Research shows that the most common word found in English-language books is “the.” Matjaž Perc at the University of Maribor in Slovenia analyzed data taken from 5.2 million books published between the years 1520 and 2008, along with Google’s Ngram Viewer tool. He then used computer algorithm’s to search for the most frequently used words and phrases for each …
A parent of a second-grader writes: My son had a big gain in reading after completing his Davis program week, but he is still struggling with writing and spelling. I remember reading that “inventive spelling” is terrible for kids like him because the spelling that he invented is what gets imprinted in his brain and …
The Grammerly blog has a wonderful article about procrastination. They start by identifying the primary reasons for procrastination: overwhelm confusion boredom lack of motivation distraction They offer some tips to begin to cope with the issue. But as I was reading the article, I was struck by the fact that they have listed the same mental …
It probably looks impossible at first. But as you scan through the page, the words seem to materialize. As you continue to scan down the page, you may find that that the task is easy. Then, when you shift your gaze back up to the top, the message that was obscured seems to pop out. When …
“Dyslexia is a super power,” my young friend and client Chase told me the other day. “Dyslexia is a good thing because I have fun with it. I invent games and entertain my little brother with my dyslexia” “I made up a game called ‘Junk Yard’. We pretend we’re in a fancy car that we …
Davis Symbol Mastery — the modeling of words in clay – is based on the principle that each word has three parts: what it means, what it looks like, and how it sounds. When all three parts are fully understood and learned, the word is mastered. Brain research shows that all skilled readers make this …
Recently I interviewed a young man who had successfully completed a degree at university. He was looking to pursue the career dreams and had hit a hurdle. He was dyslexic and he was unable to read or write. He was the second twenty-something that I had interviewed in recent months facing the same dilemma – …
Are dyslexic kids better at hearing the discrete sounds of language than others? That assertion would fly in the face of common wisdom, but recent brain research suggests that dyslexia might be characterized by hyper-sensitivity to the nuances of the sounds of language. Rather than a problem distinguishing between discrete sounds, the problem might be …
Reading story books to small children is fun, but did you know that the way you read can make a big difference in preparing your child to become a reader? A recent research study showed that pre-school age children had significantly improved early literacy skills when their teachers made specific references to print in the …
A researcher in England recently reported on the experiences of parents of school-age children who had been identified as dyslexic within the past two years. Researcher Alison Earey questioned parents about their experience from the initial point of concern about their children’s difficulties with words, through assessment and their concerns for the future. She found that, despite …
New research among dyslexic adults seems to confirm that dyslexics have a heightened sensitivity to sounds of language, thinking in an allophonic mode rather than focusing on phonemic units. Alllophones are the smallest units of sounds that can be discerned in language; phonemes are made up of groups of allophones that have linguistic significance. For …
Young children who are able to pay attention and persist with a task have a 50 percent greater chance of completing college, according to a new study from Oregon State University. The study tracked educational outcomes of a group of 430 children over two decades, beginning at age 4. Analysis of the data collected showed …
An article in the New York Times highlights the fact that many children and adults are mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD, when their problems actually stem from lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation produces the same symptoms: difficulty sustaining attention, forgetfulness, tendency to lose items, procrastination. And though it seems counter-intuitive, children who are short of sleep often become hyperactive rather than lethargic.
It’s not just the amount of sleep that is important — children and adults also need a balance of the right kind of sleep, with an adequate amount of deep, delta-wave sleep. The dreaming, REM stage sleep is also important for learning, as it is the time when memories are consolidated, but it will not give the body and mind the needed period of sustained rest. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/adhd-or-sleep-deprivation/
A researcher in England recently reported on the experiences of parents of school-age children who had been identified as dyslexic within the past two years. Researcher Alison Earey questioned parents about their experience from the initial point of concern about their children’s difficulties with words, through assessment and their concerns for the future. She found that, despite school policies supporting inclusion and equality, dyslexic children still experience exclusion and prejudice in education. Their experience does not match the ideal and, as a result, their parents are are also suffering. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/parents-need-help-too/
Frustrating. That’s it. Hugely frustrating dealing, with stereotypes and misperceptions that cloud the field of dyslexia. It’s the closed mindedness that gets to me; although the words uninformed, unwilling, emotionally linked, inflexible, lacking…could replace ‘closed minded’.
I was working on some concepts from our Identity Program when the frustrating thought came to mind. To be honest it wasn’t just one thought either, there were several.
School is difficult, simple as that. For someone with dyslexia, it can be even harder, especially at an online college. However, despite the added hurdle, it isn’t impossible to graduate. The Ultimate Guide for Conquering Distractions was originally designed for students who have motivation issues and trouble keeping focused, but most of the same lessons here can be applied to dyslexic students .If you happen to be a dyslexic student who has additional trouble motivating yourself, you can apply the lessons at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-conquering-distractions/
I’m on a plane today headed to Alberta, Canada to give a talk at an inclusion conference. Nothing new—been speaking at conferences like this for over ten years and, as someone who spent a lot of time in “special education,” I believe deeply in inclusion. I believe in inclusion because during my school purgatory days, there was very little that I found was special about special education except a very special form of irony when I was called a special snowflake and then told to sit my special snowflake rear down. So because I’ve been doing this so long and been giving so many talks, I rarely look at the specific title of any particular conference any more—there are only so many creative ways the words inclusion, education, disabilities, at-risk kids can be combined. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/learning-inclusion/
… but the researchers don’t seem to know that’s what happened.
Here’s what they do know: ”[C]hildren who are poor readers have more variable neural responses to speech, reflecting an inconsistency in the brain’s response to sound from trial-to-trial.”
Or to put things more simply: the study showed that dyslexic kids hear word sounds inconsistently. (Rougly 90% of the kids labeled “poor readers” also had an independent diagnosis of dyslexia, so for purpose of this study it’s fair to equate dyslexia with “poor reader’). Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/study-measures-disorientation-in-dyslexic-children/
A new longitudinal study completed at Johns Hopkins University shows that children on medication for ADHD fared worse over time than unmedicated kids. The study tracked the progress of 186 children who were diagnosed with ADHD as preschoolers, between age 3 and 5.
Six years down the line, 90% of the children still have ADHD, and accompanying behavior and /or attention issues. More than two-thirds of those children were being medicated, but 62% had clinically significant hyperactivity and impulsivity, compared with 58% of those not taking medicines. Similarly, 65% of the medicated kids had inattention issues, compared with 62% of the unmedicated children. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/the-meds-dont-work/
New research among dyslexic adults seems to confirm that dyslexics have a heightened sensitivity to sounds of language, thinking in an allophonic mode rather than focusing on phonemic units. Alllophones are the smallest units of sounds that can be discerned in language; phonemes are made up of groups of allophones that have linguistic significance. For example, the /th/ sound is softer as pronounced in the word “this” than in different in the word “thick,” but both sounds are always spelled with the same letter combination in English.
An allophonic perceptual mode would mean that dyslexics are sensitive to phonetic variations that are irrelevant to understanding or writing their language. To explore this possibility, researchers used EEG to measure the mental response of adult dyslexics and control subjects while listening to sounds along the /bə – də/ continuum. Both groups showed similar brain wave activity when listening to different phonemes, but only the dyslexic listeners showed a continued mismatch negativity response when listening to different sound within the same phonemic category. Read the rest of this entry »
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.dyslexia.com/allophonic_processing/
A researcher in England recently reported on the experiences of parents of school-age children who had been identified as dyslexic within the past two years. Researcher Alison Earey questioned parents about their experience from the initial point of concern about their children’s difficulties with words, through assessment and their concerns for the future. She found that, despite school policies supporting inclusion and equality, dyslexic children still experience exclusion and prejudice in education. Their experience does not match the ideal and, as a result, their parents are are also suffering. 
School is difficult, simple as that. For someone with dyslexia, it can be even harder, especially at an online college. However, despite the added hurdle, it isn’t impossible to graduate. 
… but the researchers don’t seem to know that’s what happened.
A new longitudinal study completed at Johns Hopkins University shows that children on medication for ADHD fared worse over time than unmedicated kids. The study tracked the progress of 186 children who were diagnosed with ADHD as preschoolers, between age 3 and 5.
Feb 27 2013
Learning Inclusion
Featured, First Person Accounts, Support & Acccommodations
by Jonathan Mooney, Guest Contributor
February 27, 2013
Tags: commentary, educators, inclusion, special education
1 comment