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“Statistically, more American children suffer long term life harm from the process of learning to read than from parental abuse, accidents and all other childhood diseases and disorders combined. In purely economic terms, reading related difficulties cost our nation more than the war on terrorism, crime, and drugs combined.” Children of the Code

www.childrenofthecode.orgNational Institute for Family Literacywww.nifl.org

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"Dyslexia is one kind of language-based learning problem that can fall anywhere on the spectrum of annoyance to severe limitation. It affects more than reading and is usually experienced for life. It is more common than any other kind of learning disability. And, it responds to expert, informed instruction - the provision of which remains our greatest challenge."

Louisa Cook Moats, Ed.D. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, Winter 2008

Dyslexia 101

18th Annual Dyslexia Conference, Region IV

November 30, 2017

Charlotte LeBlanc, M.Ed., Reading SpecialistCCISD, Dyslexia LeadCleblanc@ccisd.net

Lisa Cann, M.Ed., CALTCCISD, Dyslexia SpecialistLcann@ccisd.net

Agenda• Reading Brain• What is Reading? Simple View Scarborough’s Reading

Rope Critical Components

• Dyslexia Definition Identification

• Questions

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What is Reading?

We were never born to read.

5- Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D.

world-renowned cognitive neuroscientist

Where is the Reading Lobe?

6There is NO single part of the brain that is dedicate specifically to reading.

Spoken Language

“Children are wired for sound, but print is an optional accessory that must be painstakingly bolted on.”

-Steven Pinker

7In the first 3 years of life, children gain near-mastery of their native language (Chomsky, 1957; Pinker, 1994).

How is Reading Possible?

The neuroplasticityof the human brain allows existing circuits of neurons originally designed for vision, language, and cognition, to forge new connections and pathways.

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Stanislas Dehaene

Neuronal Recycling

Reading is a new circuit that forms by the brains capacity to connect older parts, so with reading we steadily build up the connections among processes that were originally there for other processes.

10Maryanne Wolf, 2016

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16Maryanne Wolf, 2011

…reading is, in a way, a mirror to the human ability to go beyond what we were programmed to do…

We are what we read.

-Joseph Epstein

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When reading takes place, that individual brain is forever changed-both physiologically and intellectually.

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What is Reading?

• Reading is not natural.• Brains are not hard wired to read.• Reading is an acquired skill. • Reading must be learned, and it is not easy.

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21The formula was demonstrated to work by Hoover and Gough’s study, published in 1990.

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The Simple View of Reading3 Basic Types of Reading Difficulties: Poor at Language Comprehension: Has adequate decoding skills and weak

language comprehension skills. Poor at Decoding: Has adequate language comprehension and

weak decoding skills. Weaknesses in Both Areas: Has weaknesses in both areas; sometimes

referred to as the “Garden Variety” poor reader.

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The National Reading Panel

• The National Reading Panel (NRP) was a United States government body comprised of 14 individuals.

• Panel included leading scientists in reading research.

• Formed in 1997 at the request of Congress, it was a national panel with the stated aim of assessing the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read.

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The National Reading Panel Report

• Emphasis is placed on the importance of identifying early which children are at risk for reading failure and intervening quickly.

• How reading is taught matters—reading instruction is most effective when it is taught comprehensively, systematically, and explicitly.

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Five Critical Components • Phonemic Awareness• Phonics• Fluency• Vocabulary• Comprehension

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Additional Critical FactorsOral language

Alphabet knowledge

Handwriting

Spelling

Written expression

Well-prepared teachers

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Critical Components

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Spelling

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NICHD studies reported that 74% of the children who are

poor readers in 3rd grade remain poor readers in the 9th grade.

Often they can't read well as adults either.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

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Definition of Dyslexia Texas Education Code 38.003

a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity.

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Dyslexia means…

Definition of Dyslexia

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Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.

It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.

Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability”

Dyslexia is one specific type of learning disability.

Dyslexia is not the same as the term “learning disability” that qualifies a student for special education.

Dyslexia may exist along with other conditions as attention deficit disorder (ADHD).

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“…neurological in origin”

“characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.”

Difficulty:

Letter names and sounds

Reading words in isolation

Accurately decoding

unfamiliar words

Oral reading (lack of fluency) Spelling

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“These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language…”

Phonological Awareness/Phonemic Awareness

Rapid Naming

Orthographic Processing

45Flanagan, 2012

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bd

pq

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC)

Fluid Reasoning – Gf

Comprehension Knowledge – Gc

Short-term Memory – Gsm

Long-term Storage and Retrieval – Glr

Visual Processing – Gv

Auditory Processing – Ga

Processing Speed – Gs

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48Based on Information from Dr. Gail Cheramie Provided by Region 4 Education Service Center

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“…unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.”

Sea of Strengths Model

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Decoding

Reasoning

Concept Formation

Comprehension

General Knowledge

Problem SolvingVocabulary

Critical Thinking

Dyslexia Identification

• Deficit in primary characteristic(s)

• Deficit in specific cognitive process Phonological awareness Rapid naming Orthography

• Reading and spelling difficulties are unexpected in relation to other academic and cognitive processes

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Who Determines Eligibility?

504 or ARD Committees

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Texas Dyslexia HandbookDefinition and Characteristics of

dyslexia

Procedures for assessment and identification

Critical, evidenced based components of instructionDelivery of instruction

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Data Based DecisionsQualitative and Quantitative InformalCriterion-referencedCurriculum-basedNorm-referenced

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Dyslexia Identification

Informal Criterion-referenced Curriculum-based Norm-referenced

• primary characteristics

• cognitive process

• unexpected

Review each type of data…..

Evidence of….

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IdentificationThe committee must determine if a student’s difficulties in the areas of reading and spelling reflect a pattern of evidence for the primary characteristics of dyslexia with unexpectedly low performance for the student’s age and educational level in some or all of the following areas:

• Reading words in isolation• Decoding unfamiliar words accurately and automatically

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• Reading fluency for connected text (both rate and accuracy)

• Spelling

Primary Characteristics

Is the student having trouble with reading and spelling?

• Reading words in isolation • Decoding unfamiliar words accurately and automatically

• Reading fluency for connected text (both rate and/or accuracy)

• Spelling

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Primary Characteristics

Is the student having trouble with reading and spelling?

• Reading words in isolation • Decoding unfamiliar words accurately and automatically

• Reading fluency for connected text (both rate and/or accuracy)

• Spelling

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Cognitive ProcessAre the reading and spelling difficulties the result of below

average abilities in a cognitive process

associated with dyslexia?

• Phonological/phonemic awareness

• Rapid naming • Orthographic processing

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Cognitive ProcessAre the reading and spelling difficulties the result of below

average abilities in a cognitive process

associated with dyslexia?

• Phonological/phonemic awareness

• Rapid naming • Orthographic processing

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UnexpectedAre the reading and spelling difficulties

unexpected in relation to the student’s other abilities, sociocultural

factors, language differences, irregular attendance, or lack of

appropriate and effective instruction?

Strengths may include…• reading comprehension• listening comprehension• math reasoning• verbal Ability

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UnexpectedAre the reading and spelling difficulties

unexpected in relation to the student’s other abilities, sociocultural

factors, language differences, irregular attendance, or lack of

appropriate and effective instruction?

Strengths may include…• reading comprehension• listening comprehension• math reasoning• verbal Ability

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Sea of Strength Model

Decoding

Reasoning

Concept Formation

Comprehension

General Knowledge

Problem Solving

Vocabulary

Critical Thinking

Overcoming Dyslexia, Sally Shaywitz, M.D., 2003 63

Sources of dataDATA

Informal

Curriculum-Based

Criterion-ReferencedNorm-Referenced

How much weight

is placed on the

various types of data?

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Identification ProcessNorm-

referenced data from our formal testing batteries

should be the icing on the

cake!

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“Learning to teach reading, language and writing is a complex undertaking. The competence and expertise of teachers can be nourished with training that emphasizes the study of reading development, language and individual differences.”

Teaching reading is a hugely complicated task. So much so that researcher Moats ended up entitling her influential article Teaching Reading is Rocket Science.

Louisa Moats, Chair of IDA’s Standards and Practices Committee

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“Reading is the fundamental skill upon which all formal education depends. Research now shows that a child who doesn’t learn the reading basics early is unlikely to learn them at all. Any child who doesn’t learn to read early and well will not easily master other skills and knowledge and is unlikely to ever flourish in school or life.”

—Moats, 1999

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