LD Blog

Writing in the Missoula (MT, US) Missoulian on 8 January 2007, Rob Granger provided a feature story about dyslexia that provided a reasonably sensible account of the condition. Despite a couple of bumps, Mr. Granger got a lot right.

Bumps
Mr. Granger’s report showed confusion about variations in terminology. Probably this is because he depended on an individual for some of the content rather than checking other sources.

Some states, including Washington, consider it a specific diagnosis of reading disability. Others, like Colorado, do not acknowledge dyslexia as a condition at all. Montana parents who believe their child is dyslexic and want specific therapy for that kind of reading disorder often find themselves lumped in a more general world of “reading disabilities.”

One of the last states to use older terminology, Colorado provided services for students with Learning Disabilities (including dyslexia) under the label “Perceptual/Communicative Disabilities”; Colorado changed this to “Specific Learning Disability” in April 2006. Similarly, Montana’s statutes and rules includes dyslexia under “Specific Learning Disability.” Interestingly, the state of Washington does not expressly mention dyslexia in its definition for identification of students with Specific Learning Disabilities.

Right
Mr. Granger’s extended story noted several facts accurately. For example, he notes that dyslexia may have a genetic component. For another example, one of his sources told gave him the right information about reversals:

Part of the disconnect over dyslexia may have to do with changing understandings of what the problem is. Lubansky said 15 or 20 years ago, educators believed dyslexia was a condition where readers flipped the order of letters in a word when they looked at it. More recent science indicates the problem goes much deeper.

A 2000 research effort at the University of Washington concluded dyslexic reading problems were more related to the way children took in the sounds of the words they were trying to understand.

>>>snip< <<

This differs from other theories about dyslexia, which assume the problem is more visual. Popular therapists such as Ron Davis argue that dyslexics mix up the words and letters as they look at them on the page, causing difficulties when they try to read.

Link to Mr. Granger’s article.