Many students and adults attribute difficulties in math to memory problems, but probing these difficulties further often leads to the realization that it's not a simple matter of remembering or forgetting, but rather trouble defining, organizing, then retrieving what...
The Power of the List [Premium]
For many of us, hearing about a new technology, app, or software can result in mixed feelings. We may have hope about better organizing and simplifying our lives, but also have reasonable worry about a difficult learning curve, a complicated interface, or any number of problems that can prevent us from reaping the benefits of […]
Getting Started: Dyslexic Cognition – Procrastination, Daydreaming, Working Memory Overload [Premium]
“What is the best way to start working if you’re dyslexic? It’s not always what you think. For parents supervising homework, the “starting to work” process for their students can look maddening. You may clear away distractions, put them at an empty dining table, make sure they have everything they need – then peek in […]
The Voice Inside Your Head [Premium]
“When I was eight years old, a school psychologist gave me a bit of advice about my brain. He said I may have a form of brain damage, and he wanted to send me to a special class. I was a classic dyslexic: I wasn’t born with a good memory, and I couldn’t concentrate; reading […]
Dyslexia and Social Studies [Premium]
Many dyslexic students are natural storytellers and may even have a passion for history and analyzing various aspects of society and social change. As a subject Social Studies can be difficult for dyslexic students, so the question is how to build on strengths, but bypass challenges due to extensive reading and writing demands, and […]
Daydreaming While Reading [Premium]
“There are certain half-dreaming moods of mind in which we naturally steal away from noise and glare, and seek some quiet haunt where we may indulge our reveries and build our air castles undisturbed.” – Washington Irving Daydreaming holds a curious position in the areas of science. On the one hand, daydreaming has been […]
Preparing with Templates and Posters [Premium]
When interviewing accomplished people of all sorts who are also dyslexic, there are some recurring themes – and one is, “I learned how to do the ‘dyslexic thing,’ you know, overprepare.” In some cases that means committing more hours to something – whether it was oral presentation or final project or job rotation. […]
Managing Information with Concept Maps [Premium]
Although many people may use the terms “concept map” and “mind map” interchangeably, mind maps tend to be simpler, relating information to a central topic, whereas concept maps seek to cover more complex subjects, relating different parts to each other. Concept maps can be used to simplify material because different information can be grouped together […]
Quick or Slow Remediation? [Premium]
The learning challenges of dyslexia can be very mild or quite severe, but the severity of challenges are not the sole determination of whether remediation will be quick or slow. Once we visited an elite private school for dyslexia on the East Coast. Their aim to get students through their program in 2 years, in […]
Helping Severe Dyslexia – Part 2 Word Learning and Vocabulary [Premium]
In our previous post on Severe Dyslexia, we talked about 6 steps required to read: 1. Seeing 2. Visual Recognition of Words 3. Matching Letters and Words to Sounds – Phonemic Awareness 4. Matching Words to Word Meaning 5. Saying Words 6. Comprehending Text In that post, we talked about how different readers may have difficulty with […]
Executive Function: What Smart People Do Differently While Learning [Premium]
When researchers compared high IQ and average test subjects in a learning paradigm, the results were surprising. In some areas high IQ individuals work less, as might be expected by the idea that higher IQ people have more efficient brains for learning tasks, but in other areas, high IQ brains were working harder. When were […]
How Dyslexia Changes at Different Ages [Premium]
With all of the advances in our understanding of early intervention, dyslexia in older students and young adults often gets short shrift. The paper by Dr. Kathleen Niesen and colleagues has some interesting findings that have important points for identification, accommodations, and understanding of both the challenges and strengths of adolescents and young adults with dyslexia. […]