Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

OLD SCHOOL CONCEPT #1: TASK ANALYSIS

by Richard Selznick Ph.D. | Oct 27, 2010 | Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

There are a number of old school concepts in education that I don’t hear much about any more that I think still apply. “Task analysis” is one of them.

With task analysis the idea is that any end point task that you want someone to master should be broken down into sub-tasks to help the person move along a continuum toward mastery of the skill. Teaching cognitively impaired children to brush their teeth successfully is the classic example used to illustrate task analysis. Most of us take brushing teeth for granted, thinking it’s no big deal. We don’t tend to consider how many sub-tasks (e.g., taking cap off the tooth paste, squeezing the tube properly, holding the tooth brush in one hand, etc.) are involved to get to the end point..

Recently a mom talked to me about how her son was struggling in youth football. There were the usual explanations offered – he isn’t paying attention or trying hard enough. For this child, there were other explanations. He was simply too confused and overwhelmed on the field. Sports like football can be quite confusing for a lot of kids. They have trouble with the sequences and the rapid decision making. (In fact, some time ago I worked with a Division I college football player who could have made it to the pros if he had the ability to keep the play sequences straight.)

Another example came from Zoe, the daughter of a very dear friend of mine. Zoe, a college student on the autism spectrum, wrote a blog recently explaining how she needs to create a flow chart to help her successfully leave her room and do all that is necessary to keep the steps straight (see Zoe’s blog at http://bit.ly/9Y9Udf “> http://bit.ly/9Y9Udf and to see her flow chart). Zoe reminds us that patience and understanding are essential and that we should not take someone’s capacity to manage every day tasks for granted.

My guess would be that if we task analyzed much of what we expect our children to master (like playing football, comprehending a story, making a sandwich or getting out the door in the morning), we’d see that there were many small steps involved that we may not have considered.

Take away point – if you see your child struggling with a task, analyze the sub-tasks. Try and break the task down and back it up. Practice at easier levels and then lead up to mastery of the task.

I know my wife’s still trying to do that with me in terms of learning how to make the bed properly!

Frankly, I don’t think she’s broken it down enough.

HOWARD BEALE – WHERE ARE YOU?

by Richard Selznick Ph.D. | Oct 8, 2010 | Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Well, here I am listening to another parent story.

No, it’s not actually me in the picture, but it certainly feels like me at the moment.

This picture is taken from the movie “Network,” where Howard Beale (Peter Finch) a newscaster goes on nightly rants fed up with everything around him. Throughout the movie he repeats the phrase, “I’m mad as hell and not going to take it anymore,” which becomes his mantra.

I think I am starting to feel like Howard Beale all too often.

Today’s rant was triggered by a line in a learning disabled/dyslexic child’s report that said “Frank must learn to accept responsibility for his reading comprehension and to develop his own strategies.”

Frank is seven! He’s a weak reader. He’s not going to accept responsibility for his reading comprehension or develop strategies.

(I’m also fed up with the word “strategies,” but that’s another rant for another day.)

If Frank were a poor swimmer would you insist that he swim in the deep end of the pool? Would reminding him to accept responsibility for his poor swimming skills help him along while he flounders?

The answer’s self-evident.

Yeesh. I’m mad as hell.

A Disconnect in #Dyslexia Land

by Richard Selznick Ph.D. | Jan 1, 2010 | Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Young Jack, age 14, a sweet boy who has very significant learning disabilities, couldn’t tell you how much a quarter, dime and a nickel totaled. Yet his mother brought in worksheets showing me that he was being asked to multiply negative numbers such as the following, which were taken from a recent homework assignment:

5 x -2 x -4 = ?

-3 x 3 x -2 = ?

Huh????

Isn’t there a disconnect here?

Jack also did not know the days of the week in sequence or the names of the months. Wouldn’t it be better to help Jack learn what day came after Tuesday, rather than worry about negative numbers!!!!!

Jack reads (at best) on a second to low third grade level. On another worksheet he was being asked to handle words on a vocabulary worksheet, such as: heredity, prioritize, and personality.

What????

Jack could no sooner read or understand those words, than I can do calculus at this point (or ever).

I am at a loss when I look at worksheets that show a significant mismatch between the child’s skill level and the demand of the task. Jack was in way over his head with the material that the mother showed me. Yet, this is what he faces every day.
Why give kids stuff they can’t handle? What’s the gain? What’s the point?

Somebody help me out. What am I missing?

Copyright, 2018 www.shutdownlearner.com
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Basic Reading Skills, Remediation Strategies, & Common Sense

by Richard Selznick Ph.D. | Sep 15, 2009 | Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Originally published as “Dyslexia, Reading Disabilities & Common Sense”

Use common sense and embrace remediation strategies than emphasize basic reading skills.

Many moons ago when I started out, I don’t remember feeling overwhelmed by the lack of common sense that seems to exist in the field of helping children with early reading skills. Today, though, there seems to be a short supply of common sense.

Caring, sensitive parents will come in to see me seeking direction for their child. Reviewing the various assessments that’s been done, I will typically see areas of need that have not sufficiently been addressed. Usually this rests in the core skills of reading, spelling and writing.

Yet, no one is helping these kids to develop their reading skills.

That’s where common sense seems to break down.

Why are the kids not getting what they need?

Essentially, the parents are told something about the child’s IQ and the lack of a discrepancy between his score and achievement levels.

Basic Reading Skills – The Problem of the 30th Percentile

If your reading skills are around the 30th percentile, you probably don’t feel too happy about it – or very secure. Yet, the 30th percentile is in the lower portion of the “average range.” Therefore, children are not likely eligible for receiving any special assistance or direct remediation strategies.

A child who is in the 30th percentile (or less) for word decoding and oral reading skills (reading fluency), needs help. This is common sense.

Why Schools Can’t Approach English Remediation

Please understand, I am not blaming schools or special education teams with this view of common sense. Most teams want to help children, but each state’s special education code holds them back. While a team may want to help kids develop their reading skills, their hands are tied by the criterion used to identify children.

On a related note, nothing in the accepted clinical definition of dyslexia talks about a discrepancy with IQ. This definition, though, is largely not the one’s used in any given state’s code.

Here’s the definition:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and poor spelling and decoding abilities, characterize this condition. These difficulties typically result from an unexpected deficit in the phonological component of language in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge (NICHD).

Sound like anyone you know? Perhaps they should consider asking questions like “how to get disability insurance?” and other similar queries.

Targeting Skill Areas to Improve Reading Skills

If your child is having trouble with “accurate and or fluent word recognition,” then whatever IQ number has been identified doesn’t matter, and those skills need targeted attention.

Try a new remediation intervention: target skill areas with a laser focus. Simplify your approach and apply common sense!

Takeaway Point: Targeted Interventions

Your state code may not find the child to be eligible to receive services in the school. Find someone outside of school who understands such targeted interventions, and focus on the skill domain.

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Not in the South Jersey area? For a free 15 Minute Consultation, contact Dr. Selznick: email – contact@shutdownlearner.com.

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Tags: Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, Reading Disability

Kindergarten Mom: Help! My Child is Shutting Down!

by Richard Selznick Ph.D. | Jun 24, 2009 | Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

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

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

After asking a few more questions, I was struck by the fact that the child in question was only in kindergarten.

When I wrote the Shut- Down Learner I was envisioning a disconnected, shut-down teenager. However, as I gave more talks to the parents, so many of the concerns being raised were concerning young children. This led me to understand that so much of the concept of the SDL is how can we prevent this from happening as early as possible. There are schools similar to Ravens Croft (RAVENSCROFT.ORG), who do their best to help students who may be struggling with learning.

The formula that I created is the following:

Cracks in the Foundation + Time + Lack of Understanding + Widening cracks + Family tensions increasing = Shut Down Learner

As we progress with future blogs, I will break down this formula for you in depth so that you will understand each of the parts and what you may be able to do as the child’s parent.

So, if you are the mom of a kindergarten child who is shutting down, you can bet there are cracks in the foundation. The next step is to know what those cracks are and how to identify them.