“There is an emotional component to the learning challenged,” says Winkler, whose parents called him “dumb dog” for his failures. “You don’t have a sense of self because you’re not keeping up with everybody... you feel terrible about yourself.” — Henry Winkler ...
![Grit and Resilience [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/pexels-justyna-krawczynska-8940197-400x250.jpg)
“The worst problem any dyslexic has to face is not reading, writing, or even spelling, but a lack of understanding…” — The Reality of Dyslexia Grit is the ability to persevere in the face of setbacks, challenges, pain, and adversity. Resilience is similar, but different in the sense it describes an ability to “bounce back” from difficulties. Both, as it turns out, are important for the achievement of long-term goals and mental well-being. When students in dyslexia specialty schools were studied over the course of years, researchers found that grit and resilience scores increased over time in these schools – and that correlated with lower levels of anxiety and depression and improved academic performance. Want to assess your grit? Click here —> GRIT SCALE […]
![Rogue Hero: Mastermind of the Special Air Service, David Stirling [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/David-Stirling-400x250.jpg)
“The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people.” — General Bernard Montgomery A recent documentary on the founding of the British Special Air Service mentioned that the unconventional mastermind was, in fact, dyslexic. David Stirling has a very non-linear and unpredictable start to his adult life. He started at Cambridge, but was thrown out in his first year because of a variety of poor performances and vices including gambling. He tried to make his way as an architect, then artist, then became interested in the possibility of becoming a mountaineer and reservist in the Scots Guards. David was in America working as a cowboy when the World War II began. He […]
![Poor Outcomes for Reading Recovery [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/debbie-tea-XQD-eLInH6s-unsplash-400x250.jpg)
“Initial gains from first-grade intervention didn’t last and kids performed worse in third and fourth grade…” Over 2 million students in the US have been taught reading with based Reading Recovery, a short term intervention program that uses pull-out one-to-one tutoring to first grade students. It was one of the few programs supported by the What Works Clearing House to improve general achievement (see report here – link goes to a public google drive which contains the report). However, new data suggests that at long-term following, students who received Reading Recovery performed worse than their peers by the 3rd and 4th grades: The researchers at the University of Delaware gave possible reasons for negative results: Of note, Reading Recovery had received $55 […]
![A Dyslexic’s Guide to Writing [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Screenshot-Tess-Gadd-from-LinkedIn-299x250.png)
“We have so many tools to take care of the spelling, but not the tools to bring a fresh and new perspective to the world. Focus on your voice and your message, and the rest will follow.” — Tess Gadd Tess Gadd is an interface designer based in Cape Town who also writes a popular blog on Medium. She shared three strategies she uses to overcome challenges with writing. 1. PROOFREADING TOOLS “Enter Grammarly. I have been using the pro version for a year now, and it has made such a difference to my writing. Not only does it pick up mistakes, but it is also improves my ability to edit and proofread my own work.” 2. READING TOP TO BOTTOM AND BOTTOM TOP “When […]
![Taming the Monkey Mind [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/TAMING-400x250.jpg)
The idea of having a “monkey mind”, jumping around from one thought to another, dates back centuries. It’s a term that can be applied to restless poorly controlled thought. We are all susceptible to “monkey mind” when our minds are excited, stressed, worried, or tired, but for some, the monkey mind is a frequent state of mind and learning to control it and harness its powers is an important life task. Many dyslexic strengths – like curiosity, imagination, multi-perspective thinking, can also lead to maladaptive behaviors – like susceptibility to distraction or trouble persisting at particular goals – depending what is demanded at the time. What is becoming increasingly clear as scientist make progress in understanding how creative minds work – is that creativity at […]
![Managing Too Much Information in Math with Card Sorts and Categories [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/math-dyslexia-shutterstock.png)
Too often math classes start off with a lot of math problem-solving that can result in students in getting lost. Sometimes the problem is that math explanations overload working memory; other times, students struggle because they can’t listen for understanding at the same time they are trying to take notes, leaving them to figure out what was being taught in math after they get home. THE SEA OF MATH PROBLEMS Often students may find themselves in a sea of math problems. They may have followed the reasoning when concepts were first introduced, but quickly find themselves drowning in dozens and dozens of problems that confuse them in terms of the different ways they are solved. CARD SORTS FOR MATH EXAMPLES AND NEW VOCABULARY […]
![How to Not Go Crazy from Fractions and Decimals [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/math-dyslexia-decimals-fractions-400x250.png)
Fractions and decimals can drive a lot of us crazy. After learning “big” or “long numbers” are larger, suddenly fractions and decimals come along to flip these assumptions upside-down. For dyslexic students, care must be taken at the first step of understanding the equivalences among the different representations of fractions and decimals before moving onto calculations. WHY STUDENTS MAY STRUGGLE WITH FRACTIONS AND DECIMALS Creative Maths has a nice summary of why decimals are so difficult. An excerpt: “Without zero, 2001 and 201 and 21 would all look the same! From early on we recognize that longer numbers represent larger quantities. We know that a salary with lots of zeroes is better than one with only a few. $1000000 is more than $200 even […]
Question: "My work is increasingly requiring writing and I find myself getting in trouble because of mistakes. I have not formally been diagnosed, but am thinking that it might help me do even better at my job. What advice do you have?" Answer: Based on what...
"The learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a phenomenological study. This study has explored the learning experiences of dyslexic medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic... Generally, it fostered a culture of...
Under the IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a free and appropriate public education (or FAPE) is granted to eligible students with disabilities. In schools, a lot of the funding for special education and additional resources is provided under funds...
"Books are my refuge, but I had to overcome dyslexia to write the stories I was bursting to tell." — Natasha Solomons Natasha is a lifelong storyteller, but it took a lot of persistence and resilience to get those stories out. As a child, she listened to...
