I Speak of Dreams

EdRev 2013: Sarah Entine's Documentary, Read Me Differently

The Parents Educational Network's EdRev 2013 wasn't all technology.

I stopped by Sarah Entine's booth for conversation.  

This is what Rich LaVoie had to say about her film

“Sarah Entine has produced a remarkable and memorable film about the unique pressures that generational learning disabilities have on a family. By combining the perspectives of her grandmother, parents and sister with her own, she provides a poignant and insightful picture of the impact that ‘hidden disabilities’ can have on relationships. Unlike similar films, Read Me Differently never becomes preachy, maudlin or self-pitying. She offers no false hope, instant cures or simple answers. Rather, she allows us to hear from three remarkably dynamic women discussing the shame, confusion, fear and bewilderment that often accompany undiagnosed learning problems."

A local paper reviewed the film,

While the topic of learning disabilities could signal a technical or boring documentary, that is not the case with "Read Me Differently." Sarah, her mother, and her grandmother Sylvia are such lively, charming subjects they lend the film an unexpected warmth and openness.

"It's kind of been rewarding to see that it [the film] has a reach into a larger world than learning disabilities, and that it might actually have universal themes," the first-time director said in a telephone interview this week from her Berkeley home.

You can purchase or rent the film from Newday films, http://www.newday.com/films/readmedifferently.html . I plan to show the film in the fall as part of increased dyslexia / different learners programming we are planning in San Mateo county.

Entine has a Master's degree in Social Work from Simmons College. She is now leading mindfulness meditation workshops for adults and parents affected by learning differences.    Having practiced mindfulness meditation since 1998, Sarah is a recent graduate of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center where she earned a certificate in mindfulness facilitation.

Read Me Differently on Facebook

Here's the film trailer

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EdRev 2013: BrainAid's PEAT Device, or Cognitive Orthotics

I spent yesterday at the Parents Educational Network's EdRev 2013. Kudos to PEN for putting on such a dynamic and information-rich day. 

One focus was on exhibitors of technologies focusing on special education students' needs.  

I stopped by the BrainAid suite and had a lively conversation about executive function and technological supports with Brain Aid's president, Rich Levinson.  

Levinson was a robotics researcher at NASA-Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. In the early 1990s, Levinson began studying the neuropsychology of human planning -- executive function--in order to increase autonomy for NASA robots such as the Mars Rover.  

In 1995, Levinson proposed a computer model of human frontal lobe function. That computer model led to the development of  the Planning and Execution Assistant and Trainer -- PEAT™.   It is an  Android-based application that aids individuals with memory, attention and cognitive disorders.

PEAT was originally designed for brain injury rehabilitation -- specificially traumatic brain injury with the Veterans' Administration-- but has been used by many people with nearly all forms of cognitive impairment including mild cognitive impairment, early dementia, stroke, autism, ADHD, PTSD, hypoxia and others.

Right now, BrainAid is working with a Santa Clara County school district to build PEAT's capability to help students with executive function dysfunction (conditions such as autism and ADHD) be more successful academically.

I can see the PEAT device, with modifications, also being very useful for autistic adults, who often have executive function challenges that reduce quality of life.  I like the way BrainAid puts "autonomy" front and center -- "autonomy is our core value".  

Kassiane wrote a nifty article on "Autistifying My Habitat"that illustrates her low-tech way of overcoming some of the executive function challenges particular to her and her living situation.  Karla Fisher has a number of reflections on autistic executive function, but this essay is a great place to start.

PEAT training videos 

BrainAid on Twitter 

BrainAid on Facebook

BrainAid on Pinterst

 

 

 

EdRev 2013: SpEd K12

I spent yesterday at the Parents Educational Network's EdRev 2013. Kudos to PEN for putting on such a dynamic and information-rich day. 

One focus was on exhibitors of technologies focusing on special education students' need.  I ran across a company new to me, SpEd K12, and their product, SpEd Pad:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab with branded carry case.
• Hundreds of preloaded Special Education apps.
• SpEd App license to manage your student, schedule, lesson plan and therapy log.
• SpEd Voice (Powered by AvAZ App) AAC Solution license.
• Steady supply of new apps.
• 10*5 live technical support
• Warranty for device malfunction and mechanical failures.

I took it for a brief spin. It looks like a very powerful device, especially with the Sped App features that would be very useful for maintaining records in an efficient manner.  I didn't evaluate the SpEd Voice. 

The company is based in Sunnyvale, so local folks may be able to visit with the company or schedule a demonstration.

SpEd K12 on Facebook 

SpEd K12 on Twitter

SpEd K12 on LinkedIn 

RtI and Identifying Disabilities: You Have Options

From the National Center for Learning Disabilities, always reliable: http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/ld-testing/strategies-addressing-identification-issues?utm_source=LDOnLine.org&utm_medium=Twitter

If the school informs you that they are using Response to Intervention (RTI), you should go ahead and request an evaluation in writing as soon as you think your child may have a disability. Making this request is critical because your written consent puts a 60-day timeframe on both the completion of the RTI process and the evaluation. The process of determining whether your child has a disability such as a learning disability and needs special education cannot go on indefinitely. If your request for an evaluation is denied because your child’s school says they do not “suspect” a disability or because they are using RTI, you have the right to file either a due process complaint or a state complaint, discussed later.

Learning RX Complaint

Learning RX - Allise Bromfield.

At the end of January, we enrolled our daughter Ashley in the Learning RX program. Ms Bromfield, a director, encouraged us to pay up front for 6 months and obtain a 5% discount. After being assured that if we were not able to complete the program, a refund would be provided, we paid about $11, 400.00. A few weeks later, I also decided to enroll in the program and again on Ms Bromfield's suggestion paid in advance for 6 months. Since my weekly hours were less than my daughter's hours, I paid about $6, 800.00. Then 2 events occurred. Firstly, in April I was temporarily transferred and could not continue with the sessions. Secondly we decided to move to Florida and informed Ms Bromfield of this decision about the third week of June. Although my daughter had not completed the program, she had participated for enough hours that an assessment was done at the end of June. We visited Learning RX in early July for the results of the assessment. At that time, Ms Bromfield informed us that services were not provided for about 87 hours, so a refund was due. Nothing came in the mail during July. I called twice during the first 2 weeks of August and left my name and number with the receptionist but my calls were not returned. During the week of August 20th, I again called and this time Ms Bromfield answered. She informed me very nonchalantly that she was on vacation and I would get my money when she returned. When I asked when that would take place, she said "next week". The week of August 27 came and went and there was no refund. I called on September 4 and spoke to Ms Bromfield. She explained that she was having financial difficulties and was embarrassed to tell me ( so I guess to her that was a better option than being truthful ). The kicker was when she explained that she expected to sign up someone the week of August 27 and expected to pay me out of those funds but that individual did not sign up and she was anticipating that they would do so that week ( so, she encourages an unsuspecting person to pay upfront and then uses that money to pay off others ). Of course I have received no refund. I am at a loss to understand how someone could take another person's money, promise to provide services in the future and then use the money to pay current expenses.

The short version: don't waste your mony on Learning Rx.

October: Learning Disabilities Awareness Month

From LDOnline (a highly recommended site):

History and Future of LD Awareness Month

October was originally designated in the United States as LD Month in 1985 through a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. Learning Disabilities Association of Canada has celebrated an LD Month since 1987 and provides a toolkit to help you celebrate. For many years, learning disabilities organizations in the United States used the month to inform the public about learning disabilities through events and proclamations.

Learning Disabilities Awareness Month is a time where people pay particular attention to children and adults with learning disabilities. During this month, LD OnLine asks each of you to teach one person something new about learning disabilities. 

On my Academic Remediation blog, I will be using this month to spread awareness of the reality of LDs and that there are effective methods of remediation and accomodation.

Getting the Most out of Working With a Learning Disability - Eli Epstein - The Atlantic

Getting the Most out of Working With a Learning Disability - Eli Epstein - The Atlantic.

Landing a great job directly after college made 22-year-old Columbia graduate Tom Reed ecstatic. It was in the industry he wanted to be in (TV production), in the city he had grown to love (New York), and it came without the hassle of the long and tiresome job search that plagued many of his fellow graduates. Still, despite the tremendous relief of being gainfully employed, Reed was faced with the anxiety attached to one vital question: should he, or should he not, tell his superiors about his learning disability? 

Disclosure meant a number of different things for Reed. If he told his superiors about his affliction, described by Reed as a non-verbal processing disorder which makes sorting fragmented information especially difficult, then his bosses could possibly treat the situation as a positive and find areas where they could maximize Reed's above-average creative faculties and find ways to work around his organizational difficulties.

Bay Area Parents And Dyslexic Students: October Screenings of Journey Into Dyslexia

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.

Life After IEPs, A Resource New to Me

Check it out

Life After IEPs

A challenging journey 

There’s joy on the path to adulthood. But it ain’t always easy. 

Perseverence, grace, and a good sense of humor are needed.  It can be a bumpy road. 

• Supports available during the IEP years will end after high school
• Unfamiliar laws, systems and jargon lie ahead 
• Resources exist, but they’re scattered in different places and difficult to understand 
• Professionals mean well, but too often families leave meetings confused and overwhelmed

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.