From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Reading materials alone can’t ensure high quality reading instruction. Such instruction requires teachers to consistently use sound instructional practices. To assess this, you might discuss your child’s program with his teachers, observe his classes, or have a private reading specialist do both as part of a reading evaluation.
For the moment, let’s assume you hire a reading specialist. Before the specialist discusses your child’s program with his teachers, the two of you should agree on the questions you want answered. Dozens of such questions are listed in Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. Here are a few: Read more...
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What you want from and ask an evaluator depends on her specific discipline. It addition to reading and special education evaluations, children with reading disabilities may need evaluations from applied behavior analysis specialists, clinical psychologists, neurologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychiatrists, school psychologists, social workers, and speech and language therapists. The list can be long, seemingly too long. It might also include allergists, art therapists, music therapists, and nutritionists. Of course, your child should be evaluated only in areas that might be causing him academic, social, emotional, or health problems. By itself, too many evaluations can create problems. Read more...
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A recent blog posting said that writing difficulties may be more common than reading difficulties (http://tln.typepad.com/middleweb/2009/05/writtenlanguage-disorder.html#comments). I agree. Here is my response. Read more...
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Children who struggle with reading typically struggle with writing. Even if their reading improves, their writing often doesn’t.
A common reason for their continued difficulty is the failure of their schools to adequately diagnose their writing problems. Instead, their schools limit diagnosis to grade equivalents from standardized tests — “Sawyer’s grade equivalent for writing was 2.9; he’s three years behind.” This statement fails to identify the current causes of Sawyer’s problems. It fails to tell his teachers and parents what he isn’t doing or can’t do that’s causing his writing problems. In all likelihood, instruction that’s built on an inadequate understanding of Sawyer’s problems will be inadequate. It will likely ignore or give short shrift to those parts of the writing process that should be stressed for Sawyer. Read more...
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It’s critical that your son get daily instruction in how to write. As Leif Fearn and Nancy Farnan said, struggling writers write better when they know more about how.
For struggling writers to become good writers requires instruction that the writers view as important, enjoyable, and practical. They need teachers who focus on the writers’ progress and show them exactly how they can improve their sentences, paragraphs, and the overall structure of their writing, all without overwhelming them. These teachers need to take the mystery out of writing by showing them that good writing is a structured, step-by-step process, like building a house.
Read more...
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I’m often asked, how do you prepare for IEP meetings? One way is to write down the questions that need answers in order to develop an appropriate IEP — one likely to produce important progress in important areas.
When writing the questions, make sure they’re both specific and answerable. Below are sample questions for David Enigma, a mythical child with reading disabilities and other disabilities. Although incomplete, the list should give you an idea of what your questions should look like. Read more...
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Can you count on test results? No.
Although the results may accurately reflect your child’s current abilities, you can’t be absolutely sure. No test, even the kind matched to your question (see previous postings), is perfect. Every score inevitably contains error. Moreover, even a test designed to answer your question might be a poor test.
How then should you deal with this uncertainty? I suggest three things. Read more...
- Read the Mental Measurements Yearbook to assess the strengths and weaknesses of whatever standardized tests your child takes. Often, its in-depth test reviews are highly informative. Most large libraries carry the Yearbooks.
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Assessing small improvements in word recognition and fluency requires weekly assessments. One quick and valid way for teachers to assess progress in word recognition and fluency is to ask the child with reading disabilities to read aloud, once weekly, for 60-seconds, from material at or slightly below his instructional level. As he reads, his teacher (or an aide) counts the number of words correctly pronounced. This figure is charted.
If, for several weeks, the number of words read correctly on these 60-second oral reading probes continues to increase, your child is probably making progress; if, however, it remains flat or decreases, he’s probably having difficulty. This requires school personnel to investigate the problem, collect and analyze relevant data, and probably modify his program. Read more...
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All homework materials should be at the struggling reader’s independent level. Informal Reading Inventories, often referred to as IRIs, can help identify this level. Generally, the phrase “independent level” refers to materials that slightly challenge the child with reading disabilities and which, if he makes a modest effort, result in successful practice and application of what he “just about” mastered in class. To succeed with these materials, he doesn’t need anyone’s help; even in less than perfect circumstances, they’re unlikely to stress or frustrate him. Read more...
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Informal reading inventories (IRI’s) can help to answer this question by estimating your child’s instructional level. Generally, the phrase “instructional level” refers to new materials that slightly-to-modestly challenge your child and which, if he makes a modest-to-moderate effort, results in success and growth. When instructional level materials are used, the teacher needs to work with your child, teaching him how to read these materials, giving him feedback, and helping him correct any mistakes he makes in practice and application activities. Instructional level materials don’t stress or frustrate him. Read more...
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