From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
For your child to succeed in middle and high school, he needs to become a proficient reader by the end of third grade. If not, his reading problems will likely persist through high school, causing other academic problems and increasing the likelihood of social and emotional problems; in adulthood, struggles with reading will diminish his chance of getting and holding a decent job. As the Annie E. Casey Foundation so clearly states: Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, evaluation, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Parenting, preventing reading disabilities, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading evaluation, reading intervention, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, resilience, Resiliency, strengthening resiliency, struggling reader, Struggling Readers
In the last few weeks, several parents have asked us about reading evaluations. To help out, anyone who signs up for our mailing list at www.reading2008.com can download chapter 5 of our book, Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. The chapter, Using Reading Evaluations, shows parents and teachers how they can use reading evaluations to help children. We encourage parents and teachers to download it, read it, discuss it, and share it with other parents and teachers. (The release is for private use only, not for commercial use or for making more than 3 copies.) Read more...
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Paired Reading: A Guide For Parents—Part II
Keith Topping, Ph.D.
THE DESCRIPTION
As described in Part I, in Paired Reading “the parent and child begin reading aloud together and continue until the child makes an error. The parent supplies the correct word, the child repeats the word and rereads the sentence, and simultaneous (“duet”) reading continues. When the child feels ready to read alone, he or she gives a prearranged signal [e.g., a thumb up], and the parent stops reading while the child continues” (Rathvon, 2008, p. 193). Read more...
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Paired Reading: A Guide For Parents—Part I
Keith Topping. Ph.D.
In March, we published two posts on Paired Reading. Consequently, several parents and teachers wanted more information. Graciously, Dr. Keith Topping, Director of the Centre for Paired Learning and Graduate Educational Psychology at the University of Dundee, Scotland, allowed us to republish his guide.
First we’ll briefly describe Paired Reading, Then, in the next two posts, we’ll provide Dr. Topping’s guide, with slight modifications.
The Description Read more...
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
If your child has autism, what’s the best program or method for teaching him? Despite lots of hype, lots of claims, lots of testimonials, no one knows.
But unfortunately, many parents and school personnel mistakenly believe that all children with autism need the same instructional program or method, that only one program or method is universally recognized as the best, that only it is appropriate, that only it can help these children.
The Literature
The professional literature contradicts this view. Here’s a sampling: Read more...
Advocacy, applied verbal behavior, Autism, autistic spectrum disorder, discrete trial instruction, discrete trial teaching, discrete trial training, IDEA, IDEIA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Lovaas, Parenting, program planning, remediation, Skinner, verbal behavior
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
No matter what laws, court rulings, or research studies say, inclusion is in danger of collapsing or becoming a hollow, ineffective, and perhaps harmful option for placing and educating children with disabilities. This is due, in part, to budget cuts and the corrosive effects of public policy on teachers.
First, we’ll list some of the more critical factors needed for inclusion to work. Then we’ll discuss how public policy is undermining them. Finally, we’ll suggest what you can do to support meaningful inclusion. Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, IDEA, IDEIA, inclusion, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, least restrictive environment, mainstreaming, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, teacher, teachers
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Parents often ask, “Is my child’s teacher competent?” Unfortunately, science has yet to produce an errorless formula for answering this question. And it’s an important one that test scores and the new rage, “value added equations,” can’t answer.
Fortunately, there are legitimate ways to begin assessing the competence of your child’s teacher. One way is to observe how she presents lessons to your child’s class. This can tell you a lot, but not everything, about the quality of her instruction. Read more...
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Learning Disabilities: The Tragedy of Retention
From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
At this time of year, teachers and parents think about retaining children with academic problems. Those who support retention argue that these children will benefit from repeating a grade. Retention will give the student an opportunity to review the material, or mature socially and emotionally. It will motivate the student to do better, to avoid future retention. Educators, politicians and parents who support “standards” and attack “social promotion” (automatically advancing students from grade to grade, despite poor achievement) vigorously support retention. They argue that retention sends students the clear message that they must master what was taught to advance to the next grade. In one sense, retention advocates have been very successful—almost 50% of students are retained by grade nine. In another sense they have failed—these children do not improve academically. Moreover, retention is extraordinarily costly. It hurts children and wastes untold dollars. Read more...
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From Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
Can sustained silent reading help children with reading disabilities? Generally, yes. But overemphasizing it can shortchange them.
Many schools involve struggling readers in some form of sustained silent reading. In such programs, all students, including struggling readers, read silently for some 15 to 45 minutes daily. As they read silently, so does the teacher. The teacher models silent reading, showing that she values it and enjoys it. If done right, sustained reading is important practice for children, an important way for teachers to communicate they value reading, a way of helping children become competent, motivated readers. Sustained silent reading goes under different names, such as Drop Everything And Read (DEAR), Super, Quiet, Uninterrupted, Independent Reading Time (SQUIRT), Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), and Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading (USSR). Read more...
Dyslexia, dyslexic, dyslexics, intervention, Learning Disabilities, learning disability, Reading Disabilities, reading disability, reading intervention, reading levels, Reading Materials, reading problem, reading problems, reading remediation, remedial reading, remediation, silent reading, struggling reader, Struggling Readers, sustained reading, sustained silent reading
Reading & Other Learning Disabilities
A Blog by Dr. Gary G. Brannigan and Dr. Howard Margolis
A Guest Post
By Dr. Amy Reschly, University of Georgia, &
Dr. Sandra Christenson, University of Minnesota
High school completion with competence is more important than ever before in our nation’s history. Students today must have skills to compete in an increasingly global and technological economy. Data continue indicate, however, that too many students – particularly those of Native American, African American, and Hispanic descent; students with high incidence disabilities; and students from lower-SES backgrounds – are at increased risk for dropping out and experiencing a host of negative consequences, from unemployment and health problems to incarceration. Read more...
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