Math Strategies Instead of Drill [Premium]

Math Strategies Instead of Drill [Premium]

by | Mar 27, 2022 | , , , , , , ,

In the many years Brock and I spent testing and listening to dyslexic students at every level of education, we often heard first hand accounts of how they learned how to tackle difficult subjects and bypass school-related challenges. As research studies bear out (for instance, see Kirby’s study of dyslexic university students), many dyslexic students in higher education have arrived at where they are because they are deep learners, savvy about how they learn best, and strategic in how they approach school.   Brain-Based Reasons Why Math Strategies Are Better for Dyslexics Than Drill But there is also neurobiological evidence that supports why strategies may be a superior route for dyslexic learning compared to drill or simple repetition. By now, anyone who knows about brain […]

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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]

by | Mar 27, 2022 | , , , , , , , ,

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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Marlon Brando, Dyslexia, and Method Acting [Premium]

Marlon Brando, Dyslexia, and Method Acting [Premium]

by | Mar 26, 2022 | , , , , , ,

There’s a new book out this year on method acting, and it mentions Marlon Brando, his mercurial temperament, his dyslexia, and his method acting. Apparently he had ambivalent feelings about taking one of the leading roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, and he was told to show up at the playwright’s (Tennessee Williams’) house in order to clinch the deal. After hitchhiking to Provincetown, he found Williams and his friends in the dark, occasionally getting up to go to the bathroom in the woods. Apparently, a fuse had blown and a toilet was broken and neither Williams nor any of his artist friends knew how to fix either. Brando immediately made an impression, fixing both, then reading for the lead character, Stanley Kowalski. Needless to […]

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Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

Visual Notes for Understanding: Science [Premium]

by | Mar 26, 2022 | , , , , , ,

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]

by | Mar 13, 2022 | , , , , ,

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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The Power of Ask [Premium]

The Power of Ask [Premium]

by | Mar 13, 2022 | , , , ,

One of the benefits of being able to interview so many fascinating dyslexic people over the years is that I can learn about how they navigated challenging educational and workplace settings. Some had supportive families while others had the complete opposite of supportive families – but almost all were trailblazers at some point in their lives because so much of the world and its institutions can put obstacles in their way to success.   THE POWER OF ASK In the National Transitional Longitudinal Study-2, only 24% of students qualifying for accommodations in high school, made the decision to disclose their LD at the college or university level. So even as demands for coursework reading and writing increased, they did not disclose or ask for accommodations […]

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Should I Homeschool?

Should I Homeschool?

by | Feb 27, 2022 | , , , , ,

With a large part of the world at least partially homeschooling this past year and students falling behind, some parents are asking whether they should homeschool their kids for the rest of the school year or perhaps for the 2022-23. Homeschooling during the pandemic really isn’t like how homeschooling was before the pandemic – because many museums and community groups are closed or have closed their classes, homeschooling groups may not be meeting in-person, or if in-person, smaller, with social distancing in place. Still, homeschooling can be a powerful option for students if financially viable. Homeschooling can allow students to have more individualized remediation and cultivate their strengths and talents.   ADVANTAGES OF HOMESCHOOLING FOR DYSLEXIC STUDENTS – Customized education – build on strengths and […]

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Education During the Pandemic: Preparing for the Unpreparable [Premium]

Education During the Pandemic: Preparing for the Unpreparable [Premium]

by | Feb 11, 2022 | , , , , , , , ,

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 […]

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Strength-based Thinking and Communication through Metaphor [Premium]

Strength-based Thinking and Communication through Metaphor [Premium]

by | Feb 9, 2022 | , , , , ,

“Since dyslexics are visual learners and thinkers, I make sure to integrate that into how I work throughout the day. I always approach architecture decisions via white-boarding. I use metaphors when I explain things to other people or when I try to reason about the problem space in my head…” – Josh Brunner, from Embracing Dyslexia as a Software Engineer   An interesting thing happened when researchers (sorry free abstract only) set out to study figurative language in dyslexic and non-dyslexic people. Dyslexia is often referred to as a “language learning disability” and in the usually deficit-focused literature, there have been plenty of studies that might have suggested figurative language could be problematic – but Kasirer and Mashal also were aware of the creativity literature […]

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Higher Math for Scientists: Don’t Give Up [Premium]

Higher Math for Scientists: Don’t Give Up [Premium]

by | Feb 8, 2022 | , , , , , ,

“…To be a successful scientist, you need to do what you like to do. If you don’t like mathematics, don’t give up. That doesn’t forestall you’re being a scientist at all.” — E.O. Wilson   One of the first science professors I had as a freshman at Harvard was E.O. Wilson, a pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, and scientific giant. I would only learn years later that he was also dyslexic, struggled with math, and was blind in one eye due to a childhood injury. He passed away in December at the age of 92, and left a legacy of insights on the natural sciences and the education of young scientists. One bit of advice that drew him into controversy was his strong insistence that “being […]

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