Monthly Archive for April, 2009

Free Current Practice Alerts

Published on 21 April 2009 in Administration, Assessment, News, Policy, Professional development, Research, The press, Treatment and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s sometimes hard to sort through the rhetoric about different methods used in teaching students with Learning Disabilities. However, two groups within the Council for Exceptional Children have made the task considerably easier. In a series of publications now numbering 16, the Division for Learning Disabilities and the Division for Research cut through the bologna to provide quick reviews about the effectiveness of current educational practices. These Current Practice Alerts, which are readily accessible for general readers, cover familiar topics including these:

  • Class-wide Peer Tutoring
  • Co-Teaching
  • Cooperative Learning
  • Direct Instruction
  • Fluency Instruction
  • Formative Evaluation
  • Functional Behavioral Assessment
  • Graphic Organizers
  • High-Stakes Assessment
  • Mnemonic Instruction
  • Phonics Instruction
  • Phonological Awareness
  • Reading Comprehension Instruction
  • Reading Recovery
  • Social Skills Instruction

They are succinct and faithful to the research evidence. They even make explicit recommendations about whether to use the practice. What’s the hitch? Well, they’re free, so see for yourselves.

Link to the Web page listing these resources.

Sphere: Related Content

ADHD and transition to college

Published on 20 April 2009 in ADHD, Families, News and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Tara Parker-Pope of the New York (NY) Times reported on some of the challenges facing students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder when they change from high-school student to college student. This is an important concern, and Ms. Parker-Pope raises important aspects of it.

The transition from high school to college is tough for most students. But for those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, university life poses a host of academic, medical and personal challenges. Students with A.D.H.D. struggle to stay focused on their studies and to meet the organizational demands of schoolwork.

Although some children appear to outgrow the disorder as they age, doctors say that as many as two-thirds have symptoms that persist into adulthood.

Individuals with ADHD sometimes also have Learning Disabilities. Approximately 5% of the school-age population has been diagnosed as having ADHD alone and another 4% have both ADHD and LD, according to a report of a large-scale study reported by Pastor and Reuben (2008). Those individuals have co-morbid (as the phrase goes) LD and ADHD may benefit from some of the resources assembled by the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), which conducted a symposium about transition in 2008.

Link to Ms. Parker-Pope’s 14 April 2009 article. Learn about the NJCLD symposium entitled, “Transition to Higher Education for Students with Learning Disabilities: Building Effective Partnerships and Resources” (30 May 2008) by visiting the NJCLD section of LDOnline. Remember to review the resources available from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sources:

Pastor, P. N., & Reuben, C. A. (2008). Diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability, United States, 2004–2006: Data from the National Health Interview Survey. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, publication no. (PHS 2008-1565, vital and health statistics; series 10, no. 237). [download PDF]

Sphere: Related Content

ICDR input opportunity

Published on 19 April 2009 in Events, Families, News, Policy and Research. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) issued a reminder about its process for securing recommendations about priorities for about disability and rehabilitation research. Following its earlier call for recommendations, ICDR now solicits public voting about the agenda.

The ICDR Seeks Your Recommendations on Emerging Disability Research Topics

Web site provides opportunity to vote and prioritize disability issues of greatest concern

This year for the first time, the federally mandated Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is utilizing an innovative Web-based approach to collect online disability research comments to assist in developing a federal disability and rehabilitation 2010 research agenda. This technology-driven approach gives the public a three-week timeframe from March 27th through April 17th to submit their recommendations. Additionally, registered participants will be invited to review all comments submitted and vote on their top 10 concerns in each topic area during the one-week period from April 22nd through April 29th. Public comments from stakeholders are the focal point of the disability research recommendations in the ICDR Annual Report to the President and Congress.

All disability-related research topics are welcomed, including discussion about concerns important to the veteran and military communities. The ICDR is seeking comments with special emphasis placed in the following areas:

  • Collaboration and coordination among federal agencies;
  • Health information technology and/or electronic health records;
  • Health disparities;
  • Health promotion in the workplace;
  • Employment and health; and
  • Other critical research issues.

    • Guidelines and Instructions:

  • Access the ICDR Public Comment Web site: http://www.icdr.us/stakeholders for complete instructions, guidelines, and registration.
  • If you do not have access to a computer or the Internet, you may mail your comments to ICDR c/o CESSI, 6858 Old Dominion Drive, Suite 250, McLean, VA 22101 or fax to 703-442-9015. Please follow the following instructions for written comments:
    • No longer than 250 words or 1500 characters
    • Single-spaced using 12-point font in Times New Roman

    • Key Dates:

  • Web-based Public Comments: March 27 – April 17, 2009 (3:00 P.M. EDT)
  • Written Comments: March 27 – April 17, 2009 (Must be postmarked no later than the deadline)
  • Online Public Voting: April 22 – 29, 2009 (11:59 P.M. EDT)

    • Cross-posted with EBD Blog.

    Sphere: Related Content

    IQ, memory, and reading are hertitable

    Published on 15 April 2009 in Causes, Dyslexia, Families, News and Research. 0 Comments Tags: .

    In a forthcoming report in Behavioral Genetics, Professor M. van Leeuwen of VU University (Amsterdam, NL) and colleagues reported that the vast majority of variation in children’s reading performance is heritable, with most of the variance in reading attributable to IQ and memory. The researchers studied twins and siblings (only some of whom had reading disabilities), and they measured children’s reading rate, how many times they could correctly tap blocks in a sequence that had just been displayed, the number times the children could correctly recall the location of a part of a visual display (a catepillar in different holes in an apple), repetition of sequences of digits, and IQ.

    Figure 3 from van Leeuwen et al.

    Before folks begin using this study to argue that there is a simple causal relationship between IQ and reading, please remember three things: (a) this research also implicates memory as an explanatory factor; (b) there are likely other factors that affect IQ, memory, and reading; and (c) even if lots of variance is explained by such factors as IQ and memory, the remaining variance is sufficient to allow fairly substantial instructional effects.

    This study investigates the genetic relationship among reading performance, IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in a sample of 112, 9-year-old twin pairs and their older siblings. The relationship between reading performance and the other traits was explained by a common genetic factor for reading performance, IQ, WM and STM and a genetic factor that only influenced reading performance and verbal memory. Genetic variation explained 83% of the variation in reading performance; most of this genetic variance was explained by variation in IQ and memory performance. We hypothesize, based on these results, that children with reading problems possibly can be divided into three groups: (1) children low in IQ and with reading problems; (2) children with average IQ but a STM deficit and with reading problems; (3) children with low IQ and STM deficits; this group may experience more reading problems than the other two.

    van Leeuwen, M. van den Berg, S. M., Peper, J. S., Hulshoff Pol, H. E., & Boomsma, D. I. (2009). Genetic covariance structure of reading, intelligence and memory in children. Behavioral Genetics, [forthcoming].

    Link to the PubMed abstract I’ve reproduced here.

    Sphere: Related Content

    Famous folks redux

    Published on 14 April 2009 in Assessment, Comments, Dyslexia, Families, News and The press. 0 Comments

    Over on Atlanta Cures Dyslexia Bill Allen has a page headed “Rich and Famous Dyslexics: Dyslexic Talents Unleashed!” that I suspect he hopes will inspire people to work hard and achieve great things.

    What talented dyslexic – your child? — is next in line for life success? Once overcome, dyslexia can be a creative gift. The dyslexic is predominantly a 3-dimensional thinker, “seeing” or, more accurately, “perceiving” a whole picture when processing the input of many senses. Called “Big Picture Thinking” by The Learning to Read Program, this ability makes the dyslexic a very creative person when working with three-dimensional objects or physical events.

    Look who’s dyslexic!

    This is followed by a two overlapping lists of at least 70 names. Most of them are celebrities of one sort or another (entertainment, sports) or historically important figures. People who are familiar with other sites that identify individuals who putatively have Learning Disabilities will recognize many of these names.

    There were some new ones for me, though. I do not remember previously reading assertions that Loretta Young, Michael Faraday, Gustave Flaubert, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Steve Jobs, John F. Kennedy, or Robert Kennedy had dyslexia. Does anyone know where I learn about these individuals’ Learning Disabilities?

    Sigh. Probably not.

    I understand that people hope lists such as this one will prove inspiring to children and even adults who struggle with learning. But, do the lists serve that function? And, are they accurate? Who completed the diagnosis of, for example, Michael Faraday? In addition, what about all the people who definitely have dyslexia and have accomplished a lot, but who are not famous? And what about all the individuals who have dyslexia and are managing to make it without fame and fortune?

    Link to Mr. Allen’s page. There’s also a reading program available there; that’s a post for another day.

    Sphere: Related Content

    Chall research grants

    Published on 12 April 2009 in Dyslexia, News and Research. 0 Comments

    Harvard University, the academic home of Jeanne Chall, sponsors research on reading teaching. Here is the announcement of the grant program.

    Jeanne S. Chall Research Grant

    Scholars in the field of reading research are encouraged to submit applications for the 2009-2010 Jeanne S. Chall Research Grant. The purpose of this grant is to provide a stipend for a scholar to spend a period of time (from 2-8 weeks) at Harvard University to conduct research utilizing the Jeanne S. Chall Collection on the Teaching of Reading at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Monroe C. Gutman Library, as well as other extensive reading resources available at the Library and elsewhere at the University. The Chall Collection consists of books and other materials related to the history of reading research and the teaching of reading, spanning both the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the materials are dated from the 1950s through 1980s and include reading textbooks, curriculum sets, and scholarly works.

    The research should focus on beginning reading, reading instruction, reading difficulty, and related topics in the field. Additionally, projects may be historical in nature, focus on textual analysis, or relate to the research and writing of Jeanne Chall. The award will support travel to and from Cambridge and other expenses (up to a total of $2500). The grant is targeted to recent Ed.D./Ph.D. graduates (within two years). The application deadline is May 15, 2009. Please include a current resume and a 500 word description of your proposed research, information regarding your stage of study, and career goals. Send to Edward Copenhagen, Special Collections Librarian, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Gutman Library, 6 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138; e-mail submission to: edward_copenhagen _at_ harvard _dot_ edu

    Sphere: Related Content

    Davis goes on tour

    Published on 9 April 2009 in Causes, Dyslexia, Events, Families, News, Research, The press and Treatment. 4 Comments

    Ron Davis, whose arguments that dyslexia is something worth having ring hollow and whose claims to have discovered the answer to dyslexia deserve strong challenge, will begin a speaking tour of the US and CA in May. If the lectures are like the public relations materials promoting them and Mr. Davis’ views, they will be heavy on a recounting of his terrific childhood triumphs, when he overcame Autism, taught himself to read, and learned to speak during his late adolescence. He will also provide a first-person account of what it is like to have dyslexia—one is likely to resonate with others’ views—and tout his books, The Gift of Dyslexia and The Gift of Learning, as well as his methods, “Davis Dyslexia Correction®,” “Davis Math Mastery®,” and “Davis Learning Strategies®.”

    Continue reading ‘Davis goes on tour’

    Sphere: Related Content