Dyslexia

Dys------trouble lexia------words

Dyslexia=trouble with words

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers recently had the honor of participating in a teleconference with dyslexia expert, Tim Conway. Tim Conway is director of the Morris Center in Gainesville, FL, (which evaluates and treats language-based learning difficulties) and an investigator at the Brain Rehabilitation Center, also in Gainesville.

Some important facts about dyslexia:

Dyslexia is neurobiological in origin. (In other words, it is genetic and tends to run in families.)

Dyslexia is a lifelong diagnosis, although one's environment may alter its course. (Meaning that intervention can, in some cases, significantly diminish the effects of dyslexia.) Click here to read about what kind of remedial plan Langsford offers.

The core deficit of dyslexia is an instability in the phonological component of language. (In other words, the primary symptom of dyslexia is difficulty with distinguishing and manipulating the individual sounds in words.)

Research shows that regular and intense multi-sensory work to develop a brain process can result in strengthened neural pathways that are observable on a brain scan. (Put another way, "what fires together, wires together." Linking visual, auditory, and articulatory processes can result in improvement in how one's brain processes input.) Click here for more about brain rewiring.

Lastly, having dyslexia does not mean that one won't be successful in life. (John Kennedy, Thomas Edison, Leonardo DaVinci, Cher, Harrison Ford, Whoopi Goldberg, and Steven Spielberg all have dyslexia!)

3 Reasons to do Intervention Early

Every parent of a struggling 1st grader has probably wondered...."If we just give it some time, will they start reading on their own?" Some sobering statistics below:

The three key research conclusions that support seeking help early are:

• 90 percent of children with reading difficulties will achieve grade level in reading if they receive help by the first grade.
• 75 percent of children whose help is delayed to age nine or later continue to struggle throughout their school careers.
• If help is given in fourth grade, rather than in late kindergarten, it takes four times as long to improve the same skills by the same amount.


For the article containing these facts, click here.

3 Critical Skills for Emerging Readers

Quiz Question for parents and teachers of emerging readers:

What are the 3 critical skills that reading researchers have identified as the most important predictors of future reading success?

Not sure? Find out what they are at:www.WeTeachReading.com/3CriticalSkills

Also, listen to what G. Reid Lyon says about the reading process:

Meet the Experts: G. Reid Lyon (The Reading Process)

How Early Should I be Worried About My Child's Reading? 3 Warning Signs

One of the most commonly asked questions we hear at Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers is, "How early should I be worried about my child's reading skills?" Closely related is, "When should work on reading skills start?" Research clearly indicates that what preschoolers know before they enter school is strongly related to how easily they learn to read in first grade.

Three Predictors of Reading Achievement in preschoolers:

1) the ability to recognize and name letters of the alphabet

2) general knowledge about print (which is the front of the book and which is the back; which way to turn the pages of the book)

3) awareness of phonemes (the sounds in words)

If your preschooler is lacking in any of these areas, reading experts advise stepping in early. Research indicates that a child who is four or five months behind at the end of first grade has only a 20% chance of ever reading at grade level in a typical school environment.

The good news is, however, that slow starters can succeed if they are provided the right kind of help. Early intervention programs that combine daily instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, and reading fluency strategies can improve reading skills to average or above levels.

So don't wait for your child to experience failure. If your young child is displaying warning signs that learning to read is going to be difficult, seek intervention early! If you'd like information on early reader screenings and/or full assessments to determine whether your child is at risk of reading difficulties, see our website.

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

(502) 473-7000

weteachreading.com

More on Brain Rewiring

We know that brain scans have proven remedial instruction in reading can improve one's decoding skills. But what about spelling? Can remedial work in spelling rewire the brain in the same fashion? Research indicates it can!

Researchers have found that humans code words in three forms while learning to spell. Each of the three draw on different, unique brain circuits. The brain codes words by their sound (phonology), the parts of the words that signal meaning and grammar (morphology), and by their visual or written form (orthography).

Research indicates that it is work related to the orthography of words that leads to changes in the brain. Orthographic instruction should include strategies for focusing on and remembering the letters in written words. This type of instruction has been proven to alter brain activity, causing poor spellers' brain scans to more closely resemble scans of good spellers. I'm happy to report that it is an orthographic approach that Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers use to improve spelling!

For more information on this research, click here.

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

Where Your Child is Our Center!

(502) 473-7000

Brain Rewiring in Children

"GET HELP WITH YOUR READING! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!"

Exciting news for struggling readers! A recent article in Science Daily discusses how scientists have uncovered evidence that intensive instruction to improve reading skills in young children causes the brain to physically rewire itself.

Researchers report that a study using brain imagery to compare the brains of good readers and poor readers showed that the quality of white matter (brain tissue that carries signals between areas of the brain where information is processed) improved substantially for poor readers who received 100 hours of remedial instruction.

The study showed a direct correlation between this improvement and improved reading skills. More specifically, the amount of change in the white matter was directly related to the amount of increase in phonological decoding ability!

Still skeptical? The control group, which contained both good and poor readers, did not receive the remedial instruction and their brain scans did not show any changes. This lack of change shows that the changes in the treated group cannot be attributed to natural maturation during the course of the study.

If you'd like information on the remedial instruction offered at Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers, please contact us.

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

Where Your Child is Our Center

weteachreading.com

(502) 473-7000

Can You Read This?

Aoccdring to rscheearch at Cmadrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

How'd you do? Were you surprised at how well you read it? But.....did you really read it? Were you decoding the words based on the order of the letters and what each letter says?

The above paragraph is an example of what is called top-down processing. A widely accepted educational philosophy that utilizes a top-down approach to reading is called whole language.

Proponents of whole language instruction believe that comprehension should be used as the basis for decoding skills and that meaning is brought to print, not derived from it. It is a whole- to-part model, relying on readers being able to use their comprehension skills to anticipate what they think a word will likely say. It allows readers to comprehend text even though they do not recognize or cannot decode each word.

A bottom-up reading model, on the other hand, emphasizes part-to-whole processing of a text. Proponents of this model argue that the process of decoding words by using phonetic strategies leads to comprehension of the text. The reader first processes each individual linguistic unit, or phoneme, combining them to decipher words, and only then does the reader begin to comprehend the text.

Both of these models have merit, but neither, in and of itself, is the most efficient way to accurately decode and comprehend text. A better model is an interactive model which utilizes aspects of both, with a focus on the latter.

If you've been to a Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers presentation, you may recall a model for reading which draws on three areas combined, working together in unison. It is a balanced approach of drawing on word attack skills, sight words, and contextual cues. These areas combined result in accurate and efficient decoding, which allows readers to shift their focus to gleaning meaning from the text.

For more information related to this interactive model, check our website or Facebook page for the next presentation on "What Parents Should Know...about Reading and Comprehension Development." These presentations are FREE and open to the public.

When Your Child has a Reading Problem....and ADHD

Learning difficulties don't like to travel alone. They almost always have another issue accompanying them. Often times, this "companion" is ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

A diagnosis of ADHD is based on behavioral symptoms of inattention. But evidence suggests that children with ADHD also often exhibit cognitive weaknesses in other areas essential to learning, including: 1) executive functioning 2) working memory and 3) processing speed.

These are important facts to consider when determining how to best address the specific needs of your child. Just as you need to consider these facts, we consider them in determining how Langsford can best meet the learning needs of your child.

That's why when your child comes to Langsford their work will be:

One-to-One

We provide specific instruction developed and tuned weekly, (sometimes day-to-day) for each child by their assigned Learning Coordinator. Your child's instructors will be working with him or her on a one-to-one basis so that they can adapt their teaching techniques to best serve your child alone.

If needed, they can accommodate your child's learning style by allowing more time to complete tasks or process information, or by providing as much repetition as your child requires to master a new task.

Highly Interactive

Our work is highly interactive--no work sheets or boring lectures. We keep your child engaged by using manipulatives, visual stimuli, and making tasks into games when appropriate. We ask lots of questions, model tasks when needed, and work at whatever pace is optimum for the student.

High Interest

We understand your child cannot sustain attention for long periods of time. Therefore, we move through a variety of tasks each session, spending no more than about 10 minutes on any given activity. We select reading material according to your child's interests and independent reading level. We keep the sessions moving and fun!

Rewarding

We offer lots of praise and encouragement. We are skilled at figuring out what motivates different children, and we work out an individualized reward system when needed. This might mean a goal sheet, earning points, or getting stickers or a trip to the treasure box for a job well done!

The learning difficulties and ADHD symptoms that your child experiences are unique to him or her. Understanding this and structuring intervention that is as individualized as your child is the key to your child being a successful learner.

Literacy Milestones From Birth to Age Six

Ever wonder whether your young child is on track in his or her reading development?

Click on the site below for information provided by the U.S. Dept. of Education.

Literacy Milestones From Birth to Age Six

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When Stars Read Video

During the Dyslexia: Beyond Reversals presentation, Stephen mentioned this video. We wanted to make it available to everyone, so we uploaded it here in two parts. Produced by the National Institute of Health, this video depicting the improvement possible with effective remediation, is a Langsford staff favorite. It's a total of about 12 minutes and well worth the time.

Part 1



Part 2

Dyslexia Presentation

Stephen McCrocklin, Director of Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers in Louisville, gave a presentation last week called Dyslexia: Beyond Reversals. Many people still believe that letter reversals (b-d confusion) and word reversals (was for saw) are the primary signs of dyslexia. This presentation shattered that long held belief!

The large group of professional educators that attended the presentation learned what the converging evidence says about dyslexia and how to identify it. This presentation was so well received that we're sure to schedule it again, so if you are reading this and interested in attending the next one, just let us know and we will place you on the list to be notified when another one is scheduled.

There's a word for that?

It's important to Langsford that we stay on top of what's happening in the field of reading and reading research. So our Director Stephen is always on the hunt to learn more and keep up to date.

Recently he ran into a new word he hadn't heard before: Phonotactics. Of course, it's highly related to one of the the underlying brain processes we work with at Langsford every day, all day long: phonemic awareness. But phonotactics takes the idea of phonemes in a bit of a different direction. You can read more about it here.

We compile the work Stephen does in keeping up with the research in reading and include the links in an email newsletter we publish every other month. If you are interested in adding your email to our list, please contact us by clicking here.