Parents and teachers who want to study a well-organized, well-written, well-researched book on reading disabilities should take a serious look at Thomas G. Gunning’s Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Every chapter of Dr. Gunning’s book deals with an important topic that can drastically affect the success—and the failure—of children with reading disabilities. Although the book is written primarily for graduate students in reading or reading disabilities programs and for teachers, it offers great value to parents who need to advocate for their child with reading disabilities. By understanding its contents (as well as that in our book, Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds), parents can more fully understand what a reading evaluation should look like, what good instruction involves, what their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) should include.
If you need to better understand reading disabilities and need to advocate for your child or one of your students, I’ve listed five quotations from Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. These quotations, with references omitted, will give you a feel for the book. And if you save them and study them, they may well strengthen your advocacy:
Labeling. “A few years ago, I got an urgent phone call from a distraught parent. ‘I just found out my son has dyslexia,’ she announced. ‘What should I do?’ It was not my first dyslexia call, nor was it my last: I receive several a year…. The problem with the term is twofold. First, the term dyslexia … has very little meaning. The term is used by some to mean a serious reading problem, others use it for a spelling problem, and some use it to describe mild or moderate reading problems. The second problem … is that it suggests a neurological condition. The term dyslexia may be taken to mean that there is something neurologically wrong with the student, which accounts for his or her problems learning to read. However, the problem may well be in the [student’s reading] program. When proper adaptations are made, nearly all children learn, including those whose difficulty may be rooted in a neurological condition” (p. 7).
Providing Materials at the Appropriate Challenge Level. “If students are to engage in wide reading, reading should be relatively easy. In instructional settings, students apparently do best when they know 95 to 98 percent of the words in the selection…. Researchers found that students whose word reading accuracy was below 97% had difficulty comprehending…. There is a belief that students will do better if given materials on their grade level, even if they are reading below grade level. However, research says otherwise. Fifth-graders who were given materials on their [instructional reading] level did better than fifth-graders who were all given fifth-grade materials, even though the [reading] program was the same…. When given texts on or close to the appropriate level, poor readers spend more time on task. Achievement also improves. When poor readers know most of the words, they are better able to use context clues and so do not have to over rely on sounding out the words. They read with more fluency and understanding. Struggling readers who used texts on their instructional level did better in word recognition, fluency, and comprehension than students who used grade-level texts…. When students are reading at their instructional level, there is a greater overlap of known words than when they are reading text at their frustration level. This means that they are more likely to see the same words over and over again. This fosters fluency” (p. 17).
Bias against Poor Readers. “Unfortunately, intelligence tests are biased against poor readers. Even on individual intelligence tests, which require no reading, low-achieving readers may be penalized. For instance, poor readers typically read less, which restricts their ability to learn new vocabulary and build a background of information—two areas that are frequently assessed by intelligence tests” (p. 158).
Vocabulary Development: Relate Words to Students Lives. “Most important of all, relate the learning of new words to students’’ everyday lives….Once we are introduced to a new word, it pops up in our reading, on the TV shows that we watch, and in conversations…. Have students share examples of ways in which they have used recently learned words in their writing or speaking” (p. 333).
Collaboration. “Collaboration is the key to providing the best possible program for low achieving readers and writers. In a collaboration, the reading specialist works with the student’s classroom teacher(s), other specialists and administrators, the parents, and the student to plan, implement, and monitor a program. The classroom teacher should be involved in every phase of the program, from assessment through instruction. During assessment, it is essential to obtain information about the student from the classroom teacher. He can shed light on the student’s work habits, ability to get along with others, and strengths and weaknesses in a variety of academic areas, not just reading and writing. Specialists and the classroom teacher working together should decide on the best program for the student. … It is also essential that specialists collaborate. The reading specialist might have some helpful suggestions for a student identified as having a learning disability due to difficulty with reading. The learning disabilities specialist might have helpful suggestions for ways the reading specialist might work with students who need more structure to be successful” (p. 529).
No doubt Thomas G. Gunning’s Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties will take a lot of time and effort to study from cover-to-cover. Nevertheless, if your child struggles with reading, the investment is worth it. But if you don’t have the time to study the whole book, you may still want to keep it handy, as a reference to help you understand specific topics and prepare for IEP meetings. It’s a worthy companion to our book, Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds.
References
Gunning, T. G. (2010). Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Margolis, H., & Brannigan, G. G. (2009). Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. Voorhees, NJ: Reading2008 & Beyond (www.reading2008.com).
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