When a picture is worth a thousand [unreadable] words

Pearland ISD Office of Special Programs

Snapshots of Dyslexia

A Brief Description

Imagine feeling different compared to your friends or siblings.

Imagine hearing that you are just lazy or that you need to try

harder. Picture yourself when you are very, very tired and you

cannot "think straight," or remember important things like

names, dates, facts or even words. Now imagine feeling this

kind of "brain fog" every day, especially when reading.

These feelings are common to someone with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a brain-based condition that makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell in your native language—despite at least average intelligence.

What is Dyslexia?

The term dyslexia comes from the Greek words

"dys" -- which means difficulty with

"lexia" -- which means language or words.

Difficulty with language

Auditory processing

Reading

Written expression and spelling

Speech

Definition

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.

International Dyslexia Association

Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experiences, both of which can limit a person's vocabulary and background knowledge.

What is Dyslexia? (cont.)

inherited (family history in 40% of cases)

brain difference; language is processed differently

memory difficulty

rapid naming speed (word retrieval) difficulty

directionality difficulty

unexpected for student’s age, educational level, or cognitive abilities

affects 1 in 5 across all socioeconomic groups, (exists on a spectrum from mild to severe)

slow readers/learners who otherwise are quite intelligent oral learners

Dyslexia is…

Dyslexia is NOT

simply a problem of letter/word reversals(b/d, was/saw, reversals can often be seen thru 2nd grade)

caused by poverty or limited educational opportunity

caused by developmental delay or speech/hearing impairments

caused by learning a second language

caused by left-handedness

caused by ADD/ADHD

caused by visual perception problems

a condition that will be outgrown (dyslexia persists)

Common Misunderstandings

writing letters backwards is a flag for dyslexia

reading difficulties are caused by visual perception problems

if given enough time, students will outgrow it

more boys than girls are dyslexic

only affects English speakers

colored overlays will benefit dyslexics

dyslexia can be cured (it persists; typically, dyslexic readers will always read more slowly than non-dyslexic readers)

What Makes it Unexpected?

A weakness in decoding, surrounded by a sea of strengths

Strengths of Dyslexia

These strengths are what make the reading disorder of dyslexia so unexpected compared to the person's abilities:

good at understanding new concepts; very intuitive, ability to learn orally

exhibits curiosity; always asking "why, why, why" has great imagination and creativity/great artists/designers often very good at athletics has surprising maturity excellent comprehension

of stories read or told to him/her a large oral vocabulary enjoys solving puzzles and

building models; good 3D visualization and mechanical skills

Students may have difficulties with:

reading real words in isolation

decoding of unknown or nonsense words

slow, inaccurate and labored oral reading (fluency)

rapid naming (memory and retrieval difficulties)

written spelling

written expression

weaker reading comprehension due to a phonological weakness (good listening comprehension)

reading for a sustained period of time

Causes of Dyslexia• most common cause is genetic

• larger right hemisphere, 10% larger in some cases

• unusual "wiring." Neurons are found in unusual places compared to non-dyslexic brains

• Non-dyslexic readers consistently use the left rear side of their brain when they read. People with dyslexia store language in other locations such as the right side of the brain. A dyslexic brain often works about 5 times harder when reading than a non-dyslexic brain.

Characteristics

Reading

difficulties in visual short-term memory (including near- and far-point copying)

real word recognition (can read a word on one page fine but not on another)

won’t try to sound out an unknown word

labored reading rate

poor reading comprehension (demonstrates higher comprehension during oral discussion)

misreading of words (accuracy, substitutions: gril for girl, form for from, horse for pony, water for ocean)

need to re-read several times to get meaning

Characteristics (cont.)

Spelling

phonetic

inconsistent, often no vowels

Writing

weak written expression

poor sentence structure

Poor punctuation

difficulty planning of essays

difficulty sequencing / transitioning between ideas

What to look for…

Pre-School

may talk later than most children

may have difficulty with rhyming

may have difficulty pronouncing words (i.e., busgetti for spaghetti, mawn lower for lawn mower)

may have poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants

may be slow to add new vocabulary words

may be unable to recall the right word

may have trouble learning numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, and how to spell and write his / her name

From The Dyslexia Handbook – Revised 2010

What to look for…

K – 3rd grade

fails to understand that words come apart; for example, that snowman can be pulled apart into snow and man and, later on, that the word man can be broken down still further and sounded out as: /m/ /ă/ /n/

has difficulty learning the letter names and their corresponding sounds

has difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)—lacks a strategy

has difficulty spelling phonetically

reads dysfluently (choppy and labored)

relies on context to recognize a word

From The Dyslexia Handbook – Revised 2010

What to look for…

4th grade – high school

has a history of reading and spelling difficulties

avoids reading aloud

reads most materials slowly; oral reading is labored, not fluent

avoids reading for pleasure

may have an inadequate vocabulary

has difficulty spelling; may resort to using less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell

From The Dyslexia Handbook – Revised 2010

What if I Suspect a Reading Disorder?Pearland ISD follows a tiered process for struggling students in this order:

Preventive programs – strong classroom instruction in phonics, writing, spelling, language arts, and a literature-based reading program

Response-to-Intervention (RtI) Committee – parents, teachers, counselor, and administrators meet to review student data and recommend research-based interventions

Interventions – targeted interventions are tailored to address student weakness. Data is collected over a period of time to document student response or lack of it. Interventions include intensive small group sessions, tutoring, pullout reading programs, summer school and bilingual programs

Testing – if student does not respond to interventions, he / she can be referred by RtI Committee for formal testing. Written parental permission is required; testing is completed within 30 days of consent, committee and parents meet within 15 days of completed testing to discuss results and possible program placement

Aspects of Instruction

In reading

Multisensory Systematic and cumulative Explicit Teaching to automaticity Synthetic (how parts work together to form the whole) Analytic (how the whole word can be broken into parts)

From The Dyslexia Handbook DRAFT– Revised 2014

Examples of 504 Accommodations for

Dyslexia

copies of charts, notes, and note-taking assistance

extra time for written response

chunking, reducing assignments

preferential seating

oral reading of directions or written materials

From The Dyslexia Handbook DRAFT– Revised 2014

For more info …

• Overcoming Dyslexia, Dr. Sally Shaywitz

– http:dyslexia.yale.edu

• www.neuhaus.org (Bellaire, TX)

• Learning Ally (formerly RFBD, books on tape)

• “Could it be Dyslexia” video

– www.brightsolutions.us