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...
Dyslexic MIND Strengths… for Kids!
Q: What can you tell me about MIND strengths and dyslexia? A: MIND-Strengths was a concept that we developed in our 2011 book, The Dyslexic Advantage. Both the book and the concept had their origin in our observations that dyslexic people not only shared certain kinds...
INTERVIEW: Dr. Brock Eide & the Neurolearning Dyslexia App
After writing The Dyslexic Advantage and co-founding this non-profit, why did you decide to create this innovative dyslexia screening app? After 20 years working in this field it's become clear that the biggest problem facing dyslexic people is access. That includes...
Too Much Homework for Dyslexic Students [Premium]
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 high IQ brains working harder? Not prior or during the task, it seems, but when feedback was given and individuals were learning from their mistakes. From Graham et al. : “the Average IQ group failed to produce as much activation during feedback evaluation as did the High IQ group. These group differences are inconsistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis and instead suggest that the High IQ individuals were engaged in […]
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. Importantly, the authors made this point: “…if dyslexia was not diagnosed earlier in schooling, young adults do not qualify for accommodations even if as adolescents and adults they meet research criteria for dyslexia on evidence-based assessment. Such assessment practices do not seem fair or sensible or consistent with the spirit of the Americas for Disabilities legislation.” The point made was that dyslexia missed in the early grades usually meant dyslexia […]
Thinking in 3D
"Spatial ability is not a simple matter. It is not just a picture-like memory for objects, places, and people. This kind of memory might be helpful in carrying out spatial tasks, but it is not at the core of what is meant by spatial ability. Spatial mechanical...
STRENGTHS MATTER: Intelligence and Dyslexia [Premium]
Parents and dyslexia advocates should beware – there are vocal proponents arguing against the importance of intelligence and / IQ in determining the educational needs of students with dyslexia. As far as it seems we have come with dyslexia (more states with dyslexia-specific laws, mandatory teacher training), there are areas where the concept of specific learning disability and the definition of dyslexia is coming under attack. SOME “EXPERTS” BELIEVE INTELLIGENCE IS IRRELEVANT FOR EDUCATING DYSLEXIC STUDENTS As surprising as it may seem, Past IDA Vice President Dr. Louisa Moats has argued through questionable selection of data there are “negligible cognitive differences between ‘LD’ and ‘Poor Reader’ ” groups. From her presentation online HERE, she states “Garden variety poor readers” are numerous and very much like […]
Auditory and Motion Processing in Dyslexia with a Twist
Although there is now a substantial research literature documenting the presence of auditory and motion processing differences among children and adults with dyslexia, for the first time that we know of, a research group is studying whether these differences can...
What is Dyscalculia? – Fast Facts [Premium]
“There is nothing in the IDEA that would prohibit the use of the terms dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia in IDEA evaluation, eligibility determinations, or IEP documents.” – Michael Yudin, Department of Education “Dyscalculia is not assessed in our schools.” – school professional Fast Facts about Dyscalculia What Is Dyscalculia? Dyscalculia is usually defined as a difficulty with calculations or arithmetic skills that is not explained by low intelligence or inadequate schooling. How Common? 3-10% of people, 40% of dyslexics What Ages? Dyscalculia is lifelong, although many helpful strategies can improve math achievement. When adults with dyscalculia have calculator accommodations, they can perform at high levels in even mathematics-intense disciplines. From We Are Teachers How Do You Assess Dyscalculia? Typically dyscalculia is assessed by calculating the […]
Motivation: The Batman Effect [Premium]
Researchers recently found that young children were more likely to persevere with tedious jobs that they were given to do if they pretended that they were Batman while doing it. There may be something to it. The researchers were studying self-regulation and perseverance in 180 kids ages 4 to 6 years old. The researchers compared 3 test situations: 1. First-person (“Am I working hard?”), 2. Third-person (“Is Billy working hard?”), and 3. Fictional Person (“Is Batman working hard?”). The effects were quite significant. This motivational effect was named after Batman because out of all the characters that were suggested to the children (Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer, Rapunzel from Tangled, and Batman), children who chose Batman showed the greatest perseverance with the task! To […]
[PREMIUM] Forgetting Can Make You Smarter
In a viral video shared on our Facebook feed, Truth Theory shared the gist of a recent research report in the prestigious journal Neuron. There may be good reason why researchers’ new understanding of memory might make sense for many dyslexic people and why it may explain the perplexing memory challenges that many dyslexic students experience in school although their ability to grasp the deeper concepts and patterns may put them way ahead of classmates. From Science Daily, “two University of Toronto researchers propose that the goal of memory is not to transmit the most accurate information over time, but to guide and optimize intelligent decision making by only holding on to valuable information.” “It’s important that the brain forgets irrelevant details and instead focuses […]