Dyslexic Myths Part 2

    

I hope that you had a try at last week's dyslexia quiz and maybe confirmed something you already knew or learnt something new.

See how you fair with Part 2.

Remember all the statements are based on real statements made by teachers or parents.

Good luck !

   True or False?  Dyslexic or not?

    She’s very artistic, she can’t have poor visual discrimination

    At home I say the same things again and again, he doesn’t listen to a word I say 

   She’s so bright , I think she must just be lazy

    If he has extra lessons he’ll fall even further  behind

    She’s so far behind she’ll never catch up, she’ll never achieve anything academic

    He's too young for anyone to know if he's dyslexic. There's nothing we can do to help 

My top ten resources for dyslexic learners

 1. Stile Trays
A very versatile resource which allows 
children to practice their skills without writing. They are self checking so a child can work independently. This can be a real confidence boost!

                                                                                     

2. Alpha to Omega  
A structured spelling programme best used with the alphabet arc and magnetic letters.  Children work systematically through letter patterns and only write words that they have already practiced with magnetic letters.  The dictation sentences are carefully constructed to allow children to aim for accuracy and success.

 




         

3. Units of Sound computer program. A very effective way of systematically learning and practicing letter patterns or 'units of sound'. It constantly revisits previous letter patterns helping them to be retained.  There are memory and dictation sections which help to develop memory skills. It is now available online which allows it to be used at home as well as at school.

 4. Toe by Toe
This is still the most effective way to improve the reading skills of anyone who is struggling.  Best used everyday for 5 -10 minutes (3 times a week can still be effective.) It systematically works through letter patterns starting with alphabet sounds and 3 letter words building up to polysyllabic words. At every stage the phonic skills are practiced with nonsense words and in carefully constructed sentences.

 5. Smart Phonic magnetic letters
These magnetic letters are joined together to make common digraphs particularly vowel digraphs. Many dyslexics learn best in a kinaesthetic way and these letters make letter patterns explicit.  Great for word building and making sets of words with the same pattern. They can be used to make Alpha to Omega word lists.

 6. Gel Boards seem to be an under used resource. Many dyslexics find letter formation and pencil control difficult. Gel boards are an excellent and fun way to practice handwriting patterns and letter formation. If you press too hard the marks do not show properly so it is a good way of training children not to use too much pressure when they write.

 7. Word Shark
Great interactive games which can be set to match the letter pattern a child is working on.
Children can work on 3 letter words right up to more complex prefixes and suffixes.

 8. Nessy Learning, Hairy Phonics and Hairy Words
Really fun interactive games and apps. The Nessy Learning Programme can form the central part of any intervention plan. It has a reading and spelling challenge to set the correct level. It then provides memorable video animations for each letter pattern. There are games and worksheets to allow practice in lots of different ways.

 9. Wellington Square Books
Many teachers think that these books are a bit outdated, but in my experience the children who read them really enjoy them. Aimed at Junior age children who are still in the early stages of learning to read. All the books are carefully graded to only introduce a few new words at a time (in a similar way to Oxford Reading Tree).  The support materials are excellent and provide a wide range of activities to support early comprehension skills.

 10. Active Literacy Kit
A little known resource available from Dyslexia Action.  It is excellent at pinpointing weaknesses in children who are slow to develop their literacy skills. Each child has their own combination of activities to strengthen their skills. It works on the alphabet sequence, auditory discrimination, reading fluency and spelling. Very easy for both teaching assistants and teachers to use.

Book of the week - Including Gifted, Able and Talented Children in the Primary Classroom

A practical and easy to read book which draws together research on gifted and talented children.
There is information on identifying gifted and talented learners, thoughts about how to develop school policy and activities to develop thinking skills.

The author Mike Fleetham also has an excellent website full of tips and downloadable resources.
Check out   www.thinkingclassroom.co.uk

Mike Fleetham is an education consultant who works with teachers and children to make learning more effective and enjoyable. He provides  a range of staff training focusing on developing thinking skills in the classroom.

How to use Stile trays

Early indicators of dyslexia

Years of experience have taught me that the signs of dyslexia show up very early - we may ignore them and hope the difficulties are just 'immaturity'.  But 9 times out 10 the child who was struggling early on in their school life, goes on to be diagnosed with dyslexia later in Primary school or even in Secondary school. But by then a lot of damage has been done -weak reading and spelling skills, poor grades, avoidance strategies and low self esteem have all set in.

So why wait?

      In my opinion prevention is better than cure, if we identify difficulties early we can intervene early.  It is not about ‘labeling’  but identifying skills to strengthen.  Many of the underlying skills that dyslexics lack can be worked on in a fun way at an yearly age.  For example: Memory games can improve visual and auditory memory skills which are key skills for learning to read. 

      It is important to realise that helping dyslexic learners is not simply about working harder or practicing more. Intervention is not more of the same but specific structured activities which strengthen weaker skills and compensate with a child's stronger skills. Most children identified early on will  ‘catch up’  before the gap becomes too wide.  In general the children I start working with in Reception or Year 1 will be 'turning the corner' by Year 3 and by Year 6 many teachers will not even notice their dyslexic difficulties. They avoid the sense of failure that may children experience.

      It is also worth noting that we can not do any harm by giving children dyslexic interventions if they are not dyslexic.  

     We do not even have to use the term dyslexic with young children (although older children often find it helpful to know they are dyslexic.) 

     Dyslexic interventions are good for all children, it is just most children can learn to read and write without them.

  
The signs are clear in Nursery and Reception age children (3 - 4 year olds) for those who know what to look for. Some signs can be seen even earlier.

Many dyslexics are late talkers, it estimated that this is the case for about 60% of dyslexics.  These children may have word finding difficulties and mispronounce words.  They may use immature grammatical structures.

Some dyslexics are late walkers or may be 'bottom' shufflers who didn't crawl.  Poor coordination  affects about 20% of dyslexics. 

Teachers should monitor children who are receiving speech therapy or occupational therapy at a young age as often these children are dyslexic.

Early signs for 3 -7 year olds

*Poor listening skills - difficulty remembering instructions/messages, appear not to be listening

*Poor 'working' memory - not able to remember nursery rhymes, simple number bonds

*Weak Auditory skills - muddles names, doesn't hear all the sounds in the word, mishears words 'big/pig'    'bag/back'

*Coordination difficulties - difficulty with fastening buttons, dressing, tying shoe laces, difficulty clapping a rhythm, pencil control

*Difficulty with gross motor skills, can appear clumsy, difficulty kicking a ball, hopping or skipping, problems with balance

*Poor visual discrimination - difficulty matching, doing jigsaws, finding an object in a busy picture, distinguishing letter/number shapes

*Poor sense of time - doesn't know which day it is, what time of day it is, difficulty remembering routines

*Inconsistent performance 'good days' and 'bad days'

*Word finding difficulties - long imprecise answers

*Spatial difficulties - unsure of left and right, difficulties matching shapes,

*Difficulties with sequences - days of the week, alphabet, order of numbers

 

    Teachers and parents are very observant people -if we notice these signs we should be confident to voice our concerns.  Early identification will change a child's future.

All about me - Adult Dyslexia

One of the questions I get asked most is Does dyslexia go away as an adult? 

The short answer is NO.

The longer answer is .....that for me it is easier to deal with most situations as an adult but the underlying problems have not gone away.  I still have problems with auditory processing, short term auditory memory, sequencing, reading aloud and writing.

The difference now is I can anticipate and plan for things I find difficult. I either avoid the situation, or if there is no way out I have strategies to cope. I'm not afraid to ask others to help me or to delegate.  The sad thing for children is that there often is no escape.  They often haven't developed helpful strategies to compensate. They usually can't delegate or avoid the task as it is an activity that the teacher expects them to complete themselves.

As an adult we often have more choices.  I have chosen a job where I can play to my strengths - I spend my time interacting face to face, doing hands on, practical activities and being creative.  I can use my strong verbal skills and general knowledge. While I do have to read and write it is in my own time and I can take as long as want (or need). Noone sees that I spend twice as long writing lesson plans or reports.

 For me the main difficulty that remains is auditory processing difficulties.  I need visuals as well as words to understand something.  If I am talking to someone I need to see their face, see their body language to follow the conversation.  As a result I have strong dislike of phone calls as I have misunderstood things so many times.  If someone gives me address over the phone I am prone to mishearing it. Usually I have to write what I think I heard phonetically and then use a map to find the likely address.  Even when someone spells out a name, my brain seems to scrabble the letters and I often can not write the letters down quickly enough. Again I have to find information from another source.  Email and the internet has been such a help to me is this respect. Most of the time I don't have to make phone calls at all and I can communicate and get information with less risk of misunderstanding.

Reading aloud is another thing that remains embarrassing and painful.  I am still unable to read aloud as an adult without stumbling over my words or making a mistake.  Practicing before hand doesn't seem to make much of a difference.  I particularly find names or longer polysyllabic words difficult, I do not seem to be able to break up the word correctly and will often change the order of the sounds or syllables without meaning to.  It has taken me a long time to be able to say 'Vietnamese' as may brain wants to swap the n and the m.  "Compartmentalise" is a word I wish I could say but I can never get the syllables to come out in the correct order so I have to find another way of explaining myself.  As  child I would invent names of characters in book when I couldn't read them, like  "Mr T' for Mr Tomkinson. I remember as a student teacher that class teachers often thought an easy and fun task was to read a story to the class. For me it was my idea of a nightmare, trying to keep track of the text, while holding the book so the children could see the pictures, deciphering unfamiliar names without any practice and trying to keep an eye on the children to manage their behaviour all at the same time. As student there was no escape, I had to endure this stressful ordeal, hoping the children would not sense my fear or laugh when I stumbled over my words. As a young teacher I found ways around my problem.  I learnt a few stories so that I could tell them without really having to read, I opted for story telling whenever I could and the children loved this, I used story tapes for longer stories or used confident readers to read for me. I still have to look for creative ways of avoiding public reading, luckily these days I am rarely put on a the spot.  When I do staff meetings I use key words and 'ad lib', I never read from my notes. If I have to explain something at a meeting I read to myself and summarise the main points to share with others. If I do have to read aloud  to the children, I read as slowly as possible to try and give my brain a chance to process each word correctly. 

Mainly I just have to learn to laugh if I do make a mistake, we all have our weaknesses after all!

Dyslexic Myths Part 1

Try my quiz which I often use during my staff training on dyslexia. All the statements are based on comments I commonly hear from both teachers and parents.

Can you work out which are true and which are common misconceptions about dyslexia?

True or False ?  Dyslexic or not?

1. He confuses b and d so he must be dyslexic

2. She can’t be dyslexic because she can sound out and decode words

3. His brother is dyslexic so I think he is probably dyslexic too

4. She’s always forgetting where she has left her PE kit

5. He has a good memory- he remembers all sorts of things we do as a family

How did you do? 

Stealth Dyslexia

Have you heard of Stealth Dyslexia?

So many people are affected by dyslexia but many do not benefit from interventions because they do not meet our narrow view of dyslexia.  

We think that if a child can read they can't be dyslexic, we don't realise the amount of effort that may be going into the task. Thanks to Brock and Fernette Eide for their excellent article which raises awareness about a whole group of students (and adults) who are often over looked.

Do you recognise yourself or others in this article?

 Stealth Dyslexia: How Some Dyslexic Students Escape Detection

The Inside Track blog post by Brock and Fernette Eide Dyslexic Advantage
Mar 04, 2015

Recently, The New Yorker magazine published an interview with Fumiko Hoeft, one of the world’s top dyslexia researchers. Hoeft (pronounced HAYfft) is a psychiatrist and brain scientist at the University of California San Francisco. In the article, she discussed research she’d done on individuals with an unusual-sounding condition—“stealth dyslexia.”

People with stealth dyslexia have problems sounding out (or decoding) words just like people with “classic” dyslexia. Yet unlike typical dyslexics, their scores on tests of reading comprehension are typically above average, or even very strong.
What The New Yorker article doesn’t tell you is this: If people with stealth dyslexia can read with good comprehension, is it important to know about them? The answer is definitely yes!
Students with stealth dyslexia often underperform their potential in the classroom. Yet they rarely receive the help they need. So parents and teachers really do need to know about this.
“Stealth dyslexia” is a term we coined in 2005. At the time, we noted that these students typically “avoid the radar of detection” just like stealth airplanes. Since these students score well on reading comprehension tests, most people think they can’t be dyslexic. Yet these students also show the most classic feature of dyslexia: They struggle with phonics and decoding.
For some time after we first described stealth dyslexia, people debated whether these individuals should really be thought of as dyslexic at all. Now we know the answer. As Hoeft told The New Yorker, she used fMRI scanners to study the brains of students with stealth dyslexia. She found that their brain wiring did indeed show the classic features of dyslexia. This confirmed they really are dyslexic.
She also found that when they read, they show heightened activity in parts of the brain that help with executive function and self-control. Their comprehension appears to be strong because they compensate for their decoding problems by using their attention and problem-solving skills in especially active ways.
Even with these superior thinking skills, students with stealth dyslexia often struggle in school. The following skills are particularly challenging:

• Reading new (and especially long) words
• Reading out loud
• Silent reading speed and accuracy
• Spelling
• Writing (both mechanics and the speed and quantity of output)

Because of their problems with these basic skills, they often have a hard time with these more complex tasks:

• Reading short passages (where they can’t use context to guess the words they can’t sound out—for example, questions and answers on multiple choice tests, or story problems in math)
• Reading passages on an unfamiliar topic (where they can’t use their background knowledge to guess the words they can’t sound out)
• Reading passages that contain many unfamiliar words or new terms (especially in the natural or social sciences, or subjects dealing with foreign cultures or languages)
• Keeping up with lengthy reading or writing assignments

For many students with stealth dyslexia, school challenges only become clear when the work load becomes very heavy or complex. That’s when they can no longer keep up just by increasing their effort. Often this may not be until high school or college.
Many students with stealth dyslexia have problems with writing, but their reading challenges are missed, so they’re diagnosed with dysgraphia. Others are diagnosed with ADHD, because they make lots of “silly mistakes.” However, as Hoeft showed in her research, they typically have strong focus and attention.
Because of these challenges, many students with stealth dyslexia require the same supports as other dyslexic students:

• Instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics, where progress is based on decoding ability, not comprehension
• Text-to-speech readers, especially for long reading assignments
• A good keyboarding program to help with spelling and writing
• Extra time on tests
• Individualized expectations for writing

While students with stealth dyslexia often struggle in school, they are typically extremely good thinkers and problem solvers. They often do very well as adults. So remember: When you see a bright student who understands most of what he or she reads, but who still struggles with oral reading, sounding out new long words, spelling, and often writing, think about stealth dyslexia.
 

About the Blogger

Brock and Fernette Eide, Dyslexic Advantage co-founded the organization Dyslexic Advantage and are coauthors of The Dyslexic Advantage and The Mislabeled Child

Book of the week - Caged in Chaos - a guide to dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is an area which many people do not really understand. Although it there can often be an overlap with dyslexia there are many unique and challenging difficulties associated with dyspraxia.
Victoira Briggs does an excellent job of describing through first hand experiences what it is like to be dyspraxic.  She highlights the social difficulties and anxiety with many people to do not appreciate.
A very interesting and informative read.

Also connect with Dyspraxia Foundation for a wealth of practical advice and support for parents, children and educationalists.

The Hidden Dyslexic

As students get older many will try to disguise their difficulties.  As I know from my own experience it is all about trying to control our environment and to avoid stressful situations.  Noone wants to be embarrassed or thought badly of by their teacher or peers.

Many students try to compensate for their poor written work by using their stronger verbal skills.  They will be keen to share their general knowledge or their understanding of concepts to try to impress their teacher and class mates.  They then frustrate or puzzle their teachers by not translating these ideas into writing.

Strangely many dyslexic students will volunteer to read first in a class situation. There are several reasons for this. This gives time to rehearse the text while the teacher introduces the lesson. It also means everyone will be fooled into thinking you like reading. The teacher will think you are an eager student and hopefully leave you alone for the rest of the lesson. You also have some control of what you are reading rather than being called upon to read when you have lost track of where the class are up to.

Working with a partner in another good strategy as you can contribute your ideas and look like you are very involved in the lesson. But you have someone help with any tricky reading and either do the writing if it is a joint task or you can largely copy if you have to do your own writing.

On the negative side many children end up opting for avoidance strategies, chatting to friends, joking around, taking frequent toilet breaks and  pretending that they don't want to do the task rather that they can't do the task.

Below is a longer list of characteristics to look out for.  It is so easy for older students to be misunderstood and mislabelled.  Often attitude and behaviour can hide a vulnerable student who is trying to cope with the demands of school without the skills to succeed.

*Eager to answer questions

*May volunteer to read first

*Memorises texts

*Good decoding but no automatic recall of words

*Copying from others

*Sentences disjointed

*Immature handwriting

*Only uses words they can spell or are in the text

*Lack of punctuation

*Leaves out small words and suffixes

*Verbally good but may give long answers because of words finding difficulties

*Poor concentration

*Always wants to work with a partner

*Difficulty copying from the board

*Badly organised

*Can not remember messages

*Behaviour difficulties: due to anxiety, frustration, comments from peers

*Doesn’t play football

*Clowning around

Do you recognise any of your students or even your own child? Then it is time to take action and support them in their difficulties.

All about me - Part 3

After my third session of dyslexia teacher training I could no longer avoid the idea that I was dyslexic. I wasn't because I was uncomfortable with the label, I just didn't want to claim something that wasn't true. However once I accepted it, so many of my experiences at school, university and as a teacher made sense. It was like having all the pieces of a jigsaw and finally realising what picture they make together. Knowing I am dyslexic has been a real eye opener for me and I personally have found it empowering.  Situations that I would avoid or be embarrassed about I am more prepared to work round. I am more accepting of myself and get less frustrated about the things I find difficult.

I give myself more time for written tasks, I know I have to proofread everything thing 2 or 3 times and I am not surprised when I find I have written 'of' instead of 'for' or 'swim' instead of 'swimming' or my favourite  'to' instead of 'the'.  Spell checkers are no help with these sort of mistakes!

I know that if someone gives me directions or a message I have to write it down straight away because I will forget or get confused about the sequence. I carry a notebook everywhere. If I am going somewhere new, printing out a map is essential.  It also means if I do need to ask for directions some one can show me on the map and I don't have to try to process verbal instructions.

I have my mobile number saved in my phone, I can't remember it. The numbers I do remember like pin numbers are because they have a pattern or meaning to them.  I also remember the physical sequence on a key pad but not the digits themselves.

I try to avoid reading aloud as I am not fluent and I stumble over my words.  This is the one thing I haven't really found a solution to.  When I can, I practice reading the text to myself first, but it doesn't really help as the words still come out wrong when I read aloud.  I also find hard to read names or long polysyllabic words. Dinosaurs are a nightmare, luckily children love to tell you what they are and this lets me off the hook.

While I don't tell everyone I meet that I am dyslexic, it is a relief to be able to explain when I am struggling with a situation or task many adults think is very straightforward.

Gifted Mythbusting

10 Facts You May Not Know About Gifted Children 

Celi Trépanier is the author of Educating Your Gifted Child: How One Public School Teacher Embraced Homeschooling. 

But you are gifted, you should be at the top of your class!

I’ve been writing about gifted children for a few years now, and the more I write, and the more I connect with parents of gifted children, the more I realize just how misunderstood giftedness is, even among professionals who should have sufficient knowledge of giftedness in children. We need to shed light on what giftedness really is, and try to dispel the myths and misconceptions many believe about gifted children.

Sam is in my class this year. He’s gifted, so thankfully I won’t need to worry much about him because I do have a few students who will really need my help!

The following is a list of facts, traits and issues many would not recognize as a part of giftedness in children. Why such a list? It’s time to banish the many widely-held inaccurate perceptions of the gifted child. The pervasive but misguided idea of the gifted child—the child who excels in school, is well-behaved, is a natural leader and is emotionally mature—is the elephant in the room and that elephant needs to leave.

We need the facts to prevail so that gifted children can have, as all children should, the education and support they need to grow up to be happy and thriving adults.

I’m tired of hearing about her gifted child. What can be so hard about raising a smart kid? They always do well in school.

1. It is widely acknowledged that giftedness is an inherent attribute.

Although a few believe giftedness can be achieved through nurturing, the overwhelming consensus is that giftedness is present at birth, an inherited trait. Chances are very high that one or both parents of a gifted child, as well as siblings, are also gifted. Approximately 2% of the population is said to be gifted regardless of race, culture or socioeconomic status. It is a neurodiversity which does not discriminate.

2. Gifted children do not always excel in school.

Being gifted is no guarantee of success in school or later in life. For many various reasons, a gifted child will not always score well on tests, ace every assignment or turn in his homework. Despite having above-average cognitive abilities, if a gifted child’s educational needs are not met appropriately, he may not show exceptional achievement in school. Many gifted children underachieve in school and often drop out.

3. Gifted children can and do have learning disabilities.

As with any child, a gifted child may have learning disabilities which can negatively influence their achievement in school. Unfortunately, gifted children with learning disabilities, also referred to as twice-exceptional, often go unidentified because their advanced cognitive abilities often mask their learning disabilities. It is common that neither the giftedness nor the learning disability are recognized or addressed in school.

4. Gifted children often develop asynchronously.

Asynchronous development is an imbalance or uneven growth of developing traits, skills and abilities—a gifted child’s intellectual abilities can be years ahead of their emotional maturity and social skills. A 12 year old child who understands high school algebra and science, but is unable to sleep at night alone without a nightlight, a fan and all of his stuffed animals is an example of asynchronous development in a gifted child.

5. Gifted children can have overexcitabilities (OE’s).

These are the emotional intensities and sensitivities set off by various forms of physical and psychological stimuli. A constant buzzing sound which causes extreme irritability and the inability to move on until the sound is located and stopped; the strong emotional reaction of shaking and vomiting from seeing a neighbor’s dog lying in the road after being hit by a car; and the gritty texture in`her mom’s turkey gravy which causes a gifted teen to totally refrain from eating the family’s holiday dinner are all examples of OE’s.

6. Gifted children often have difficulty finding like-minded friends.

Gifted children, with their intellectual, emotional and developmental differences, can have a difficult time finding friends or same-age peers who share and understand their intellectual interests and quirky traits. Parents of gifted children find this common situation the most painful to watch their gifted children experience.

7. Gifted children often feel like they don’t fit in.

They realize early on that they may be out of step or out of sync with children their own age. Feelings of isolation and not belonging can eventually lead to emotional struggles, depression, dropping out of school and even suicide.

8. Gifted children are gifted in and out of school.

It is not only an educational designation or label administered by schools to identify high-achieving children. The emotional intensities, asynchrony and social struggles leave school with the gifted child and follow him home. Being gifted is who they are, not how well they do in school.

9. Being gifted is not a net-positive situation.

Looking back at the above list, there are many facts about giftedness which demonstrate that being gifted is not an all-good-all-the-time situation. Being smarter or able to grasp and master concepts and skills above grade level is not a guarantee that any child has it made and will be successful in life.

10. Raising a gifted child is not easy.

Given the educational considerations, overexcitabilities, social struggles and asynchrony, life with a gifted child can easily come with its share of bumps in the road. Additionally, the reality that so many only see the stereotypical gifted child—the child who has it made—means parents find little support or empathy among other parents or adults when they need it most.

 I wish my child could be gifted and get to attend special classes. Personally, I think all children are gifted and should be able to be in the gifted program.

 Giftedness has its upsides and it downsides. It has many attributes which are misunderstood by many and are often not associated with giftedness in children. Because of this, the education of our gifted learners has been a global concern for some time. Every child should be able to receive an education which best meets his or her needs and offers the best chance to reach their full potential. Gifted children should, too.