My 5th Grader is refusing structured literacy, what should I do? The following is general and not specific advice. The best advice comes from someone who knows your student and also knows in more detail what your student has been experiencing. REFUSING STRUCTURED...
Severe Dyslexia Reading [Premium]
Q: My daughter is severely dyslexic and is having trouble making progress reading. She is homeschooled. How can I help? A: Ideally, the best person to provide specific information about your student’s dyslexia is the professional who performed a comprehensive assessment. The following information is not specific to your daughter, but more general information in the hopes some of it may be helpful to you. Many severely dyslexic children have trouble perceiving or remembering sounds, sound-letter associations, or the letters that comprise the different spellings of words. If a student has significant working memory limitations, she or he may also have to learn in little bits which may add to the time words are mastered. RE-LEARNING AGAIN AND AGAIN If the problem is that a […]
The Benefits of Reading Together
It doesn't replace early identification, remediation, and support, but reading at home supported the long term reading success of children with a positive family history of dyslexia. The study is interesting one because it followed children for 13 years! The youngest...
How to Survive and Thrive at Parent-Teacher Conferences [Premium]
Some teachers find parent-teacher conferences the most stressful part of their job so it’s best to keep that in mind before you head off to the meeting. I remember we had “good” meetings and “bad”. The good ones seemed so easy – sit back and be presented with student work and positive comments. But there were also hard ones, frustrating ones, and depressing ones. People react to conflicts and crises in different ways – so that there can be psychological minefields for everyone involved in parent-teacher conferences – the parents, the teachers, and the students…and it all seems to go by so fast. BRING SOMEONE If you’re a single parent, bring someone with you – whether it’s a friend, fellow classroom parent, or relative. If […]
Tips for Heading Back to School with Dyslexia
Question: How Do I Help My Student Go Back to School? For many students, it will be a relief to get back to school because of all the disruptions in the past. Teachers, principals, and administrators are aware of the impact of the pandemic and school disruptions over...
PTSD and Dyslexia
"This study identified that emotional trauma took place in all participants, and this resulted in many having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder manifestations as a result of returning to school for their own children. Participants still noted anger and resentment as...
Dyslexia and Your IEP
Endrew F. vs. Douglas County School District decision: "The IEP must aim to enable the child to make progress. After all, the essential function of an IEP is to set out a plan for pursuing academic and functional advancement... When all is said and done, a student...
How Families Help [Premium]
Families can really make a difference. Many times, they are the last place to find encouragement or to help find a connection to the next opportunity in life. MARC’S UNCLE Marc shared with me that he grew up in a family that was poor with both parents working full-time to make ends meet. He had been an unexpected baby and an additional financial burden to the family. When he grew up, he recalled being a “clumsy kid” who wasn’t successful in sports like his older brother. His brother and his father connected through sports, but Marc had a harder time seeing ahead to his future because he wasn’t good in sports in addition to his problems in school. Fortunately, though there was an uncle […]
Education During the Pandemic: Preparing for the Unpreparable [Premium]
As I am writing this, omicron cases have not reached their peak in the US, and calls for schools to close again because of the extreme contagiousness of this variant. How do parents, teachers, and tutors prepare for another unpredictable year? ONE STUDENT AT A TIME If pandemic education has told us anything thus far, it’s that students will tell us what they need as much as any best laid plans. No matter what you decided for your students for the past year, reviewing what worked and what didn’t can be valuable going forward. If you have several children, you might have seen something work for one student, but not another. As before, the goals should be focusing on reasonable fits and not inflexible […]
I Never Thought I’d Be Homeschooling… [Premium]
We never thought we would be homeschooling when we started almost 2 decades ago. What our family can say today, is that looking back, we’re so grateful for our entire homeschooling journey – even though initially homeschooling chose us rather than the other way around. Today there are so many reasons to homeschool and ways that homeschooling can also be a good fit for dyslexic students, so take heart in the adventure ahead of you and may the coming year be one good surprise after another. WHY HOMESCHOOLING CAN BE A GOOD MATCH FOR MANY STUDENTS Schooling at an Individual Pace The first reason why homeschooling can be a good match for many students is that traditional schooling can be a […]
Supporting Young Dyslexics during the Pandemic
With all the continued upheaval due the pandemic, here's some advice for trying to keep the big picture of the coming school year. DYSLEXIC DEVELOPMENT HAS ITS OWN TIME TABLE There can be a very late bloom for a lot of the younger years for dyslexics - so don't...
Wellbeing: Managing Uncertainty
This pandemic is battle of endurance - for mind as well as body. There is nothing that is certain...except for uncertainty. For many of us that includes what work, education, or free time will look like. As dreadful as all that seems, I do know that some members of...