Early screeners are beginning to appear more often in the early grades of elementary school because dyslexia advocates are winning legislative battles across the country. WHAT DO LITERACY SCREENERS DO? The benefit of early universal screening is that the...
![[PREMIUM] What is Dyslexia? – Fast Facts for Teachers](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-9.15.35-AM.jpg)
THE MOST COMMON LEARNING DIFFERENCE Dyslexia is the most common learning difference, seen in up to 15-20% of the population. Dyslexia tends to run in families, but it can vary a great deal from family member to family member. IT’S NOT JUST READING Reading challenges are a central feature of dyslexia, but dyslexia-related brain differences have been detected in children before they are reading age and with appropriate intervention, reading improves significantly. There are learning strengths also associated with dyslexia that are helpful to know for educational reasons as well as future careers. FAST FACTS FOR TEACHERS #1. Dyslexic students are smart. Dyslexic students have average or higher than average intelligence. Are they receiving adequate challenge and opportunity in their daily work? Could you be […]
Dr. Michael Ryan is a Michigan Clinical Psychologist who developed one of the first clinical programs for LD students at Colorado State University and he spoke at our first Dyslexic Advantage conference. From his writing at LDOnline and the IDA: How can parents and...
![[PREMIUM] Big Picture and Dyspraxia](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/sunflowergirl.jpg)
The good news about dyspraxia is that there are many positive strategies that can significantly improve functioning. #1. SELF-AWARENESS – Self-awareness is the most important tool of children and adults with dyspraxia. There are many everyday classroom and real world tasks that can be extremely difficult or even impossible for a person with dyspraxia. Without being aware that something being asked of you is impossible, it’s easy to slide into negative thinking and self-deprecating behaviors which can pull you away from things that could actually help, like self-advocacy, technology, or training. #2. COORDINATION AND STRENGTH TRAINING – Coordination and motor strength are highly trainable, so it’s important to recognize that there’s a lot one can do to improve symptoms of dyspraxia. A common mistake is […]
![Positive Strategies for College [PREMIUM]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-1.03.04-PM.jpg)
In a recent research study (abstract only) of dyslexic students at college, the following strategies were mentioned: 1. Go to Lecture and Just Listen. It was common for students to be unable to listen and note-take at the same. Face-to-face lectures were preferred to recorded lectures because audio quality was sometimes bad, and some students need to see the teacher’s face and his or her gestures to fully comprehend what was being said. Request a Note-Taker Early. One student said at times a note-taker had to be requested several weeks in advance (!). Record Notes with the One Note or Audionote App. 2. Prepare for Lecture. For classes where teachers make Powerpoints available before lecture, download and print so notes can be written on them […]
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TRICKY WORDS: WHEN SIGHTS AND SOUNDS DON’T MATCH Spotlight: Inflectional Suffixes Because many dyslexic students don’t have a visual imprint of words, there are common spelling or pronunciation errors that occur when word endings seem to vary. In most cases, being explicitly taught the different patterns can reduce a great deal of distress later. The technical term “inflectional suffixes” refers to word endings that change a word to make it grammatically correct, but don’t fundamentally change the meaning or the class of words that they are. For example, in the following sentences, the suffixes are shown in red: The dog barks. The dog barked. The endings may reflect whether a noun is singular or plural (e.g. dog or dogs) or whether the action is happening […]
![Strategic Thinking and Dyslexia Education [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Screen-Shot-2019-08-30-at-9.11.07-PM.jpg)
There are many accomplished dyslexics who have told us that one of their greatest strengths in their current career is strategic thinking, but is there any evidence that strategy is a strength that is present in the school years, and if so, can it be better used to help students tackle the many academic hurdles that they face? Unfortunately, there has been relatively little attention studying the potential of strategy in the curriculum of dyslexic students, but there is some and in those studies, the findings are interesting. For instance, in a study of LD students attending 4 Southern California universities, researchers sought to understand how students with significant difficulties in phonological awareness and word attack were able to do just as well as non-LD […]
![How to Teach Dyslexic Students Geography [PREMIUM]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Screen-Shot-2019-08-31-at-5.21.43-PM.jpg)
Many people may not know that a dyslexic scientist (Dr. Wally Broeker) led the first research team characterizing the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt – a massive cycling that takes place in the world’s oceans that circulates the sun’s heat around the globe and also has profound effects on marine animal migration and climate. Although the subject of Geography should be a natural fit for many dyslexic students with its high demands on MIND strengths (material, interconnected, narrative, and dynamic reasoning), it can also be taught in rote fashion (memorize map names and features) that can lead many students to struggle. In at least one study, dyslexic students being taught geography learned significantly better than their non-dyslexic counterparts if they were taught using multimedia (text, graphics, and sound). Multimedia was […]
Here's one remarkable school decided to go 'all in' to help a dyslexic high school student who seemed to be slipping away. Matthew was a rising 10th grader at a non-selective high school. The majority of students at the school were described as being of low...
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I recently had a chance to talk with Master Montessori Teacher Alison Awes who is based at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota. Alison is dyslexic herself and she has written about how Montessori instruction can support dyslexic students. Alison is also trained in Orton-Gillingham Level1. Like the Orton-Gillingham method, the Montessori approach was created by a physician working with special education students. I knew about Montessori because both our children attended Montessori preschools and we liked many aspects of the educational approach, including self-directed learning, multi-age classrooms, and well-designed hands-on materials. I was interested in hearing about Alison’s experiences because she attended a Montessori school herself until the age of 12 and then transitioned to a traditional middle school. She only discovered that she […]
![Positive Affirmations [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Screen-Shot-2019-09-01-at-9.07.26-PM.jpg)
A dyslexic woman and successful tech entrepreneur was interviewed and asked what helped her overcome ‘the odds.’ Here’s what she said: “Affirmations…I literally told myself the naysayers were wrong about me. I told myself exactly what I needed to hear, every single day, to move my life forward.” Here are some of the affirmations on her list – what are yours? 1. “The biggest and most complex obstacle I will ever have to overcome is my mind. If I can overcome that, I can overcome anything.” 2. “I cannot control exactly what happens in life, but I can control how I respond to it all. In my response is my greatest power.” 3. “I have to accept whatever comes my way, and the only important […]
“English A was ‘a disaster and French was like medieval torture. To sit down with a blank piece of paper and write was the most traumatic thing that had ever faced me in life. I had ideas in my head, but I could not get the stuff down. It was a crushing time.” – Charles Schwab “It will be particularly helpful if they give themselves practice in precis writing, paraphrasing, and note-taking. If one has to write a precis one is forced not only to think out carefully what are the key ideas in a particular passage but also to express them concisely, accurately, and clearly. Paraphrasing makes similar demands and also forces one to consider the style of the original and to be critical […]
