The Best Christmas Gift

Sometimes the best Christmas gifts don't come in a package wrapped in shiny paper with a big red bow.  Sometimes, like this year, they come in the form of a phone call or an email.  We at Langsford like to think that we give the gift of learning to our clients.  But we get back as much or more than we give when we hear things like the following.  It is stories like this that fill our hearts with joy and give meaning to our lives.

The email I received today:

Rhonda- Hello! Glad to hear from you. It was funny that you emailed because just the other week we were looking at Allie's report card (which is all As and Bs) and my mom commented, "We need to send this to Ms. Rhonda at Langsford!"

She's doing great! It's amazing to see how much better the related areas(science/ social studies/math) are just because the reading comprehension is so much better! I truly feel so blessed that we decided to go with Langsford instead of switching her to a specialized school!  Thanks again for all your help! Merry Christmas!!

(By the way, she asked for a Smartboard and a projector for her classroom at home for Christmas!! By the time she gets a real job she'll already have 15 years teaching experience!! Ha!). 

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!)

Jack Speaks Out About Langsford Center

Last time you heard from Brion. Here is something another client wrote. This is from Jack, who is a second grader working on his reading and his handwriting.

What Jack has to say:

I go to Langsford. You do straight lines and curved lines. You read 5 minutes and do the vowel circle. And write in the air.

You get a break for 5 minutes. You can play games and get candy. My favorite game is pin ball. It is fun.

You get a sight word box. You do letter tiles. You learn a lot. You learn Magic E.

Nice job, Jack! Good spelling and your handwriting looks super!

Keep up the good work!

What Brion Has to Say About Langsford Center

I recently asked some of our current clients if they'd like to write about their experience at Langsford. Brion was the first to finish his paper. He actually worked on it at home! Brion is in the 3rd grade and has been coming to Langsford for a little over 3 weeks.

Here is what Brion had to say:

About Langsford

Langsford is good. It helps you with all the sounds. I have not been here very long, but I have learned a lot. I'm already getting better at reading.

The teachers are great here. They teach you a lot about sounds.

You have a reading folder and a sight word box. The reading folder is for when you read at home with your parents. You and the parent you read with, sign off on the paper in your folder. You also have to write the title on it. They give the book to you to read. You also read there with them. The sight word box is for when you read off a paper there. The words you don't know they write it on a card and put it in the box. You go over it until you have five marks on it. You also take spelling tests and this is how you do it. They ask you to spell the words they say. If you get it right you don't write it down on the paper. If you get it wrong, you have to write it down on the paper and spell in until you get five A's next to each other.

You learn a lot about the vowel sounds. They want you to do your best handwriting on all the papers you do there. Air writing is fun because you write and it doesn't show up, but you have to imagine in in your head.

It is fun here at Langsford!

Thank you, Brion, for your thoughtful response.

Word Retrieval Problems

"Gosh....it's on the tip of my tongue....."

The term "word retrieval" refers to the processes involved in mentally identifying and then producing the word or words necessary to express a thought or name an object.

Word retrieval difficulties sometimes occur in isolation, but they are often accompanied by problems in other areas of language function. Students with a wide variety of learning issues frequently are found to have word retrieval problems. These include students with learning and/or language disabilities, reading disability, ADHD, fluency disorders, or brain injuries. Word retrieval problems are particularly associated with the "language zones" of the left hemisphere of the brain and parts of the frontal lobes.

Parents are often confused about what to do to help a child that has word retrieval difficulties. It's important to realize that this is not a vocabulary issue that will be fixed by exposing your child to new vocabulary words. Rather, it is that the student knows and understands the word or words, and has correctly used the words before. Their brain is just slow to pull up those words. Like many other brain functions, regular practice can improve the brain's ability to retrieve words quickly and accurately.

Some activities you can do with your child to help with word retrieval include:

Read riddle books or other books that play with words.

Play word classification games.

Play synonym and antonym games.

Tell how things are the same and different.

A psychologist or speech-language pathologist can help to identify or remediate word retrieval problems. At Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers, we have found that our work to develop visualizing and verbalizing skills can also prove useful in the development of language skills in general.

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.

Defining a "Reading Problem"

"Why Can't I get this?"

Oftentimes there is some confusion about the underlying cause of a student's academic problems. They are often associated with reading, but reading is not a single process and, when we talk about reading, we could be meaning different things. The end goal of reading is, of course, comprehension of the material. But poor reading comprehension is not necessarily the result of a weakness in one's language comprehension skills.

Reading comprehension can only occur when other factors related to the reading process are in place. It is dependent on a student's phonemic awareness skills, knowledge of phonics, word attack skills, and the fluency of their reading being efficient and automatic.

When a reader is struggling or unable to decode words in a text, or he or she is just inefficient in doing so, the result is that they are putting most of their energy into the process of decoding and are not as focused on determining what the text is actually saying.

It is also hard to understand what you are reading when you are not a fluent reader. When your reading is slow and choppy, perhaps lacking in expression, it is more difficult to glean meaning from what you have read.

Parents frequently think or are told by their child's teacher or tutor that they have a comprehension problem, when, in fact, it is actually a problem within the mechanics of their reading. This is related to people erroneously believing that if a student cannot answer questions about what he or she has read that it must be due to a weakness in their basic comprehension skills.

Conversely, some students are perceived to be poor readers because they are unable to answer questions about what they read. In this instance, the false assumption is that if a student is a good reader they will be able to answer questions about a text, and precludes the possibility that the incorrect responses were due to under-developed or inefficient language comprehension strategies.

The confusion around these areas is why we, at Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers, do a comprehensive evaluation of all areas of the reading process to determine the precise needs of any given student. We want the family to have clarity on what underpinnings are not in place and what area or areas need to be addressed for their child to perform optimally academically.

So remember: Reading and reading comprehension are two different, but related, entities. Both areas should be evaluated and considered when looking into whether a student has a "reading problem."

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

2520 Bardstown Road

Louisville, Kentucky

(502) 473-7000

We teach reading and learning skills for life. Spread the word!

Should We Do Summer Work?

Summer is quickly coming upon us. As the days grow sunnier and warmer, spring fever begins to set in. Our thoughts wander to the delights of summer--afternoons at the pool, a trip to the beach, summer camps and other fun things!

Thoughts of school fade to the background. However, summer is an ideal time to enrich or remediate reading, spelling, and comprehension skills! An hour or two a day devoted to these areas can lead to improved skills, better grades in the fall, and less flack about homework.

But what should you do? Well, that depends on the specific needs of your child. Some possibilities include:

Enrichment Work

Many people think that if their child is doing okay in school, no additional work is needed. And it's true, they don't need remedial work. However, our experience at Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers is that clients who are already performing in the average range can make significant gains by doing enrichment work to enhance their skills. Why settle for average if the potential is there to be a star student? Enrichment work is often completed in just a few weeks time, or can be done only one hour a day for a bit longer. An evaluation of your childs' learning skills could identify any areas that might benefit from enrichment work.

Summer Review

Perhaps your child has completed work at our center in the past. While regular reading and writing are the most important things your child can do to maintain or further his or her skills, a review of strategies learned could provide the boost needed for them to excel or move to higher level material. In this case, no formal evaluation may be needed. A call to your Learning Coordinator is likely all that you need. Your Learning Coordinator will be happy to make suggestions and discuss options. Over the summer, we often have weeks available when full-time clients are out for vacation that your child can fill--a win/win situation for both us and you!

Remediation

Is your child currently struggling? Are you worried they may not be able to keep up next school year? Are you fearful they may not be promoted this year? If so, an evaluation would give you insight into exactly where your child's skills break down and what you should do to remediate them. Many families feel that summer is the best possible time to do remediation work since it does not have to be done after a full day of school. Summer is a great time to play catch-up and prepare your child for the upcoming school year.

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

2520 Bardstown Rd.

Louisville, KY

(502) 473-7000

We teach reading and spelling skills for life. Spread the word!

Huh?

Hmmmmmmm.......

I know you think you understand what you thought I said,

but I'm not sure that what you heard is what I actually meant!

Have you ever been on either end of this scenario? It is frustrating for both parties. Language comprehension is essential for one to communicate effectively with others. A person must be able to not only receptively understand language, but to also be able to use his or her expressive vocabulary to effectively convey that information to others.

Surprisingly, one can be highly intelligent and still have difficulty with language comprehension. At Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers, our experience in teaching reading over the last 19 years has been that many who are struggling to comprehend are simply lacking the foundational skills necessary for good comprehension.

Research indicates that people with good comprehension utilize concept imagery to facilitate understanding. Simply put, they make mental movies in their head when reading or listening.

Have you ever tried to put together a bookcase or a child's bicycle? Did you find the diagrams that accompanied the directions to be of more help than the written directions? That's because the diagrams helped your brain to see the relationships between the pieces and how they would work together as a whole. Concept imagery is very much like this.

Clients who we tutor in comprehension at Langsford do systematic work to develop their imaging skills, starting with a simple sentence and building up to multi-page units of material. Once they have the information pictured in their minds, they practice recalling and verbalizing it in a clear and concise manner. Emphasis is also placed on determining the main idea and important details, as well as on developing higher order thinking skills (such as making inferences, drawing conclusions, or making evaluations of material).

Many people make mental movies in their minds naturally and without prompting. For those that don't or those who do not do it efficiently, structured practice to develop their concept imagery and verbalizing skills can make both school and interaction with others easier and less frustrating.

In conclusion,

I hope that what you read and what you think I said

matches what I actually said and what I meant to say!

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

2520 Bardstown Road

Louisville, Kentucky

(502) 473-7000

We teach reading and learning skills for life. Spread the word!

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.

"You signed me up for what?!"

This is for all you kids out there who have just been told by your parents that they have signed you up to come to Langsford.

I know what you must be thinking. "What a bummer--working on my summer break, " or, "oh man, I have to go there everyday AND after school?!" But I think you'll be very surprised once you get here. We will be doing things that are very different from what you've done at school.

All of our work is one-on-one and we have some really fun instructors. Some are women and some are guys. They've been taught some special stuff so that they know how to teach you in a way you can learn. Their goal is always to make whatever is hard for you-reading, spelling, comprehension-easier. If it's easier, you'll like it better and you won't have to spend so much time laboring over homework at night!

Most kids come every day, for 2 hours. Don't panic! It's not that bad. You'll have two 55 minute sessions with a 5 minute break in between. During the break, kids socialize in the lobby, eat a snack, or talk to some of their instructors. We even have some cool puzzles and games you can play with during the breaks.

In sessions, a lot of the tasks you do will feel like games. Our thinking is that learning should be fun! You'll have different instructors for different hours, so you'll get a chance to work with several really interesting people while you are here.

We're going to do some activities with you that will help develop your brain's ability to process information. We'll also teach you some cool rules and strategies that will make reading and understanding what you read easier.

While you're here you'll have a Learning Coordinator that will figure out the best ways to teach you to make things easier. They're really easy to talk to and you can tell them if something feels hard or if you think you're ready for a challenge.

The time will go by really quickly while you are in sessions, and we won't be sending home a pile of homework with you! Usually we just ask that you read 20 or 30 minutes a day outside of Langsford. We've got some really cool books and we'll help you pick out some that you'll enjoy.

Most kids really like coming here! We've had kids come from all over, as far away as Dubai and Africa! How cool is that?!

Remember: We're going to make learning easier for you, and we plan to have a good time with you while we're doing it!

We can't wait to start working with you!

Coincidence? Anomaly? A Mother's Imagination?

Recently a mother of one of our new students was talking to Jenny, our scheduler and office manager, and said, "It is probably a coincidence, but maybe not. I am not sure what is going on, but my husband and I have both seen some very positive changes already in Griffin."

She said that it did not make any sense to her that after only 3 days at Langsford they could already be noticing changes, but they were.

Hmmmmmm..........After only 3 days?

Actually, with the type of work we do to develop reading and spelling skills, parents often do see noticeable differences in a short period of time. This is because we start with the foundational processes necessary for success in reading and spelling with every client we have, regardless of their age.

We then ask them to apply this knowledge at a level that is consistent with their current level of functioning, gradually increasing the level of difficulty as they progress through sessions. Therefore, our students experience success every day they are here, starting with day 1. They see early on that they CAN be successful, which increases their willingness to attempt what was once considered challenging.

Perhaps most important of all, is the air of enthusiasm for learning that is present at Langsford. The children become enthusiastic as they experience success, and that makes us even more enthusiastic when we see their progress!

Sometimes it's almost palpable. Students often discuss what they are learning or which books they are reading while they are on break, and one child's enthusiasm carries to the next.

What we do is not "magic." It doesn't always take away all of the struggle, and it does require hard work. But it's much easier to be motivated when you can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Why Kids Want to be Able to Spell

Carter is a charismatic kid who will be going into 3rd grade in the fall. He just started sessions this week. While he's been great once he gets here, he's been giving his mom a little bit of a hard time in the mornings about why he has to come.

Today Mom came in and said she thought he wouldn't be avoiding coming any more. Last night they were watching Carter's favorite show, Wheel of Fortune. Carter solved the puzzle before Mom!

She asked, "Carter-how did you figure that out?" He said, "a-u. We've been doing letter combos at Langsford. a and u go together in some words." Then, "Whoa......maybe Langsford will pay off for me after all!"

Successful Sisters

Several months ago, we posted a blog entry about Mallory having some fun in her session. You can read it by clicking here. We received the following update and letter from mom:

Dear Langsford,

As you know, we were very pleased with the results we had when we brought our first daughter, Courtney to the Langsford Center. She came to Langsford in the summer after second grade and you really made a difference. She still needed extra help for a time, but after 5th grade, she needed no help at all. She is in the 8th grade now and doing well.

So of course we came to you when her younger sister, Mallory, began having similar struggles with reading. Mallory has really improved! Like Courtney, she still needs some assistance but her confidence has changed so much and she knows she can do it.

Every teacher Mallory had at Langsford found a way to click with her. Mallory needs time to get used to new situations and once she realized you were going to take her where she is and move through at her own pace, she relaxed. She never complained about going to her sessions.

Both of my children did continue to need assistance after the bulk of work at Langsford but that was no surprise because from the beginning you helped my husband and I understand that this is a process and not something that necessarily gets ‘fixed’ immediately.

All of that was explained so well in the consultation we had to discuss the results of the testing. Certainly there are always concerns about whether or not something will help, but realizing that it is a process made all the difference to us.

We were also fortunate in that our daughter’s teachers also attended the consultations. Mallory’s teacher was so supportive of the additional assistance and worked well with us. She was great. That is priceless to us.

I definitely recommend The Langsford Center, it did wonders for my daughters. So thank you. Twice!

What If Langsford Is Not The Best Fit?

When speaking to parents about their child's learning needs, it's important for us to be clear and honest not only about what Langsford can do, but also what we can't. This means we sometimes speak with a parent whose child needs help in areas outside our particular expertise.

Our Director, Stephen, recently ran into such a situation after having an in-depth conversation with a mom who was referred to us by a previous client. Stephen determined that Langsford was not a match for this child so he gave her other resources that he felt were a much better fit for her child's needs. Later, when Stephen communicated with the past client who made the referral, this is what she wrote:

Dear Stephen,
Langsford is the only place I will refer parents. I suspected his needs are not something to be corrected at Langsford, but as always I had confidence that you would be able to give his mother some options. I know you and your staff do not pretend to have a cure all for every learning issue that affects children. I also know his mom will remember your time and concern...

Brayden Gets A Lecture from Langsford

Brayden put in a lot of hard work this past summer. One of the areas of work Brayden worked on was Lecture Noting. During Lecture Noting, students learn to organize oral presentations in order to improve their comprehension. They learn to pull out the main points and important supporting details from all the information presented.

This skill becomes very important as students get older, and especially in college, when much information is being presented orally in class.

If Jack Becomes Famous, He'll Be Ready...

to sign lots of autographs!

Here is a picture of Jack, taking a break from working on his handwriting. The work Jack is doing falls under the area of visual-motor processing. Click here to learn more.

Teddy's Reading Novels

When Teddy first came to work with us, his Learning Coordinator, Mary, created a customized plan of action that developed his reading and spelling up to the simple multi-syllable level. Upon finishing that phase of work, he stopped attending daily sessions and then returned the following summer for 2 weeks to work at the complex multi-syllable level. This is often done with our younger clients so we can give them time to stabilize their new skills and then work on the more complex levels at the same time this type of work is increasing in school, usually after the third grade year.

This past summer, Teddy returned for a one week review. Teddy is now at the level where he is beginning to read novels so we also did some work on Novel Noting. Our Novel Noting sessions help with organizing and planning this type of school reading to gain a deeper understanding of the book. Our work includes ways to organize the setting and characters, develop main ideas of each chapter, and also learn new vocabulary words.