Supporting the Dyslexic Child in the Montessori Environment · Supporting the Dyslexic Child in the Montessori Environment Alison Awes Alison Awes is the Director of Elementary Training

SupportingtheDyslexicChildintheMontessoriEnvironment

AlisonAwes

Alison Awes is the Director of Elementary Training at the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota. In addition to Orton-Gillingham Level I training, Ms Awes holds AMI diplomas for Primary and Ele-mentary levels, a B.A. in Art History from Smith College, an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Tulane University, and an M.Ed. in Montessori Education from Loyola University Maryland. She has taught in both six-to-nine and nine-to-twelve classrooms. Ms Awes is an AMI examiner and has presented a number of workshops, including those on making books with children and supporting the dyslexic child in a Montessori environment. She has served on the boards of private and charter Montes-sori schools and other organizations, including the AMI Elementary Alumni Association. Ms Awes attended Montessori school until the age of twelve.

introduction

Language,oneofthegreatestgiftsofhumanity,iscentraltothecultureandcol-lectiveintelligenceofhumanbeings.Collab-orationandcommunicationcreatedthelan-guagehumanscurrentlyuse,alanguagewhichcontinuestoevolveeachday.InthewordsofMariaMontessori,‘Languageistheexpressionofagreementamongagroupofmen,andcanbeunderstoodonlybythosewhohaveagreedthatspecialsoundsshallrepresentspecialideas.’1

Ratherthanaparticularlanguage,chil-dreninheritthepotentialforlanguage.Becausethesensitivitytolanguageisuncon-scious,acquisitionisvirtuallyguaranteed(barringadevelopmentalorauditoryprob-lem).Throughexposuretospeechwhilethe

vocalmechanismsdevelop,throughcom-municationwithothers,andthroughsomeknowledgeofthesymbolsandsoundsoflanguage,alltypicalchildren,regardlessofculture,willatagivenmomentcometospeaktheirnativelanguage.Also,childrengenerallytakeinthestructure,sentencepat-terns,andwordorderofspokenlanguage.Throughobservationsofhumandevelop-ment,Montessorifoundthattheabsorbentmind,sensitiveperiods,andhumantenden-ciesassistinthisacquisition.

Incontrast,writtenlanguagedoesnotcomenaturallytohumanbeings.Childrenwillnotdevelopwritingandreadingwithoutsomedegreeofdirectexperience,prepara-tion,andinstruction.Theamountandtypeofexperiencerequiredvariesamongindivid-uallearners.Eventually,thechildmustreal-

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izethatthelettersshereadsrepresentthesoundsshehearsinspokenlanguage.Whenachildrealizesthatawordcanbebrokenapartintosmallerpieces(sounds),shedevel-opsphonemicawareness.Thisistheabilitytonotice,identify,andputtousetheindi-vidualsoundsofspokenwords.

national reading panel

In1997,theUnitedStatesCongressdirectedtheNationalInstituteofChildHealthandHumanDevelopmenttogatherapanelofexpertstocomprehensivelyreviewexistingresearchontheteachingofreading.ThetaskofthisNationalReadingPanel(NRP)wastodeterminetheevidenceforspecificandeffectivereadinginstructionalmethodsandapproaches.Thepanelpresentedfind-ingsinareporttoCongressin2000,2pro-vidingaguideforparentsandteacherstothemostsuccessfulandscientificallyprovenapproachesfortheteachingofreading.Thereportaddressedfivekeycomponentsofreadingimportantforearlyliteracy:(1)pho-nemicawareness(soundsofspokenlan-guagewhichworktogethertomakewords);(2)phonics(thepredictablerelationshipbetweenphonemesandgraphemes,whicharethelettersandthesoundsofwrittenlan-guage;sometimescalledthealphabetic princi-ple);(3)readingaccuracyandfluency(theabilitytoreadwithexpressionandeffi-ciency);(4)vocabulary;and(5)readingcom-prehension.

Amongotherthings,theNRPfoundover-allthatspecificinstructioninreadingisbothimportantandeffective.Programmeswhichteachphonicsinasystematic,orga-nized,explicitmannerarethemostsuccess-ful.Theseprogrammesprogressivelyintro-ducethechildtodifferentsounds,beginningwiththesimplest,mostconsis-tent,andmostfrequentcombinations.Later

researchersfoundteachingchildrentomanipulatesoundsandwordstobehighlyeffectiveunderavarietyofteachingcondi-tionswithvariedlearnersinarangeofagesandgrades.3

Themostimportantphonemicawarenessskillsappearedtobethoseofblendingandsegmenting.Ratherthanteachingmanytypesofmanipulation,instructingchildreninblendingandsegmentingphonemesinwordsgenerallywillhavethegreatestimpactontheirlearningtoread.4Significantbenefitsofthisknowledgewerealsofoundforchildrenthroughthesixthgrade(ageelevenortwelve)whowerehavingdifficultylearningtoread.Oncethereaderlearnsthedifferentpatternsofthelettersandthesoundstheyrepresent,theresultisthatsheappliesherexistingknowledge(gainedthroughexperience)whensheanalysesnewwords.

AnimportantpointmadebytheNRPwasthatwhilephonemicawarenessisnecessary,itisnotenoughforlearningtoread.Inaddi-tion,fluencyisanimportantnextsteptowardsthegoalofreadingcomprehension.Guided,repeatedoralreadinghadapositiveimpactonfluencyandcomprehensionacrossarangeofages.Incontrast,theresearchonindependentsilentreadingwasinconclusiveinregardtofluency.5Finally,theNRPreportedthatvocabularyinstructionplaysacentralroleinincreasingcomprehension.Ifchildrendonotdevelopvocabulary,theydonotlearnnewgrammaticalconstructions.

ThefindingsoftheNRPwerenotwithoutcontroversy.6Questionsaboutwhethertheresultsofvariousstudiesconstitutedscien-tificevidence,apprehensionabouttheviewsofindividualsonthepanel,andconcernsabouthowtheinitialquestionwasframedhavebeenraised.Somescholarshavetrepi-dationthatresearchbasedonstandardizedtestsprovidedbiasedorinaccurateresults.


Mostproblematicisthatmuchofwhatwasrecommendedassumesawhole-classteach-ingtechniqueinwhichallofthechildrenlearnthesamething,atthesametime,inthesamemanner.

Theinitialquery,tofindthemosteffec-tivemethodtoteachreading,assumesthatthereisonebestwaytoteachallchildren.Yetthisviewdismissesavarietyoflearningstyles,strengths,andweaknesses.Instead,perhaps,theinitialquestioncouldhavebeenframedaroundhowchildrenlearntoread,focusingonthechild’sdevelopmentratherthanonateachingmethod.

OnepromisingresultoftheNRPresearchwastheimplementationofthethree-tieredResponsetoIntervention(RTI)model,usedinsomepublic(state)schoolsfortheidenti-ficationandsupportofstrugglingchildren.7Thefirsttierinvolvescarefulprogressmoni-toringforallchildrenbasedontheirchang-ingneeds.Thisincludesclassroominstruc-tionwhichcoversatleastthreeofthefivekeyareasnotedbytheNRP.Childrenwhoarenotsuccessfulatthisfirsttiermovetothesecondtier,whichincludessmall-groupworkwithmoreintensiveintervention.Chil-drenmovetotierthree,thespecialeduca-tiontier,whenmoreintensiveinstructionspecificallytailoredtotheindividualisneeded.WiththeRTImodel,ideallychildrenaresupportedbeforetheyfailandarenotrequiredtoscorepoorlyinordertoreceivetheadditionalservicestheyneed.

definition of dyslexia

Childrenwhoconsistentlystrugglewithreadingtasksdespitebeingprovidedreadinginstructionneedfurthersupport.Dyslexiaisadifficultywithlanguageinwhichintelli-genceisnotaproblem.Forlearnerswiththisdifficulty,anunexpectedgapexistsbetweenthepotentialforlearningand

schoolachievement.Theymayhavediffi-cultywithreading,spelling,processingauditorylanguage,orexpressingthemselvesclearlythroughspeakingorwriting.

Priorto2002,definitionsusuallyexplaineddyslexiabyarticulatingwhatitwasnotratherthandescribingitscharacter-istics.However,newscientificdiscoverieshavemadepossibleamoreprecisedefini-tion,suchasthisonefromtheInternationalDyslexiaAssociation:

Dyslexiaisaspecificlearningdisabilitythatis

neurologicalinorigin.Itischaracterizedby

difficultieswithaccurateand/orfluentword

recognitionandbypoorspellinganddecod-

ingabilities.Thesedifficultiestypicallyresult

fromadeficitinthephonologicalcomponent

oflanguagethatisoftenunexpectedinrela-

tiontoothercognitiveabilitiesandtheprovi-

sionofeffectiveclassroominstruction.Sec-

ondaryconsequencesmayincludeproblemsin

readingcomprehensionandreducedreading

experiencethatcanimpedethegrowthof

vocabularyandbackgroundknowledge.8

Toexplainfurther,dyslexiahasabiologicalbasisandischaracterizedbyavarietyoflan-guagedifficulties.Ratherthanatemporarystruggleinreadingdevelopment,dyslexiaisachroniccondition;thecharacteristicsareunchanging.Thereisnotasingleformofdyslexia.Thestrugglescanbewithwordrecognition(suchasreadingasinglewordbyitself),withspelling,orwithdecodingorsegmentingwords(suchassoundingwordsoutorbreakingawordintosyllables).Aphonologicalcomponentexists,meaningthedyslexicpersonhasdifficultywithsounds.

Additionally,thedyslexicgenerallyhasatleastaverageoraboveaverageintelligence,andanunexpectedgapoccursbetweentheabilitydemonstratedandthepotential.So


thechildhastohavesomecognitivestrengths,notonlyweaklanguagefunc-tions.Further,apersoncannotbeconsid-ereddyslexicifheorshehasnothadade-quateclassroominstruction.

Otherconsequencesofimpairedphono-logicalawarenessarerevealedindyslexicchildren.Readingcomprehension,whileproblematicinsomecases,isgenerallyasecondaryconsequenceofweakphonemicability.Theresultofthisdifficultywithcom-prehensioncansignificantlyimpedevocabu-laryacquisition.Theaveragechildlearnsabout2,700wordsperyear,oraboutsevennewwordsdaily,9andreadingisasignifi-cantinfluenceonthisdevelopmentofvocab-ulary.Atthesametime,alargevocabularyisanimportantelementinreadingcompre-hension.Booksoffermorecomplicatedwordsthandoeventhemosteducatedspeakers.Goodreadersspendmoretimereadingeverydaycomparedwithpoorread-ers,sotheyendupreadingmorewordsinayear.Asaresult,theconsequencesofpoorreadingextendfarbeyondthereadingpro-cess.

Forthedyslexic,theweaknessinthelan-guagesystemoccursatthebasiclevelofphonology,withtherestoflanguagebuild-ingonthisweakfoundation.Semantics(vocabularyandwords),syntax(thestruc-tureofgrammar),anddiscourse(howsen-tencesareconnectedandused)allrelyupontheinitialunderstandingandawarenessofsounds.Indyslexics,thebrainareadedi-catedtoprocessingparticularsoundele-mentsoflanguageiscompromised.Theseelements,thephonemes,arethebuildingblocksofallspokenandwrittenwords.Indifferentcombinationsthesesoundspro-ducethemanywordsinaparticularlan-guage.Beforewordscanbeidentifiedandstoredinmemory,theymustbeisolatedintotheirparticularsounds.

Dyslexicchildrenandadultsmayhaveahardtimeselectingtheparticularphonemewhichcorrespondstoawrittensymbolormightorderphonemesincorrectly.Asaresult,sound-basedconfusionsinspokenlanguageoccur.Forexample,achildmightsayemenywhenshemeansenemyorAprilinsteadof Rachel.

Theselearnersarechallengedwhendevel-opingawarenessthatspokenandwrittenwordsarecomposedofthesespecificpho-nemes.Researchonphonologicallearningdemonstratesthatmanychildrenwithread-ingdisabilitiesdonotperceiveormanipu-lateindividualsyllablesandphonemesinthesamemannerastheirpeers.10

Threepathwayshelpthebraintolearninformation:visual,auditory,andkinaes-thetic(musclemovement).Childrenwithstrongvisualmemoryreadwellandwilllearnthroughmostconventionalforms.However,dyslexicchildrenneedsystematicmultisensoryavenuestolearn,astheyhavepoorvisualmemory.Allthreeoftheseave-nueshavenocorrelationtoI.Q.

Childrenwithspecificreadingdifficultiesdemonstrateproblemssummarizingormakinginferencesfromreadingatextbutdonothavethesamedifficultieswhenlis-teningtothetext.Theymaymisreadmanywordsorreadwordsaccuratelythoughrequiremuchtimeandefforttodoso.Thesechildrenneedadditionalworkonphonologi-calawareness,decoding,andfluencybutgenerallydonotneedadditionalsupportincomprehensionbeyondregularclassroomstrategiesforvocabulary.

br ain imaging

Relativelyrecentlythroughfunctionalimag-ing,scientistsareabletoviewandrecordimagesoftheneuralsystemsatworkinthehumanbrainwhileapersonreads.11These


imagesprovidethephysicalevidenceofthedifficultieswhichdyslexicreadersencounterandconfirmthatthecoredifficultyfordys-lexicsoccurswhentranslatingprinttosound.Scientistsseeevidenceofafaultinthebraincircuitryonlyinthisisolatedpartofthereadingprocess.

Recordingthebrainactivityofbothnor-malanddyslexicreadersrevealsdifferentbrainactivationpatterns.Goodreadersacti-vateboththebackandthefrontofthebrain,whiledyslexicreadersshowanunderactiva-tionofparticularneuralpathwaysinthebackofthebrain.Atallages,goodreadersshowconsistentbrainactivationpatterns.Incontrast,thebrainactivationindyslexicschangeswithage:OlderdyslexicchildrendemonstrateanoveractivationinBroca’sregion,afrontalregionusedforreading.Itisthoughtthatstrugglingreadersuseaddi-tionalsystemsinthefrontofthebraintotrytocompensateforthedisruptioninthebackofthebrain.

Everytimeoneacquiresanewskill,groupsofneuronscreatenewconnectionsandpathwaysamongthemselvesinthebrain.Scientiststhinkthatafterachildhascorrectlyreadawordseveraltimes,heformsanexactneuralmodelofthatword,whichreflectsitspronunciation,meaning,andspellingandisstoredinaparticularlocationofthebrain,theoccipitotemporalsystem.Formostreaders,seeingthisfamiliarwordinprintactivatesthewordmemoryautomat-ically,withouteffort,andcallstomindallthecontextualinformationabouttheword.Forskilledreaders,imagingduringreadingshowsthiswordformationregionofthebrainactivatingaloneandincombinationwithotherbrainareaswhichhelpwithwordanalysis.

Theinformationfromimagingisconsis-tentwiththereadingstyleofmanydyslexics.Becauseofthedeficitinthewordformation

area,dyslexicsrelyonaccurateyetslowerprocessesinthebrain.Inparticular,theselearnersoftenvocalizequietlyduring“silent”reading.Inthismannerthedyslexiccanhearandfeelthewordssaid,aprocesswhichutilizesBroca’sregion.Thisappearstobetruefordyslexicsofalllanguagesandages.12Brainimagesalsoshowdyslexicreaderssoundingoutwordsthroughsec-ondarypathwaysinthebrain.Onealternaterouteincludessystemslocatedontherightsideofthebrain.Thisexplainshowbrightadultdyslexicreadersimproveaccuracyeventhoughtheirreadingremainsslow.

Becausebrainimagesprovideconcreteevidenceoftherealityofthereadingdiffi-culties,dyslexiaisnolongerahiddencondi-tionwithoutphysicalproof.Oneresultisthatthespecificdeficitcanbemorecarefullytargetedwithevidence-basedinterventions.Infact,someimageshaveindicatedbrainrepairafterinterventionforphonemicawareness.

Brainimagingalsoshowsthatthebrainisorganizeddifferentlyinpeoplewhousedifferentwritingsystems.Inthe1930s,abilingualmanproficientinChineseandEnglishlosttheabilitytoreadChineseduetoastroke,yethecouldstillreadEnglish.13Thisrevealstheuseofdifferenthemispheresfordifferenttasksinthebrain.

Presentinmanylanguages,includingnonalphabeticones,dyslexiamanifestsdif-ferentlydependingontheemphasisinanygivenlanguage.14Asaresult,differentpre-dictorsofreadingfailureoccurinGerman,alanguagewhichemphasizesfluency,orChi-nese,alanguageinwhichspatialmemoryiscentral,ascomparedwithEnglish.Spanishreaderswithdyslexiasufferfromfewercom-prehensionproblemswhencomparedwithEnglishspeakerswhohavedyslexia.Inthiscase,itseemsperhapsthattheshortertimerequiredtodecodeinSpanishallowsaddi-


tionaltimeforcomprehension.Whilelessfrequentnowthatbrainimag-

inghasmoreclearlydocumentedproofofdyslexia,somescholarsmaintainthatthereisnosuchthingasareading,language,orlearningdisability(shortofmentalretarda-tion).Theyarguethatifthereweresome-thingwronginthebrainsofthesechildren,remedialinstructionwouldnotbesuccess-ful.Someofthesescholarsconcludeinsteadthatchildrenarenotcorrectlytaughttoreadinschool.Inthisview,theschoolsystemsareatissue,notthebrainsofthechildren.15Additionally,referringtothelearner’sexpe-rienceasadisability,ratherthanadifferenceinlanguageprocessingorlearningstyle,isatissueamongsomescholars.AccordingtoMontessorian,paediatrician,andspeech-languagepathologistSylviaRichardson,‘Publiceducationviewsitasadisabilitybyfailingtoprovideappropriateinstruction.Societyasawholeviewsitasadisabilitythroughlackofunderstanding.’16

the prevalence of reading difficulties

Anestimatedfifteentotwentypercentofthepopulationhassymptomsofareadingdisability.Dyslexiaisthemostcommoncauseofreading,writing,andspellingdiffi-culties17andaffectsaboutoneofeveryfivechildren,abouttenmillionintheUnitedStatesalone.18In2001,8.9percentofUSstudentsagedsixthroughtwenty-onewerereceivingspecialeducationservices.19Evenif,asSallyShaywitzofYaleUniversityesti-mates,eightypercentofthesestudentshadareadingdisability,20itwouldseemthatchildrenwithreadingdisabilityingeneral,anddyslexiainparticular,arevastlyunder-served.

Additionally,becausedyslexiaexistsonacontinuumfrommilddisturbancetosevere

limitation,readingdifficultiesareoftendeterminedatanartificialcut-offpointbyeducatorsandgovernmentofficials.Soachildwhoneedshelpmaynotqualifyforitwithintheschoolsystem.Evenmoredis-turbingisthatchildrenwhoreadpoorlyinthethirdgrade(ageeightornine)continuetohavereadingproblemsinhighschoolandbeyond.Inonestudy,seventy-fourpercentofchildrenwhowerepoorreadersinthethirdgraderemainedpoorreadersintheninthgrade(agefourteenorfifteen).21Inotherwords,theyoftenstillcannotreadwellwhentheybecomeadults.22Thismayindi-catethattheneuralsystemsresponsiblefortransformingsymbolsintolanguagemightbecomelessresponsivetointerventionaschildrengetolder.23

Dyslexiaaffectsfemales,males,andpeo-plefromdifferentethnicandsocioeconomicbackgroundsequally.Inaddition,somereadingproblemsaregeneticallyinfluenced.Betweentwenty-fiveandfiftypercentofchildrenborntoadyslexicparentwillalsobedyslexic.Andinone-thirdtoone-halfofthecaseswhenachildisidentifiedasdys-lexicandhisparentsarethenevaluated,oneorbothparentsturnouttobedyslexicaswell.24Forthesereasons,achildwithadys-lexicsiblingorparentshouldbemonitoredmorecloselyearlyonforindicationsoforallanguagedifficulties.Still,althoughdyslexiarunsinfamiliesandiscarriedasagenetictrait,itisnotentirelygenetic.

Althoughthereisnocurefordyslexia,childrenandadultscanlearnhighlysuccess-fulstrategiesforcompensation.Researchshowsthatcompensatingdyslexicshaveadistinctadvantageovernondyslexicsintheirabilitytoreasonandconceptualizeandthatthephonologicaldeficitmaskswhatareoftenexcellentcomprehensionskills.25

Despiteclearandconsistentresearch,mythsstillexistaboutdyslexia.Dyslexiais


notadiseaseandcannotbeoutgrownorcured,althoughindividualswithdyslexiacanlearnhowtolearnmoreeffectively.Aspreviouslystated,dyslexiaindicatesalan-guageproblem.Visualimpairments,lackofintelligence,laziness,ornotcaringonthepartofthechildallhavenobearing.Fur-ther,scientificevidenceislackingtosupportclaimsforimprovingtheacademicabilitiesofdyslexicswithtreatmentbasedonvisualtrainingorneurologicalorganizationaltraining(suchasbalanceboarduse).26

Attentionproblemsmightaccompanydyslexia,buttheymightnot.Theneurobiol-ogyandeffectivetreatmentsdifferforspe-cificsymptoms.Dyslexiaisdifficultyaccess-ingthebasicsoundsoflanguage;attentiondeficithyperactivitydisorder(ADHD)isdif-ficultywithattendingtoanactivity.Some-timesthedisorderscanclearlygohandinhand.Othertimes,itmightlooklikeadys-lexicpersonisnotpayingattentiontoread-ingbecauseitissodifficultforhertodecodethewords.Readingrequiresasignificantamountofattentionforthedyslexic,morethanfortheaveragereader.

indications and evaluations

Asaresultofrecentresearch,healthcareprovidersareabletoidentifywithahighdegreeofaccuracythechildrenwhoaremostatriskfordyslexia,evenbeforetheydevelopreadingdifficulties.Theycanalsodiagnosedyslexiaaccuratelyinchildren,youngadults,andadults,andthedisordercanbemanagedwithextremelyeffectiveandproventreatmentprogrammes.

Earlydiagnosis,joinedwitheffectivetreatment,canhelpdefinethestrengthsratherthanthechallengesofthechild.Par-ticularattentionshouldbepaidtoprotect-ingthechild’sself-concept,asdyslexicchil-drenareespeciallyvulnerabletoweak

self-esteem.Whenachildisaccusedofalackofmotivation,notworkingtoherfullability,beinglazy,ornotbeingsmart,shebeginstodoubtherself.Theseaccusationsaremorecommonthanwemighthopebecauseoftenthepotentialinthechildisclearerthanherability.Thechildneedstheknowledgethatshecancountonherparentsandteachersforunwaveringsupport.

Alsonotableisthatbrightchildrenwithdyslexiacanescapenoticebecausetheypos-sesssomanyotherstrengths.Theyoftenlearntocompensatefororcoveruptheirdifficulties.Theselearnersareoftenquitetalentedinpredominantlyright-brainedskillslikethevisualarts,music,mechanicalaptitude,andmathematicalreasoning.27Sci-entistsarestilltryingtoexplainthesignifi-cantamountofcreativitypresentinmanypeoplewithdyslexia.Onespeculationisthatperhapsthebrainwasforcedtousetherighthemispherebecauseofproblemswiththelefthemisphere,sotherightside’sconnec-tionswerestrengthenedinuniqueways.Orpossiblytherighthemisphere’screativecon-nectionsbeganasdominant,leavinglessroomforotheractivities,suchasreading.28Furtheranecdotalevidencesuggeststhatdyslexicsappeartorepresentthemostcre-ative,uniquethinkersofsociety,andonemighthypothesizethisisbecausethedys-lexiccannotsimplymemorizebutmustunderstandtheconceptatafundamentallevelinordertoremember.

Teachersandparentsmayprovideimpor-tantobservationsforhealthcareprofession-als,butteachersareusuallynottrainedtomakeadiagnosis.Keepingthatinmind,andrecallingthatdyslexiawillpresentdiffer-entlyindifferentchildren,earlyredflagsincludeadelayinspeaking;difficultyinpro-nunciation;adecreasedsensitivityforrhyme,alliteration,andassonance;ortrou-blelearningnurseryrhymes.Later,achild


mighthavedifficultyrecallingoraccessingaparticularphoneme.Andaschildrengetolder,theymighthavedifficultyunderstand-ingthatwordscomeapart,asinacom-poundword,andthatwordscanbeisolatedfurtherbytheirsoundsandsyllables.Thesechildrenalsohavedifficultyassociatinglet-terswithsounds.Ortheymaymakeerrorswhenreadingthatarenotrelatedtosound,suchassubstitutingafamiliarwordforadifficultonethatappearsinthetext.Addi-tionally,thechildmaycomplainabouthowdifficultthetaskofreadingisandmightavoidreading.

Inonestudy,preschoolers’phonologicalaptitudepredictedreadingprogressthreeyearslater.Childrenwhoreceivedtrainingbasedonsounds—identifyingthebegin-ning,middle,andendsound—showedthemostimprovementinreadingandspelling,ascomparedwithchildrenreceivinggenerallanguagetrainingwhichemphasizedthemeaningofwords.Thestudyalsoshowedthatthekindsoflanguageexperiencesthechildhasbeforehegoestoschoolinfluencehisabilitytoreadyearslater.29Additionally,avarietyofstudiesdemonstratethatphono-logicaldifficultiesarethemostsignificantandconsistentmarkersofdyslexiainchild-hood.30

Inconventionalkindergarten(nurseryschool),whereletternamesaretaughtpriortosounds,thechild’sabilitytosuccessfullynamethelettersofthealphabetisthemostsignificantreadingpredictor.Inthefirstgrade(aboutagesix),thechild’sknowledgeoflettersounds,taughtafterletternames,becomesthemostimportantindicatorofsuccessfulfuturereading.31Controversyexistsoverthebenefitoftheknowledgeoftheletternameforlearningtoread.Infact,teachingletternamescanbeconfusinganddetractfromthechild’sabilitytosuccess-fullylearnthesoundsofeachletterorletter

combination.32I.Q.testsarenotstrongindi-catorsorpredictorsoflaterreadingdifficul-tiesinyoungchildren.33

Thedyslexicelementary-agedchildmightusenonspecificlanguage,likethewordsstufforthings,ordescribearoundawordratherthanusingtheworditself.Further,shemayconfusewordswhichsoundalike,likelotionforocean.Thischildmighthavedifficultyrememberingisolatedpiecesofinformationwhichuserotememory,likedatesorrandomlists.

Additionally,thisolderchildmayhaveanextremelyslowprogressionwhilelearningtoread,withaparticularlydifficulttimereadingneworunfamiliarwordswhichmustbesoundedout.Thechildmayomitpartsofwordswhenreading,substituteormispronounce,andreadinadifficultorlabouredfashion.Thechildmayoftenrelyonthecontextorpicturestounderstandthemeaningofthepassageandhaveaverydif-ficulttimeunderstandingisolatedsinglewords.Thechildmightsubstitutewordswiththesamemeaningforawordinthetexthecannotpronounce,likerainfor thunder-storm.Thechildbecomestiredfromtheeffortofreadingandoftensuffersfromlowself-esteeminthisarea.

Yetthechildwilllikelyexhibitstrengthsinthethinkingprocess,suchasadeepimagination,curiosity,andexcellentaudi-torycomprehensionwithasophisticatedlis-teningvocabulary.Whenastoryisreadaloud,sheshowsgoodunderstandingofnewconceptsandtakesjoyinnewideas.Sheoftenexcelsatreasoningandabstractionandcanlearnbestthroughcontextualmeaningratherthanmemorization.Higher-levelcomponentsofthinkingremainsuc-cessfulsincephonologicalawarenessisnotrelatedtoI.Q.Strengthsincriticalthinking,reasoning,problemsolving,vocabulary,andcomprehensionmayallsurroundaweak-


nessinphonologicalability,aweaknessintheabilitytodecode.

Tohelpchildrenwithlearningdelays,itisessentialtoobserveandtracktheirstrengthsaswellastheirweaknesses,becausethesecharacteristicscanoftenbeusedtohelpbypassthechallenges.Thestrengthsensurethechild’ssuccessinlearn-ingevenifthelearningtakesplaceoveralongerperiodoftime.

Afterrulingouthearingorvisionprob-lems,anadultobservingachildforsomeofthesechallengesshouldbesuretonotethefrequencyofthedifficulties.Mostchildrenwillexhibitallofthesebehavioursatonetimeoranotherastheylearntoread.Buttheconcernariseswhenthesymptomsrepeatinaregularpatternovertime.

Whenobservingachildwithreadingchallenges,oneshouldnotwaittoolongtoseekexpertassistanceifthereareconcerns.Ratherthantimeorthematurityofthechild,itisspecificreadinginstructionwhichleadstobetterreading.Teachersneedtocommunicatewiththechild’sparentsandwithschooladministratorsaboutanycon-cernsandaskforhomeobservationsaswell.Additionally,theschoolshouldmaintainafileofresourceswithinthecommunityfortheparentsandteachersandprovidesup-portinseekingfurtherevaluationforthechild.

Onceastruggleissuspectedorobserved,apsychologistorotherhealthcareprofes-sionalmakesevaluationsfordyslexia.Addi-tionally,thisprofessionalwillrelyonthecarefulobservationsofteachersandparents.Theprofessionalwilladministeravarietyoflanguagetests,includingoral,written,audi-tory,andmemoryassessments.Oneparticu-lartestscoredoesnotsignifythechildisdyslexic.Rather,thehealthcareproviderlooksforaphonologicalweaknessaffectingothercomponentsofthelanguagesystem,

combinedwithanestablishedreadingprob-lem,accordingtotheeducationandageofthechild.Thediagnosiswouldbesupportedbyevidenceofahighlearningcapabilitywithsomeglitchinthelearningprocesspreventingthechildfromperformingbet-ter.34

Unfortunately,dyslexicchildrenaregen-erallyinthethirdgradeorolderwhentheyareinitiallyidentifiedasdyslexicbytheirschools.Readingdifficultiesdiagnosedafterthirdgrade(ageeightornine)aremuchmoredifficulttoremediate.35Oneoftherea-sonsforthisisthattheinitialdisadvantageiscompoundedovertime.

Ifadiagnosisismade,anadultshouldexplaintothechildherreadingprobleminawaythatshecanunderstand.Ifachildhassomeunderstanding,thatcangivehercom-fortassheisnotsodifferentfromotherchildren.Withoutthisconversation,achildmaybequicktolabelherselfasperhapsstu-pidordumb,ratherthanunderstandingthatherbrainfunctionsdifferentlyfrom,yetjustaslegitimatelyas,herpeers’.

Thechildwithdyslexianeedsanadultwhocansupportandchampionher.Thisadultwillbelieveinherstrengthsandefforts,understandthenatureofherreadingdifficulties,andactivelyworktobesurethatshegetsthelearningandemotionalsupportsheneeds.Thisadvocacymightinclude(butnotbelimitedto)helpingherschoolunder-standherneedsandperhapsdirectingthemtoherrightsprotectedbylaw,suchas(intheUnitedStates)theAmericanswithDisabili-tiesAct(ADA).Withproperdocumentation,shemaybeentitledtoacademicaccommo-dationsincludingextratimeforspecificactivities,individualsupport,orbeingabletodemonstrateknowledgeinavarietyofways(e.g.,orallyinsteadofthroughwrit-ing).


successful intervention for the dyslexic child

Dyslexicpeopledonotprocesslanguageinthesamemannerasotherlearnersdo.Spe-cifically,theidealcurriculumforchildrenwithdyslexiaismultisensory,structured,cumulative,andsequential.36Thismethodofdirect,unclutteredinstructionbenefitsmostnon-dyslexiclearnersaswell.

AccordingtotheNRP,theessentialsofaneffectiveearlyreadinginterventionpro-grammeincludesystematic,sequential,explicitinstructioninphonemicawareness.Inparticular,thechildneedstheabilitytonoticeandmanipulatethesoundsofspokenlanguage.Sheneedsexplicitinstructioninphonics(howthelettersandgroupsoflet-tersrepresentthesoundsofspokenlan-guage),decoding,sightwords(non-phoneticwords),spelling,vocabulary,andreadingcomprehensionstrategies.Additionally,thechildneedsregularpracticeintheapplica-tionoftheseskillsinreading(aswellaswriting)towardsfluency.Furtherlanguageexperiencesshouldincludetelling,listeningto,anddiscussingstories.37

Systematicphonicsinstructionhelpschildrenincreasetheirabilitytocompre-hendwhattheyread.Oncethechildreadswordsautomaticallyandaccurately,heisabletofocusonthemeaningofthetext.Phonicsinstructioncontributestocompre-hensionskills,ratherthaninhibitingthem.38

Unfortunately,traditionalteachertrain-ingatthecollegeoruniversityleveloftenfallsshortofprovidingfutureteacherswiththeskillstheyneedeithertoeffectivelyrec-ognizedyslexiaortoteachlanguageskillsinastructured,sequential,multisensoryfashion.39Infact,DrRichardsonpointsoutthat‘university-basedteacherpreparationprogramswerefoundtobeinadequate’to

prepareteacherstoaddressreadingdifficul-ties,dyslexia,andotherlearningdisabili-ties.40

the montessori method

MariaMontessorirelieduponhertrainingasamedicaldoctorandscientistforherinves-tigationsintothedevelopmentofthechild.Sheconsideredobservationtobetheinte-gralsupportivefoundationofhermethod.Montessori’sprinciplesarebasedonwhatthechildrenrevealedtoher,andthroughobservationshefoundthekeytotheeduca-tionaldilemmaofhertime.

AnessentialcomponentoftheAssocia-tionMontessoriInternationaleteachertrain-ingateverylevelisthatofcarefulobserva-tionofchildren.Teachersstudyobservationtheoryandpractisespecificobservationtechniquessothatonceleadingtheirownclassroom,theyarepreparedtoconsiderdif-ferentlearners’approachesincontextanddevisestrategiesbasedontheirknowledgeofthedifferentwaysinwhichlearningcanwork.Teacherslearnaboutthenatureofthechild,includinghersensitiveperiods,psy-chologicalcharacteristics,andhumanten-dencies.Inthismanner,Montessoriteach-ersalreadyhavepreparationfornoticing,andthenmeeting,thespecificneedsofanyindividuallearnerintheircharge.

MariaMontessoribeganherteachingswiththegreatsuccessmentallychallengedchildrenexperiencedbyusingthesensorialmaterials.Sofromthebeginning,DrMon-tessoriobservedthatchildrenwithlearningdisabilitiescouldbequitesuccessfulinherclassroom.Shealsofoundthatbyisolatingthedifficultiesofeachtaskandbybreakingthewholetaskdownintoitsconcrete,smallerparts,allchildrencouldworkpur-posefullytowardstheirownself-construc-tion.However,theMontessorimethodisnot


exclusivelyaimedatlearningdisabledchil-dren;rather,itisparticularlysuitedforavarietyoflearners.

Childrenwithdyslexiabenefitfromtheprimary(agesthreetosix)Montessorienvi-ronment,whichmeetstheirspecific,indi-vidualneeds.Dyslexicchildrenneedsequen-tial,multisensory,andexplicitexperiencewiththesoundsandsymbolsoftheirlan-guagetoreadfluently.Theintroductorypho-neticapproach,combinedwiththeemphasisoncontext,functionsofwords,andanalysisofsentences,particularlysuitsstrugglingreaders.Amongotherthings,thisenviron-mentincludesregularexperiencewithlan-guage,activitieswhichencouragetheaware-nessofsounds,andvocabularyenrichment.Further,unlikeaconventionalkindergartenorpreschool,Montessorigivesthechildthreetofouryearsofregularlanguageactiv-itiesinschool,ratherthanoneortwoyears.Thisfurtherrepetitioncanmakeasignifi-cantdifferenceinthefoundationforastrug-glingreader.

TherecommendationsfromtheNRParequitecongruentwiththeobservationsmadebyDrMontessori.Thesecomponentsbenefitallchildren,includingdyslexics.Alreadysequentialandmultisensory,thetotalread-ingpathofMontessorinotonlyincludesalloftheNRP-identifiedcomponentsbutcaneasilybeadjustedwithincreasedrepetition(asneeded)tomeettheneedsoftheindivid-ualdyslexicchild.Inthisway,so-calledremediationtakesplaceforat-riskreadersintheregularMontessoriclassroomsidebysidewiththerestoftheclass.

Readingmustbeginwithexplicitatten-tiontotheprincipalcharacteristicsoforallanguage.So,fromthebeginning,soundgamesareimportantpreparationforreadinganddevelopingphonologicalawareness.Theteacherholdsanobject,stating,‘Thisobjectinmyhandbeginswiththesound/f/.What

amIholding?’Additional,regularrepetitionisnecessaryforthechildtogainpracticewithinitialsounds,finalsounds,middlesounds,discriminatingdifferentsounds,soundingoutwords,andeventuallyselect-ingthesymboltogowiththespokensound.Inthiswaythechildbuildsthefoundationtodevelopanawarenessofandabilitytomanipulatethesoundsinwords.

Lettersoundsareintroducedwiththesandpaperletters:Theadultsaysthesoundandtracesthesymbol,andthechildrepeats.Thismultisensoryexercisecombinesvisual,auditory,andtactilelearningtohelpthechildcommittomemorythesound-symbolassociation.Thisinstructioninhowthelet-ters(andlater,groupsofletters,thephono-grams)representsoundsofspokenlanguageisessentialtothesuccessofthechild’sread-ing.Thethree-periodlesson,inwhichthechildgetsvaried,directedrepetition,helpshertosolidifytheconcept.

Thedyslexicchildwillgenerallyneedadditionalandmoredirectworkwiththesoundgamesandthesandpaperlettersbeforeshecanapplytheirconceptstowordbuilding.Further,anincreasedsecondperiodofrepetitionwillbebeneficial.Addi-tionally,itmaybenecessarytopreciselyordereachnewpresentationandrepetitionofthesounds,fromsimpletocomplex,basedontheorderoftheOrton-Gillinghammethod41orsimilarprogramme.

Asthechildneedsmoreexperience,sepa-ratingwordsintosyllablesandclappingeachsyllable(likeclappingthreetimeswhilesayingA-li-son)helpshertofurtherhearandmanipulatesounds.Inaddition,achildcanplaceaconcreteobject(suchasabean)onthetableforeachsoundheardinaword(placingtwobeansforeat:/ee/+/t/).

Especiallyfordyslexics,occasionallyworkinginasmallgroupofchildrenonphonemicawarenessmaybemoreeffective


thanindividualorwhole-groupinstructionbecausethesechildrenoftenbenefitfromlisteningtotheirclassmatesinadditiontoreceivingindividualizedfeedbackfromtheteacher.42

OneofMariaMontessori’sgreatestdis-coverieswasthatgenerallyreadingcomeslaterthanwriting.Shewrote,‘experiencehastaughtmetomakeacleardistinctionbetweenreadingandwriting,andithasshownmethatthetwoactsneednotbeabsolutelycontemporaneous.’43Shefoundthatreadingtypicallybeginssixmonthsafterwritingwiththemovablealphabet,andfairlyindependently.

However,thiswillonlyhappenbecausethechildhasbeenindirectlypreparedinboththehandandthemindwiththekeystolanguage:thesandpaperlettersandthespeechsounds.Montessorieducationpre-paresthemindthroughspokenlanguage(vocabularyenrichment,storytelling,poems,etc.)andpreparesthehandthroughexercisesofpracticallife,tracingmetalinsets,theartofhandwriting,themovablealphabet,andotheractivities.Thedyslexicchildalsorequiresthisimportant,repeatedindirectpreparation.

Ratherthansimplytechnicalskill,Mon-tessoricalledtotal readingthegoalforthechild,noting,‘achilddoesnotreaduntilhereceivesideasfromthewrittenword.’44Thechildmustreadforunderstanding,graspingtheemotion,nuance,andintentoftheauthor.

TheMontessorimethodpreparesthechil-drenfortotalreadingthroughtheactivitiesofspokenlanguageinalinguisticenviron-ment.Oftenthegreaterthechild’sexposuretoculture(suchasart,music,geography,poetry,etc.),thehigherherreadinglevel.Additionally,readingstoriesandpoemsaloudtochildrenhelpstostimulateaware-nessofaspectsoflanguagesuchasrhyme.

Practicewithgraceandcourtesyalsodeep-ensachild’svocabulary.

Inaddition,teachersinMontessorienvi-ronmentspreparethechildfortotalreadingwiththemechanicalskillsandreadingpracticeacquiredthroughthephoneticobjectbox,phonogramwork,puzzlewords,readingclassification,andreadinganalysis.Herethesynthesisanddecodingtakeplace.Formoreinterpretivereading,Montessorioffersfunctionofwords,wordstudy,books,andalsoreadinganalysis.‘Thechildofthisagelearnsmanynewwords’,wroteMontes-sori.‘Hehasaspecialsensitivenessforwords;theyattracthisinterest,andhespon-taneouslyaccumulatesaverygreatnum-ber.’45Thechildalsorepeatsmuchofthisworkwithinterestandvariety.

Similarly,theNRPnotedthatlisteningto,telling,anddiscussingstories(vocabu-laryenrichment),inadditiontoreadingcomprehension,areessentialforreadingfluency.Further,directinstructionwithsightwords(alsocallednonphoneticor,inMontessori,puzzlewords)andothervocab-ularyareimportantcomponentsforsuc-cessfulreaders.Regularpracticewithalloftheseskillswasalsonotedasessential.

DyslexicreadersinMontessorifollowthissamelogicalprogressionastheirtypi-calpeers,thesimple-to-complex,parts-to-wholeapproachtototalreading.Theselearnersneedincreasedrepetitionandtimewiththeseactivities.Coupledwithregularobservation,readingaloudmakesimpor-tantfeedbackfromtheadultpossible.Itisduringthistypeofreadingthatfurtherinstructionindecodingcansupporttheindividualchild.Thesetimesshouldbepos-itiveandconstructiveforthechild.Whenamistakeismade,thechildcanalterthepro-nunciationverballyandstorethecorrectneuralmodeloftheword.Repetitionwillreflecttheexactpronunciationandspelling


oftheworduntilitbecomesautomatic.46Achildmustbeableaccuratelytoperformatwo-stepprocess—readingtotakethewordinandcodingitforstorageandretrieval—beforethatwordcanbereadfluently.

Smalldecodablebookscangiveconfi-dencetotheemergingreader,ashewillbeabletoreadonhisown.Oftenchildrenliketoreadthesesimplebooksbecausetheycan.Ifthechildcannotreadaboutninety-fivepercentofthewordsonthepagecorrectly,thebookisprobablytoodifficultforhimtoreadonhisown.Resourcesareavailabletohelpaccuratelygaugeabook’slevelofreadingdifficulty.47

Other,moregeneral,Montessoriprinci-plesarejustasapplicabletothedyslexicchildastothetypicallearnerandsupportherindividualdevelopment.Theenviron-mentandlessonsaresequential,theclass-roomisorganizedandlogical,andmulti-sensorydidacticmaterialsareused.TheMontessorimaterialsaredesignedwithcon-troloferrorandcanbeaperfectdiagnostictool.Theadultgainsmanyindicationsofthechild’slearningabilitiesthroughobserva-tion.Thematerialsarebeautiful,givingonlythenecessarykeysforthechild’sexplora-tion,repetition,andsynthesis.Insomecasesthematerialsalsoallowthechildtoself-correctherwork,thusbuildingindepen-dence,confidence,andrespect.

Montessorisawtheneedforthechildrentohavefreedom—tochoose,torepeat,andtomove—coupledwithnecessaryresponsi-bilityintheenvironment.Oftenthechildknowsherownneedsand,withfreedom,willchooserepetitionofaskillwhensheneedsit.Repetitionisprovidedforinthedesignofthematerialsandactivities.Fur-ther,brainimagingtechnologydemon-stratesthepositiveeffectofpractice,asthebraincreatesaneuralcircuitwhenexpertiseorskillisdeveloped.48

elementary reading support

JustaswiththeMontessoriprimaryenviron-ment,CosmicEducation(theplanfortheelementary-agedchild,agessixtotwelve)canbeanexcellentfitforthedyslexicchild.ThefundamentalMontessoriprinciplescon-tinuetooperateandtheteacheriswellpre-paredtoobserveandmeettheneedsoftheindividual,includingthestrugglingreader.

MostchildrenwhohaveattendedtheCasadeiBambiniforthreeyearscometotheele-mentaryenvironmentalreadyreading.Ifachilddoesnotread,theteachershouldpro-videdailysupport,combinedwithregularobservationofthespecificdifficulties(e.g.,‘missesendblendsoundsregularly’),tocor-rectthisdeficit.Thisdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthechildisdyslexic,butaplanofactionwhichincludesmultisensory,repeti-tive,smalldosesofsoundawarenessandreadingpracticeshouldbeprovided.Thereisnotimetoloseforthissix-year-old;ifchil-drenwhoaredyslexicgeteffectivephono-logicaltraininginkindergartenandfirstgrade(agesfivetoseven),theywillhavesig-nificantlyfewerproblemslearningtoreadatgradelevelthandochildrenwhowerenotidentifiedorhelpeduntilthirdgrade(ageeightornine).49Thisisalsothetimetoemphaticallyprotectthechild’sself-esteem,aslikelyshewouldlovetoread,cannot,andissurroundedbythosewhodo.

Ideally,remediallessonsshouldbegivendailytoprovideconsistency.50Further,thescheduleofinstructionshouldnothindertheotherregularschoolactivities.Inthisway,theteachermeetstheuniquepaceofthechild’slearningandthechildcanfurtherdevelopautomaticity.TheMontessorienvi-ronmentperfectlymeetstheneedofthischild,assmall-grouporindividuallessonsareregularlygiven,basedonthechildren’sneeds,everydayintheMontessoriclass-


room.Remediationispossibleinamixed-ageenvironmentwithoutthepotentialstigmaorwork-cycledisruptionofkeepingregularappointmentswithaspecialist.

Asthechildenterstheelementaryclass-room,theteachershouldassessthevariouscomponentsofherreadingskills.Eventhemostcareful,unbiasedobservershouldkeepinmindthatcognitivephenomenacannotbedirectlyobserved.Onesimplycannotseeintothemindsofchildren.Facialexpres-sionsandbodylanguagecangivesomecluestothestrugglesofachild,ascanlisteningtoherreadingaloud.Whenachildhasdiffi-cultiessegmenting(pullingapartawordintoitssounds,usuallyobservedwhilespell-ing)orblending(pushingsoundstogethertoformawordwhilereading),andhasbeenphonologicallywellprepared,furtheranaly-sisshouldbedone.

Oralconversationswiththechildmayrevealanawareness(orlackthereof)ofsoundcomparison,segmentation,andblending.Tocheckcomparison,theteachermighthavethechildpronouncetheindivid-ualsoundsheardinawordorcountthem.Tosegment,thechildbreaksthewordapartbysoundsorsyllables;toblend,shejoinssounds.Achildwhohastroublehearingsyl-lablescanplaceherhandunderherchin;eachtimeshefeelsherjawdrop,asyllableisbeingspoken.Fordyslexicchildrenwithblendingdifficulties,presentingmanywordswiththesamesoundtogether(asa“family”)canbemoreeffectiverepetition.51(Forexample,thechildreadsalistcontain-ingwordsbeginningwith/sl/suchasslip,slam,sled,etc.,orwordswiththerootport,suchasreport,portable,transport,etc.)

Theteachercanalsoperiodicallypointoutaparticularwordandchecktoseeifthingsmakesensetothechild.Inthisway,thechilddecodesanunknownwordandtheteacherverifiesthatthepronunciationiscor-

rectbyrepeatingthatword.Also,thisfos-tersthechild’sindependenceasareaderbybuildingherconfidence.Forexample,whensheisabletoarticulate/d//o//g/andcanblendthesesoundstoformdog,theteachermayask,‘Doesdogsoundrighttoyou?Doesthismakesenseinthestory?’

Fluencywillchangeforthechilddepend-ingonwhatsheisreadingandwhethershehasfamiliarityorpracticewiththetext.Childrenneedpracticewithfluency,whichiscloselylinkedwithreadingcomprehension.Whenchildrenreadpassagesorallymultipletimesandreceivefeedback,theybecomebetterreaders.Childrenwhoreadandrereadtextrepeatedlyorrelyontheuseofaudio-tapesorpeerguidancefororalreadingalsoincreasetheirfluency.52Parentscanalsoreinforcefluencybysupportingtheirchildwithreadingaloudathome.Repeatedlyreadingthewordcorrectlydevelopsanincreaseinaccurateneuralrepresentations.

TheMontessoriadultshouldconsultthepublicschoolcurriculumforanunderstand-ingofreadingrequirements.Forexample,insomeMinnesotadistrictsitisnotuntilfourthgrade(agenineorten)thatchildrenareexpectedtoreadmultisyllabicwordseas-ily,yetchildrenareexpectedtodevelopintofluentreadersbytheendofsecondgrade(ageeight).Fluencyconnectsthedecodingskillsandbringsthechildtocomprehen-sion.

gener al support through cosmic education

Basedonextensiveobservationofnaturalhumandevelopment,Montessoricreatedpreparedenvironmentstosuitthecharacter-isticsofchildren.CosmicEducationappealstothepsychologicalcharacteristicsofthechildfromsixtotwelve.Duringthistime,thechildmovesfurtherfromtheconcrete


towardsabstraction,experiencinggreatintellectualgrowthanddemonstratingthecapacityforgreatwork.Sheconcernsherselfwithjustice,fairness,andmoralityandformssmallsocietieswithherpeers,seek-ingheroestoemulate.Asaresultofthesecharacteristics,theMontessorielementaryclassroomofferstheuniversetothechildandshereadilyaccepts,usingherreasoningmindandimaginationtoexplorethehowandwhyofeverything.Theseregularcom-ponentsoftheMontessorielementarypro-grammesupportthelearningofthedyslexicchild.

CosmicEducationisanaidtolife,offeredfortheentirehumandevelopmentofthechild.Animportantaspectofthechild’ssuc-cessistheuseoflanguageinaconstructiveandproductivewayforthebettermentofsociety.Language,wroteMontessori,‘mustnotbeconsideredmerelyasasubjectinschools….Itis,rather,a characteristic of civi-lized man.’53Thechilddiscoversthatlan-guageisahumancreationthathelpspeoplesatisfytheirneeds.Languagetransmitshumancultureandcontinuestoshapeandchangethehumanworldeachday.

DrMontessorireferredtotheintegratedspokenandwrittenlanguageworkoftheelementarychildaspsychogrammar,createdtosupportthecharacteristicsofthechild.Ratherthanteaching,theadultlinksthechildrentoavarietyofavenuesofexplora-tion,offeringopportunitiestorecognizepatterns.Withenthusiasm,theMontessoriadultbringslanguagetolifewithenticingquestionsandexcitingexamples,leadingthechildrentowardsdiscoveriesmadethroughreason.RenownedMontessoriteachertrainerMargaretStephensonsaidelemen-taryteachers‘makelanguageworkadetec-tivestoryadventureoftheimagination.’54

Therichlypreparedelementaryenviron-mentprovidesaplethoraoflanguageexperi-

encesforthechild.TeachersconveytheworkingsoftheuniversethroughspokenlanguageintheGreatStoriesandfurtherstories,beginningwiththewholeandmov-ingtotheparts.Withconcretematerials,thechildisolatesnewideas.Multisensoryexperiences,includingregularmovement,providerepetitionthroughvariety.Further,thechildexploresthroughreading,writing,andspeakinginmanyways.Forachildwhostruggleswithreading,thenatureofCosmicEducationanditstransmissionthroughkeys,impressions,andstoriesprovidesameaningfulandthoroughexperience.Insum,thenonreaderhasmuchpurposefulworktodointheMontessorielementaryenvironment.

Theelementarychildacquiresbroadersocialexperiencesthroughgoingout.‘Herequirestogooutintotheworldtomakewidercontactswithbothnatureandhumansociety’,Montessoripointedout.55Inthisway,thechildhaspracticeinsocietyandhecanseefirsthandtheworkingsofhiscul-ture.Further,thechildrenhaveagreatdesiretoviewpertinentexamplesoftheirstudiesinnatureandthecommunity.

Thedyslexicchildlearnsthroughactivityevenmorethanhispeers,whichprovidesaframeworkformemory.Inthisway,goingoutfitstheneedsofthisindividual.Hemustfullyunderstandthetopic,asrotememorywillnotworkwellforhim.Concepts,real-lifeexamples,andexperiencesprovideopportunitiesforpractice,andthusthechildcanmakeconnectionswithinandbetweencategories.Hands-onexperiencesarevitaltothedyslexic.56Theseexperiencesarefoundwiththemanipulativematerialsintheclassroomandthewidersocietyoutsideoftheclassroom.

Inthepreparedenvironmentoftheclass-roomandthroughthegoingoutpro-gramme,thechildrendevelopsocialskills.


Theypractisehowtoformagroupwithaleader.Theycollaborate,delegatingtaskstoeachindividualwhilejointlymakingacon-tributiontothewhole.Theyworkunderthedirectionofeachotherandeachhasanopportunitytolead.Theyexperiencehowtodiscussanddisagree.Thechildrensettheirownguidelinesfortheclassroom,theirownsmallsociety.

TheMontessorienvironmentprovidesthechildthefreedomtospendasmuchtimeassheneeds,inanextended,uninterruptedworkcycle,tocompleteatask.Thereisnopressuretomoveontoanothertopicataprescribedtime(e.g.,thirtyminutesforwriting,thirtyminutesforhistory),noemphasisonrotememorization,notesttak-ing,norarethereregularteacher-imposedassignments.Withthestateschoolcurricu-lumasaguide,thechildisfreetofollowherowninterests.

Becausetheenvironmentconsistsofagroupofchildrenofmixedages,thestrug-glingreadergenerallyhasapeergroupatherlevelatanygiventime.Lessonsandmaterialsarespecificallyplannedbytheteachertofitwhateachchildneeds,andbecausethechildrentendtowardstheirpeers,grouplessonsarefrequent.Inthisway,bothchildrenbenefitwhenabuddingdyslexicreadermentorsanotherchildwhoneedsmoreguidance,regardlessoftheirages.

CosmicEducationintroducesthechildtotheimportantaccomplishmentofhumanbeingsthroughthefourthGreatStory,Com-municationinSigns.Likemanystoriesele-mentaryMontessoriteacherstell,thisoneinspiresgratitudeinthechildtotheanony-moushumanbeingswhocontributedtoourlivestoday—inthiscase,gratitudeforthepreciousgiftofthealphabetandothersym-bolsystems,andthecreationofwrittenlan-guage.Becauseofthoseamazingearly

humans,notonlydocontemporarypeoplehavethepossibilitytothinkclearly,theyalsohavethepossibilitytowriteandspeakclearly.

Asthechildworkstowardsthemasteryofsound-symbolassociationsinEnglish,otherspecificmaterialscanreinforcethosepat-ternsandgivefurtherpractice.Afluentreadercanalsoworkwithanonreader,help-ingorreadingduringthatportionofthework.

BuildingontheworkoftheCasadeiBambini,thechildexploressinglewordsandwordmeaningsintheelementary.Thechildlearnsprogressivelyhowwordsarebuilt,learningaboutsuffixes,prefixes,andwordfamilies.Inonecase,thechildusessmallmovablealphabetstoinvestigatewordsbybreakingthemintoparts.Differentaffixesaddedtothesamerootchangethemeaningofthewordandsometimeseventhepartofspeech.Theisolationofthepartsthroughthedifferentalphabetcolourshelpsthechildtounderstandcompoundwordsandwordfamilies,whichgivesreadingprac-tice,strengthensvocabulary,andaidsinspelling.Deliberatewordstudyisessentialasphonologicaltrainingtransferstothereadingofbothnewandfamiliarwords.Ifteachersencouragechildrentofullyanalysewrittenwords,theycanapplytheirknowl-edgetothenewwordsencountered.57Onlytwentyprefixesaccountforninety-sevenpercentofallthewordswithprefixesfoundinEnglish-languageschoolbooks,andnineoftheseprefixesaccountforseventy-fivepercentofallprefixes.58

Becausethesecond-planechildlikesrea-sons,Montessoriteachersgiveetymologyinmanystoriesandlessons.Besidesjustgivingthemeaning,theetymologyoftenhasthecharacteristicembeddedwithintheword.Forexample,aflowerwithpartsbelowtheovaryiscalledhypogynous.Thewordcomes


fromtwoGreekwords,hypo,meaning‘under’or‘below’,andgynous,meaning‘female’.Also,thechildmightstudytheori-ginorclassificationofotherwords,suchasEnglishsurnames,forexample,whichcanbedescriptive,occupational,patronymic,orgeographical.Knowingtheetymologyorhistoricaloriginofawordisanimportantsupporttoreadingandfluentcomprehen-sion,asitgivesinformationabouttheword’spronunciation,spelling,andmeaning.Also,byknowingthehistoricalbackgroundforlanguage,childrencometobetterunder-standhowmanyofourbasicAnglo-Saxonwordshaveevolvedfromtheiroriginalmeanings.

Additionally,olderelementarychildrenexplorethehistoryofmanyLatin,Greek,andFrenchprefixesandsuffixes,discover-ingthatoftenaffixesarenotofEnglishori-gin.Whenchildrenmoveontomiddleschool(agestwelvetofifteen),thereadingmaterialchangesfrompredominantlyAnglo-Saxonwordstoamixofwordsofeveryorigin,soastrongfoundationinwordstudyhelpstoreinforcereadingskill.Inpar-ticular,towardsmiddleandintohighschool,textscontainlargenumbersofwordsfromLatin,French,andGreek.59

Englishissurprisinglyorganizedandsensiblyingenious,whichappealstothesec-ond-planechild’spsychology,aschildrenenjoytheimaginativeexplorationanddis-coveryofavarietyoflanguageconstruc-tions.Astheydevelopmorality,notonlydotheyenjoyrulesandputtingthemtouse,theyrelishthediscoveryoftheexceptions.Moreover,oftenthereasonsforthestructureofthelanguageappealtothechildandcansupportreadingcomprehensionbygivingcontextualclues.

Evenwordswhichcannotbecompletelydecodedbasedonsoundandlettercorre-spondenceareoftenpredictable,basedon

phonics.Soteachersshouldnottellearlyreadersthat‘Englishisirregular’,becausethatsendsamessageofnegativityandisnotreallycorrect.60Infact,thebrainisquiteskilledatdeterminingpatternsandregulari-ties.Muchofthepredictabilityoccursintwo-letterspellingunits,andchildrenshouldlearnallofthemostfrequentspell-ing-phonemecorrespondences.

Increasedvocabularysupportsreading,fromdecodingtocomprehension.Theinter-pretivereadingcards,sequencedbycom-plexity,canhelpthechildtodecodejustasmallamountoftextandexplorethemean-ingsofwords.Workwiththecommandcardsandgrammarboxes,inwhichthechildactsoutthewordsonthecards,givesincreasedpractice.Also,avarietyofmaterialexistsintheclassroomwhichrequiresthereadingofonlyasinglewordortwo,suchastheanimalstorymaterial,geographycom-mandcards,mathwordproblems,andnomenclaturecards.

Manyopportunitiesalsoexistforthebuildingofvocabularythroughliterature.Acollectionofcarefullychosen,limitedbooksintheclassroomofdifferentgenres(fiction,nonfiction,poetry,reference,etc.),authors,andtimeperiodssupportsthisdevelopment.Readingalouddailybytheadultalsoexposesthechildrentogreatvarietiesoflit-erature.Theadultcanpausetoexplainordiscussparticularwords,oraskavolunteerforadefinitionasneeded.

the montessori adult’s role in sup-porting the dyslexic child

Becauseitisessentialtoidentifythechild’sreadingproblembeforehefails,avarietyofassessmenttoolsforphonologicalskillscanhelpidentifychildrenwhoareatriskforreadingdifficulties.61Forthestrugglingreader,wordandsoundassessmentshould


besystematicandregular.Theerrorpat-ternsinanolderchild’swritingprovidecon-creteguidancefortheadultaboutsoundsthechildmaynothearandthereforedoesnotrecord.62Thesechildrenmayhavebecomesightreaders,relyingexclusivelyonmemorizationtoreadwords.Theteacherorlearningspecialistisbestequippedtoadministerthistypeofreviewwhenneeded.

Usuallychallengesarenotinitiallyrevealedthroughconventionalachievementtestsordiagnostictools.63Rather,aregularclassroomteacherwhohassomeexperienceobservingherchildren’sworkandhabitsnoticesthesechildren.Basedonherobser-vations,atthatpointtheteachercanhelpanindividualinthelearningprocess.Amajor-ityofdysfunctionscanbemanagedsuccess-fullyintheregularclassroomwithoutdirectspecialeducationservices,whilethepsy-chologistsandspecialeducationteacherscanserveasconsultantstotheclassroomteacher.

Ifahealthcareprofessionaldiagnosesthechildasdyslexic,explainingthenatureofthedifficultytothechildcanbeanimpor-tantstepforbothherunderstandingandhersuccess.64Herparentorteachercanletherknowthat‘Dys-means“problems”and-lexia means“words”,sodyslexiameansproblemswiththewordsyouspeak,thewordsyouhear,andthewordsyousee.’Whentellinghistorystories,theadultcanpointouttothechildthatbeforepeoplelearnttoreadorwrite,dyslexicswereregardedaspowerfulandwereoftentheleadersoftheirtribesbecauseoftheirstrengthsofobservationandcreativity.Thegroupswiththedyslexicmembershadanincreasedchanceofsur-vival.65Additionally,anunderstandingoftheconditioncanbeliberatingforchildren,whofinallyknowthereisanactual,under-stoodproblemwithlearning.Childrenwhocannotreadalreadymayknowintheir

heartsthatthereisaproblempriortoadiagnosis.Yetthesechildrenneedtoknowthattheyarecapableandbrightpeoplewholearndifferentlyfromothers.

WiththeimplementationoftheAmeri-canswithDisabilitiesAct(ADA)intheUnitedStates,conventionaleducationallowsfor‘specificaccommodations’tosupportdyslexicchildren.Theseaccommodations—includingaspacetoworkwhichisindividualorquiet,extratimetocompleteataskortest,and/oranalternativemethodtodemon-strateknowledge—arealreadyprovidedeverydayinaMontessoriclassroom.Otheraccommodationscouldincluderegularsmall-grouporindividuallessons,increasedrepetition,supportontheorganizationoftasks,andremovalofdistractions.Again,thetrainedMontessoriteacherregularlyprovidesthissupportforanyofherchildrenwiththeseneeds,includingthedyslexicones.

Someteachersareconcernedthatextratimeontestsgivesanunfairadvantage.However,collegestudentswithandwithoutdisabilitieshavebeenstudiedontimedandnon-timedstandardizedtestswithconsis-tentresults.Onlydiagnosedlearning-dis-abledstudentsshowedasignificantimprovementintestscoreswithadditionaltime.Anadvantageisnotgiventothedys-lexicstudentwithextratime;ratheritisanattempttoleveltheplayingfield.66

Insomecases,adyslexicchildmaybene-fitfromtutoringafterschool.Thesetypesofservicesoutsidetheclassroomrequirecare-fulcommunicationbetweentheclassroomteacher,thetutor,andtheparents.Ideally,additionalpracticeortutoringshouldrein-forcetheskillsthechildhaslearntinschool,ratherthanintroducenewonesortaketheplaceofthechild’sclassroomteacher.

Inmiddleschoolandbeyond(aboutages


twelveandup),theuseofacomputerfornotetakingmaybeofbenefittothechild.Also,asthechildprogressestoconventionalschoolsystemswhichusetextbooks,organi-zationssuchasLearningAllyinPrinceton,NewJersey,USA,canprovideaudiobooksupport.67Inthiswaythechildcanpartici-pateincoursesathislevelofunderstandingratherthanbeheldbackbyslowreading.Thiscanallowthechildtoreadmoreactivelybyunderliningortakingnoteswhilelistening,therebyreinforcingthecontent,whichmaynothavebeenpossiblepreviouslywhenhewastotallyfocusedondecipheringthewordsonthepage.

conclusion

Dyslexiaisalanguagedisorderwithabio-logicalbasiswhichischaracterizedbydiffi-cultywithreadingandotherlanguagepro-cessing.Typically,thechallengesresultfrompoorphonologicalawarenessandareunex-pectedascomparedwiththeotherabilitiesofthechild.Dyslexicchildrenrequirespe-cificinterventionandsupportandcanbehighlysuccessfulthroughoutschoolandinamultitudeofcareers.Theseare,inJaneHealy’swords,‘youngsterswhomightbeacademicstarsinaculturewithadifferentsetofintellectualpriorities.’68

Formostchildren,readingdifficultiescanbeaddressedverysuccessfully,thuseradicatingreadingfailureasapublichealthproblem.Bothidentifyingchildrenbeforetheyfallbehindandprovidingthehelpthattheyneedareimportantcomponentsneces-saryforthestrengthofouryouth.Thecycleoffailurecanbeavoidedbecauseeducatorsnowknowhowtoidentifychildrenatriskforreadingfailurebeforetheybegintoexpe-riencethattypeofdifficulty.

TheMontessoriclassroom,inboththeCasadeiBambiniandtheelementary(ages

sixtotwelve)environment,isdesignedtomeettheneedsofeveryindividualchild,includingthedyslexiclearner.ThetrainedMontessoriadultobservesthechildandpro-videsherwithwhatsheneedsforsuccessnotonlyinlanguagebutfortheblossomingofallofherhumanpotentials.Asaliteratememberofsociety,thechildfeelsempow-eredtocontributetoothers,pursuehercos-mictask,andsupportthebuildingofapeacefulworld.The‘humanteacherscanonlyhelpthegreatworkthatisbeingdoneasservantshelpthemaster.Doingso,theywillbewitnessestotheunfoldingofthehumansoulandtotherisingofaNewManwhowillnotbethevictimofevents,butwillhavetheclarityofvisiontodirectandshapethefutureofhumansociety.’69

notes

1 MariaMontessori,Education for a New World

(Madras,India:KalakshetraPress,1946),

p.41.

2 NationalReadingPanel,Teaching Children to

Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific

Research Literature and Its Implications for Reading

Instruction(Bethesda,MD:USDepartmentof

HealthandHumanServices,NationalInsti-

tutesofHealth,NationalInstituteofChild

Health&HumanDevelopment,2000)<http://

www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/small-

book.cfm>[accessed16October2012].

3 PeggyMcCardleandBrettMiller,“WhyWe

NeedEvidence-BasedPracticeinReadingand

WheretoFindThatEvidence”,inImplementing

Evidence-Based Academic Interventions in School

Settings,ed.byVirginiaW.BerningerandSyl-

viaRosenfield(Oxford:OxfordUniversity

Press,2009),pp.19–48(p.27).

4 BonnieB.Armbruster,FranLehr,andJean

Osborn,Put Reading First: Kindergarten through

Grade 3(Jessup,MD:TheNationalInstitutefor

Literacy,2000),p.7.


5 McCardleandMiller,p.27.

6 NicholasMeier,“ReadingFirst?”,Critical Liter-

acy: Theories and Practices,3.2(2009),

pp.69–83.

7 BarbaraWise,LauraRogan,andLouannSes-

sions,“SharingResearchKnowledgewith

Teachers:TheStoryofLinguisticRemedies”,

inImplementing Evidence-Based Academic Interven-

tions,ed.byBerningerandRosenfield,

pp.443–477(p.448).

8 InternationalDyslexiaAssociation,“Defini-

tionofDyslexia”,2002<http://www.interdys.

org/ewebeditpro5/upload/Definition.pdf>

[accessed16October2012].

9 MarcelAdamJustandPatriciaA.Carpenter,

The Psychology of Reading and Language Compre-

hension(Boston:AllynandBacon,1987),

p.107.

10 MaryanneWolf,Proust and the Squid: The Story

and Science of the Reading Brain(NewYork:

HarperCollins,2007),p.174.

11 Fordetaileddescriptionsofthebrainimaging

process,seeSallyShaywitz,Overcoming Dys-

lexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program

for Reading Problems at Any Level(NewYork:

Knopf,2003).

12 Shaywitz,Overcoming Dyslexia,pp.78–84.

13 Wolf,p.61.

14 Wolf,p.190.

15 DianeMcGuinness,Why Our Children Can’t Read

and What We Can Do about It(NewYork:Simon

&Schuster,1999),p.203.

16 SylviaOnestiRichardson,“ResearchValidates

MontessoriApproachtoTeachingLanguage”,

Montessori Life,16.3(Summer2004),pp.46–48

(p.48).

17 InternationalDyslexiaAssociation,“Dyslexia

Basics”,2008<http://www.interdys.org/

ewebeditpro5/upload/BasicsFactSheet.pdf>

[accessed16October2012]

18 Shaywitz,Overcoming Dyslexia,p.6.

19 USDepartmentofEducation. Twenty-Fifth

Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of

the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,

2003<http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/

annual/osep/2003/index.html>[accessed16

October2012].

20Shaywitz,Overcoming Dyslexia,p.29.

21 Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia,p.121.

22InternationalDyslexiaAssociation,“Dyslexia

Basics”.



25SallyShaywitz,“Dyslexia”,Scientific American,

275.5(November1996),pp.98–104(p.104).

26PriscillaL.Vail,Smart Kids with School Problems

(NewYork:Dutton,1987),p.53.

27Vail,pp.7and117.

28Wolf,p.201.

29L.BradleyandP.E.Bryant,“Categorizing

SoundsandLearningtoRead:ACausalCon-

nection”,Nature,301(1983),pp.419–21

(pp.420–21).


31 Shaywitz,Overcoming Dyslexia,p.147.The

researchthatDrShaywitzcitesstudiesonly

childreninconventionalreadingprogrammes

inthekindergartenandfirstgrade.Wemight

considerthatwhenchildrenlearnthesounds

thatthelettersmakepriortolearningthelet-

tername,astheydoinaMontessorienviron-

ment,alackofknowledgeofthenamesofthe

letterswouldnotbeanindicatoroffuture

readingdifficulties,asthenamesofthelet-

tersarenotnecessarytoread.Rather,a

knowledgeofthesoundsisnecessaryfor

reading.

32McGuinness,p.331.




36GavinReid,Dyslexia:A Practitioner’s Handbook,

4thedn(WestSussex,England:Wiley,2009)

<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

book/10.1002/9780470745502>[accessed16

October2012](p.160).

37NationalReadingPanel.

38Armbruster,p.16.


39DianaHanburyKing,“AConditionRightly

Named:WhyDyslexiaIsaUsefulTerm”,Per-

spectives on Language and Literacy, 34(Winter

2008),pp.17–19(p.19).

40Richardson,“ResearchValidates”,p.47.

41 TheOrton–Gillinghammethod,collaborated

uponbyamedicaldoctorandateachermore

thanonehundredyearsago,systematically

introducesthephonemesinamultisensory,

repetitivemannerbeginningwiththemost

commonsoundsthatfollowthemostcom-

monrules.

42Armbruster,p.8.

43MariaMontessori,The Discovery of the Child

(1948;NewYork:RandomHouse,1967),

p.229.

44Montessori,Discovery of the Child,p.229.

45MariaMontessori,The Absorbent Mind(1949;

NewYork:Holt,1995),p.174.


47TheDegrees of Reading Power(DRP)programme

listsliterature,textbooks,andpopularbooks

onaCD-ROM,rankingthembyreadability

(see<www.questarai.com>).Alternatively,

Children’s Booksin Print indicatesrecommended

gradelevelforbooks(at<www.booksinprint.

com>).


49InternationalDyslexiaAssociation,“CanIndi-

vidualsWhoAreDyslexicLearntoRead?”

<http://www.interdys.org/FAQLearnToRead.

htm>[accessed16October2012].

50AnnaGillinghamandBessieW.Stillman,The

Gillingham Manual: Remedial Training for Children

with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and

Penmanship(Cambridge,MA:EducatorsPub-

lishingService,1997),p.12.

51 JoyceS.Pickering,“MontessoriansHelping

ChildrenWhoLearnDifferently”,The NAMTA

Journal,33.2(Spring2008),pp.76–99(p.93).

52Armbruster,p.21.

53MariaMontessori,The Formation of Man

(Madras,India:KalakshetraPress,1991),

p.109.

54MargaretE.Stephenson,“HomoLoquens:

LanguageintheContextofCosmicEduca-

tion”,The NAMTA Journal,26.2(Spring2001),

pp.83–97(p.88).

55MariaMontessori,“The Four Planes of Educa-

tion”(FromlecturesgiveninEdinburgh,1938,

andLondon,1939;Amsterdam:AMI,1971),

p.7.

56Shaywitz,Overcoming Dyslexia,pp.283–84.

57VirginiaW.BerningerandToddL.Richards,

Brain Literacy for Educators and Psychologists (San

Diego:AcademicPress,2002),p.236.

58ThomasWhite,JoanneSowell,andAlice

Yanagihara,“TeachingElementaryStudents

toUseWordPartClues”,The Reading Teacher,

42.4(January1989),pp.302–308.Thisarticle

includesalistofthesemostcommonprefixes,

p.303.

59BerningerandRichards,p.233.

60BerningerandRichards,p.227.

61 Onepossibleapproach,DIBELS(Dynamic

IndicatorsofBasicEarlyLiteracySkills),pro-

videsabrief,individuallyadministeredsetof

taskslastingjustafewminutesandmaybe

administeredfrequentlytomonitorprogress

andenabletheteachertomakethenecessary

instructionalrefinementsforastruggling

child.Thisapproachassessesthefiveaspects

identifiedbytheNRP.<https://dibels.uoregon.

edu/>.

62LouisaMoats,“KnowledgeFoundationsfor

TeachingReadingandSpelling”,Reading and

Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal,22.4(April

2009),pp.379–399(p.392).

63MelLevineandMary-DeanBarringer,

“GettingtheLowdownontheSlowdown”,

The NAMTA Journal,33.2(Spring2008),

pp.178–185(p.182).Theauthorsdiscusshow

classroomteacherslearntoobservechildren

andidentifystrengthsandweaknessesin

academicfunctioning.

64King,p.18.

65King,p.18.



67Thisorganization,formerlyknownasRecord-

ingfortheBlindandDyslexic,maybefound

at<http://www.Learningally.org>.

68JaneM.Healy,Endangered Minds: Why Children

Don’t Think—And What We Can Do about It (New

York:Simon&Schuster,1999),p.146.

69Montessori,Education for a New World,p.3.

additional resources

Adams,MarilynJager,Beginning to Read: Thinking

and Learning about Print(Urbana–Champaign,

IL:CenterfortheStudyofReading,University

ofIllinois,1990)

Henry,MarciaK,Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decod-

ing and Spelling Instruction(Baltimore:Brookes,

2003)

Moats,LouisaCook,andE.D.Hirsch,“Overcom-

ingtheLanguageGap”,American Educator,25.5

(2001),pp.8–9

Montessori,Maria,From Childhood to Adolescence

(1948;Oxford:Clio,1994)

Montessori,Maria,To Educate the Human Potential

(1948;Oxford:Clio,1998)

Pickering,JoyceS.,“SuccessfulApplicationsof

MontessoriMethodswithChildrenatRiskfor

LearningDisabilities”,Annals of Dyslexia,42.1

(December1992),pp.90–109

Richardson,SylviaOnesti,“TheMontessoriPre-

school:PreparationforWritingandReading”,

Annals of Dyslexia,47(1997),pp.241–256

Torgesen,JosephK.,“CatchThembeforeThey

Fall:IdentificationandAssessmenttoPrevent

ReadingFailureinYoungChildren”,American

Educator,22.1–2(Spring–Summer1998),pp.

32–39

Wilkins,AngelaM.,andAliceH.Garside,Basic

Facts about Dyslexia: What Every Layperson Ought

to Know(Baltimore:TheInternationalDys-

lexiaAssociation,1993)

Documents

Supporting the Dyslexic Child in the Montessori Environment · Supporting the Dyslexic Child in the Montessori Environment Alison Awes Alison Awes is the Director of Elementary Training