Academic Remediation

A Successful Politician -- Remediated but Still Dyslexic

Via Susan Barton

Ask Gov. Peter Shumlin for a preview of this week’s inaugural address and he’ll reveal one surprising fact: He won’t spell out a thing.

It’s not because he’s dodging. It’s because he’s dyslexic.

To understand this “word,” your brain must register “wah-ur-dah” * and recognize the result as a building block of language.

As a child, Shumlin saw the individual letters. But like an estimated 15 percent of Americans — including fellow Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut — he couldn’t sound out something as simple as “cat” or “dog.”

“I had a very hard time learning how to read,” Shumlin recalls, “but once they figured out how to teach me, I eventually could put a sentence together just as quickly as anybody else.”

That said, the 56-year-old’s dyslexia still affects him in and out of the office.

Take the speech he’ll present Thursday to start his second term.“I still can’t spell,” he says. “I stayed away from computers for years because I knew if I typed on one and someone saw, they would think they were dealing with someone who’s not ready for prime time.” 

How One Mom Taught Her Son to Read

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/learning-with-dyslexia-doesn-t-come-easy/article_d52d460f-632f-55a1-87fe-4082952c832b.html

So Meehan-Rasby decided to find help for her son outside the district. 

Introduced to a teaching program known as the Spalding method, Meehan-Rasby hired tutors who worked individually with her son. He also spent four to six weeks each summer in Omaha, Neb., attending a Spalding school. 

Meehan-Rasby said assessments showed her son had a high IQ at the same time he had low test scores. And he worked hard at it, she said. "I didn't think it was ever going to happen," she said. "Somehow, this kid has learned to read."

Both Rasby and his mother feel strongly that the right intervention done early is a critical piece of the puzzle to help children with dyslexia.

"I just think that you need to recognize a child's individual problem and the severity of that problem and figure out a solution around it," Rasby said. "You almost have to go outside the system, which is sad to say."

Meehan-Rasby also believes the school system should do more. "They made a lot of accommodations in that elementary school for my kid, but I was just amazed I had to do that (bring in a private tutor). It's like taking your own medicine to the hospital."

Dyslexia: Early Intervention Pilot Progam in Ohio

The article is a little light on details, such as what screening tools are used, but it is a start.

http://www.athensohiotoday.com/news/trimble-local-schools-take-part-in-statewide-dyslexia-pilot-project/article_9e7e0022-d8bb-55ba-80e3-e29340afe958.html#.UNsC0F2ah5Y.twitter 

While those results are positive, Nolan stressed those students aren’t done with their intensive intervention.

“For the children who need intensive intervention, it’s not like you can just work with them one week and then they don’t need this anymore,” Nolan said. “It needs to be consistent. Once you withdraw intervention, it’s easy for those kids to flatline again. We have to make sure that we provide the intensity and the duration necessary for them to really get those concepts into long-term memory.”

 

First person dyslexia success story at the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/jobs/the-visual-workplace-and-how-to-build-it.html?_r=2&

I WAS born in 1956. I should have been reading in grade school, but I’m dyslexic — I have trouble reading, writing and spelling — and few people knew much about the condition in those days. My mother realized that something was wrong, but she didn’t know what. She advocated for me at school and told my teachers not to give up on me. I attended five grammar schools because my mother was constantly looking for something to help me. It was a lonely childhood, and I hate to think how I might have ended up if she hadn’t been so supportive.

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.

 

Grammar Girl : Writing for Dyslexic Readers :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™

Grammar Girl : Writing for Dyslexic Readers :: Quick and Dirty Tips ™.

Have you ever tried to read something in a foreign language? Maybe some words looked familiar, but it was hard to determine what the sentence meant. Maybe the structure didn’t seem to follow the rules you’re used to. Now, imagine having the same problems reading your native language. Today, we’re going to talk about how to write for a special group of readers: people with dyslexia.

Shaming Slow Readers: A Horror Story

In Declo, Idaho, shaming slow readers is acceptable to at least one fourth-grade teacher, Summer Larsen, at the Declo Elementary School.

Fourth-graders who failed to achieve reading goals had their faces scribbled on with permanent marker by other students last week at Declo Elementary School — under the supervision of their teacher....

When Cindy Hurst’s 10-year-old son arrived home from school Nov. 5, his entire face, hairline to chin, was scribbled on in red marker — including his eyelids. He also had green, red and purple scribble marks over the red, and his face was scratched by a marker that had a rough edge.

“He was humiliated, he hung his head and wanted to go wash his face,” said Hurst. “He knows he’s a slow reader. Now he thinks he should be punished for it.”

It gets worse. The face-scribbling took place in the morning, and the marks couldn't be washed off.  Some of the graffiti'd students -- nine and ten years old -- had to ride home on the bus with middle school and high school students, who humiliated them further.

Ms. Larson evidently has twenty-one students in her class. Of those, nine students failed to reach an Accelerated Reader (AR) points goal (more on AR later). The "failures" were given the choice of staying "inside at recess until the goal was met, or have their faces written on by their classmates who met their goals."   

What was Ms. Larson thinking, to allow some of her students to humiliate and shame others in the class?  These are nine and ten year olds! The Magic Valley Times News reported that some of the students have "learning problems" -- of unspecified type.  Are some of the nine children with identified disabilities that interfere with reading speed?  

I want you to pay attention: almost half of Ms. Larson's class did not meet Accelerated Reader goals.   Surely that is a commentary on Ms. Larson's teaching skills and classroom management, rather than the students' failure.

More on Accelerated Reader from SEDL

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a computer-based assessment system of student comprehension of some 25,000 books ranging in reading levels from grades one to twelve.

First, the AR computer assessment system (called STAR) determines a student's level of reading comprehension, yielding a norm-referenced score. Reliability and validity data for STAR are not provided. The student is placed in a "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) that represents the predicted upper and lower ends of independent reading level. Unlike the Vygotskian term ZPD, AR does not support readers in the construction of meaning.

 Students then self-select from books that have been coded by readability level. Readability is calculated through traditional formulas that count words and syllables. Once students have completed reading a book they take a 10-20-item literal-level comprehension test. The management system provides the percentage scores to students, as well as to teachers and librarians, who may then advise students on further choices for reading. 

 Students are rewarded for reading and performing well on tests by gaining points (determined by the readability level and length of a book). Students gaining many points may be rewarded with prizes. 

 

A teacher who allows her students to shame and embarrass each other is not behaving professionally. I wonder what help (if any) the slow readers in the class are getting. (cross-posted at I Speak of Dreams)

Word Works, Peter Bowers, and Real Spelling

Kelli wrote

I learned a truly revolutionary way to teach spelling at IDA this week in Baltimore. I highly encourage everyone to investigate the work by Peter Bowers. His book is Teaching How the Written Word Works. I'm am not easily swayed but this makes so much sense I want to scream it from the rooftops. Looking forward to teaching my students to spell ...and think about words.

So the websites are:

http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html

http://www.realspelling.fr/Welcome_to_Real_Spelling/Choose-New.html

Writing Accurate Goals for an IEP for Dyslexia

Dyslexia and Goals, Goals, Goals: This is a great article at the Special Education Advisor by Kelli Sandman-Hurley PhD of the Dyslexia Training Institute

I am noticing a disturbing trend when I read IEPs and I have had some nonsensical conversations about reading with IEP teams lately as well. This trend and these conversations center around the goals section of the IEP. What this has revealed to me is what I have suspected all along – there is a lack of expertise and understanding of not only dyslexia, but the progression of teaching reading and the components of the reading process. To correct this trend I offer the following examples to illustrate some fallacies about reading as well as how to fix goals.

 

Four Things Teachers Need to Know about Dyslexics

Dyslexics Struggle with Automated Processes

To cope with the multitudinous series of thoughts and actions that the brain coordinates every day, humans complete simple tasks on a subconscious, automatic level. For example, a non-dyslexic may pick up a sock and know instantly that it should be put in the sock drawer, or drive to work without thinking about how to turn the steering wheel. For dyslexics, however, these automatic processes can be more difficult due to poor memory recall. This may explain why dyslexics' bedrooms are often particularly messy!

A good way to help dyslexics improve their ability to complete simple processes more quickly is to encourage them to create models, such as "SLUR" (Socks Left-Drawer Underwear Right-Drawer) and "I before E except after C." Models can be created for anything from writing a paragraph (AXE: Argument, Explain, Evaluate) to remembering to pack essentials into an overnight bag (DTGMAP: Deodorant, Toothpaste, Glasses, Makeup and Pajamas).

Suspect Dyslexia? Here are some tips to prove it. | Special Education & IEP Advisor

Suspect Dyslexia? Here are some tips to prove it. | Special Education & IEP Advisor.

You’ve suspected it since your child was three. You were quite sure of it when your child was five and now your child is in school and you are convinced and unwavering about it. The school is not quite as convinced and they are slow to react to your suspicions. Be prepared; the road to the diagnosis may not be easy or cheap, but in the long run it will be worth it. The steps to diagnosis below make the assumption that you have done your research about dyslexia and you understand the symptoms. If you are still at that stage, you can visit www.interdys.org for more information.

Putting the D in to the IEP Part 2: Common Pitfalls if your Child has Dyslexia | Special Education & IEP Advisor

Putting the D in to the IEP Part 2: Common Pitfalls if your Child has Dyslexia | Special Education & IEP Advisor.

Pitfall: Ignoring that inner voice and early identification Almost every parent that walks into my office recounts when their child was about three or four years old and they were not interested in learning to read. They wanted to listen to stories and investigate the pictures, but learning the letters and the sounds was just not something they wanted to do. Most parents have an inner voice that will tell them something is amiss, but at this age it is so easy to listen to well-meaning friends and family members tell you it is normal and they will outgrow it, but that inner voice won’t go away. This might also bring up memories of the parent’s own struggle with reading and send up a red flag- don’t ignore it.

Dyslexia and writing: My strengths come from the same place as my weaknesses...'

Times Higher Education - 'My strengths come from the same place as my weaknesses...'.

 ...and that's why universities should do more to understand, accommodate and value dyslexic graduate students, argues Rebecca Loncraine 

I am dyslexic. I am also a writer with a PhD in English literature. Contrary to popular perception, these things are not incompatible. People are often surprised to hear this. Most assume that all dyslexics are aspiring architects, artists or entrepreneurs, not writers having to deal with the messy business of words as the tools of their trade. 

When I completed my doctorate in English literature at Oxford University in 2002, I was the only dyslexic person to have achieved this as far as I knew. I swung between feeling like a proud pioneer and an isolated freak. I had not encountered other dyslexic graduates during my research, and I had come across some very old-fashioned attitudes towards dyslexia. I had overheard senior figures in the university asserting that there are no dyslexics at Oxford.

Go read the rest, and read it to your students.

Overcome Dyslexia With The Proper Help | www.BlogWithMom.com

Overcome Dyslexia With The Proper Help | www.BlogWithMom.com.

Dyslexia is inherited through genetics.  Most of the time a dyslexic child will also have a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle that is also dyslexic.  Dyslexia can be very hard to overcome, but with the proper teaching, anyone with dyslexia can “shine.”  Traditional classroom teaching just isn’t enough for those with dyslexia.  They need additional help in order to master their reading and writing skills. 

I use to teach fifth grade and had 25 students in my class.  It was a full time job guiding my 25 students through the day to day lessons.  I would not have been able to offer the necessary attention and time to a student with dyslexia while teaching the rest of my 25 students.  Once a child is diagnosed with dyslexia, it is definitely in the child’s best interest for the parent’s to find additional help for their child.  As a parent, many thoughts will run through your mind that may hinder you from finding immediate help, but the quicker you get help for your child, the quicker your child can stop feeling “lost” while at school.  Dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of,  it just requires a different type of learning in order to overcome.  Don’t give Dyslexia a chance to affect your child’s life in the future, make sure you find the proper help and stand behind your child 100% of the way.

Bay Area Parents: Journey Into Dyslexia Screenings in October

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month.  The Northern California Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (NCBIDA) is hosting two free showings of the documentary, Journey Into Dyslexia, followed by a short panel discussion with additional information and Q&A. The events are free and open to the public.

Journey into Dyslexia presents profiles of students and adults with dyslexia who share their experiences of struggling in school and then succeeding in life. Academy-Award winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond examine the complexities of this differently structured brain and debunk the myths and misperceptions about dyslexia. Journey into Dyslexia originally aired on HBO2 on May 11, 2011.

Showings:

Oakland Public Library
Saturday, October 6, 10:30 am-12:30 pm
125 14th St.
Oakland, CA 94612


San Jose Martin Luther King Library
Saturday, October 20, 10:00 am-12:00 pm
150 E. San Fernando St.

Cost is FREE, no RSVP necessary

For more information: www.dyslexia-ncbida.org. More information below the fold.

Adult with reading issues? Never too late to remediate.

How To Correct Childhood Conditions - Adult Treatment For Childhood Conditions - Good Housekeeping.

Reading Issues

Up to one in five Americans have dyslexia, making it challenging for them to get through a best seller — or even a menu. If they weren't diagnosed in school, many may incorrectly assume they're simply slow readers — "or even stupid," says Sally Shaywitz, M.D., codirector of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. But dyslexia is neurological: Disruptions in key brain circuits affect the ability to retrieve or correctly order the basic sounds of language, explains Dr. Shaywitz. Telltale clues — beyond reading in a way that feels plodding and deliberate — include exceptionally poor spelling and knowing a word but being unable to utter it correctly.

Although the process is time- consuming, you can overcome dyslexia. It requires relearning the basics of reading, all the way back to learning how to sound out words. Group classes for adults typically meet at libraries, adult education centers, or offices of nonprofit literacy organizations several times a week for a year or longer. You can also have private lessons with a tutor.

Rule of thumb: at least two hours of tutoring a week; more is better. Estimate a minimum of 100 hours of skilled remediation to become more fluent in reading.

Disambiguating phonologic awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics

This is a short (10 min 34 sec) made for young teachers that defines the three different terms and some examples for how to teach each element.

This information is important for parents for struggling readers as well, because things go awry in reading in all three domains.

 

 

This video shares basic information about some terminology surrounding the teaching of emergent and beginning reading. It focuses on the definitions and distinctions between phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics.

In a nutshell:

Phonological awareness is the broader awareness of sound and is auditory. 

Phonemic awareness is the awareness of the smallest units of sound in a word and the ability to segment, blend, isolate, and manipulate those smallest individual units of sound. It is auditory.

Phonics is the relationship between phonemes and graphemes. It is learning the rules and patterns of the letter-sound relationship.

 

Signs of Dyslexia

This is an excellent short (2 min 58 sec) video produced in the UK.  The voice appears to be synthesized with a British accent.  Don't let that throw you: the signs given are all accurate.

Dyslexia: A Hidden Disability

This short video is an infomercial for the Westmark School, but it is excellently done, and I recommend it to parents and middle-school and above dyslexic students.

Westmark School inspires students with language-based learning differences who possess academic potential and personal promise to build on their strengths and prepare for a successful college experience.

"Dyslexia: A Hidden Disability," produced by the Kennedy/Marshall Company, is an excellent documentary on adults and children who have dyslexia and the doctors and educators who are working to make a difference in their lives. It features interviews with Steven Spielberg, Charles Schwab, Whoopi Goldberg, Sally Shaywitz, and Craig Watkinson.

 

Sally Shaywitz on dyslexia and assistive technology

Once upon a time, there was the organization called Recording for the Blind.  Later, they added dyslexia, and became Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD). 

A few years ago, their leadership realized that the name didn't really describe what the organization does.  The leadership selected "Learning Ally" as the 21st century title.

Learning Ally's National Board member Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D. is a co-founder of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, and has devoted her career to better understanding and helping children and adults who are dyslexic. In this brief video interview, she shares insights on the power of assistive technology, audiobooks and accommodations for people with dyslexia.

This short video talk (3 min 44 secs) by Sally Shaywitz discusses the value of recorded books, especially for young learners, and the organization's value.

Interview with Sally Shaywitz on Dyslexia, New Treatments

In this short interview (8 min 13 sec) Dr. Shaywitz discusses what dyslexia is, some famous contemporary  dyslexics and  how spoken language is affected in dyslexia.

Visualizing the Dyslexic Brain

This short video (1 min 46 seconds) from New Zealand is one of the most informative ones I've seen.

The video segment was posted by the artist who created the 3-D images.

Pat Smith: Don't punish the kids because they can't read | The Columbus Dispatch

This article covers the way that teachers, school districts, and parents who are failing to service the 1/3 of students who need more structured, direct instruction to become fluent readers.  Ohio evidently has a new policy of retaining 3rd graders who are not reading at grade level.

Pat Smith: Don't punish the kids because they can't read | The Columbus Dispatch.

To improve the teaching of reading, we’re now going to flunk third-graders that districts haven’t taught to read. Somehow, this latest magic bullet seems aimed more at the victims than the culprits. Why not target instead:

Best Font For Dyslexia?

The "san serif is better" seems to be an item of faith in the UK. I'm not aware of similar biases in the US.

Best Font For Dyslexia.

Many dyslexic and non-dyslexic people find that the readability of a piece of text varies depending upon the font (type face or type style) used. Sans-serif fonts are generally preferred by dyslexic people because Serif fonts, with their ‘ticks’ and ‘tails’ at the end of most strokes tend to obscure the shapes of letters e.g.Times New Roman.

Dealing with Dyslexia: An Interview with Susan Barton

HSLDA | Dealing with Dyslexia: An Interview with Susan Barton.

Susan Barton: Yes there are, because the warning signs of dyslexia start showing up as early as age 1. Watch for children who do not speak on schedule, who are not saying 5–10 simple one-syllable words by about 12 months old. Listen for children who, when they start to say the longer, multi-syllable words, get the sounds out of sequence and say things like: aminal, bisketti, hangabird, heckalopter, hopspital, and can’t say certain words like cinnamon. Look for the children who have repeated ear infections, over and over and over, and may have had tubes put in, or multiple tubes put in; the children who are constantly confused between words like left and right, before and after, yesterday and tomorrow, the directionality words; children who have not established a dominant hand by the time they’re 4 years old; children who have difficulty learning to tie their shoes, have trouble memorizing things like the letters in their name, their address, their phone number, and most importantly, children who cannot create words that rhyme, or tell which words rhyme or do not rhyme by the time they are 4 years old.

Developmental Dyslexia: Differences in the Pre-Reading Brain

Developmental Dyslexia: Differences in the Pre-Reading Brain.

While much progress on such interventions has occurred in the area of helping individuals with developmental dyslexia once they have been diagnosed, other research is delving into identifying the neurological and physiological differences between brains that develop the condition and those that do not. 

To find out if there are identifiable predictors of developmental dyslexia, Raschle, Zuk and Gaab examined the functional brain networks during phonologic processing in 36 pre-reading children with an average age of 5.5 years. That is they were looking for brain differences even before any of the children had learned to read since previous brain studies of dyslexia have been conducted on individuals after they have begun to read, albeit poorly. All of the subjects were of a similar socioeconomic status; most came from homes with relatively high SES and strong language skills.  These are the type of home environments that typically result in the development of good language and reading skills. 

The only substantive difference between the groups in this study was that half of the subjects had a family history of developmental dyslexia, while the other half did not. 

Interestingly, the 18 children with a family history of dyslexia scored significantly lower than those who had no family history on a number of standardized assessments, including:

The Importance of Assessing Students Reading Ability Individually

The Importance of Assessing Students Reading Ability Individually.

A vast majority of elementary schools have administered computer-based screening tools to their students. Many even have a team of Reading Specialists that assess students in beginning, middle and end of the year benchmarks. Some elementary teachers are thankful that assistants and volunteers offer to administer both formal and informal assessments. This assistance results in teachers breathing a sigh of relief because it seems as though part of their heavy work load has become lighter. However, there is a possibility that teachers are in turn doing themselves a disservice and in turn struggle to understand why their students are indeed below grade level.

Audiobooks: The Right Voice Makes a Difference

The Voice - NYTimes.com.

But if somebody’s going to spend 10 or 20 hours in my ears, turning me into a local jogging spectacle, I’d better enjoy the experience. That means, of course, picking the right books to listen to. It also means listening to the right reader.

Using Mobile Screens To Make Reading Easier For Dyslexics | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

Using Mobile Screens To Make Reading Easier For Dyslexics | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.

When Dr. Matthew Schneps needs to read, he turns to his iPhone 4S. The handset’s 3.5-inch screen squeezes text into one skinny column, which is helpful because the Harvard astrophysicist has dyslexia. Schneps finds the repackaged text easier to focus on, allowing him to better absorb everything from news articles to books to technical papers.

Before Schneps discovered this tactic, he had given up reading books and struggled to parse the scientific proposals and papers he encountered as an academic. Reading felt "overwhelming," he says. Now Schneps is bringing his method to a broader audience. Backed by the National Science Foundation and a Youth Access Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he and several other researchers from the Laboratory for Visual Learning at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics are investigating whether people with dyslexia benefit from reading on handheld devices with small screens.

OnMedica - News - Dyslexia still a blight for kids, despite treatment advances

OnMedica - News - Dyslexia still a blight for kids, despite treatment advances.

Most children are only diagnosed with dyslexia after they have experienced serious difficulties in school, at a time when it is much harder for them to master new skills, and this could be thwarting their ability to fully realise their potential, say the authors. 

“Professionals should not wait until children are formally diagnosed with dyslexia or experience repeated failures before implementation of reading treatment, because remediation is less effective than early intervention”, explain Robin Peterson and Bruce Pennington from the University of Denver in Colorado, USA. 

About 7% of the population are dyslexic, and boys are about twice as likely to have dyslexia as girls. Mounting evidence suggests that the underlying problem involves difficulty with how sounds in language are heard and mapped onto letters — phonological impairment.

Why Colleges Need Dyslexic Students

Successful dyslexics share their differences and why they flourished in higher education and later in their careers. This short video is the highlights from the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity-sponsored conference for college admissions professionals.

Reading Disability in Grades 3 - 8: Neurocognitive Fact | Kennedy Krieger Institute

Reading Disability in Grades 3 - 8: Neurocognitive Fact | Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Reading Disability in Grades 3 - 8: Neurocognitive Fact Principal Investigator: Martha Denckla The overarching goal of this Research Center is to examine the reading disabilities (RDs) present in children grades 3-8, including classification, identification, treatment, prevalence, neurocognitive characteristics, as well as the influence of comorbidities (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; ADHD) on reading. While much is known about early reading development and disorders, there has been much less examination of reading and RDs past the early elementary grades. Therefore, there is a critical gap in knowledge about what it takes for a reader to be able to effectively glean information - or learn - from text, even though this is arguably the most important skill needed to achieve academic success after the 3rd grade. Our Research Center seeks to fill this critical gap in knowledge by bringing together a diverse and talented set of researchers and institutions (Kennedy Krieger Institute, Haskins Laboratories, Educational Testing Services (ETS), and University of Maryland) to conduct inter-related projects, the findings from which will allow us to gain a deep understanding of the neurobiological and behavioral processes that influence reading achievement past the early elementary grades. Our overarching hypothesis is that RDs past the early elementary years are heterogeneous in nature, caused by both "bottom up" and "top down" processes. Within this context, we propose projects that 

Abnormality in auditory processing underlies dyslexia | PsyPost

Abnormality in auditory processing underlies dyslexia | PsyPost.

People with dyslexia often struggle with the ability to accurately decode and identify what they read. Although disrupted processing of speech sounds has been implicated in the underlying pathology of dyslexia, the basis of this disruption and how it interferes with reading comprehension has not been fully explained. 

Now, new research published by Cell Press in the December 22 issue of the journal Neuron finds that a specific abnormality in the processing of auditory signals accounts for the main symptoms of dyslexia. “It is widely agreed that for a majority of dyslexic children, the main cause is related to a deficit in the processing of speech sounds,” explains senior study author, Dr. Anne-Lise Giraud and Franck Ramus from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. “It is also well established that there are three main symptoms of this deficit: difficulty paying attention to individual speech sounds, a limited ability to repeat a list of pseudowords or numbers, and a slow performance when asked to name a series of pictures, colors, or numbers as quickly as possible. However, the underlying basis of these symptoms has not been elucidated.”

Brain scans predict reading progress in children with dyslexia - About Kids Health

Brain scans predict reading progress in children with dyslexia - About Kids Health.

It has long been known that children with dyslexia use parts of the brain’s left-hemisphere distinctly from that of typical readers. Brain scans reflect these differences by producing discrete ‘activation’ patterns in parts of the left-hemisphere. 

Recently, researchers at Stanford University tried to shed light on a concept that is more novel: can brain patterns predict if a child with dyslexia will improve their reading in the future? According to their research, brain scans could make such predictions with over 90 per cent accuracy. 

 The researchers used two brain imaging techniques, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI). They analyzed the brain patterns of 45 adolescents, while they took a series of reading tests. The adolescents were between 11 and 14 years of age. They were tested on a range of reading abilities, such as how well they were able to distinguish between sounds that make up spoken words (phonemic awareness), how accurately and fluently they could read and how well they understood what they were reading.

Read the rest of the article at the link above.

The Sword of Darrow: Great Fantasy AND A Fundraiser for Dyslexia

From the International Dyslexia Association

The Sword of Darrow is a middle grade fantasy novel that was co-authored by Hal Malchow and his son, Alex. They began writing the novel in 2002. At the time, Alex was eight-years-old and struggled with serious learning differences. He could not read at all. The Sword of Darrow tells us that anyone can do great things if he or she has the courage to believe. The fact that an eight-year-old boy with learning differences helped to write a great novel proves the message of this book and can help our children reach for bigger dreams.

Not only have Hal and Alex faced the challenges of Alex's learning differences, they have made an impressive commitment to the cause of Dyslexia. They have generously agreed to contribute all royalties to IDA, and the publisher is donating half of his profits to other organizations supporting learning disabilities, as well. Above all, this is a great book that can inspire others and help them read.

Here's the Amazon page for The Sword of Darrow and here's the website for the book. I haven't read it yet but it's getting rave reviews.

Somebody should tell them to get a twitter account too....

Excellent new blog to go along with UM's new dyslexia website

The author's bio

DyslexiaDx.com - Getting the Answers You Need.

Michael Ryan began his career as a Special Education teacher in a preventive program for dyslexic children. He completed his clinical training at Colorado State University and the Devereux Foundation. He developed one of the first college programs for learning disabled students at Colorado State in 1980. He was Educational Director of Larimer County Mental Health in Fort Collins Colorado.

Since that time he has been in full-time private practice. Specializing in learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders. Dr. Ryan has lectured and published widely on Learning Disabilities, ADD, and Test and Measurement. He has taught at the graduate level at Aquinas College and has been on the Editorial Board of Annals of Dyslexia since 1985. He is the past Vice President for the International Dyslexia Association and the present President of the Michigan Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. Furthermore, he has been a consultant to the Governor of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Education and the Air Force Academy.

Grades 4, 5, & 6: Why Reading Struggles Intensify | Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

Grades 4, 5, & 6: Why Reading Struggles Intensify | Reading & Other Learning Disabilities.

In grades 4, 5, and 6, many struggling readers struggle far more than before. They slam into a wall of failure and frustration. Their struggles are not unexpected. They have well-known causes: * Curriculum that fails to focus on what they need to learn to become successful readers * Curriculum that doesn’t give them the kind of instruction and practice they need * Language, memory, and organizational abilities that can’t readily handle the grade’s more complex and demanding tasks and language * Frustration level texts and tasks, such as grade level reading homework that overwhelms them * Greater amounts of independent work * The unintentional hardening of ineffective, counterproductive learning strategies * Invidious self-comparisons with classmates and friends who appear to achieve effortlessly * Pressure to succeed on No Child Left Behind tests * Derisive or indifferent peer actions and statements * The lure of non-school activities, such as gangs, sports, and video games. * Inadequate family support * Discouragement, resignation, humiliation, and resistance to reading caused by years of failure

Colleges Step Up to Meet Dyslexia Challenge - US News and World Report

Colleges Step Up to Meet Dyslexia Challenge - US News and World Report.

But getting such help can be a challenge for those who need it. Each year the College Board administers the SAT to more than 2 million individuals. According to Steven Pereira, the College Board's executive director of services for students with disabilities, about 32,000 members of the class of 2010 took the test with accommodations.

Pereira says that about 85 percent of all students annually who request assists receive them if they can document their disabilities. However, Shaywitz points out that since dyslexics alone are about 20 percent of the population, the fact that so few students are accommodated suggests there are flaws in how they are handled.

Lori Vise, an independent educational consultant at Bass Educational Services, believes several factors may be at work, including students' erroneous fear that their test results will be flagged when reported to colleges. Families also may not be aware that such options exist. And though the ADA requires testing agencies to provide accommodations in a timely way, Shaywitz says, the review process generally takes weeks and can be burdensome.

Brain imaging study shows physiological basis of dyslexia

Brain imaging study shows physiological basis of dyslexia.

Shows Physiological Basis of Dyslexia ScienceDaily (Sep. 28, 2011) — Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have used an imaging technique to show that the brain activation patterns in children with poor reading skills and a low IQ are similar to those in poor readers with a typical IQ. The work provides more definitive evidence about poor readers having similar kinds of difficulties regardless of their general cognitive ability

Schools and psychologists have historically relied on a child's IQ to define and diagnose dyslexia, a brain-based learning disability that impairs a person's ability to read: If a child's reading achievement was below expectation based on IQ, he would be considered dyslexic, while a poor reader with a low IQ would receive some other diagnosis. But these new findings provide "biological evidence that IQ should not be emphasized in the diagnosis of reading abilities," said Fumiko Hoeft, MD, Ph.D, an instructor at Stanford's Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, who is senior author of the study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science.

The new results come in the wake of recent behavioral studies showing that phonological deficits -- that is, difficulties in processing the sound system of language, which often leads to difficulties in connecting the sounds of language to letters -- are similar in poor readers regardless of IQ. Indeed, the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandated that states no longer require school districts to use IQ tests in identifying individuals with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

With Dyslexia, Words Failed Me and Then Saved Me - NYTimes.com

With Dyslexia, Words Failed Me and Then Saved Me - NYTimes.com.

And suddenly I was reading. I didn’t know then that I was beginning a lifelong love affair with the first-person voice and that I would spend most of my life inventing characters to say all the things I wanted to say. I didn’t know that I was to become a poet, that in many ways the very thing that caused me so much confusion and frustration, my belabored relationship with words, had created in me a deep appreciation of language and its music, that the same mind that prevented me from reading had invented a new way of reading, a method that I now use to teach others how to overcome their own difficulties in order to write fiction and poetry. (It’s perhaps not surprising that many famous writers are said to have struggled with dyslexia, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and W. B. Yeats.)

We know now that dyslexia is about so much more than just mixing up letters — that many dyslexics have difficulty with rhythm and meter and word retrieval, that they struggle to recognize voices and sounds. It’s my profound hope that our schools can use findings like these to better teach children who struggle to read, to help them overcome their limitations, and to help them understand that it’s not their fault.

We knew so much less when I was a child. Then, all I wanted and needed, when I learned so painstakingly to read and then to write, was to find a way to be less alone. Which is, of course, what spoken and written language is really all about.

Dyslexia Style Guide- About Dyslexia- The British Dyslexia Association

This is from the UK and I do not know how much of this information has been validated by research, vs. just being some people's preferences.

Dyslexia Style Guide- About Dyslexia- The British Dyslexia Association.

Dyslexia Style Guide This Guide is in three parts:
1. Dyslexia Friendly Text
2. Accessible Formats
3. Website design

My Dyslexia

My Dyslexia | W. W. Norton & Company.

Despite winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2008, Philip Schultz could never shake the feeling of being exiled to the "dummy class" in school, where he was largely ignored by his teachers and peers and not expected to succeed. Not until many years later, when his oldest son was diagnosed with dyslexia, did Schultz realize that he suffered from the same condition. In his moving memoir, Schultz traces his difficult childhood and his new understanding of his early years. In doing so, he shows how a boy who did not learn to read until he was eleven went on to become a prize-winning poet by sheer force of determination. His balancing act-life as a member of a family with not one but two dyslexics, countered by his intellectual and creative successes as a writer-reveals an inspiring story of the strengths of the human mind.

Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Understand What They Read

Excellent long article with a great many useful pointers for both teachers and parents.

Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Understand What They Read.

A student struggling to understand what he reads often misinterprets assignments and fails to grasp concepts. This is very frustrating for a student who is otherwise capable of interpreting the information. Researchers have thoroughly studied reading difficulties for several decades. We now have a solid foundation and understanding of what is required to help students comprehend what they read. In brief, studies reveal that adult monitoring and modeling of strategies is critical. Also critical: a program that uses techniques that are multisensory, systematic, and well structured.

International Dyslexia Association Announces Groundbreaking Parent Membership Initiative in Response to 40,000 Annual... -- BALTIMORE, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

International Dyslexia Association Announces Groundbreaking Parent Membership Initiative in Response to 40,000 Annual... -- BALTIMORE, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --.

BALTIMORE, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) announces a pioneer initiative to support parents of dyslexic children. With one out of every ten people struggling with dyslexia, the IDA has taken the bold step of offering direct support to parents for the first time in its history.

A discounted membership of $45.00 will provide parents access to an online interactive community including a discussion forum, blog and more, a bi-monthly dyslexia newsletter, access to Perspectives (the IDA's quarterly publication focusing on dyslexia and other reading problems), discounted pricing on IDA publications, access to Annals of Dyslexia (a journal dedicated to the scientific study of dyslexia), discounted admission to the IDA's annual conference which includes top experts on dyslexia, an online referral service for treatment professionals, affiliation with a local branch of the IDA which parents can use for local support and resources, the opportunity for educational scholarships for their children, as well as travel and insurance discounts.

The shift to offer resources directly to parents comes as a result of an increased demand for support services for parents of dyslexic children. Each year the IDA answers 30,000-40,000 direct inquiries to their national office from individuals seeking more information on dyslexia. The IDA estimates that up to 20% of the population demonstrates signs of dyslexia and a recent study revealed that as many as 35% of entrepreneurs may be dyslexic.

"We are excited to launch this pilot program to offer resources to parents in need of answers and support with their child's dyslexia diagnosis," stated Steve Peregoy, Executive Director of the International Dyslexia Association.

For more information about becoming a parent member visit our website at www.interdys.org.

Listening to Learn: Podcasting as an Assessment Tool

Digital Wish - Lesson Plans: Listening to Learn: Podcasting as an Assessment Tool.

Some of the students in my science classes have difficulty reading tests, quizzes and notes on their own. In the past, they have left the classroom to have materials read to them. With the help of podcasting software and ipods, the students no longer have to leave the room. After I have written a test, I read the test using a digital voice recorder then use podcasting software to add sound cues and allow more white noise between test questions to create an MP3 of the tests and quizzes. The podcast/MP3 is then downloaded to ipods or other MP3 players that are given to the students when it is time to take the test/quiz. Lecture and notes are saved as MP3s for auditory learners and students who have been absent. This way, students don't have to be embarrassed to leave the room for a test and can still have the test read aloud in a way that does not interfere with the other students' ability to complete the test

The Campaign for Grade Level reading

Grade Level reading.

The Campaign is a collaborative effort by dozens of funders across the nation to: close the gap in reading achievement that separates many low-income students from their peers; raise the bar for reading proficiency so that all students are assessed by world-class standards; and ensure that all children, including and especially children from low-income families, have an equitable opportunity to meet those higher standards.

Documentary: Journey into Dyslexia

VIDEO VÉRITÉ | The Films of Alan and Susan Raymond.

JOURNEY INTO DYSLEXIA presents profiles of dyslexic students and adults who share their experiences of struggling in school and then succeeding in life. Academy-Award winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond examine the complexities of this differently structured brain and debunk the myths and misperceptions about dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a specific leaning disability that is neurobiological in origin and typically manifests through difficulty in reading, writing, spelling and math. It has nothing to do with intelligence, birth defects, or a mental illness of any kind, the home environment, level of education or economic status. Dyslexia persists throughout one's lifetime and is prevalent in every culture in the world. In the U.S. it affects as much as 10% of the population.

Surprisingly, however, Journey into Dyslexia reveals that many adult professionals who once struggled to learn in school consider their dyslexia a unique gift and the defining reason behind their success. walker “You couldn't offer me a hundred million dollars right now to take away my dyslexia and put me into normal learning. And I would have paid you anything in school to make it go away. So it went from a huge burden and this terrible disease to a gift that I am very confident is why I am as successful as I am, and hope to be far more successful.” —Steve Walker Because of its hidden characteristics, dyslexia is often misunderstood and misidentified. To qualify for accommodations in school or the workplace, a person must be identified through psychological testing

Succeeding through dyslexia and other reading disabilities « EddieSnipes.com

Succeeding through dyslexia and other reading disabilities « EddieSnipes.com.

In my younger days, words were my enemies. Today, they are beloved friends. How can someone who struggles to read be able to thrive when writing? I don’t know. The brain is something I can’t understand. But thankfully there are tools like Text Aloud that help compensate for my lack of reading comprehension. I can read, but the longer I read, the more my mind disengages. Soon I find myself reading words but not thinking about what they mean. It takes great concentration for me to stay focused, and it can be taxing. Without even realizing it, I’m thinking about something unrelated to what I’m reading. I know everyone does this to some extent, but we audio learners are stuck in that limitation.

With audio I can listen while I read, and it keeps me engaged. Plus, Text Aloud has a follow along feature that highlights words as they are read. This tool has had more of an impact on my reading and writing than any other tool or discipline. I call it my proofreading partner.

Reading is one skill that’s hard to get along without. Fortunately, the text-to-audio feature of the Kindle eReader opens the world of reading to people like me. And Text Aloud provides the opportunity to read articles, emails, and my own writing like never before.

Reading Fluency: Key Questions and Answers | Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

Reading Fluency: Key Questions and Answers | Reading & Other Learning Disabilities.

A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis

Why is fluency important? Often, teachers do not consider reading rate an important issue if students understand what they read. However, chronic slow reading, even if coupled with some understanding, can lead to problems. First, slow readers have to put more time and energy into reading than do their more fluent classmates. It takes them longer to complete assignments, and they are often painfully aware that their peers have finished reading although they are only half way through. This may cause them to avoid reading, and, as we mentioned earlier, fluency primarily develops through wide reading. Thus, slow readers may avoid the very thing that would contribute to their reading improvement. (Caldwell & Leslie, 2005, p. 76)

Brain Basis of Phonological Awareness for Spoken Language in Children and Its Disruption in Dyslexia

Brain Basis of Phonological Awareness for Spoken Language in Children and Its Disruption in Dyslexia.

Phonological awareness, knowledge that speech is composed of syllables and phonemes, is critical for learning to read. Phonological awareness precedes and predicts successful transition from language to literacy, and weakness in phonological awareness is a leading cause of dyslexia, but the brain basis of phonological awareness for spoken language in children is unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates of phonological awareness using an auditory word-rhyming task in children who were typical readers or who had dyslexia (ages 7–13) and a younger group of kindergarteners (ages 5–6). Typically developing children, but not children with dyslexia, recruited left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) when making explicit phonological judgments. Kindergarteners, who were matched to the older children with dyslexia on standardized tests of phonological awareness, also recruited left DLPFC. Left DLPFC may play a critical role in the development of phonological awareness for spoken language critical for reading and in the etiology of dyslexia.