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What I Know Now About Learning a Foreign Language [Premium]

What I Know Now About Learning a Foreign Language [Premium]

by | May 14, 2023 | , , , , , ,

When I came across a remarkable article titled, “Dyslexia and Learning a Foreign Language: A Personal Experience,” I knew that I wanted to talk to the author. Charlann had the unique perspective of being both dyslexic and a speech language pathologist. She dodged the college level foreign language requirement by getting a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater and master’s degree in speech language pathology. “I no longer tell the truth about how long I have studied French because people cannot comprehend how I could have studied (for seven years) and…still struggle so severely with spoken and written language. I could not fluently retrieve basic structures or pronunciation patterns to communicate my thoughts in classroom discussions, so I tended to speak in sentence fragments and […]

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Curiosity-Driven Learning [Premium]

Curiosity-Driven Learning [Premium]

by | May 7, 2023 | , , , ,

“Life isn’t about finding the answers, it’s about asking the questions.” – Brian Grazer, A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life Although dyslexic people don’t have a monopoly on curiosity, curiosity may be a particular strength among dyslexic people – it may be what drives creative thinking and the exploratory advantage of dyslexic people. In Dyslexic Advantage’s School Survey, 88% of parents responding said that one of their children’s strengths was a high curiosity. Many dyslexic adults we’ve interviewed over the years have shared that their lifelong curiosity is something that has guided their life success over the years. “A lot of leaders would say they’re curious. I can tell you from personal experience that most leaders are not. They don’t ask a […]

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Teaching the Schwa [Premium]

Teaching the Schwa [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , , , ,

What is the schwa? The schwa sound is the most common sound in English and symbolized by the upside-down e in International Phonetic Alphabet and is pronounced like “uh” in words like “the”. It’s a maddening sound because it’s not really associated with any specific letter of the alphabet…and that affects spelling as well as reading aloud. Sarah’s Snippets           Literacy Nest has a nice series of post on teaching the schwa. Emily recommends starting with “a” words like “alike”, “panda”, “soda”, or “Alaska” that say “uh” instead of the long a sound. Add a little kinesthetic action like thumping the table to make recognizing the schwa more memorable. Students may need to master stressed and unstressed syllables first; The Call […]

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Highly Gifted with Dyslexia (It may not look like what you think!) [Premium]

Highly Gifted with Dyslexia (It may not look like what you think!) [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , ,

A recent article caught my eye on CNBC. It was titled, 5 Signs Your Kid is ‘Highly Gifted’ According to Neuroscience Experts – ‘They’re Not Always Well-Behaved. From the article – the five signs: – asynchronous development – emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age – existential questioning – unique interests or a mature sense of humor – underachievement at school The author is from the Davidson Institute, a charity supporting profoundly gifted students (99.9th percentile). Davidson Scholars can be twice-exceptional (gifted with LD) which includes gifted students with dyslexia. Years ago when we had an international practice testing dyslexic students, we saw many gifted dyslexic students through the Davidson Institute. The definitions of highly and profoundly gifted may vary depending on what tests […]

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Math: Teaching with Physical Materials [Premium]

Math: Teaching with Physical Materials [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , ,

Almost half of all dyslexic student may have math disabilities (Wilcutt et al.2013), but math disabilities or dyscalculia are rarely recognized in public or private schools in the US. All the more important for tutors, teachers, and parents to be aware of dyslexia-related differences in learning better ways of helping information ‘stick’. One helpful example for how to support math for dyslexic students comes from the Sagonaska Demonstration School. They have completely embraced multisensory learning and have considered how reading and writing challenges can affect the way students learn and show their work.       Third Space Learning has nice graphics about this approach. Briefly, it involves introducing new math concepts with physical materials, then switching to the use of drawings (representations) to work […]

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Been There Done That College Advice From Fellow Dyslexics [Premium]

Been There Done That College Advice From Fellow Dyslexics [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , ,

We love the movement of dyslexic post-grads sharing their studying tips. Check out some of these words of wisdom if you’re college-bound, in college, or planning to return to higher education. In general, things are much better than they were decades ago, but you can still encounter hurdles that may make it difficult to complete your degree.           If you need additional inspiration, here is a master’s student in architecture writing his 10,000 word dissertation. Over the years, we’ve seen many students stopped at the dissertation stage – or at least stalled. Dissertation requirements are different, so the video below is not intended to be a guide for all – but at least a way to see how important organization is […]

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Dyslexia and College [Premium]

Dyslexia and College [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , ,

It’s becoming increasingly common for dyslexic students to attend college, university and graduate school; some careers require these degrees. IS IT EASIER TO ATTEND COLLEGE? Compared to past decades, it is generally easier for dyslexic students to attend college because more colleges and universities have specifically designated academic support centers and tutors to help manage school loads successfully. Institutions of higher education aren’t allowed to discriminate against students (learn more about ADA regulations here); therefore, teachers and departments try to tread carefully once students disclose their dyslexia and request specific accommodations. That said, there are still wide differences between schools that are well-informed and support their students. See our survey results for the Best and Worst Colleges for Dyslexia     FINDING THE SCHOOL THAT […]

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English Language Learners and Dyslexia [Premium]

English Language Learners and Dyslexia [Premium]

by | Apr 9, 2023 | , , , , , ,

Question: An English language learner recently joined my dyslexia classroom. She seems to be having more difficulty progressing on our standard curriculum. Do you have any suggestions or advice? When trying to understand why a new English Language Learner (ELL or English as a Second Language) student in your class isn’t making progress with peers, individual as well as more general second language-related factors can be contributing to the discrepancy. Whenever a particular student seems to be having trouble showing progress with a curriculum, individual factors, such as their vision or hearing (including chronic ear infections, for instance) interfering with their learning should be considered. Beyond this, questions about speed of instruction, working memory, long-term memory, the number of repetitions needed to progress should be […]

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Working Memory, Attention, and Learning [Premium]

Working Memory, Attention, and Learning [Premium]

by | Apr 5, 2023 | , , , , ,

“When we act on sensory inputs we call it ‘attention,’ but there’s a similar mechanism that can act on the thoughts we hold in mind.” — Timothy Buschman, Princeton University For the past 70 years, psychologists, researchers, teachers have focused intently on the implications of attention to learning, but working memory, a type of short-term memory that seems equally important — if not more significant — to general cognitive processes has received far less consideration. There are several implications for most dyslexic individuals because what many may attribute to attention or attention deficit may actually be due to activities involving working memory. IS IT INATTENTION OR WORKING MEMORY OVERLOAD? A student is struggling in math class. He is watching the teacher write on the board […]

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Dyslexia: What About Sequencing? [Premium]

Dyslexia: What About Sequencing? [Premium]

by | Apr 5, 2023 | , , , ,

Sequential memory is a challenge for many dyslexic people – and you may be surprised how many very accomplished dyslexics have trouble with it.   SEQUENCING DIFFICULTIES PRESENT MANY WAYS Parents and students may first notice difficulties memorizing sequences when they get asked to recite the alphabet or numbers up to 10. Trouble appears learning the days of the week or months of the year (harder) but some are able to compensate with music or associated mnemonics. “You mean you don’t have to sing the ABC song in order to remember which letter is in front of the other? ” – Business Executive Sequencing errors contribute to problems in reading, spelling, writing, and math, but also specific subjects like history or literature. Students with sequencing […]

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Qona Rankin from the Royal College of Art: Creative [Premium]

Qona Rankin from the Royal College of Art: Creative [Premium]

by | Apr 4, 2023 | , , , , ,

“…instead of reading perhaps 240 words a minute, the Dyslexic brain may read 150 words a minute, but at the same time, it could be making all sorts of fascinating connections and links through dipping into other processing centers in the brain.” – Qona Rankin   Qona Rankin is dyslexia specialist at the Royal College of Art (RCA), one of the premier institutions for art and design in the world. She is also dyslexic. Qona’s expertise was in three-dimension design, whether furniture, consumer products, or jewelry. After Qona earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she began working part-time at a university. A visiting lecturer from another university was a dyslexia support specialist and she told the group that there were likely to be many dyslexic […]

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Schools Missing the Boat on Dyslexia and Math [Premium]

Schools Missing the Boat on Dyslexia and Math [Premium]

by | Mar 4, 2023 | , , , , , ,

Forty-four percent of dyslexic students also meet diagnostic criteria for math disability, according to researchers, but math rarely receives specific designations on students’ individualized education plans. What is the result? Dyslexic students with math disabilities underperform, fail, get held back, and find themselves excluded from certain academic tracks and majors (like science, technology, and engineering). What they really need though are informed teachers and school programs that understand their specific needs and teach them based on their strengths. CHALLENGES AND STRENGTHS IN MATH In a review of 50 consecutive dyslexic students seen in our clinic, the following patterns were seen in their WISCIV IQ and WIAT-III achievement scores. Our practice was unusual because we had many gifted referrals from the Silicon Valley and many students […]

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