Dyspraxia More than Dyslexia [Premium]

Dyspraxia More than Dyslexia [Premium]

Dyslexia is known for its high co-occurrence with other neurodevelopmental conditions. Numerous studies have documented the high overlap (for review of the literature visit Brimo et al., 2021), but be aware that the literature is messy with different definitions of dyslexia and dyspraxia (sometimes referred to as developmental coordination disorder or DCD). A large percentage – 25-40% – of dyslexic individuals also have a neurodevelopmental conditions such as dypraxia (motor difficulty), ADD, or dyscalculia. Interestingly, the presence of dyslexia is negatively correlated with autism spectrum-related inflexibility, a finding supportive of the hypothesis of Williams and Casanova (2010) which suggested that dyslexia and autism may have opposite features based on cortical structures. The focus of this article is dyspraxia in the context of dyslexia. Even when […]

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Florence Welch + The Machine Singer-Songwriter [Premium]

Florence Welch + The Machine Singer-Songwriter [Premium]

“Being a creative person and getting older, and wiser, has been an awakening. The older I get, the more self-assured I feel and the more confident I feel in my work and in life.” — Florence Welch   Florence Welch is an English singer-songwriter who writes and sings songs that are steeped in folklore and fantasy imagery. She has spoken both about her dyslexia and dyspraxia in various interviews. Florence became a pop star at the age of 21 when she was discovered singing in a club bathroom. She would go on to have Grammy nominations and platinum records, but also had some tumultuous times with heartbreak. One of her breakthrough songs was Ship to Wreck (lyrics), after the breakup of a long term relationship. […]

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If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If Your Student Can’t Write [Premium]

If your student can’t write, no matter what age – prepare yourself for the long haul because so much of schooling and even many aspects of hiring and work can require writing. When writing is difficult for students with dyslexia, it may be that they are having difficulty converting feelings and images to words, trouble retrieving words, or putting them in the correct order, then writing them down with correct spelling and grammar. A significant proportion of dyslexic students will also have dyspraxia, so have trouble with sequencing and fine motor control required for handwriting automaticity. Any added difficulties may also swamp working memory, causing students to get lost in what they want to say. For many dyslexic people, dysgraphia will present a greater problem […]

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Understanding Conceptual vs. Procedural Knowledge in Math [Premium]

Understanding Conceptual vs. Procedural Knowledge in Math [Premium]

With math scores lagging tremendously due to pandemic-related school, many of us may suddenly find ourselves responsible for supervising (if not tutoring) math.   If that’s the case, it’s important to keep in mind the big picture of math learning. Of course the issue of conceptual and procedural learning apply to all subjects, not just math, but it especially becomes relevant when problem solving can become complex; symbols and abstractions must be used, and multiple steps for problem solving are necessary. There’s an especially nice description of the differences between conceptual and procedural knowledge in math from Ruthie Sloan’s Teach Math Literacy blog. Many of us learned math only through procedural learning. We didn’t learn “why” we did certain steps like “flip upside-down and multiply,” […]

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White Noise Improves Reading Skills and Memory in Reading Disabilities [Premium]

White Noise Improves Reading Skills and Memory in Reading Disabilities [Premium]

Some of you may remember research in the past that showed that individuals with dyslexia have more difficulty screening out background noise (discussed in the news HERE). Students or adults with this difficulty can usually request quiet area for work or test-taking under the ADA or Americans for Disabilities Act.   Now another research group has tested the effect of “white noise” on reading skills and memory recall in children with a reading disability.   From the paper: “The study was conducted with a group of 30 children with RD and phonological decoding difficulties and two comparison groups: one consisting of skilled readers (n = 22) and another of children with mild orthographic reading problems and age adequate phonological decoding (n = 30). White noise […]

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Answer Apps and the Benefits of Learning in Reverse [Premium]

Answer Apps and the Benefits of Learning in Reverse [Premium]

Conventional lecture courses for subjects with problem sets can be inefficient.   For dyslexic students if the information comes in too quickly, they can’t follow steps as a teacher works through problems in real time. A recurring scenario for many students (and not just the dyslexic ones) is that to truly understand, the students must work through the material themselves at home. The lucky ones have a parent, sibling, or someone else to be a tutor, while others may struggle looking at incomplete notes with only a hazy idea of what teachers did to arrive at their answers. Having teachers notes or having a flipped classroom (watch a video first, then see the problems worked by a teacher) can improve this situation, but inevitably there […]

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Sports and Getting Outdoors [Premium]

Sports and Getting Outdoors [Premium]

“He started swimming lessons when he was 3,” Terri says. “At the pool, his skills just grew and grew. By middle school he was one of the most valuable members of the swim team and the other kids looked up to him. Now in high school, Shawn still has to work hard at reading and writing, though he gets some extra help in these areas. His mom, who supports his progress in both academics and athletics, says that swimming gives him an outlet for school-related stress, and an identity he can be proud of…” – from Sports: Strengthening Self Confidence and School Skills, Yale Center Creativity & Dyslexia   For many, sports and outdoor recreation our powerful outlets sources of enjoyment, positive self-esteem, confidence, and […]

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[PREMIUM] Big Picture and Dyspraxia

[PREMIUM] Big Picture and Dyspraxia

The good news about dyspraxia is that there are many positive strategies that can significantly improve functioning. #1. SELF-AWARENESS – Self-awareness is the most important tool of children and adults with dyspraxia. There are many everyday classroom and real world tasks that can be extremely difficult or even impossible for a person with dyspraxia. Without being aware that something being asked of you is impossible, it’s easy to slide into negative thinking and self-deprecating behaviors which can pull you away from things that could actually help, like self-advocacy, technology, or training. #2. COORDINATION AND STRENGTH TRAINING – Coordination and motor strength are highly trainable, so it’s important to recognize that there’s a lot one can do to improve symptoms of dyspraxia. A common mistake is […]

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Additional Resources from Premium Issue 26 [Premium]

Additional Resources from Premium Issue 26 [Premium]

  Additional Premium Resources  February 2018 Issue 26. You must be logged into your account to access: False Memories, Verbatim vs. Gist Recall, Persistence and Transcience of Memory, and Visual Perceptual and Handwriting Skills of Student with Dyspraxia (DCD). False memory for orthographically vs semantically similar words in adolescents with dyslexia.     Verbatim and Gist Recall of Sentences by Dyslexia and Non-Dyslexic Adults The Persistence and Transience of Memory Visual perceptual and Handwriting Skills in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder      

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Q & A: Can Someone Be Both Dyslexic and Autistic ? [Premium]

Q & A: Can Someone Be Both Dyslexic and Autistic ? [Premium]

QUESTION: Is it Possible to Have Both Dyslexia and Autism? The short answer is yes, but it’s likely not very common and in general many of the features of dyslexia and autism are opposite. By strict criteria, low IQ and autism are excluded from the diagnosis of dyslexia. However, it is not difficult to speculate that a child with family dyslexia could also have autism either through inheritance or through some environmental factor. The main thing to consider is that it may be much more common that a child with dyslexia has social factors unrelated to autism or a child with autism has reading and writing problems unrelated to dyslexia. In fact, typically dyslexic and autistic children have different cognitive, memory, and perceptual patterns although they […]

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