“Children with dyslexia often exhibit increased variability in sensory and cognitive aspects of hearing relative to typically developing peers.” – Hornickel et al., 2012 PNAS There is a long research history establishing auditory processing difficulties among children and adults who are dyslexic. What may be confusing to non-scientific people is that auditory processing is not simply “hearing”. It relates to the complex networks in the brain that interpret what sounds are heard.
Auditory processing difficulties in dyslexic people don’t present with abnormalities on simple screening hearing tests; instead, the difficulties present in tests that examine the effect of listening over background noise, for instance, or processing of rapid sounds. The reason it’s important to be aware of this is that auditory processing […]My Pandemic Hack for Classes
Shelley Wear, a long-time volunteer on our Dyslexic Advantage editorial team shared these pandemic hacks for her classroom. Thanks Shelley! “The struggle is real to make sure students understand what you are saying with a mask on. I purchased a personal amplifier (small box with microphone headset) and it has been a game changer for my classroom. Students are much more attentive and I believe it has really helped. I am also using a multisensory approach to decoding, teaching Visual Phonics. The paras have overheard students talking about how fun it is when kids are in the hallways and think no one is listening. I am relieved, because I have limited access to middle school materials to teach decoding and a large percentage of my […]
I Never Thought I’d Be Homeschooling… [Premium]
We never thought we would be homeschooling when we started almost 2 decades ago. What our family can say today, is that looking back, we’re so grateful for our entire homeschooling journey – even though initially homeschooling chose us rather than the other way around. Today there are so many reasons to homeschool and ways that homeschooling can also be a good fit for dyslexic students, so take heart in the adventure ahead of you and may the coming year be one good surprise after another. WHY HOMESCHOOLING CAN BE A GOOD MATCH FOR MANY STUDENTS Schooling at an Individual Pace The first reason why homeschooling can be a good match for many students is that traditional schooling can be a […]
Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]
“Through most of high school, I hated math and science. It wasn’t until my senior year when I took AP statistics and AP chemistry that I discovered that I enjoyed solving challenging analytical problems. After I graduate in May, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering.” – Leah Harper Although chemistry may present dyslexic students with challenges, once the initial difficulty of notation and the periodic chart are mastered, the spatial and analytical aspects of chemistry can become life-long endeavors. In a video (that’s now unavailable on YouTube), Dr. Blake Charlton talked about how he discovered the narrative intelligence associated with dyslexia and how he used it to help him learn the periodic chart. Instead of memorizing columns of elements by […]
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 part, was successful. The school had solid training of its teachers and great resources, but the program was not unlike other structured literacy programs. Why was it that they could get students through so fast with their programs? Part of the answer was the strict criteria they had for student admission. With a long waitlist for spots, they had decided to accept to their program only students who had strong […]
Surviving and Thriving in Hybrid Classrooms
With the rise in vaccinations, many schools have opened with a hybrid schedule which has some pros and cons for dyslexic students. ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS – GROUP PARTICIPATION and AUDIO The reduction in written assignments since of the start of the pandemic has provided relief for many students in terms of the quantity of homework. In its place though, sometimes classroom participation can take greater importance, which may leave out quieter students or students with word retrieval or auditory processing difficulties. With all the upheaval and need for teachers to adjust their teaching practices since the pandemic, parents and students should not be surprised if their teacher is not aware of how practice changes have affected their students. If your student has auditory processing difficulties, […]
Homeschooling or Modified Schooling?
This is an older post from when students were heading back to school after the pandemic. We’ll keep it up in case it’s helpful for other families considering homeschooling or modified schooling First off, it’s best to be aware that there is rarely a perfect solution for anyone – often there are various levels of fitting and not-fitting and once a decision is made, then you might find ways of minimizing weaknesses for a particular plan. COMPENSATE FOR WEAKNESSES IN WHICHEVER PATH YOU CHOOSE For instance, if you decide to homeschool, and a potential weakness is social interaction, then a priority might be finding opportunities for regular socialization in regular school time. If public or private school is decided upon, but math is […]
Real World Learning with Dr. Glenn Sterner
In our interview with CEO Brett Kopf, he told us that the experience of being part of the Bailey Scholar program at Michigan State University was life changing in terms of finding a positive future for himself. He told me that his advisor was a really inspirational and creative guy, so I thought it would be nice to interview him, too! The Bailey Scholars program is part of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, but the curricula is entirely student-driven and not limited to either Agriculture or Natural Sciences. Here’s what the program says about itself: “At its core, BSP is a learning community where each student, graduate and faculty fellow design their own learning journey and achieve whole person development. In this program, […]
Going Back: Learning To Live With The New Normal
This is an old post from the early peak post-COVID times. We’ll leave this up in case some of the advice is helpful. Whether it’s you going back to work, or your children trying a new part-in school, part-remote school routine, many of us will be having to adjust to changes because of the pandemic. There will be many aspects of every day living that we won’t have control of, but with every change, there also comes opportunity. 1. Give Yourself a Break. It’s an incredibly stressful time and no one knows what the future will hold. Many people are even experiencing weird pandemic dreams so sleep and all routines are disrupted. As you begin heading back to work or starting school, the number 1 […]
Not Falling Behind in MATH
“The studies vary in how severe they gauge the so-called “COVID slide” to be, but all of them found on average, students would lose more ground in math than in reading. Three studies based on NWEA data predicted students could learn half or up to a full year less math in 2020-21, compared to what they would learn in a typical year.” — Education Week Parents, teachers, and educational experts are reasonably concerned about students’ math learning in the midst of the pandemic. Math is incremental, meaning it builds on mastery of other subjects, and it is also a requirement for higher education and many well-paying jobs. For many dyslexic students, their math needs may not have been even formally identified in the context of […]
SELF-ADVOCACY: Common Accommodations and Modifications
KNOW! One of the first steps in advocacy is knowing which accommodations and or modifications you need. ASK! Here’s a nice list from the state of CT. There’s a reason this article is filed under “Self-Advocacy”. Students should be aware that they are unlikely to get an appropriate education if they don’t ASK. It comes easier for some people more than others. For the ones who don’t want to ask, it’s especially important to have important information written down and to PRACTICE with a parent or other supportive person. Don’t hesitate to have a typed sheet for backup as well as to giving something to leave with the teacher. FOUR OF THE MOST COMMON ASKS: 1. I NEED MORE TIME. Because of […]
[PREMIUM] Latest Research: Dyslexia, Sequential Memory, and Seeing the Big Picture
“My mind doesn’t work like a train track. It’s more like a web page with lots of hyperlinks.” – dyslexic honors college student. It’s refreshing to see that more researchers take an interest on dyslexia beyond reading. In this recent paper from Belgium and Missouri, the challenges of remembering sequential information for dyslexics and non-dyslexics was reviewed. Both working memory and sequencing were examined. Working memory is a type of short-term memory necessary for keeping information ‘in mind.’ Sequencing is remembering the order that things are said. It’s activities such as this that that can make something like following classroom instructions or remembering computer passwords easy or hard. Several interesting observations were made from their review of the research literature: – Dyslexic children and adults tend […]