Monthly Archive for May, 2005

The Scientific American Web site describes a conference paper reporting that the angular gyrus may be linked to people’s abitlity to understand metaphors. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and collegues (University of California at San Diego) have assessed four individuals who have damage to the left angular gyrus but have normal intelligence and can carry on conversation fluently. When Ramachandran tested “them with common proverbs and metaphors such as ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ and ‘reaching for the stars,’ the subjects interpreted the sayings literally almost all of the time.”

The angular gyrus is a section of the brain that is involved in cross-modal connections—to oversimplify, mapping between visual and verbal stimuli. As Hallahan and Mercer reported, since the late 1800s there has been suspicion about a connection between problems in the left angular gyrus and Learning Disabilities in reading. With the advent of powerful technology for examining brain function (especially fMRIs), the connection between LD in reading and the angular gyrus grew stronger (see S. Shaywitz’s book Overcoming Dyslexia for more).

I found Ramachandran’s report intriguing because the connection between LD in reading and problems in understanding metaphors has been reported previously in LD (see sources). Problems in understanding metaphors may not be diagnostic, but the overlap strengthens the idea that LD in reading is a language problem.

• Links for Hallahan & Mercer: HTML (see first two pages) or download PDF
• Link for Scientific American: Brain Region Linked to Metaphor Comprehension
• Seidenberg, P. L., & Bernstein, D. K. (1988). Metaphor comprehension and performance on metaphor-related language tasks: A comparison of good and poor readers. Remedial and Special Education, 9(2), 39-45.
• Wiig, E. H., Semel, E. M., & Aberle, E. (1981). Perception of ambiguous sentences by learning disabled twelve-year-olds. Learning Disability Quarterly, 4, 3-12.

In “Big barriers in young minds – Learning disability is a way of life for many,” Savvy Soumya of the Telegraph (billed as haivng the most widely circulated, English daily in Eastern India) provides a feature story about Learning Disabilities in India. the story includes generic suggestions by an educator and a psychiatrist.

Link.

According to Daniel De Vise of the Washington Post, parents and students picketed a Maryland (US) private school for students with Learning Disabilities, protesting decisions made by the school’s administration. De Vise reported that the parents and students are concerned because “school leaders have asked all teachers to reapply for their jobs and miffed that they cannot hold graduation exercises outdoors.” The administration sees it differently, of course:

The administration sees it differently, of course:

School leaders, speaking through their attorney, said the shakeup is necessary to raise the caliber of teaching at Chelsea, citing the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law. Many Chelsea students come from Washington area public school systems, which are required by law to pay for private schooling for some students who don’t thrive in a public school.

Link

Karen Campbell of the Kentucky New Era reported about one of a series of meetings that the state department of education is holding around KY, seeking input about changes in state rules and regulations regarding special education. The list of topics reads like a summary of issues for many people.

Topics discussed included how to reach all children, what can be done to prevent disproportionate representation by race and ethnicity, how to ensure prompt coordination between schools for transfer students, should all districts follow set criteria for special education eligibility, how to define “functional” performance, when to begin addressing post-secondary transitions, and components of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Although there is a good bit about LD in her story, I had to wonder whether Campbell was using LD as a generic.