Archive for December, 2007

Teacher screeches

Published by JohnL on 27 December 2007 in Comments, News and The Press. 2 Comments

Kathy, who provides private remedial reading services in British Columbia (CA), has a blog she calls “Teacherscreech: Rants and musings about dyslexia, learning disabilities and other challenges.” that’s worth a peruse. Check these entries: Too little, too late and Why don’t teachers get the training in university?. Also, read through Kathy’s earliest posts about her realization that she needed to change her teaching (start here).

Reversals plugged on NPR

Published by JohnL on 26 December 2007 in Comments, Dyslexia, News, Not LD, Research and The Press. 4 Comments

After hearing Steve Inskeep of NPR’s Morning Edition perpetuate the myth that individuals with dyslexia suffer from reversals, I submitted the following comment via the NPR Web site.

Dear Mr. Inskeep,

I was sorry to learn that you have the mistaken idea that the Learning Disability called dyslexia is characterized by “seeing things backwards.” I was even sorrier to hear you communicate this misinformation during an interview about dyslexia and entrepreneurship on 26 December.

Even though it persists among people who have not examined the research about it, the idea of reversals has been shown to be false in multiple scientific studies. To be sure, individuals with dyslexia make more reversal errors (read “was” as “saw”; confuse b and d), but that is simply because they make more errors overall; the ratio of reversal errors to total errors is the same among individuals with and without dyslexia.

I hope you can correct the misinformation that you passed along to to the large listenship of Morning Edition.

John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Division for Learning Disabilities
http://TeachingLD.org

For those who didn’t know or have forgotten, this is not the first time I’ve fretted about the accuracy of NPR’s coverage. For previous posts on this subject, see here (and see an earlier post about NPR’s coverage of Mel Levine).

Another confusion of LD with the generic

Published by JohnL on 23 December 2007 in Comments, News, Not LD and The Press. 0 Comments

Over on EBDBlog I posted an entry about a story recounting the use of theater to help children with Autism prepare for religious ceremonies. The reporter, James Ricci, has the following paragraph that serves as one of the indicators of the children’s success.

Over time, the initial goal of trying to “get him into our world” for 30 seconds of a two-hour period expanded to the point where, at 13 1/2 , he attends a full day of middle school mainstream classes, augmented by two classes for the learning disabled.

Of course, one of the things that caught my attention about the article was this confusion of Autism and Learning Disabilities. It’s an old hobby-horse I ride, I know, but it’s a never-ending concern. Check the “not LD” category to see other instances of this confusion.

Link to Mr. Ricci’s story.

Richard Branson Interview

Published by JohnL on 21 December 2007 in Dyslexia, Families and The Press. 0 Comments

Consistent with the recent burst of interest about successful folks with dyslexia, Time magazine has an interview with Sir Richard Branson, the entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand of brand of businesses. Mr. Branson responded to questions submitted by readers, one of whom asked about dyslexia.

Has your dyslexia hindered you in the business world? —Skye O’Brien, Dartmouth, Mass.

[Branson]: Strangely, I think my dyslexia has helped. When I launch a new company, I need to understand the advertising. If I can understand it, then I believe anybody can. Virgin speaks in normal language instead of using phrases that nobody understands, like “financial-service industry.”

Link to the interview (available as an MP3, too). This is also a good opportunity to plug Liz Ditz’s compilation of
stories about individuals with dyslexia who, though they may not be as famous as Mr. Branson, have achieved highly.

Schwab Learning to Great Schools and Sparktop to Professor Garfield Foundation

Published by JohnL on 11 December 2007 in ADHD, Comments, Dyslexia, Families, News and Policy. 0 Comments

After many years of valuable service to the Learning Disabilities community, Charles and Helen Schwab are passing along their popular Web sites, Schwab Learning and Sparktop, to two other organizations. The Schwabs will shift their focus to other mays to help children and youths with Learning Disabilities and their families.

Thanks for all the good work!

CHARLES AND HELEN SCHWAB FOUNDATION SELECTS TRANSITION PARTNERS FOR SCHWAB LEARNING
GreatSchools and Professor Garfield Foundation to Inherit Learning Disability (LD)-Focused Web Content

SAN MATEO, Calif. (December 11, 2007) – The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation announced today its intention to merge its award-winning Schwab Learning websites with two nonprofit organizations, selected from an invitation-only review process, to continue operations for SchwabLearning.org, dedicated to helping parents of children with learning and attention problems, and SparkTop.org, the first website designed exclusively for 8 – 12 year olds who struggle with learning.

In September 2007, the Foundation announced that it will shift its focus from its operating program, Schwab Learning — a free direct service program with a twenty-year history of helping families of children with learning and attention problems — to concentrate on grants.

“In making this transition it was important to find partners who share our commitment to providing the best possible information and resources to the millions of families impacted by learning difficulties. We reached out to a select group of partners and ultimately selected two organizations who have the potential to reach even more parents and their kids who struggle with learning,” said Jodell Seagrave, managing director of Schwab Learning.

GREATSCHOOLS TO ACQUIRE SCHWABLEARNING.ORG
In a move that ensures LD resources and support reach an even wider range of parents, San Francisco-based GreatSchools will be the recipient of SchwabLearning.org content. GreatSchools, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving K-12 education by inspiring parents to get involved, will also continue to support SchwabLearning.org’s community of parents of kids with LD. Rather than ending an era, the transfer of Schwablearning.org to GreatSchools presents a dynamic future for supporting the needs of millions of families whose children struggle with learning. By joining forces, GreatSchools will preserve Schwab Learning’s mission and high-quality offerings, while welcoming Schwab Learning parents into a community of more than 33 million Americans – each committed to school and life success for their children.

“We are honored that the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation has entrusted GreatSchools with this valuable resource,” said Bill Jackson, the founder, president and CEO of GreatSchools. “We believe that SchwabLearning’s information and engaged parent community will help us increase our value to parents whose children struggle with learning. We are committed to building on this outstanding work to benefit millions more parents in the coming years.”

PROFESSOR GARFIELD FOUNDATION TO ACQUIRE SPARKTOP.ORG
SparkTop.org content will transition to the Professor Garfield Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Garfield creator Jim Davis, committed to engaging children in learning. A strong desire to expand content for children who struggle with learning, existing partnerships with Schwab Learning and a longstanding respect for the work of the Professor Garfield Foundation were key factors in this selection. The transition of SparkTop.org into the Professor Garfield Foundation combines two highly acclaimed resources in children’s media and literacy. A recognized leader in education, Jim Davis and his powerful Garfield brand will now directly support success for kids with learning disabilities.

“One of the unexpected joys of being in this line of work has been hearing from the parents of children who learned to read thanks to the Garfield comic strip,” said Davis. “After nearly 30 years of doing the strip, we’ve heard this often enough that we’re convinced the strip is a great teaching tool – the simple combination of words and pictures stimulates learning. That’s why we created the Professor Garfield Foundation and the Professor Garfield website. We all learn in different ways, or as SparkTop.org says, ‘No two brains spark alike.’ It’s very gratifying that the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation are electing Garfield to carry on their vision. It’s a responsibility we take seriously. It will encourage us to redouble our efforts to help kids grow and learn.”

Charles and Helen Schwab established their private foundation in 1987 with the first iteration of Schwab Learning, when very few resources were available to families of children struggling with LD. Since 1987, the Foundation has invested more than $90 million in resources to serve the LD community, beginning with the original Parent’s Education Resource Center through the creation and management of today’s award-winning websites, SchwabLearning.org for parents and SparkTop.org for children. This guidance and support has provided an invaluable resource for millions of families free of charge.

“The merger of our websites with these two organizations will ensure that our resources continue to evolve, thrive and support parents of children struggling with learning difficulties,” said Charles Schwab, chairman of the board for the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation. “Helen and I are confident that those families who have depended upon our websites will be in capable hands as we focus our philanthropic efforts on grant-making to worthy organizations in the areas of learning difficulties, human services, education, civic and cultural arenas.”

About the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation and Schwab Learning

The Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, established by the Schwabs in 1987, is their private Foundation, and separate from The Charles Schwab Corporation and from the Charles Schwab Corporate Foundation. More information on the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation can be found at www.chsf.org.

Schwab Learning is a nonprofit program of the Foundation dedicated to helping kids with learning and attention problems to be successful in school and life. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, Schwab Learning develops and delivers resources that provide parents of kids with learning difficulties, and kids themselves, with practical information, empathic support and trustworthy guidance. Schwab Learning services are delivered through two websites — one designed specifically for parents at www.SchwabLearning.org and another created expressly for kids ages 8-12 at www.SparkTop.org. More information on Schwab Learning can be found at www.schwablearning.org.

About GreatSchools (http://www.greatschools.net)

GreatSchools Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization working to improve K-12 education by inspiring parents to get involved. Its online media property, GreatSchools.net, is the nation’s premier provider of K-12 school information, reaching 33 million users last year, an estimated reach into 33% of the nation’s K-12 households. GreatSchools provides school information on its free Web site, GreatSchools.net, and through its free email newsletters thanks to the support of foundations and corporations that understand the importance of parent involvement in a child’s education.

About The Professor Garfield Foundation

The Professor Garfield Foundation will strive to become a world leader in the direct free delivery of innovative digital learning around the world with a primary emphasis on children’s literacy. Through the use of content that is engaging and pedagogically sound, The Professor Garfield Foundation will help individuals learn to read and write in English and to experience and enjoy “edutainment” in other important educational areas.

For the past 26 years, Garfield creator Jim Davis has been hearing from parents about how Garfield helped their child learn to read. Countless teachers tell Jim how they use Garfield and his friends as a powerful tool to motivate and teach children in the classroom. “Garfield” is therefore a famous and suitable icon for a venture that blends entertainment with learning.

Links:

LD opportunities

Published by admin on 9 December 2007 in News. 0 Comments

On the off chances that one of LD Blog’s three readers is looking for a position in higher education or organizations concerned with special education and related areas of teaching and research: Check http://SpedPro.org/. Many universities and other agencies post announcements there are open positions.