Dyslexia

A Learning Difference not a Disability

Michaela Cass Intro to Special Education Professor Lara A.A.C.C Fall Semester

Myth

People with dyslexia read backwards

At left, brain areas active in typically developing readers engaged in a rhyming task. Shown at right is the brain area activated in poor readers involved in the same task.

Signs of Dyslexia
! Learning to speak ! Learning letters and their sounds ! Organizing written and spoken language ! Memorizing number facts ! Reading quickly enough to comprehend ! Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments ! Spelling ! Learning a foreign language ! Correctly doing math operations

NIH-Funded Study Finds Dyslexia Not Tied to IQ Research on brain activity fails to support widely used approach to identify dyslexic students Thursday, November 3, 2011

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. International Dyslexia Association 2002

Fact
15% to 20% of U.S. Population
Has a disability called dyslexia, which is a major cause of reading failure in school.

What Causes Dyslexia?

According to the International Dyslexia Association, the exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions. Moreover, most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties. Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexics can learn successfully.

- kidshealth.org

"Trying harder is impossible when you're already trying as hard as you can. But you can always try DIFFERENT" - quote by Seth Godin

Dyslexia
A Learning Difference not a Disability
A school or a medical professional can perform an evaluation for dyslexia. The evaluation is a comprehensive assessment of the childs competence in the following areas: oral language, phonological skills, decoding, reading comprehension, spelling, and writing. Articulation skills, social skills, and/or oral motor difficulties may also be included in the battery of tests.

Accommodations are Key to Student Success Signs of Dyslexia Student Accommodations

! Be familiar with the IEP or 504 plan ! Provide course syllabus, announce projects, and tests in advance ! Make assignments explicit ! Provide hands-on learning experiences ! Encourage handing in assignments early ! Assign a peer buddy ! Do not ask the student to read in front of the class ! If student volunteers to read allow them to do so ! Give students time to process questions (wait 5
sec. or more)

Local Family Resources

Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland www.ldamd.org (800) 799-4533

National Family Resources

The International Dyslexia Association 40 York Road., 4th Floor Baltimore, Maryland 21204 (410) 296-0232 www.interdys.org Dyslexia Help Success Starts Here DyslexiaHelp.umich.edu National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities www.nichcy.org INFORMATION AVALABLE TILL 09/30/14 Reference:
Bailet, L, PhD. July 2012. Understanding Dyslexia. Retrieved from http://Kidshealth.org/parent/medical/learning/dyslexia.html Bock, R., & Miller Glass, M. November 2011. NIH-Funded Study Finds Dyslexia Not Tied to IQ. Retrieved from http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2011/nichd-03.htm Dyslexic Help Success Starts Here. 2013. Dyslexia at School. Accommodations are Key to the Success of Dyslexics in School. Retrieved from http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/dyslexiaschool/accommodations Moats, L. Ed.D, & Dakin, K. M.Ed. 2012. Just the Facts Information provided by the International Dyslexia Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.interdys.org/ewebeditpro5/upload/DyslexiaBasicsRE VMay2012.pdf Pike, B. April 2010. Learning Disabilities and Attention Deficit Resource List. Learning Disabilities Association of Maryland. Retrieved from http://www.ldamd.org/resources/Resource_List_2010.pdf

! Cultivate the students strengths and interests ! Use Universal Design in Softwareclassroom & Assistive Technology instruction

Earobics - This software focuses on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Ages 4-10

Livescribe Smartpen - Records lectures while the student is taking notes. School Age and up Barton Reading and Spelling System - One-onone tutoring system to help students improve reading, spelling, and writing skill. It also teaches how to tutor a dyslexic student. Kidspiration - Software that integrates thinking, literacy, and mathematical skills with learning. Students create maps, diagrams, and webs in picture view and then expand them in writing view.