When Your Child Has . . . Dyslexia: Get the Right Diagnosis, Understand Treatment Options, and Help Your Child Learn
By Abigail Marshall and Vincent Iannelli
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Abigail Marshall
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When Your Child Has . . . Dyslexia - Abigail Marshall
Il_9781598696776_0002_002 Get the Right Diagnosis
Il_9781598696776_0002_003 Understand Treatment Options
Il_9781598696776_0002_004 Help Your Child Learn
Abigail Marshall
Series Editor: Vincent Iannelli, MD
9781598696776_0002_005Copyright © 2009 Simon and Schuster
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
Published by
Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
Contains materials adapted and abridged from The Everything® Parent’s
Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall, copyright © 2004
Simon and Schuster., together with new and revised information
about education and treatment options.
ISBN 10: 1-59869-677-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-677-6
eISBN: 978-1-44052-055-6
Printed in Canada.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by
a Committee of the American Bar Association
and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Understanding Dyslexia
What Is Dyslexia?
What Dyslexia Means for Your Child
Genetic Factors in Dyslexia
Different Styles of Learning
Brain Research and Dyslexia
How Brain Activity Influences Reading Skills
Brain Research—What It Really Means
Chapter 2: Recognizing Dyslexia in Your Child
Early Signs of Dyslexia
Your Child’s Hearing
Your Child’s Vision
Dyslexia in School-Age Children
Dyslexia in Adolescents
Chapter 3: Getting a Diagnosis
Deciding to Seek Help
How Dyslexia Is Diagnosed
Measurements and Labels
Requesting an Evaluation from Your Child’s School
Overlapping and Related Conditions
Dyslexia and the Gifted Child
Chapter 4: Getting Help at School
When Your Child First Falls Behind
The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
FAPE—Free and Appropriate Education
Typical Special Education Services
ADA and 504 Accommodations
Chapter 5: Reading Programs for Dyslexia
When Your Child Needs Extra Support
Specialized Programs to Develop Phonemic Awareness
Building Decoding Skills with Phonics-Based Tutoring
Emerging Research—Comprehensive Word Study
Strategies for Building Fluency and Comprehension
School-Based Programs for Dyslexia
Intensive Tutoring for Language Processing
Chapter 6: Specialized Therapies for Dyslexia
How Therapy Differs from Tutoring
Cognitive Skill Building
Auditory Training Therapies
Programs that Address Vision
Balance and Coordination
Comprehensive and Integrated Approaches
Chapter 7: Strategies to Help Your Child at Home
Teaching Prereading Skills
Supporting the School-Age Reader
Helping with Spelling
Tips for the Reluctant Writer
Helping with Arithmetic
Chapter 8: Managing the Homework Load
Taming the Homework Dragon
Setting Limits on Study Time
Setting Priorities for Schoolwork
Working Effectively with Your Child
Using Technology
Using Study Guides
Chapter 9: Avoiding Academic Barriers
Speed Contests and Rote Learning
School Privileges and Punishments
Helping with Organizational Skills
Assessment and Grading
High-Stakes Testing
Avoiding Grade Retention
Chapter 10: School Choices from Kindergarten Through College
Choosing a School for Your Child
Homeschooling
Your Teenager—the High School Years
Studying a Foreign Language
Choosing a College
Career Planning
Appendix A: High Achievers with Dyslexia
Historical and Contemporary Figures
Appendix B: Helpful Internet Resources
General Information about Dyslexia, Literacy, and Learning
Programs and Therapies
Legal Resources and Information
Curriculum Materials and Support
Assistive Technology
Appendix C: Recommended Reading
General Reference and Information
Specific Methods and Strategies for Dyslexia and Learning
Books for Children
Introduction
There is no general consensus on what dyslexia is—how to define it, how to diagnose it, what causes it, or what to do about it. Yet most educators and researchers agree on the symptoms that are commonly associated with dyslexia. You may read five different books that offer five different theories about the cause and best treatment, yet all will list similar sets of traits. In the end, it may be easier to understand dyslexia in terms of what it is not—it is not a physical disease or illness, it is not a problem with your child’s eyes or ears, and it is not a result of poor schooling or parental neglect.
Dyslexia also is not a mental deficiency. Many of the world’s most brilliant scientists, creative artists, prominent entrepreneurs, and prolific writers had childhood histories of dyslexia—and many attribute their success to the out-of-the-box thinking style or the inner drive that is part of their learning profile. So dyslexia is best understood as a pattern of strengths and weaknesses which probably arises from normal variations in brain structure and development. Your job as a parent is to encourage and help your child discover and develop her innate talents, while also helping to find ways to overcome areas of weakness.
Keep in mind that reading, writing, and spelling are not natural processes, but rather complex skills that are simply much harder for some children to learn than for others. Your child is a capable learner, but he learns in a different way and on a different timetable than most other children. Even though you can give a name to your child’s differences—dyslexia
—there is no single approach or remedy to the academic problems your child may face. Rather, the information in this book can serve as a guide to help you better understand your child’s learning needs and to make more informed choices along the way.
Chapter 1
Understanding Dyslexia
Ten Things You Will Learn in This Chapter
• A working definition of dyslexia.
• How dyslexia may affect your child.
• Genetic influences on dyslexia.
• Some strengths commonly associated with dyslexia.
• Typical areas of weaknesses in learning.
• Some pointers about your child’s learning style.
• Right-brained vs. left-brained thinking and dyslexia.
• The connection between dyslexia and the ability to
• break down the sounds of language.
• Why it is harder for your child to recognize and
• remember words in print.
• Why your child will learn best with multisensory
• strategies.
What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning disability that primarily affects your child’s ability to learn to read and develop a strong understanding of language. It’s more than just a problem with reading; your child may also have difficulties with oral communication, organizational skills, following instructions, and telling time. Sometimes the symptoms can be extremely variable. For example, your child may have problems learning basic math facts and doing arithmetic; on the other hand, he may have a special aptitude for geometry and advanced mathematics. He may be physically clumsy or have poor motor coordination, or he may be especially athletic and talented at sports.
While dyslexia may present certain difficulties to children, it also seems to be associated with many strengths and talents. Your child could be highly imaginative and may excel in art, music, or drama. He might be a good problem-solver, and may be especially good at solving jigsaw puzzles, working with Legos, or playing games of strategy. It’s possible that you may have noticed he’s handy around the house and has a knack for fixing broken toys and other objects.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dyslexia is far more prevalent than was once believed. In fact, dyslexia may affect one out of five children in the classroom setting. It is estimated that 15 percent of the population has reading difficulties.
What Dyslexia Means for Your Child
Dyslexia is not something that can be outgrown. Over time, your child will gain skills that he struggled with at first, but his dyslexia may present new obstacles as he grows older and school becomes more challenging. He may master reading and writing in elementary school, but have difficulty learning a foreign language in high school. He may avoid early problems with arithmetic, but struggle with algebra. As you learn more about dyslexia, you will be able to anticipate some problems before they arise, and help guide your child to use study methods that are effective and useful for him.
The Biggest Challenge
Reading is the most significant problem area associated with dyslexia. Your child will eventually learn to read, but it will probably take her longer than most other children. It is very common for a child with dyslexia to be unable to read independently until age eight, or ten, or twelve, or even until the teenage years. Despite the delayed start in reading, your child can learn to read advanced material and can gain reading comprehension skills as good as or better than her peers. Having dyslexia, though, means that she’ll be more likely to read slowly and with greater effort.
Dyslexia can also affect other areas of life. Your child is likely to have difficulty remembering and following directions and have poor time management skills. She may be tremendously disorganized, or become compulsively neat as a way of compensating for her confusion. These issues can be very frustrating for you and your child, but they are also problems that can be resolved over time with planning and by learning techniques to compensate for weaknesses. For example, as your child grows you will be able to help her become more organized by relying on calendars, planners, and lists; of course, she will need to learn to read first to take advantage of these tools.
A Different Way to Process Information
Dyslexia is caused by differences in how the brain processes information. These differences don’t make dyslexia a mental defect or disease, they simply mean that your child has an unusual way of thinking, learning, communicating, and solving problems.
Before the time dyslexia was discovered and labeled, these differences most likely went unnoticed because it was common and acceptable for children to discontinue their education at a young age, grow up to become farmers, artisans, or merchants, or take on other jobs that did not require a formal education. With their strong ability to learn through hands-on practice and apprenticeship, young people with dyslexia probably did quite well.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dyslexia is not caused by poor schools, bad teaching practices, neglectful parenting, or a difficult home life. These factors can explain why many other children also have reading problems, but they cannot cause a child to develop dyslexia.
In today’s world, though, strong literacy skills are essential. Increasing importance is placed on school performance and standardized tests; children learn in large classrooms where the norm
(or average) is fast becoming a minimum standard to which all students are expected to aspire. In this environment, teachers must use the methods that best reach the majority of students in their classrooms. A child with a learning barrier quickly falls behind, and so what was once merely a learning difference has been transformed into a learning disability.
Areas of Cognitive Weakness
Educators and researchers have isolated some factors that seem to play an important role in dyslexia. Most of these are associated with language-processing difficulties or the ability to think sequentially. Mental processing speed also seems to play a part.
The most significant areas of difficulty are:
• Difficulties with phonemic awareness, which is the ability to break down and manipulate the small units of sound in words, such as the three separate sounds for the c,
a,
and t
in the word cat.
• Problems with word retrieval or rapid automatic naming, which is the time it takes for a verbal response to a visual stimulus or cue, such as quickly saying the names of letters printed on a chart or names of objects when a picture is shown.
• Poor digit span, which is the ability to store a short sequence of letters or numbers in short-term memory.
• Difficulties with sequencing or concepts of order.
• Visual perceptual confusion, such as the inability to distinguish letters such as b
and d,
or perceiving letters out of order, such as confusing was
and saw,
or from
and form.
Areas of Mental Strength
Even though dyslexia can cause extreme difficulties with learning, children with dyslexia are usually bright and capable. In fact, dyslexia is not really a single problem or issue, but the name given to a certain common pattern. Individuals with dyslexia tend to be very creative thinkers, with a knack for out-of-the-box
thinking. Many are artistically talented, and adults with dyslexia usually do well in careers such as engineering, design, or architecture. Recent research shows that children with dyslexia do better on tests of creativity and spatial memory than age-matched children without reading impairments.
Another strength is the intuitive thought process; children with dyslexia often will know the answer to a problem or question, but have difficulty explaining how they arrived at it. This is consistent with a theory that they tend to rely on right-brained, sensory- or image-based thinking rather than language-based mental processes.
Genetic Factors in Dyslexia
Dyslexia is partly inherited, as the tendency to develop dyslexia runs in families. By studying genetic markers in families where there is a high incidence of dyslexia, scientists have now identified genes on at least eight different chromosomes as having some role or connection with dyslexia. No single gene is involved in all cases of dyslexia. It is probable that dyslexia is influenced by a combination of genes; these genes may also influence different aspects of physical or intellectual development. However, because your child’s brain continues to grow and develop from birth through adulthood, dyslexia