Colleges and universities are in crisis, as they hastily cancelled in-person classes and the pandemic drags on. They face huge budget losses with refunds for student fees for housing and food, plus the prospect of students choosing not to enroll for the fall semester...
![Surviving College: Gifted Dyslexic Students Share Tips [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/writingcollege-scaled.jpg)
When we had a clinic, some of the best study strategy advice came through talking to our gifted students…especially as we saw them over the course of years. Recently, I noticed a research paper by Reis et al. in Gifted Child Quarterly that had a number of great student insights that I thought would be fun to share. The first surprise I had reading the paper was to learn how many students had wished they had been formally taught study skills. Some were downright critical of the work they had done in LD pullouts in high school. “I will complain to this day about high school and how they don’t teach study skills…This is the first time in my freshman year that I had to […]
![How an SLP Helped a Dyslexic College Student Fulfill Her Foreign Language Requirement [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PREMIUM-How-an-SLP-Helped-a-Dyslexic-College-Student-Fulfill-Her-Foreign-language-Requirement-400x250.png)
“Kay’s German language instructor referred her for a reading disabilities evaluation because of numerous difficulties that Kay experienced in spite of her high level of motivation to succeed…” – The Role of the SLP in Assisting College Students with Dyslexia in Fulfilling Foreign Language Requirements: A Case Study For many dyslexic students in higher education, unforeseen roadblocks like having to pass two semesters of a foreign language can cause costly delays in the awarding of their degrees. While some institutions grant waivers, others do not, and universities and colleges vary widely regarding their disability support. From the case report of what seems to be a gifted dyslexic student at the University of Florida, there are several helpful practices that I thought would be helpful to […]
![In Their Own Words: Gifted Dyslexic Students in High School and University [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/naassom-azevedo-Q_Sei-TqSlc-unsplash_In-their-own-words-400x250.jpg)
A research project recently interviewed gifted dyslexic students in high school and college and asked them about the ways they did and didn’t learn best. WHAT DIDN’T WORK – SCHOOL Copying Copying things over and over didn’t help with memorization. Reading Aloud Reading aloud in class was unhelpful and stressful. Reading Silently Class time to read silently wasn’t helpful because there weren’t easy ways to look up words and then students would lose their place. Reading with a Ruler Reading with a ruler didn’t help comprehension for one student,, but underlining with a pencil or highlighter did. Taking Away Extra Time Taking away extra time was very unhelpful. One teacher gave the student a watch to put on her desk, but the problem wasn’t being […]
Here is one of our favorite college application essays of all time (shared with permission): Please provide an answer below if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application. When I started the process of looking for...
![Dyslexia and the NEW SAT [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/new-sat-dyslexia-pencil.jpg)
The new SAT started March 2016. From the New York Times, “What’s true of the writing section is true of the new SAT in general: There’s much more to read. “The most fundamental change is that there are many, many more words,” said Aaron Golumbfskie, education director for PrepMatters. “If you don’t read well and happily, this test isn’t going to be your friend.” Even the math section will require more reading, with fewer questions based on equations and more word problems. Some prompts will present the same type of real-world situations that the Common Core emphasizes — “The recommended daily calcium intake for a 20-year-old is 1,000 milligrams (mg). One cup of milk contains 299 mg….” Mr. Golumbfskie describes the math section as “tighter […]
The US Department of Justice just released final regulations regarding the implementation of the American for Disabilities Act. "These rules clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contain new and updated requirements." Direct link to the...
Congratulations to Grammarly, a free-premium software that adds directly onto the Safari, Chrome, and the Firefox browser and can be downloaded HERE. I've been using it on my Mac and it's already caught a number of errors. If you use Microsoft Word or Outlook on...
It's not easy. There are lots of reasons to hate or at least strongly dislike high school. What if you've done what you could to self-advocate and educate your teachers and classmates, but can't help but dread going back to school every day? Here are some tips from...
In research that was just published last month, investigators at the University of Washington were surprised to find when investigating pathways involved with writing - that brain connections of dyslexic subjects were more extensive and more far ranging than the...
![Fighting February Blues [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/shutterstock_387009517.jpg)
FIGHTING FEBRUARY BLUES There are seasonal issues that can make February an especially difficult month for everyone. The holiday rush and start of the new term are over, the daylight hours are shorter, and midterms are looming large. Work may pile up as students fall increasingly behind. They may no longer have the positive input or feedback that good parents may have provided when they were younger. Seasonal Affective Disorder is fairly common. Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder tend to begin in the teen to early adult years and affect 5-10% of the population. Symptoms may include: increased feelings of stress or anxiety, oversleeping, lowered mood, more irritability, appetite changes, changes in school performance. If students are away at college or if adults work in […]
![Dyslexia at College: THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-8.43.51-PM.jpg)
As dyslexic college students are entering 2- and 4- year colleges in increasing numbers, questions arise as to the impact of dyslexia-related challenges on essay writing. The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 had found that although a majority of LD students in high school requested accommodations (91%), only 17% requested accommodations in college. A problem with this situation is that the net result is that written work (especially timed written work) will typically substantially underestimate a student’s fund of knowledge and understanding. A recent study at Oxford Brookes University showed that college students with dyslexia matched their non-dyslexic peers in terms of word diversity, ideas, organization, sentence structure, and even grammar. The tasks in which they scored lower than their peers were so-called “low-level transcription skills” […]
