Study Hacking The Paper Driver’s License Test [Premium]

Study Hacking The Paper Driver’s License Test [Premium]

  The Washington state driver’s license paper and pencil test can be a difficult one for dyslexic drivers. Having seen some of the sample questions, there’s a lot more number trivia compared to the California test I passed many years ago. Whether you don’t drink alcohol or smoke marijuana, you have to answer specific questions about how long it takes for the body to recover from a drink or smoking, but also answer detailed questions about how many days you have before reporting the sales of a vehicle to the Department of Licensing (5 days). With many similar questions and answers, the pass rate is 80% (what a nightmare!).   ‘STICKY’ MEMORY CAN INTERFERE WITH ROTE STUDY FOR DRIVER’S TEST How to study for this […]

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Reading and Learning are About Thinking [Premium]

Reading and Learning are About Thinking [Premium]

“Then a strange thing happened. The more I started thinking about what we were studying, the easier it was to remember the facts. Facts began to stick in my head — and I didn’t even have to try to make it happen…” — Don Johnston, CEO   After using Don Johnston’s assistive technology with our kids when they were growing up, it was such a pleasure for us to meet Don Johnston himself for the first time a few weeks ago. We hadn’t known that he is dyslexic and before we met, he shared his autobiography (for kids), Building Wings. The book is available in e-book form HERE and otherwise through Amazon. Like many dyslexic adults, Don vividly remembers events from his childhood and school […]

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If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If your student can’t write, no matter what age – prepare yourself for the long haul because so much of schooling and even many aspects of hiring and work can require writing. When writing is difficult for students with dyslexia, it may be that they are having difficulty converting feelings and images to words, trouble retrieving words, or putting them in the correct order, then writing them down with correct spelling and grammar. A significant proportion of dyslexic students will also have dyspraxia, so have trouble with sequencing and fine motor control required for handwriting automaticity. Any added difficulties may also swamp working memory, causing students to get lost in what they want to say. For many dyslexic people, dysgraphia will present a greater problem […]

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More Free Leveled Texts and Reading Passages [Premium]

More Free Leveled Texts and Reading Passages [Premium]

The grand-daddy of them all is still probably Readworks, but if you like to change things up with leveled reading, check out News in Levels (alas Newsela is no longer free) or Tween Tribune, run by the Smithsonian.   If you do use Readworks, make sure you know about the slider at the bottom of the left sidebar that can help students select the correct reading level. One nice thing about News in Levels is that each new item includes either an audio track or video. If your students are assigned to conduct research on the internet, but may struggle with reading text they find due to their reading level, have them install Rewordify to reword difficult words or phrases or activate their browsers text-to […]

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How Not to Learn to Read aka Death by Worksheets [Premium]

How Not to Learn to Read aka Death by Worksheets [Premium]

Daniel Shanahan recently recounted his discussion with a principal about his school curriculum. His students were under-performing and he assured Daniel that students were receiving plenty of instruction in phonics and fluency.   When he looked at the teacher’s curricular plan, it looked as if plenty of reading instruction was given every day, but his impression changed once he began visiting classes. Daniel: “Much of the instructional time wasn’t used for instruction at all. The teachers spent a big chunk of time on “sustained silent reading” and they read to the children quite a bit, too. All the classrooms had multiple reading groups. That meant that the boys and girls did a lot of worksheets to keep them quiet while the others were reading with […]

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Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

Note-taking may be a lifelong difficulty for most dyslexics. In one survey of 17 universities in the United Kingdom (HERE), 78% reported difficulties with taking notes compared to 47% reporting reading difficulties. The reason for note-taking difficulties are several – note-taking requires a great deal of working memory and divided attention, but also there’s the transcription of heard words to written words which can be difficult for a number of reasons, not the least, weakness in visual word form memory and for some students, auditory processing. Most dyslexic students should have classroom notes or other note-taking accommodations (like a designated note taker, Livescribe pen, or other option to record) as a standard condition. It is possible to learn how to visual note-take in real-time, but […]

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Remediating Late or Resistant Dyslexic Learners [Premium]

Remediating Late or Resistant Dyslexic Learners [Premium]

Dyslexia legislation has focused on early remediation, but what about older learners who weren’t formally identified until adulthood or ‘resistant’ dyslexic learners who seem a great deal slower than other dyslexic peers at progressing with gold standard structured literacy instruction?     LATE-TO-IDENTIFY OR NEVER-REMEDIATED LEARNERS Q: Can older students and adults be remediated for dyslexia? A: Yes. Absolutely. Remediation is often easier if begun earlier, but adults of all ages can learn to read with good comprehension. Their speed of reading is slower – but with more regular practice, it becomes quicker. From a study by Guinevere Eden and colleagues: Adults were given 3 hr a day remediation with a “structured multisensory phonological intervention” for 8 weeks in a program by Lindamood Bell that […]

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Getting a Sense for Numbers [Premium]

Getting a Sense for Numbers [Premium]

For many, math is a somewhat mysterious subject. From an early age, some students may stand out from others in their mathematical ability whereas others don’t and some may seem to have bewildering difficulty with even basic aspects of numbers and math quantity. The last decade has seen significant advances in our understanding of individual learning differences when it comes to math. If you are a teacher, tutor, or parent working with a student with math challenges, understanding the basic extent of the difficulty will help guide you about knowing how to help.   POOR NUMBER SENSE Poor number sense is a problem noticed at the very start when children begin working with numbers and quantities. A student may memorize how to count (“1,2,3,4…”), but […]

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Remote Work Hacks [Premium]

Remote Work Hacks [Premium]

“I’ve found that a single screen feels very restrictive to me. I normally have three screens since I jump between tasks a lot. Many neurodiverse people like myself find it difficult to stay focused on one thing for very long. Having my work “scattered” around on different screens feels sort of like having papers all over a desk; I can pick up pieces in parallel without the need to stop and start what I’m doing. Basically, being able to easily move between the different things helps me find a flow. “ — John Abel, Technical Director, Google   MULTIPLE SCREENS If you spend a good deal of your time working on a computer, you may find that adding a screen (or even more than one […]

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Dyslexia and Accelerated Reader [Premium]

Dyslexia and Accelerated Reader [Premium]

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a popular computer-based reading program. It does not remediate students with dyslexia. It just offers books at different levels and nudges students to an “appropriate level of challenge,” in addition to offering comprehension tests to check understanding and quantitative information for parents and teachers in the process. The promises of AR are attractive and at least some studies show improved reading of groups of students (some studies show no increase and decreased motivation). Because some classes celebrate high AR point scorers, it should not be surprising that lower scorers are less happy, have lower esteem, and become dis-incentivized to read for pleasure. AR goals are individualized and the AR company does not encourage open competition or achievement-related rewards, but all these […]

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