"During my youth, I was quite asocial. I had a lot of difficulty with the world. Every ten years, I found, it got a little better. Now things are going quite well." - Jacques Dubochet There's no better reminder that awareness needs to include the positive side of...
![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” […]
![Moving to learn: The UPSIDE to Fidgeting [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/shutterstock_331750409.jpg)
Researchers from Florida presented visually dramatic evidence of the difference in ADHD student hyperactivity dependng on the task at hand. 52 boys ages 8 to 12 were studied. 32 had ADHD and 30 served as controls. 44% of ADHD students had been prescribed stimulant medication, and these students had medicines held for at least 24 hours prior to the study. What you can see in the video is the dramatic difference in hyperactivity depending on whether the student was watching a mathematics instructional video or the pod racer scene from Star Wars. Perhaps not completely surprisingly, both ADHD and neurotypical boys showed better attention for the Star Wars video than the math instruction. Remember that ADHD is distinct from dyslexia and boys in general are […]
From Imperfect Families: Empathize: Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what they may be feeling. “That writing assignment’s pretty challenging, eh?” Rewrite the script: Instead of “Writing is hard. I’m stupid,” your child could say, “I’m working hard on...
![Positive Strategies for College [PREMIUM]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-1.03.04-PM.jpg)
In a recent research study (abstract only) of dyslexic students at college, the following strategies were mentioned: 1. Go to Lecture and Just Listen. It was common for students to be unable to listen and note-take at the same. Face-to-face lectures were preferred to recorded lectures because audio quality was sometimes bad, and some students need to see the teacher’s face and his or her gestures to fully comprehend what was being said. Request a Note-Taker Early. One student said at times a note-taker had to be requested several weeks in advance (!). Record Notes with the One Note or Audionote App. 2. Prepare for Lecture. For classes where teachers make Powerpoints available before lecture, download and print so notes can be written on them […]
![Dyslexia-FRIENDLY Foreign language Instruction [PREMIUM]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-12.47.29-PM.jpg)
Because dyslexia has significant challenges that make foreign language learning difficult (e.g. impaired phonemic awareness, limitations on auditory verbal working memory, weak rule-based memory and syntax, etc.), many students request and are granted foreign language waivers. That being said, there are many students who can do well at foreign language learning, and alternative classrooms should be considered in order to help more students achieve proficiency in a second language. From Dr. Jonathan Arries: “Studies suggest that students with LDs may experience difficulties with the following tasks: 1) imitation and differentiation of vowel sounds 2) orthography 3) vocabulary acquisition 4) comprehension and memory of spoken instructions 5)reading comprehension passages 6) comprehension of written instructions 7) application of grammar rules taught inductively….Javoarsky, Sparks, and Ganschow indicate some […]
![[PREMIUM] DYSLEXIA AND MATH: Error Analysis](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-7.18.50-PM.jpg)
Some 60% of dyslexic students have problems with math (10% excel at math). Reasons for math difficulties include math facts retrieval, difficulty remembering formula and multi-stepped procedures, sequencing issues, symbol confusion, and difficulty with the language of math. These problems, in addition to timed tests and impossible-to-complete homework assignments, contribute to math anxiety and frustration. In a collaborative study from the University of Houstin, University of Texas, and Vanderbilt University (Raghubar et al., 2009), researchers looked at the different categories of math mistakes in 3rd and 4th grade children with or without math and reading disabilities. On the following page, look at the 4 types of math errors that they examined. Studies of this type are valuable because they also identify which types of errors are […]
![[PREMIUM] TEST-TAKING: DYSLEXIA and MULTIPLE CHOICE](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/shutterstock_1153156547.jpg)
At the secondary and university level, many students with dyslexia may prefer short answer questions to multiple choice. There are many reasons why the multiple choice question format may not be a good estimator of a student’s knowledge. It is very common for the questions and choice answers to be ambiguous. From Biochemical Education: “Writing good multiple choice questions is hard, a fact not appreciated by all teachers and examiners. There is a tendency to use imprecise terms, and even when apparently precise terms such as always and never are used (for example in true/false type tests), it seems that not everyone agrees these are indeed absolutes….In a survey of medical examiners, Holsgrove and Elzubeir found that of 63 respondents, 51 considered that always means […]
![DYSLEXIA AND ALGEBRA: Algebra Tiles – MULTISENSORY [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/screen_shot_2017-10-24_at_9.11.56_am.png)
With continually evolving Algebra 1 & 2 mandates, it is becoming increasingly important that dyslexic students master Algebra in order to pursue their dreams of certain careers and college degrees. Many dyslexic students are well-suited to the logic of Algebra, but they can easily get lost in following the multi-step procedures of algebraic problem solving if they don’t have a deeper knowledge of what they are actually doing with their steps. Simple algebraic problems can be introduced in the younger grades. Most students prefer working with physical algebra tiles first, but there are resources like these Michigan Virtual School Virtual Algebra Tiles that can be accessed online for free. If algebra is not being taught with manipulatives in […]
![[PREMIUM] Don’t Require COPYING From the Board](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2019-08-31-at-2.15.03-PM.jpg)
DON’T REQUIRE COPYING FROM THE BOARD Dr. Kirkby: “Copying text…is psychologically complex. It involves a series of sequential visual and cognitive processes, which must be co-ordinated: these include visual encoding, mental representation, an written production.” Long after students have begun to crack the code of reading, note-taking and copying from the board remain very difficult if not impossible for some students. Note-taking from lecture adds the additional challenging of listening to words, translating them into a visual representation, then retrieving these images and motor sequences to get them down on a page. Moderate to severe dysgraphia is not uncommon among dyslexic students. For these students, not only will copying from the board be impossible, but also significant modifications (decreased written work) and accommodations (extended time, […]
![[PREMIUM] ENTREPRENEURS – What Worked for Us](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2019-08-31-at-3.15.16-PM.jpg)
In research from the London School of Economics and City University London, successful dyslexic entrepreneurs were interviewed about their workplace strategies, challenges, and strengths. We’re grateful to Nicola Martin and Julie Logan for sharing their work. POSITIVE STRATEGIES: – Create a positive environment for your business – Delegate admin and clerical – proofreading and report writing – Hire strong team members and pay them well – Communicate face-to-face and convey the big picture vision – Use smartphones, spell checkers, dictaphones, speech recognition software – Switch jobs if job environment changes in a negative way STRENGTHS: – I know how to create great teams. – I can see the potential in people. – I can develop loyalty in my team. – I can paint colorful pictures […]
![[PREMIUM] Reading and Spelling: When Sights and Sounds Don’t Match](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2019-08-31-at-2.19.00-PM.jpg)
TRICKY WORDS: WHEN SIGHTS AND SOUNDS DON’T MATCH Spotlight: Inflectional Suffixes Because many dyslexic students don’t have a visual imprint of words, there are common spelling or pronunciation errors that occur when word endings seem to vary. In most cases, being explicitly taught the different patterns can reduce a great deal of distress later. The technical term “inflectional suffixes” refers to word endings that change a word to make it grammatically correct, but don’t fundamentally change the meaning or the class of words that they are. For example, in the following sentences, the suffixes are shown in red: The dog barks. The dog barked. The endings may reflect whether a noun is singular or plural (e.g. dog or dogs) or whether the action is happening […]
