Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Keeping In Touch With Shut-Down Learner, School Struggles & “Dr. Selz”

by | May 31, 2013 |

If you receive this blog you may not know of other ways of staying in touch with “The Shut-Down Learner,”  and Dr. Richard Selznick (“Dr. Selz”) updates.  Here are a few:

Facebook:  Join “The Shut-Down Learner” community page.  On this page I post many different links of interest  from a variety of sources.  Facebook is also a good medium for posting questions and comments.  Go to:  https://www.facebook.com/DrSelz and click "like" to join.dyslexia

Twitter:  On Twitter I "tweet" articles and links, as well as “retweet” people in the field who are posting great information on learning disabilities , ADHD,  and school struggling.  Go to https://twitter.com/DrSelz to follow and receive daily “tweets.”

Pinterest:  Pinterest is a lively place to see updates in a visual medium.  Find Richard Selznick by going to http://pinterest.com/shutdownlearner/  and join the fun.

The Coffee Klatch Network:  On The Coffee Klatch I am the host of a monthly radio show called, “School Struggles.”  Here we talk about a range of topics in very down-to-earth, no nonsense terms.  The next episode is 6/3/13 at 8:00 (e.s.t).  We will be talking about vision and its relationship to learning problems.   All previous episodes are also available http://thecoffeeklatch.com/the-coffee-klatch-team/.

JenningsWire: The World of Success  JenningsWire The World of Success http://anniejenningspr.com/jenningswire/ is a great site for all kinds of interest.  To find my stuff, go to the “Specialty Tab” and look for “School Struggles. 

Linkedin:  Linkedin http://linkedin.com is a good place to find other professionals and related groups.  Put in my name to become “linked.”

Shut-Down Learner: To receive blogs in your email inbox when they are published and to get any other updates, go to https://shutdownlearner.com

Upcoming Talks:  On 6/18 I will be joining a talk on “Preventing the Summer Slide” (good luck) and on 6/25 I will be talking about "Understanding Your Child’s Psychological and Learning Reports."  Contact 673 – 4900 for more information and to reserve your spot.

Lost Opportunities

by | May 17, 2013 |

So much of a child’s world can be framed in an ongoing series of different skills.  For example, some kids have the “skill of” saying hello and greeting someone for the first time.  Others may have the “skill of” manners in social interactions by saying “please” and “thank you” – things like that.   The skills of greeting someone or using social manners do not happen naturally.  They are learned and practiced over countless repetitions,

What happens when we shut off the ability to practice these skills? Then there are lost opportunities and the skills simply do not develop.

Marnie, a five year, old came to my office accompanying her mother who wanted to talk to me about her older sister, Jocelyn.  When I went out to greet the mom, Marnie was on some type of head set connected to a small screen device.  Marnie never looked up, never said hello. The opportunity was lost for that small social pleasantry and interaction of putting out my hand to greet Marnie and ask her a couple of questions about her world. 

Marnie continued to spend the whole time quietly with her head set on, swiping her fingers across the screen.  I did not exist as a human being.   There was lost opportunity (for both of us) to practice the “skill of” social interaction.

Later in the day I went to “Salad Works” for lunch.  A 20-something was in front of me on line.  As she placed her order, “I’ll have spinach.  I’ll have olives…turkey….banana peppers…” I was struck by the fact that there was no “please” or “thank you” mixed in that salad.  The person behind the counter dutifully filling up the woman’s salad bowl did not exist to her.  There was no real human or polite social interaction.

Maybe the 20- something was just an older Marnie, someone who never had the opportunity to practice essential skills.

There are continual opportunities to practice the skill of ___________  (fill in the blank).  Out of expedience parents may be cutting off these opportunities. It certainly is easier having Marnie completely quiet and transfixed on a screen then deal with the usual four year old behaviors.  

It just seems that something is off, though,

Takeaway Point

There is balance between having your child connected to their screens and making sure they don’t continually lose the opportunity to practice interacting with humans.  They risk losing skill opportunities that can’t be recovered.

Dyslexia and the Old Masters: A brief look back

by | Mar 22, 2013 |

About a month or so ago I had the honor to present to a group of parents of dyslexic children on Staten Island.  The group, Wishes of Literacy, is doing great work in their advocacy for parents and they are joining forces with the burgeoning grassroots Decoding Dyslexia movement, such as the Decoding Dyslexia NJ and Decoding Dyslexia NY groups.

Even though I’d like to believe I know my stuff when it comes to the topic of dyslexia and reading disabilities, I did a little “homework” on the topic before the talk and I found myself reading about the history of dyslexia assessment and treatment.  

What I have always appreciated was that there were many old masters, long forgotten giants in the field of reading research, who just got it. They understood the issues.  They knew what worked.  What they said decades ago applies to the present day.

Here are a few choice quotes:

In 1909 James Hughes in his book “Teaching to Read” noted,

“Oral language being natural is learned without conscious effort.  Visible language (i.e., reading) being artificial, has to be learned by a conscious effort.

“Word recognition is the only possible basis of reading…the best method of teaching word recognition is the one that makes the child independent of the teacher.”

That was in 1909!!!!!

Later in 1967 the late, great Dr. Jean Chall, stated:

“It would seem, at our present state of knowledge, that a code emphasis – one that combines control of words on spelling regularity, some direct teaching of letter-sound correspondences, as well as the use of writing, tracing, or typing – produces better results with beginners than a meaning  (i.e., literature-based or comprehension) emphasis.”

Dr. Robert Dykstra said it well in 1974:

“We can summarize the results of 60 years of research dealing with beginning reading instruction by stating that early systematic instruction in phonics provides the child with the skills necessary to become an independent reader at an earlier than is likely if phonics instruction is delayed  and less systematic.”

It is also important to remind ourselves that the Orton-Gillingham method has essentially gone unchanged since the 1930s.  With all of the Orton-Gillingham based methods out on the market currently, really what they represent are good old wine in fancy new bottles.

Takeaway Point:

While our research or “evidenced-based” window is very narrow looking back over a few years, the old masters in the field of reading research and dyslexia really knew their stuff.  They are worth revisiting.

Dyslexia: The Misnomer

by | Nov 16, 2012 |

dys·lex·i·a [dis-lek-see-uh] noun Pathology .

Any of various reading disorders associated with impairment of the ability to interpret spatial relationships or to integrate auditory and visual information.

Much of my professional life is spent trying to explain dyslexia to parents.   It is hard to shake the hypnotic messages that have been hardwired into their belief system – you know the usual ones about “upside down and backward reading.”

I spend much of the time showing examples of how the reading process breaks down.

“Dyslexia is a reading disability,” I will start to explain, “But to call it a reading disability is really not accurate.  In some ways it's a misnomer.” 

At this point the parents start looking at me like I have completely lost them.

“No, dyslexia really isn’t a reading problem,” I continue.   “It’s a reading, spelling and writing problem.  You see, 99.99% of the time when a child has a reading disability (dyslexia) he has the package deal.  It is never as simple as a reading problem.  Even if the child can spell well on the spelling test there are always spelling and writing problems that go along with the reading issues.” 

Open ended writing is particularly rough for dyslexic style children (and adults).  There are too many interacting variables pressing in on the already compromised active working memory.  Asking a child to “just write about what you feel” relative to any situation  or experience (e.g.., summer vacation) is a painstaking and laborious process.  In many ways “open-ended writing” needs to be avoided altogether until the child has mastered how to write basic sentences.

The importance of emphasizing the “reading, spelling, writing” aspect of dyslexia is to understand that even if the reading is improved through sensible remediation, there is still a lot of heavy lifting to do.

 Targeting spelling with structured approaches and focusing on writing with very specific scaffolded methods, with one skill being taught followed by the next is the next phase after the reading is improved.

Takeaway Point

Dyslexia is more than you think it is – it is always a reading, spelling and writing problem.

Watching Movies

by | Nov 2, 2012 |

When I listen to kids and parents talk about things that go on, there are times when I find myself feeling   a bit cranky about what I am told.

Here’s one story told me lately that increased my cranky meter.

A kid in high school kid told me about an assignment he was resisting completing.  As he explained, the assignment had to do with The Crucible, which just happened to be one of my favorite plays.  What made me cranky was not his resistance,  which I understood, it was the fact that there was no reading of the play in English class.  From what he described there was no dissecting of the script and little class discussion.  No, the class spent probably about a week watching the movie, followed by the drawing a picture about it.  It doesn’t seem very meaty to me.

The same child had just spent a week or so in a history class watching a movie, “The Patriot,” on the Revolutionary War.  Again, no reading –  just watch the movie and answer a few questions about it.  So, if you add it up, the class movie watching activities probably represented about two weeks of class time.

Is that teaching?  

I get multimedia, but It strikes me as missed opportunity for real analysis and thought provoking discussion, not to mention a missed opportunity for giving the  kids the experience of reading, something they don’t do very often on their own.

As schools limp to the finish line in middle June , I understand watching movies in class (sort of), but in October not even done the first quarter, it seems a bit premature for this type of thing, no?

What’s your view?

The Thing About Dyslexia is…(part 1)

by | Oct 19, 2012 |

The thing about dyslexia is almost everyone gets it wrong.

As proof, try this experiment.  Ask anyone you know the question, “What is dyslexia?”  I would wager that 90% (perhaps 100%) will say…

“Isn’t that when you read upside down and backwards?”

Somehow, as a large societal public consciousness we have been hypnotized to believe this about dyslexia.

I have probably assessed a couple thousand dyslexic style children (and adults ) over the years, yet I still can’t recall many who were reading legitimately upside down and backwards.

To illustrate the point, try and read the following made-up words.

 “perspicuous”     “moldroofy”    “umberton”

For those of you who do not have dyslexia, you probably read them as quickly as you answer simple math fact questions (e.g., 9 – 4 =?).  The words pop effortlessly into your head.  You don’t think too much. 

For dyslexics, they strain with large, unfamiliar words – it’s one big confusion, making the whole reading (and writing process) a laborious strained affair.  Names are a great example of such words.

By third to fourth grade everything shifts.  You can no longer rely on your "sight memory" of words. The text now contains lots of large words that are not seen all that frequently.  It's these words that slow down the whole process.  Reading becomes extremely laborious and strained. It’s at this point in the curriculum that the “dyslexics” are really challenged  by the text.

 

Takeaway Point:

“Dyslexia.”  It’s not what you think it is.

Getting Over the Decoding Hurdle

by | Aug 10, 2012 |

 When my kids were little I wasn’t too worried about developmental milestones.  There was one developmental hurdle, though, that I was fixated upon  –   the  “decoding hurdle.” 

Most kids get over the decoding hurdle some time toward the end of first grade heading into second grade.  Once they get over this hurdle there is a sort of clicking, an “aha, so that’s how reading works,” experience.  From that point forward these kids who click in with decoding enjoy reading and are eager to start reading easy chapter books.  (As an aside this eagerness ends for the boys in the upper elementary grades where they shut –off to reading, but that’s another discussion.)

For the kids that do not get over the decoding hurdle within a reasonable timetable, this difficulty creates a bottleneck that frustrates all aspects of schooling and academic development. 

The label of “LD” or “dyslexia“ is far less important and immaterial to identifying that such a hurdle exists.  Even though it is better to identify it as early as possible (probably on your own outside of school), identify it at any age under the mentality of “better late than never.”

One story illustrates this last point.  Some years ago I evaluated a 24 year old young man, Jacob, who was trying to get into medical school.  He was getting frustrated with his performance on the medical boards, in spite of taking intensive practice exams.  When I tested him it was clear that he really never got over the decoding hurdle.  Large words that were unfamiliar (e.g.,  incessant, philanthropist, fortitude)  were brutal for him.   After the testing, Jacob was so determined to go to medical school that he started a special program of reading remediation to learn how to decode more effectively.

I am happy to report that Jacob is a successful physician today.

It just would have been nice if someone back in first grade said to his mother, “You know, Jacob is having trouble getting over the decoding hurdle.  We need to do a full-court press and target that skill.”

Is Your Child on the Smooth Road or Rough Road?

by | Jun 29, 2012 |

In about three weeks from now my new book, “School Struggles” is scheduled for release.  Over the next few essays, I will try and highlight some of the main points of the book.   One overriding theme of the book is looking to the smooth road vs. the rough road, an image that I continually return to with parents.

Probably about 50% of the population travels down a relatively smooth road.  For example, in preschool they share nicely and seem to be well liked by the teachers and other kids.  Reading development unfolds on time.  Homework is managed.  As school progresses the smooth road children take increasing responsibility with little adult involvement.

Then there’s everyone else.

For these children there are more potholes in the road.  These potholes can be there for a whole host of reasons.  There are social, reading, mathematics, behavioral, and attention potholes among the more common faced by children.  Some of the potholes can be very large, others barely visible.  The really big ones often lead to a child being classified in special education, but so often the potholes are viewed as just part of the road – kind of “average” potholes to just be ignored.

If your child is one on the rougher side of the road it can feel very overwhelming as a parent. 

What can you do?

One thing that can be helpful is to have a trusted a professional who you are comfortable with who you can talk to who knows the landscape and can help you prioritize.

Should you focus on the reading pothole?  If so, what’s the target? Decoding? Comprehension?

Perhaps reading isn’t the issue and you want to try and help the child get along better with others, to not be as pushy or demanding or to learn how to share better.

One takeaway point is to think of the “potholes” as skills not neurological deficiencies.  Most of these potholes are skill deficits that can be practiced with sensible approaches.  The first step is identifying which one you want to target.

You may not completely make the road a smooth one, but you certainly can fill in a couple of the holes.

 

Listening to Dyslexia: “Heard, But Not Seen”

by | Mar 14, 2012 |

Recently I wrote a piece about defining dyslexia ( www.shutdownlearner.com/blog ), frustrated by the constant refrain heard by parents, “Well, we really don’t know what it (dyslexia) is.”   What is puzzling to parents is the statement that they often hear, “I don’t see it with your child in the classroom.” 

Diagnostically, one does not “see” dyslexia. The only way that I know to identify dyslexia is to listen to it, not see it.
 
Take Sari, age 17, a child I recently evaluated who was never diagnosed with dyslexia. 
 
When I listened to Sari read I was struck how strained her reading sounded.  Larger words such as, conspicuous, philanthropist, mechanic,  represented hurdles in the text that she had to jump over. Every time she hit one of these “low frequency” words, she slowed down her reading to a crawl and either read the word correctly by laboring through or substituting some sort of nonsense word that altered the text. Either way, the reading was very tough sledding for Sari. She derived little meaning from what she read.
 
The problem is her teachers have never really heard her read. From early elementary school the majority of reading activities are done silently. Sari was never diagnosed with dyslexia because no one was listening for the signs and symptoms.  
 
Unless children read words (real words and pseudowords) in isolation followed by context oral reading, no one would know Sari had a reading disability. She was simply smart enough (and well behaved enough) to fake it.
 
Let me leave you with this: If I ask you what’s “5 + 3” do you have to think about it or figure it out? 
 
My guess is, no.
 
Now try and read these words:   
 
·         mechanic
·         thrumblit (a made up word)
·         Riconsetti (a name)
 
By middle school, adequate readers can read these words as easily as adding “5 + 3” – automatically and effortlessly.
 
With dyslexia, these words are a chore, resulting in much reading resistance.
 
To “diagnose dyslexia” listen to the strained reading. 
 
It’s not something that you will see, but hear.

 

Deconstructing Dyslexia

by | Mar 7, 2012 |

Probably a week does not go by where I haven’t heard something like the following from a bleary eyed parent: “The school is telling us that no one really knows what dyslexia is and if anyone really does it has to be a medically diagnosed.” 

 
We have talked about this before in different ways, but I thought that “deconstructing dyslexia” would be helpful. 
 
The definition that follows from NICHD is very useful:
 
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.
 
OK…so far so good. This tells that the disorder is likely to have been passed down. 99% of the time in my work I find one or the other parent saying something, like “Yep, I was just like that as a kid.”
 
It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.  
 
What??? Where is all of the [b/d],  [was/saw] reversal business everybody always talks about? You mean that has nothing to do with it? Accurate and or fluent word recognition? I don’t know too many medical doctors testing that stuff.  
 
These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
 
You mean they aren’t even mentioning IQ? Why do the schools still hold to the sanctity of the IQ score?
 
 Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge
 
Well, if you read  a word like “prickopinny” for “porcupine” it certainly will affect comprehension, won’t it?   Also, if you don’t read much, as dyslexic people usually don’t, then vocabulary and comprehension will suffer.
 
Now, doesn’t that make sense?
 
 
 

 

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