Dyslexia/Reading & Learning Disabilities

Anxiety  over a child’s development starts early.

Recently a mom said to me, “My son is drowning in school. Do you think he has a learning disability?”

What was particularly striking about this question was the fact that the child in question was only just five and in the first half of kindergarten.

What to do in the earliest stage of development?

The earliest stage to pay attention to related to school literally starts at birth and typically ends when the child leaves kindergarten.

What should you be thinking about as a parent of a child in this stage?

I will state it simply. – bombard the child with language.

Please don’t misinterpret that to mean to talk the kid to death, as you will start being tuned out pretty quickly with incessant eye-rolling. (Yes, eye-rolling starts early too.)

Reading bedtime stories to the toddler and preschooler, playing different games emphasizing rhymes are fun and  great for promoting parent/child bonding, while moving language along,  contributing to early reading development.

Back in the dark ages (the 1960’s) There was a song called “The Name Game,” which played with names and rhyming nonsense words to names  (“Shannon Shannon Fo Fannon, Banana Fannon Fo Fannon, Fee Fi Fo Fannon, Shannon.”)

Also from another era a seemingly forgotten author who was brilliant with language was Dr. Seuss.  Just listen to the rhymes and the rhythmic beats of, “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back,” or “One Fish Two Wish Red Fish Blue Fish,” as you read them to your child.   The rhymes and rhythm will be internalized for later use when more formal reading instruction takes place.

Takeaway Point

One can do a lot worse (in fact many do, with gluing their child’s attention to an iPad) than playing the “Name Game” over and over  or reading “The Cat in the Hat”  to your young toddler or preschooler.

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

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Let’s say your 12-year-old sixth grader spells the following words:

•  (brief)  bref
•  (success) susess
•  (educate) edcccate
•  (result) resolt
• (kitchen) kicten  

Then  writes the following story to a prompt:

          “Once a o pon a time there was a kid that was a million air and he whated to buy a house   he look at so many house and finally found a house. but it needed a lot of work So               the kid hierd lots of pepul to help him but after thay were all done the house went back  to it whent back to the way  it was.”

Or, perhaps you have an 8-year-old third grader who writes:

            “I hrd a son. It was funne. My dad was beyenfunne was he dats Wen he was in the cr  Wan we wr gown to the prck.”

(Translated as best I could  after the child tried to tell it to me –  “I heard a song.  It was funny.  My dad was being funny when he danced.  When he was in the car when we were going to the park.”)

When the parents raised the issue of their concerns about their child’s spelling and writing,  in each case the response was, “Well, spelling really doesn’t matter – they can use spell check.”

For those of you following this blog for a while, I am sure that you will predict that I respectfully disagree.

A study conducted  where classroom teacher practices were observed, revealed that less than 5% of the language arts instructional block time is devoted to spelling or direct instruction in writing.

For approximately 60% of the school population, this is not particularly relevant, as their skills develop along a natural trajectory.

For the rest, simply saying,  “They can use spell check” is not a substitute for the challenging work needed.

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

Beside the fact that I am having root canal done later today, I find myself having a throbbing toothache all too often.

Behind the toothache, let’s look at Joanna, an 8-year-old third grader.  Increasingly, frustrated by her school challenges, Joanna is prone to melting down when asked  to do certain tasks during the homework hour.

While different professionals are focusing on her lack of “emotional self-regulation,” there’s something overlooked contributing to these meltdowns.  Put simply, Joanna can’t spell or write and nothing is being done about it.   Nightly, Joanna is asked to write a paragraph with an open-ended theme (e.g., “Write about Halloween.”)

Doing everything she can to avoid it, the meltdowns are a frequent occurrence.

Here’s a sample of a paragraph Joanna wrote when I  asked to to describe her favorite game:

freas tag, me and my bruther play freas tag.  my Buther alas macs me play it.  like when my babea sitr is ovfr.  you run arand and someone taps you and you freas! my bruthr machs me play in siwde.  I like it becaus you can run arawnd and you get to tag peapol they they freas.

When asked to write something she likes, Joanna writes “I wish that I cud lrn mor about sins.”  (learn more about science)

or “I like doing sins and I like stutying spas.”  (spas = space)

Here are a few of the words I asked her to spell:

make/ mac     should/shud  arm/amr      dresss/jres

So back to my throbbing tooth.  Why is it throbbing?

The fact of the matter is Joanna is not on anyone’s radar screen in school other than recommending that the parents see a neurologist to address her emotional self-regulation.  Spelling?  Writing?  “Don’t worry about it,” the parents are told.  “Spell check works just fine.  So does text to speech.”

Takeaway Point

I’m off to my getting root canal addressed.

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

Jacob is an endearing 8-year-old child, well-liked by teachers and other kids.  Playing a variety of sports, he is frequently seen as a team leader by coaches and peers.

There is one problem, though, eating at Jacob.   Even though he is now in third grade, he still can’t read, spell or write, causing him considerable embarrassment.  Worse than that, his younger first grade sister, Ava, is easily reading chapter books and you can bet she is letting him know.

While the evening ritual of Jacob’s mom practicing his reading fluency takes place, Ava sits close by with a pretty challenging book that Jacob would be unable to read.  Subtly (or not so subtly) Ava shows off in a, “Ha Ha, look what I can do” manner, which totally galls Jacob.

Put simply, Jacob has to fight the urge to not punch Ava out (and sometimes that doesn’t work out so well).

Jacob’s mom does her best with statements like, “Now Jake, no need to get upset.  We’re all good at different things.  Just look at how you did in baseball last week.” This falls on deaf ears and the mom’s well-intended words don’t make the slightest dent with him.

Takeaway Point

I wish I had a straight-forward solution for you, but as far as I can tell much of this taking place is baked in the sibling cake. There is the constant jockeying for positioning that goes on and this is just one more example in the mix.

The best advice I would have would be to try and reduce the opportunity for embarrassment, by separating the siblings during the times of  homework and reading practice.

Beyond that, put your feet up and forget about it.

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2022, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

Lowering Your “Frustration Quotient”

Before getting into this week’s blog, there are two corrections to make from the previous week’s post:

1. It was pointed out to me that the correct website for the International Dyslexia Association is www.dyslexiaida.org, not the one originally posted.
2. A sincere apology to Cheri Rae author of,  “DyslexiaLand: A Field Guide for Parents of Children With Dyslexia ” for the use of the term “DyslexiaLand.”  Unbeknownst to me, Cherie had written the book and created the term “DyslexiaLand.”   Please be sure and visit her website:  www.dyslexialand.com and also get  hold of her book.  I know I am looking forward to reading it.  I am happy to report that Cheri and I have become fast professional friends and look forward to getting to know each other better.

Well, the good news is that a couple of people are reading the blog!!!!

So, let’s roll up our sleeves for the 2022-2023 school year. We’re striving to keep your “FQ” (“Frustration Quotient”) below a five (on a scale of 1-10).

The New  School Year

Getting Your Head in the Game

In this world of dyslexia , it’s not easy to get your head in the game, as there are many rabbit holes that you can go down that can be overwhelming and confusing.

A few pointers:

• What do I do with all this paper?  Rather than stuffing IEPs (if your child has one), previous reports and all of the other papers, in folders, get an old-school three-ringed binder and set up five sections:  School Correspondence, School Evaluations, Outside Evaluations, IEP/504 Plans (assuming there are ones established) and Miscellaneous. In each section put the papers in chronological order.

• Decoding the Code:  When it comes to special education, each state’s code is different.  Understand your state’s definition of the categories for classification, especially for learning disabilities.  For example, New Jersey uses a statistical model of a discrepancy between IQ and achievement to determine a learning disability.  This can be frustrating to parents, as many children whose IQ is not high enough are denied services.  If you can’t decode the code, seek a professional consultant who can help interpret it for you.  (Feel free to email me.)

• Clarify the Confusion:  I hear parents say, “My child gets ‘push-in’ or ‘pull-out’ instruction.  Seriously, what does that mean?  I am less concerned about where the child is getting what they get, but what it is they are actually receiving when they get pushed in or pulled out.  For example, a good question to ask is, “I know my child is getting push-in instruction, but what are they doing?  What methods are being used?”
  
  
•  Don’t overuse the “D-Word”: Since it seems that almost no one really knows what dyslexia is and confusion runs rampant with this word, overusing it creates misunderstanding and resistance.  (“Wow, what’s that like to be reading upside-down and backward?  That must hurt your child’s head.”)  Safer to stay with the facts – “My child struggles with reading rate, accuracy and fluency.”
  
  
• Get out of the Trunk: Too many parents have put themselves in the backseat of the car or worse, they’re in the trunk. GET YOURSELF IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT!  Let common sense prevail.  If your “mom gut” (sorry dads) is telling you your child is struggling seek help from a competent tutor as soon as possible.  There is no gain in waiting.  You don’t need the “D-Word” diagnosis to get help.

Even though there are many other points that can be made, these points should help you get started.  Watch for future posts to add to your growing list.

Copyright:  Shut-Down Learner

Over the years, I’ve been a bit of a hoarder. Like most things, there are advantages and disadvantages to this habit.

One advantage (not that my wife agrees) is that I have held on to different journals that were in the dustbins of Temple University’s renowned Reading Clinic, which at one time was one of the leading clinics in the country.

Attempting to declutter I started going through some of these journals and found many articles written by some of the top theorists and researchers in the field from 40, 50 and 60 years ago.

Skimming through them it was stunning how many brilliant nuggets are still very relevant  to the present day.

One that caught my eye  was an article by the late, brilliant, learning dishabilles pioneer Dr. Jeanette Jansky,  called  “The Marginally Ready Child.”

In the opening of the piece, Dr. Jansky refers to kindergarten and first grade children who do not get anyone’s attention and are only “marginally ready.”

Then Dr. Jansky pivots to talk about what happens to this type of  child some years later.

“In our diagnostic and remedial practice we also meet children for the first time during their middle school years, when they are eleven, twelve and thirteen years of age.  They come with the complaint that they are close to failing in a number of school subjects.  Although they had learned to read at the expected time, they did not read easily, they did not enjoy it and their very mediocre academic performance never rose to the expectation raised by their often superior level of intelligence.

As the article continues,  “…I believe the marginally ready child slips past us all too often; he ‘sort of’ learns to read, gradually slides down, and becomes a middle schooler.”

“…By the time these children are nine or ten their problems have become as severe as those of a youngster whose early deficits were more obvious.”

“Very important to success of early intervention efforts is working with parents.  They need to learn about normal developmental differences between children and how their school deals with them.” 

“Parent’s anxiety about departing from the classical educational timetable is keen and we must recognize and help them with it.  Doing so is a matter of firmly establishing and fully interpreting school policy, not of holding a single meeting.”

Takeaway Point

Love the concept of the “marginally ready” child and how this shows up very early on and persists through the grades.

Looks like I’m not dumping stuff out too soon.

Copyright, 2022 www.shutdownlearner.com

Questions or comments email Dr. Selznick:  rselznick615@gmail.com

Last Sunday on the front page of the New York Times was a major piece on the proponent of “balanced literacy,” offering some type of retreat  for the philosophy behind “balanced literacy” that has been espoused for decades having failed legions of children (NYT Article).

I have always been bothered by these theories and am even more so now.  It seemed that this stated “retreat” was too little, too late

Just to clarify, before thinking I am becoming a “get off my lawn” crank, I felt exactly this way when I was much younger in this field.

To elaborate on this a bit, there are essentially two groups of children – those on the “Smooth Road” and those on a “Rough Road.”

The “Smooth Road” types are fairly immune to whatever is given to them, even when questionable methods are used.  From a very young age, their reading (spelling and writing) progresses down a smooth road in a “natural” process.

A different story altogether are the “Rough Road” types.  Such children do not respond well to these methods espousing terms  terms like, “top-down,” “balanced literacy,” “comprehension-above-all,” and the like. Probably 95 % of the schools and education departments in universities have been behind them for decades, as noted in the NYT article.

Even though these children of concern  have been struggling since kindergarten, few have been directly taught how to overcome their challenges.  That’s not how it’s done in these “top-down” models.

It’s analogous to handing a child a tennis racket and telling them to go play tennis, as if  it will happen magically.

When I attended NYU for my Masters Degree (a long time ago in a galaxy far away), this movement was then an emerging groundswell.

As I sat there listening to what seemed like nonsense to me as these methods and theories were presented as truth, I couldn’t help but think about a boy, 9-year-old Frankie, who I then had in my resource room class.  When I screened him with words like  “cat” “them” “for” and “house,” he  looked at me helplessly shrugging, unable to read any of the words.

When I asked the professors what to do with Frankie, lock-step they answered with concepts from  these very hot theories  – “You start with comprehension and present stories for him to internalize in his higher-order thinking and…(“blah, blah, blah”).

“Yes,” I said,  “But he can’t read words like, ‘dog’ and ‘house,’ so not sure where higher-order thinking comes in.”

It didn’t matter.  The “blah blah blah” went on  and I had still Frankie to deal with the next morning.

Very fortunately, I went to a workshop presented by the late Dr. Gerald Glass, who presented an exact opposite approach embodied in a method he had developed, the “Glass Analysis for Decoding.”  Glass spoke disdainfully of the emerging Whole Language, “Balanced Literacy” movement.

There was no higher thinking in Glass’ approach.  It was pure meat and potatoes, bottom-up word instruction. First teach children how to read words, then later, once this skill has been mastered, comprehension will follow.   Of course, the Whole Language professors and proponents of that model scoffed at Dr. Glass as old-school and out of touch with modern theories.

When I used Glass’ method with Frankie he loved it and made clear progress.  In a fairly rapid time, he was recognizing words and his whole mood and discouraged demeanor changed.  (So did mine.)

Since that time I have met thousands of Frankie.

When they are taught with sensible methods, it’s like giving them oxygen.

When they are not, they remain shut-down and discouraged.

Copyright, 2022 www.shutdownlearner.com

Questions or comments email Dr. Selznick:  rselznick615@gmail.com