Recently, I had the pleasure of talking to Tabitha Mancini, Director of Winston in College Online. Winston recently became a sponsor of this Dyslexic Advantage community, but I've known Tabitha for over a decade. She's been active in the learning support of...
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Q: WHAT IF MY PROFESSOR REJECTS MY ACCOMMODATION REQUEST? A: You haven’t said what accommodation you are seeking, but the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA requires that postsecondary institutions must provide “reasonable accommodations” to participate in courses, programs, and activities. From the American Psychological Association: “These accommodations can be in the form of academic adjustments or modifications such as extended time for test taking or completing course work; substitution of specific courses to meet degree requirements; modification of test taking or performance evaluations so as not to discriminate against a person’s sensory, speaking or motor impairments, unless that is what is being tested. Accommodations can also take the shape of auxiliary aids and services such as qualified sign language interpreters, note takers, […]
"A GradNation report recently released by Civic Enterprises and the Everyone Graduates Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education shamefully found that “… students with disabilities graduate at a rate nearly 20 points lower than the average...
![Public Education is General, Make Your Education Specialized [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/special-education-stars-400x250.png)
I had been re-reading Taylor and Vestergaard’s Developmental Dyslexia: Disorder or Specialization in Exploration? and reading more of the background studies that led the authors to suggest that dyslexia was a cognitive specialization with evolutionary advantages. If that is the case, it seems more important than ever to specialize education to nurture abilities that build on how dyslexic minds are optimized. Successful human problem solving groups often exhibit different types of “intelligence” and the importance of explorers can be seen in many different types of problem solving groups. For instance, studies of groups addressing crises have shown that groups that insist on consensus may develop decision inertia or persist in using solutions that worked in the past although current crises involve new problems. The presence […]
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Although dyslexia is typically defined in terms of its effect on reading, research studies have established much broader effects on motor systems, language, and speed of processing. If professionals are not aware of these differences, they won’t request accommodations for the students who they test, and as a result, these students will miss out on supports that help them in higher education and beyond. MOTOR AND LANGUAGE – WRITING There are motor difficulties associated with dyslexia that are unrelated to reading (Turesky et al., 2023), but rather than being a difficulty affecting speed or coordination, it is more subtle – affecting automatic learning. If you are able to sign your name without thinking about all the twists and turns your fingers make for […]
In a unanimous Supreme Court decision in the case of Miguel Perez vs. Sturgis Public Schools, the courts ruled that students aren’t required to exhaust the IDEA procedures before seeking relief (for instance money damages) under the ADA. The case involved a deaf student who for 12 years was denied reasonable accommodations (a sign language interpreter) so that he could adequately learn and comprehend others around him. Apparently, there was even another deaf student at the school, but they could not communicate with each other. From Wrightslaw: For twelve years, the school district passed Miguel Luna from grade to grade. The district inflated his grades to As and Bs so he made the honor roll. Miguel Luna did not learn how to read or write. […]
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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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It can be a challenge reconciling dyslexia stories in a publication such as this because the topics may zoom from the highest highs (innovators, explorers, paradigm-shifters) to what seem to be early school frustrations – like spelling homonyms or forming letters correctly – but such is the life of the spiky profile person. That is also why if you look at what seems to be a well-organized program of remediation, and have your student signed up for it, progress may not be as orderly as hoped. A core part of the trouble trying to communicate what dyslexia may look like to those who are unfamiliar is that many existing definitions fall wide of the mark. Dyslexia is better understood as a broad learning difference – […]
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Math is a challenge for almost every student as the world recovers from disruptions due to the pandemic. Although almost all community colleges waive some math requirements, only a few colleges completely waive them. One list I found was here, but do check individual college sites for current information. 1. University of Arizona – Substitution allowed 2. University of the Ozarks – Substitution for College Algebra 3. California Polytechnic State University – Substitution for non-math majors 4. Cal State Fullerton – Math substitution 5. Cal State Long Beach – Math substitution 6. Cal State San Bernadino – Math substitution 7. Menlo College – Math substitution 8. Santa Monica College – Math substitution 9. Sierra College – Math waiver 10. UC Berkley – Math waiver 11. […]
Reading fluency is defined as an ability to read texts with accuracy, a good rate, and good expression (sometimes the latter two are referred to as automaticity and prosody). Strong reading fluency is a goal that all children should have on their path to becoming independent readers, but reading fluency practice is not sufficient to remediate dyslexic students. Students must reach a certain level of decoding before reading fluency can be meaningfully assessed. Decoding is the process of translating printed words into speech. READING FLUENCY PRACTICE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR DYSLEXIC STUDENTS STILL WORKING TO DECODE The idea that simply exposing students to reading quality texts and modeling fluent reading would be sufficient for an overwhelming majority of students is a failed theory that […]
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Almost every structured literacy program uses letter tiles and flashcards. The reason for this is that there are so many word parts and whole words to learn and the use of tiles and cards can give students visual support as they focus on various letters, letter groups, and their sounds while building up reading fluency. Some students may have difficulty learning with tiles and cards if the lessons or demonstrations proceed too quickly, or if working memory is easily overloaded or motor challenges make hands-on activities more difficult than less kinesthetic ones. Activities like word sorts may also provide a little physical activity that help students stay alert and engaged whereas more passive study may have them drifting off. For college kids and adults, flashcards […]
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Question: I have a third grade student who attends a school that used Wilson Fundations in the earlier grades. The problem is that even though my daughter did some summer work, she’s been having trouble keeping up. She’s dropped down a level from her peers so that she’s just repeating what she had been taught before. There is less stress in the lower group, but would changing her to a different curriculum be a better option? Answer: This is a difficult question to answer specifically. Ideally, someone who really knows your student could give you specific guidance on whether repetition or a new curriculum might be a better move. The Wilson Fundations program is designed for general education classrooms. It (as well as other programs […]
