This morning, I was interviewing a dyslexic physician, Andrew Newman (we'll share his full story in another issue) and he happened to mention when he was working through Duolingo foreign language learning app that a pop-up occurred and asked him whether he might want...
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...
More Free Leveled Texts and Reading Passages [Premium]
The grand-daddy of them all is still probably Readworks, but if you like to change things up with leveled reading, check out News in Levels (alas Newsela is no longer free) or Tween Tribune, run by the Smithsonian. If you do use Readworks, make sure you know...
Remediating Late or Resistant Dyslexic Learners [Premium]
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...
The Highs and Lows of Remote Learning
"I don’t know how I’ll get through this. I know I must, but I am beyond exhausted." - a parent, APM Reports "What did we do to deserve this torture?" - a student about I-Ready By now, many school children and university students around the world have had some...
Dyslexia and Accelerated Reader [Premium]
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a popular computer-based reading program. It does not remediate students with dyslexia. It just offers books at different levels and nudges students to an "appropriate level of challenge," in addition to offering comprehension tests to check...
The Strange Case of Reading Small Words [Premium]
A parent may notice it first in a beginning reader or an adult who finds it exasperating when trying read aloud - why is it that the "small words" are so easy to skip or misread? It is a sign of dyslexia? The skipping or misreading of small words can be...
Lip Reading and Dyslexia [Premium]
There is a long and diverse research history of dyslexia and documenting the auditory processing difficulties associated with dyslexia that hinder phonological awareness. It's why dyslexic kids will struggle in school when everyone is required to wear a mask. The...
Auditory Processing and Remote and Hybrid Learning
"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...
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...
Dyslexia Advocacy: Say Dyslexia 2.0
From Chalkbeat's story, "NYC plans to screen nearly 200,000 students in the early grades to uncover struggling readers. Then what?" "In a massive bid to gauge reading skills following COVID-related learning disruptions, New York City’s education department is...
Reading Fluency for College [Premium]
Recently we were contacted by a student who wanted to improve his reading fluency before attending college. He had completed a full course of "Wilson and Orton-Gillingham" yet his reading was still slow and effortful. He asked, "Is there anything I can do to improve...