Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

The Decade of Dyslexia

by | Jul 21, 2016 |

Every decade has a new emphasis.  In the mid 1970’s “learning disability” was a scalding hot term.  Following the 1970s, ADHD was the topic of the decade.  This was followed by autism (or children “on the spectrum”).

We are now in the decade of “dyslexia.”  Not very long ago the term “dyslexia” in the schools was sort like Voldemort (“He who shall remain nameless.”).  Now, it is my impression that we are using the term “dyslexia” very freely, perhaps too freely.   I can’t prove it, but there seems to be a meteoric rise of people who think their child has dyslexia.

Increased awareness may not have changed peoples’ perceptions all that much.

Try this experiment this weekend at your backyard family gatherings.  Ask your relatives what they know about dyslexia.    Without exception, I would predict that you will get something like, “Isn’t that when you read upside down and backward…or you reverse all those letters.”

If you are in the minority who of those who do not view dyslexia through the reversals explanation, you may be tempted to say, “No, it is not that at all,” but your explanations will not be understood.

It’s one of the problems with the ‘D Word.”  As much as our awareness of dyslexia has increased considerably with all of the grass-roots movements and legislation taking place, it is extremely difficult to shake the notion of reversals and upside down from people’s awareness.

There are numerous other interfering mythologies that do not easily go away, chief among them the notion that, “Only neurologists can diagnose dyslexia.’

I try to do the best I can to educate people and help shake out certain notions long held.

No matter what, though, it’s very hard to shake the perception at the heart of people’s thinking regarding reversals and the upside down view of things.  This perceptions continually gets in the way.

I know it goes against the popular tide, but I prefer to say a child has a “reading disability,” (recognizing that this terms is problematic, too, since it doesn’t mention the spelling and writing issues).

To me reading disability translates better to most parents.  The term is understood pretty intuitively. There is less preconceived mythology and baggage.

Takeaway Point

Keep chiseling away at the mythologies.

Enjoy your backyard barbecues.  Keep working on the relatives.  Maybe they will get it one of these days.

#Dyslexia Mythologies Perpetuated

by | May 6, 2016 |

In spite of state training initiatives around the country, there are so many persisting mythologies hampering  the understanding of “dyslexia.” Besides the top one of, “Isn’t that when a child reads upside down and backwards,” the second is the myth that “Only medical doctors can assess dyslexia.”

neurology

While I have not been able to confirm whether it is true or not, a neurologist and a school superintendent independently asked me independently whether it was true that New Jersey state mandates were legislating that only neurologists could diagnose dyslexia?

In order to diagnose dyslexia, I would say that most of the following elements need to be a part of an assessment:

  • Detailed history
  • Language tasks (Expressive/Receptive vocabulary)
  • Phonological processing/Rapid naming tasks
  • Active working memory
  • Visual processing tasks
  • Words in Isolation
  • Word reading efficiency
  • Nonsense words
  • Oral reading fluency
  • Spelling
  • Written expression

Within the hospital system, I work closely with pediatric neurologists and I don’t know any of them doing such an assessment.  Countless reports from neurologists have been brought in to me for review by parents and I don’t think I have ever seen these areas covered in a neurological.

Let’s try this for one moment, let’s substitute “reading disability” for “dyslexia,” (please, no gasping in horror).  Would state departments’ of education and legislators say the same thing that, “Only neurologists can assess reading disability?”

Of course not.

Dyslexia is specific learning (reading) disability that is presumed to be of inherited origin, affecting one’s ability to read words accurately and fluently.   That’s the simple definition, but it works.

I appreciate the effort of advocacy groups bringing awareness of the issues of dyslexia to state legislators and state education departments. I just wish the end result would be the right one and not what I am afraid of what it is becoming.

Takeaway Point

It ain’t easy shaking mythologies.They get perpetuated and hard-wired into our thinking.

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For a free 15 Minute Consultation, contact Dr. Selznick: email – contact@shutdownlearner.com.

To receive free Dyslexia Infographics and updates, go to: www.shutdownlearner.com.

Phonological Awareness According to Hank & Claire

by | Feb 26, 2016 |

Phonological awareness refers to an individual’s awareness of the phonological structure, or sound structure, of words. Phonological awareness is an important and reliable predictor of later reading ability and has, therefore, been the focus of much research.

Trying to explain terms like “phonological awareness” or auditory discrimination is not easy. Parents ‘ eyes glaze over as you try and explain how these terms are related to later reading, spelling and writing development.

This week to help us out with terms such as these I got a nice gift from two different kids.

The first, was a five year old named Hank. As part of an evaluation, when I asked Hank, “Who wears a crown,” he confidentially said, “No one.”
I encouraged him a little – “Come on, Hank,” you know who wears a crown.”

Hank looked at me like I was out of my mind and insisted on his first answer, “No one, “ he stated emphatically. When I tried again one more time he stated, “No one wears a clown!!!”

Yep. Thanks, Hank. That sums up a lot o what we need to know about some of these variables. I am going to use that with parents to explain auditory discrimination and auditory awareness difficulty.

For further support after Hank, there was Claire age, 6. When asked to explain the definition of the word, “prize.” She said, “Well, like when you have a birthday party and you didn’t know it was going to happen you have a ‘surprise.”

Thanks to you, too, Claire. That’s also a great example.

Takeaway Point
Those little indicators like ‘clown’ for ‘crown,’ or ‘surprise’ for ‘prize’ may not mean that much, but in the context of emerging difficulty they start to weigh in on the side of the scales that reads “proceed with caution.

In the case of Hank and Claire they were certainly starting to add to the bigger picture.

Just remember, a king does not “wear a clown.”

The Elements of Good Remedial Instruction for Struggling Readers

by | Feb 5, 2016 |

Last week we talked about how you need to get clear on what it is you are targeting in any type of remedial situation such as tutoring. Continuing that theme, let’s talk about tutoring/learning therapy for Type I (dyslexic) readers. Typically, it is recommended that they receive some type of ‘Orton-Gillingham’ approach as these are the ones that are considered structured and multisensory. What is it about these methods that benefits struggling readers?

Consider this. About 70% of the population in suburban school districts progress pretty nicely with reading, spelling and writing no matter what curriculum, methodology, or approach that is utilized with them. The necessary skills (e.g., decoding, fluency, word identification) are internalized early. Progress is rapid and off they go.

Then there’s the 30% or so (a significant percentage of those who fit the definition of “dyslexia”) who are on the other side of the fence.

These kids need certain elements in their instruction and remediation in order for them to progress.

Some of the elements are:
• The instruction needs to be explicit. Skills can’t be left to chance. They need to be taught directly and explicitly.
• There needs to be a logical sequence with one mastered skill being layered on top of another. Until a skill is mastered, the instruction should not rush ahead.
• The individual lessons themselves need to follow a set sequence.
• To the extent possible, the lessons should simultaneously engage different senses, such as the auditory, visual and tactile.

These elements are in pretty clear contrast to the “literature based” approaches that are seen to be more “top-down,” and comprehension focused. There is a less discernible skill sequence with these methods. In a sense, the children who are in the 70% category don’t need the mastered skill sequence, since the necessary skills have already been internalized. The emphasis on comprehension and “higher-order reasoning” is appropriate.

Most of the methods that fall under the umbrella of the “Orton-Gillingham” approaches follow these principles as noted in the above bullet points..

As a final note, I would encourage you as a parent not to get too fixated on one brand or method over another. For example, I will hear parents say something like, “My child must have a Wilson certified tutor,” or Lindamood-Bell, or whatever (insert the method). While the methods being requested may have great value, research (e.g., National Reading Panel Report) does not advocate one method as superior over another, but that the elements of good remediation need to be in place.

Takeaway Point
The kids in the 30% category need different instruction than the rest!

Know What You Are Targeting

by | Jan 29, 2016 |

As the landscape of struggling children gets more and more complicated, with parents confused to know where to turn or what to do next, I do my best to simplify things. One area to simplify is the reading remediation your child is receiving.

Presuming you have had your child assessed (whether in school by the special education team or on the outside by a professional who does this type of testing), if you are not clear on the target of the remediation to follow, I encourage you to ask what should be the emphasis of the instruction.

After all of these years of conducting assessments and reading the literature (when I can), I still see two fundamental reading problems.

The first I call, “Type I.”

Type I readers are the ones that make up 80% of the referrals for special education. These kids struggle with internalizing adequate decoding skills. Their oral reading fluency is problematic beyond the level of words that they have memorized. Spelling and writing (open-ended writing) are always an issue. Most of their “comprehension” problems come from the word substitutions (e.g., “pricapinny” for “porcupine”) and the strained style of reading which creates a great deal of interference. The vast majority of kids of the Type I variety, especially those that are more moderate and severe on the continuum fit the definition of “dyslexia.”

Type II children are very different. These kids read fluently, but have difficulty understanding what they read. This group is a much smaller percentage, but they exist.

If you are seeking remediation (tutoring), get clear on what you are targeting; don’t scattershot the remediation. If the teacher doing the tutoring says something like, “I do a little of this and a little of that,” that should raise some red flags of concern.

Good testing should help you get clear on what you need to have emphasized. (In many ways, that is the central point of doing the testing in the first place.)
Be laser-focused in your approach so you can hit the right target.

(Adapted “School Struggles,” (2012), Richard Selznick, Ph.D., Sentient Publications)

More Old School Concepts: The Stages Continued

by | Nov 20, 2015 |

In my previous blog post, I talked about one of my favorite “old school” concepts still valuable, but not discussed enough – The Stages of Reading development. All children pass through these stages, but some progress more smoothly than others. Children who are considered “dyslexic” or reading disabled Stage have difficulty moving from one stage to another.

Knowing what stage your child is in provides you with a roadmap as to what should be your instructional emphasis at any given point. For example, if I said to my educational coordinator that a child was in early Stage I, she would know immediately that the emphasis with the child would be on teaching very early, basic decoding. Conversely, if a child was in Stage III, my coordinator would know that the child had essentially mastered his/her decoding skills and the emphasis would be on comprehension and broader-based reading.

The following is a thumbnail, overview of the stages:

• A Stage 0 child has not yet progressed into actual word or text reading. This stage typically overlaps with pre-school through the end of kindergarten. For a child to be good to go out of Stage 0, they need to know their letter names cold (not just the alphabet song) and to know the sounds of each letter. For a child to leave Stage 0, it is probably good for the child to know a handful of high frequency (sight) words such as cat, stop, come, book.

• Stage I, the “Cat in the Hat” stage, is the beginning of “real reading.” Learning to expand sight word knowledge and to target decoding skills is the emphasis in this stage. Stage I is like learning to ride a bike and is wobbly just like initial bike riding. There will be little fluency in this stage. Be patient here and expose your child to simple word patterns. Do not overwhelm the child with too much text. Your child is pretty ready to leave this stage when he/she knows most of his sight words automatically and decode one syllable words that have one short vowel such as fend, crunch, fast, stick.

• Stage II normally spans from the beginning of second grade to the middle of third grade. When a child is in Stage II the assumption is the child has mastered fundamental decoding skills but needs to consolidate these skills to develop fluency. This stage of development is an exciting one, especially if the child is in this stage at the expected time. The primary focus in this stage is reading – lots of it – both out loud and silently using small chapter books that are fairly easy (but not too easy) for the child to read independently. You will know your child is leaving Stage II when he/she knows all high frequency words automatically and can read text smoothly that is less controlled.

One point – don’t rush the stages. It is far better to have your child stay with the activities of a given stage longer than to rush them into the next stage before they have mastered the one that they are in currently.

In future posts I will do a deeper dive into these stages and review the remaining stages.

Adapted: “School Struggles,” Richard Selznick, Ph.D. (2012 Sentient Publications)

Old School Concept: Know the Stages of Reading Development

by | Nov 12, 2015 |

There are three “old school” concepts in education and psychology that I think still apply, which I hope to discuss over the next few weeks. Probably a day does not go by in my professional practice where I am applying these concepts with the kids I have been asked to consult and evaluate. Sadly, these concepts have fallen into the dustbin of educational practice and seem to be largely forgotten. While RTI and Common Core are front and center, perhaps these forgotten concepts need revisiting.

The first of the old school concepts is The Stages of Reading Development, which comes to us from the late, great researcher, Dr. Jeanne Chall. Chall’s research taught us that all children pass through expected stages of reading development, but some children get stuck in a stage and their progress is delayed.

Young children with a learning disability such as dyslexia, for example, often have difficulty moving out of the first stage, which typically corresponds to the reading skills of a first grader.

I see this all the time with the kids I consult with and evaluate. Take James a nine year old fourth grader. On an informal reading inventory James was barely adequate on a first grade passage on an informal inventory. Total frustration was met at the second grade level. In short, even though James was in fourth grade, he was still in the first stage of reading development.

There are essentially five stages of reading development. Knowing exactly what stage of development is in provides you with a road map for what you need to do next with your child. Armed with the information as to what stage of development your child is in you are in a better position to know what the goals are moving forward.

(In later blogs I will elaborate on all of the stages.)

Adapted, School Struggles , Richard Selznick, Ph.D. (2012, Sentient Publications)

Instructional Ranges: Essential Information

by | Nov 5, 2015 |

I had the pleasure of recently meeting with the faculty of the Center School, in Abington, Pennsylvania. A school specializing in children with learning disabilities, we reviewed a number of evaluations that had been conducted on children prior to their admission to the school.

The staff was looking for practical strategies that can be derived from these evaluations. The psychological/psychoeducational reports ranged from 20 to 30 plus pages in length. Even with all of the data, one of the things missing in all of the reports reviewed was the absence of specifying clear instructional ranges for the children.

Instructional ranges fall into three levels that overlap with each other to some degree. The Independent Level is the “piece of cake” level, where the reading material is easy to manage and understand. The Instructional Level is the point where the child can largely manage the material independently, but may need a bit of support. Perhaps some words are difficult to decode or some of the vocabulary hard to understand. The Frustration Level is exactly what it says – the material is too hard. Material at the frustration level should be avoided.

Having children receive frustration level material is a major contributor to kids shutting down and looking to avoid school and homework.

Takeaway Points

1) If your private psychologist has not specified instructional ranges, go back to him/her and clarify these levels. They are essential pieces of information in program planning for your child.

2) If your child is receiving worksheets or other material that is in his/her frustration level, it is important to raise the issue with the teacher. Hopefully, you will get a willing audience from the teacher who will then make adjustments. (I know, easier said than done, but it’s a start.)

Reading Disability & a Confused Mom: Getting Clear on the Focus

by | Oct 30, 2015 |

There’s a lot in this business that gets me rolling my eyes. Too often when I talk to parents about what is going on with their child, I feel my cranky meter rising.

Take, Patricia, the mom of 7 year old Beth Anne.

Patricia plopped a stack of reports on my desk.

“Since she was 4, we’ve been on this mission to help her,” Patricia said. “She just isn’t making progress in reading and the gap is widening.”
“What have you done,” I asked.

“We first saw an OT (occupational therapist) who identified sensory issues and suggested we get Interactive Metronome Therapy. Then we heard about a person who administered special colored lenses for reading and someone else who suggested a different vision treatment. After that, an audiologist found central auditory processing disorder and recommended that we go to her office for a year of computer treatment to address the “auditory” issues. Then we saw a neurologist who wanted to put her on medication for ADHD. Really, my head is spinning and I don’t know what to do.”

“Has anyone suggested that they teach the child to read,” I asked.

“Not really,” she said. “I keep getting all of these treatment recommendations, but very few have said anything that makes sense regarding reading. I am really feeling overwhelmed by all of this and don’t know what direction to go.”

As I looked over the reports and recommendations, it was clear that Beth Anne needed sensible reading remediation.

If reading is the primary concern, then that should be the target of treatment/remediation.
To hit a tennis ball better, you wouldn’t go for swimming lessons. Why is reading any different? Reading is a skill that can be taught and practiced.

Professionals will see things from the window of their own specialty (e.g., auditory, visual, medical). The more narrow the window, the more narrow the recommendation.

Get clear on what you are remediating and why before you commit a significant amount of time and money.
Takeaway Point

If you are seeking treatment from different professionals, make sure you’re asking the professional exactly what the goals of the treatment are and how the program can deliver these goals.

Make sure you’re comfortable with whether your questions are being answered. Be certain that there is a match between your areas of concern in the program being recommended. Does the program pass the commonsense test? If it does not, you may want to think twice before proceeding.

Adapted: “School Struggles, “ Richard Selznick, Ph.D. (2012, Sentient Publications) www.shutdownlearner.com

Shutting Down Early

by | Oct 9, 2015 |

“It’s getting late early.”  Yogi Berra

Anxiety over your child’s school-based problems can start fairly early.  A mom recently contacted me after reading The Shut-down Learner.

“My son is drowning in school.  You think he could be a shut-down learner?”

When I wrote  The Shut-Down Learner, I was largely envisioning disconnected, shut-down teenagers.  However, as I gave more talks to parents, many of the concerns being raised centered on young children.  This led me to understand that so much of the import of The Shut-Down learner is to determine how we can prevent this shutting down from happening as early as possible.

Cracks in the Foundation can appear very early and can be easily identified by 4 or 5 years of age.  Classic cracks can include weaknesses with identifying letters and their sounds, along with difficulty with language-based tasks, such as rhyming.

When the cracks are ignored, time goes by and typically there is a sense that the issues are widening and getting more significant and difficult to manage.

Targeting letter naming and sound identification with good individualized instruction would be very appropriate if your child has been shown to have some of these cracks in kindergarten.

There is no gain in waiting.

Takeaway point

Start early.  While your child may not be technically shut-down when he is in kindergarten or first grade, acting early is a key factor in heading off later shut-down qualities and further school struggling.

Adapted:  “Schools Struggles,” by Richard Selznick, Ph.D (2012) Sentient Publications

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