks may instead represent compensation brought into play in the struggle to defeat reading difficulties.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 109, 2156 (2012).

DSM 5 Approved, dyslexia out: What the experts thought

I'm waiting for official confirmation.  In the mean time, this report:

J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2012 May;53(5):593-607. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02495.x. Epub 2011 Dec 5.

Annual research review: the nature and classification of reading disorders--a commentary on proposals for DSM-5.

Snowling MJ, Hulme C.

Source

Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK. [email protected]

Abstract

This article reviews our understanding of reading disorders in children and relates it to current proposals for their classification in DSM-5. There are two different, commonly occurring, forms of reading disorder in children which arise from different underlying language difficulties. Dyslexia (as defined in DSM-5), or decoding difficulty, refers to children who have difficulty in mastering the relationships between the spelling patterns of words and their pronunciations. These children typically read aloud inaccurately and slowly, and experience additional problems with spelling. Dyslexia appears to arise principally from a weakness in phonological (speech sound) skills, and there is good evidence that it can be ameliorated by systematic phonic teaching combined with phonological awareness training. The other major form of reading difficulty is reading comprehension impairment. These children read aloud accurately and fluently, but have difficulty understanding what they have read. Reading comprehension impairment appears to arise from weaknesses in a range of oral language skills including poor vocabulary knowledge, weak grammatical skills and difficulties in oral language comprehension. We suggest that the omission of reading comprehension impairment from DSM-5 is a serious one that should be remedied. Both dyslexia and reading comprehension impairment are dimensional in nature, and show strong continuities with other disorders of language. We argue that recognizing the continuities between reading and languagedisorders has important implications for assessment and treatment, and we note that the high rates of comorbidity between readingdisorders and other seemingly disparate disorders (including ADHD and motor disorders) raises important challenges for understanding these disorders.

 

10 Helpful Dyscalculia Resources

This page from the National Center for Learning Disabilities lists some parent-friendly, accurate sites and books about dyscalculia and how it can be remediated.

 

10 Helpful Dyscalculia Resources

Attention Deficit | Myths & Misconceptions

Public perceptions of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) are replete with myths, misconceptions, and misinformation about the nature, course, and treatment of the disorder.

While barriers to treatment have been reduced in recent years, there is a climate of blame, shame, embarrassment, and stigma that discourages some from seeking help for debilitating mental health disorders, including AD/HD. There is compelling evidence that a large number of youths with a variety of mental disorders, including AD/HD, are not being served, are inadequately served, or are inappropriately served. Misinformation often demonizes those in need of treatment for AD/HD, and may discourage individuals from seeking appropriate care. Parents may avoid professional help because they are often accused of seeking to medicate overly playful, non-compliant, or mildly disruptive children. More likely, parents are struggling to help their children cope with a serious constellation of problems and are seeking help because previous attempts to reduce the impact of AD/HD have failed.

via www.ncld.org

It's time to end the myths about ADHD

The problem with RTI

Direct link is

http://susanbartondyslexiastories.com/2012/11/30/the-problem-with-rti/