Many parents of kindergartners and first graders at-risk for reading disabilities make this mistake: They hastily challenge their school’s decision to use Reading Recovery to teach their child to read. Their reasoning is simple: Reading Recovery doesn’t work; the research shows it doesn’t work; lawyers and other experts say so. And if they challenge Reading Recovery in court, they’ll win because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) requires schools to use “peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable” (§300.320). Read more...
Allington, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, learning disabilities, learning disability, parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, Reading Recovery, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, Richard Allington, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, tutor, tutoring, Wrightslaw
Recently, Wrightslaw challenged the effectiveness of Reading Recovery, a widely used tutoring program for first graders who struggle with reading. Dr. Melissa Farrall, author of the challenge, correctly reported that “an international group of experts and researchers in reading development and intervention [found]… little evidence that Reading Recovery is effective.”
In her challenge, Dr. Farrall also asserted that Read more...
- “The scientific community … rejected [Reading Recovery’s] theoretical underpinnings.
- “Reading Recovery is ineffective with poor readers.
- “Reading Recovery does not outperform other methodologies that require less expense and less training.
- “Students [tutored by Reading Recovery] do not generalize and maintain their skills.”
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, learning disabilities, learning disability, parenting, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, Reading Recovery, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, tutoring, Wrightslaw
Dr. Sandy Crux publishes Crux of the Matter (http://crux-of-the-matter.com), an excellent, often hard-hitting website on disabilities, including learning disabilities. Although her website focuses on Canadian issues, many of her columns are highly relevant to American audiences, especially to parents, teachers, and adults with disabilities. Following is an example of one of her practical instructional essays for college students who struggle with writing.
How to Write a College/University Essay
Dr. Sandy Crux
What follows is the ten-step continuous feedback multi-sensory writing process.
(1) Preliminary Research: Be Prepared Read more...
- Collect sources.
- Write notes.
- Keep track of ideas and quotes.
college student, college students, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, essay, intervention, learning disabilities, learning disability, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, struggling writer, struggling writers, Writing, writing assignment, writing assignments
This question—how can I help my child at home?—plagues many parents. When the McCormick’s tried to teach Ryan to sound-out words and answer questions about what he read, he snapped at them, pushed the book across the table, and threw a temper tantrum. When the Asher’s tried the same with Wilson, he sobbed.
If you typically find yourself in a one of these situations, where your child resists your help with reading, or he just can’t do it, what should you do? What guiding principles should you follow?
The three guiding principles are straightforward: Read more...
- Focus on activities he enjoys.
Confidence, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, help from parents, intervention, learning disabilities, learning disability, parenting, parents help, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, resilience, resiliency, self-efficacy, self-esteem, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
If your child has a reading disability, the school should monitor his progress frequently enough to prevent minor problems from becoming major ones, to prevent him from getting frustrated with work that’s too difficult, to prevent him from becoming bored with work he’s already mastered, to accelerate instruction when the data shows he can handle it comfortably.
In 2006, the federally-funded National Research Center on Learning Disabilities (NRCLD; Johnson et al.) recommended that schools assess the progress of students who need “extensive and intensive interventions” twice weekly (p. 2.4). Children with reading disabilities are part of this group. Read more...
Assessment, curriculum-based assessment, curriculum-based measurement, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, learning disabilities, learning disability, monitor, Monitoring, monitoring of reading, reading assessment, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading problem, reading problems, reading tests, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
Retention rarely helps children with reading disabilities become competent readers. Keeping them in the same kind of situation in which they struggled is unlikely to produce better results. Giving them another year to master what they failed to master—without major changes in situations and services and instruction—is unlikely to work, as it has rarely worked in the past. It may well harm them.
The latest issue of the Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties sheds light on the issue. In summarizing the information about Chicago’s aggressive policy of retaining students, Mary Abbott and her colleagues noted that many children may have been harmed by retention: Read more...
alternatives to retention, drop out, dropout, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, fail, failure, grade retention, hold back, intervention, keep back, learning disabilities, learning disability, preventing retention, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, retention, retention research, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
LDA 47th Annual International Conference
February 17-20, 2010 Baltimore, Maryland
REGISTER Online Now!
We invite you to join us in February in exciting Baltimore for what promises to be another outstanding 4 days of the latest research and dialogue on learning disabilities, including specific workshops on Medical, Mental Health, Teacher Preparation, Public Policy, Adults, Assessment, Research and much, much more! View the Pre-Conference Book below, which includes information on our keynote speakers Martha Denckla, Michelle Rhee, Lisa Dieker, Larry Silver and Debbie Phelps! New this year are special event sessions featuring Rick Lavoie, Neil Sturomski and Ellen Callegary. Read more...
Many parents of children with reading disabilities (and some advocates and attorneys) insist that the Wilson Reading System (Wilson) is the only reading method that can help their child learn to read. They claim it’s the scientifically proven method for overcoming dyslexia and other reading disabilities, and thus the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) supports it.
They’re wrong. And if they take this argument to court, and the school’s experts are well-versed in the research, the school has valid reasons for prefering its methodology, the IEP’s goals and objectives and services are sound, and the hearing officer or judge believes, like most do, that courts should not overturn a school’s decision about methodology, the parents will likely lose. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexics, evaluation of reading programs, learning disabilities, learning disability, Orton, Orton-Gillingham, reading, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading problem, reading problems, reading program, Reading Programs, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, Wilson Reading, Wilson Reading System
Guest Post by Francesca Lopez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Marquette University
francesca.lopez@marquette.edu
We all know that reading is one of the most important skills our children need to be successful. We are familiar with how reading to our children prepares them to love to read, and how a love of reading prepares children for academic success in the long term. But what if a child has reading difficulties? How can we as parents ensure a love of reading when reading is difficult for our child?
Read more...
accessible books, books, comics, Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, engagement, learning disabilities, learning disability, libraries, library, listening to stories, love of reading, modeling, Motivation, motivation to read, parent reading, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading level, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading to children, self-efficacy, self-esteem, stories, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, telling stories
The IRC is preparing to respond to the major earthquake that devastated Haiti’s capital on January 12. Your donation will help the IRC work with partners on the ground in Haiti to rescue lives.
Donate to
https://www.theirc.org/donate/donate-now-haiti
