Archive for the 'News' Category

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Reading comprehension help for ADHD high schoolers

Published on 9 May 2011 in ADHD, Literacy, News, Research, Secondary and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

In “Improving the Reading Recall of High School Students With ADHD,” Joseph W. Johnson, Robert Reid, and Linda H. Mason report the results of an intensive study in which they examined the effects of teaching high-school students a comprehension strategy as a part of a self-regulated strategy development model. They found that systematically preparing the students to use what they dubbed the “Think Before Reading” (TWA) strategy helped the students with recall of passages’ main ideas and details connected to them.

Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have difficulty with reading comprehension. This multiple baseline across participants design with multiple probes study examined the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading comprehension strategy (TWA: Think Before Reading, Think While Reading, Think After Reading) taught following the self-regulated strategy development model on social studies expository text recall of three high school students with ADHD. Results showed improvement in the number of main ideas and percentage of supporting details recalled. Gains were maintained and some improvement occurred at 2- and 4-week follow-ups. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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DBA conference June 2011

Published on 18 April 2011 in Dyslexia, News, Professional development, Research and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

The British Dyslexia Association holds its eighth international conference in June of 2011. There is an outstanding list of presentations by authorities, including talks by Margaret Snowling, Bruce Pennington, David Saldaña, Joel Talcott, and many others. Download a copy of the announcement directly or jump over to the http://bdainternationalconference.org/ Web site where you can explore the list of speaker, learn about bookings, register, and so forth.

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RFB&D becomes Learning Ally

Published on 12 April 2011 in News and The press. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

RFB&D, which was originally known to many of us as “Recording for the Blind” before it became “Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic” and then (more simply) “RFB&D,” has renamed itself “Learning Ally” and affixed a ™ to that. Keep up with the latest from LearningAlly™.

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NY Times: Levine shot himself

Published on 27 February 2011 in News and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , .

According to Tamar Lewin’s report in the New York Times, “Dr. Melvin D. Levine, a nationally known pediatrician who was found dead last week, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a medical examiner said on Friday.” Ms. Lewin’s article includes extensive recounting of the background on both Dr. Levine’s influence on Learning Disabilities and the accusations of his inappropriate behavior with patients.

“Pediatrician in Abuse Case Killed Himself,” By Tamar Lewin, published 25 February 2011.

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Levine suicide report surfaces

Published on 23 February 2011 in News. 1 Comment

In an article headlined “Accused pediatrician left suicide note,” Jesse James DeConto of the Raleigh (NC, US) News & Observer reported that Dr. Melvin Levine, the widely known pediatrician who had been dogged by accusations of molesting patients, left a suicide note before his death last week. According to Mr. DeConto, “Barbara Levine found the note Thursday night, according to the sheriff’s report.”

In a version that is otherwise filled with background, WTVD of Raleigh-Durham (NC, US) reported that “Reports have surfaced that Dr. Mel Levine left a suicide note after he was found dead last week.”

Accused pediatrician left suicide note and Reports: Mel Levine left suicide note.

Previous coverage: Levine suit to continue (2011), Mel Levine died(2011), AKoM founder resigns (2008), Levine surrenders MD license (2008), Levine’s short-comings (2005).

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Levine suit to continue

Published on 22 February 2011 in News, The press and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Attorney C. Durso
Atty C. Durso

Carmen L. Durso, the attorney representing 45 men who claim that Dr. Melvin Levine manipulated their genitals during private examinations for Learning Disabilities when the men were children or youths, said that their suit against Dr. Levine will proceed against his estate now that he has died.

Appearing on NECN’s “The Broadside,” Mr. Durso told interviewer Jim Braude that he has 45 people in the group, but that he has talked with “at least 60.” People say “thousands” were abused, but it is difficult to ascertain how that number is reached.
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Mel Levine died

Published on 19 February 2011 in News and The press. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

-Updated-
According to news reports, Dr. Melvin Levine, the pediatrician famed for promoting the idea of “learning differences” rather than Learning Disabilities and dogged by accusations of inappropriate examinations of young patients, found dead at age 71 on 18 February 2011. Dr. Levine’s death in Rougemont (NC, US) was reported one day after the filing of a law suit by former patients alleging medical malpractice.

Read David Abel’s report of Dr. Levine’s death in the Boston Globe, “Doctor in sex abuse suit dies: Worked 19 years at Children’s Hospital,” and the version carried by the Associated Press that appeared in the New York Times Boston Pediatrician Facing Sex Abuse Suit Dies. For more on the law suit, see Mark Pratt’s 17 February 2011 story, “Former Boston doctor accused in lawsuit of inappropriately touching boys during exams,” as carried in the Los Angeles Times.

Dr. Levine faced previous charges of sexual abuse while he was affiliated with Children’s Hospital in Boston (MA, US); those were dismissed. Another set of charges were settled. In response to the new round of charges, brought by 40 male former pediatric patients who are represented by attorney Carmen Durso, Dr. Levine’s attorney Edward Mahoney said that Dr. Levine has made valuable contributions to the field and he “denies in the strongest terms possible the allegations.” In an interview with television reporter Jim Braude, Mr. Durso discussed the future of the most recent law suit, given the context of Dr. Levine’s death.

Obituary from the Raliegh (NC, US) News & Observer (see, also, SpedPro.

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LearningRx in the popular press

Published on 3 February 2011 in Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, News, Research, The press and Treatment. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Sandy Hausman, Charlottesville (VA, US) reporter for WVTF (one of the local public radio stations available in my listening area), carried a story about LearningRx and Learning Disabilities this morning. Unlike the credible coverage provided by many reporters for popular-but-unproven therapies for LD and other disorders, Ms. Hausman provided a sensible and balanced story about LearningRx. Here’s the blurb from WVTF’s Web site

Americans spend millions of dollars keeping our bodies in shape. Now a Charlottesville man is offering a workout for the brain. His center–part of a nationwide franchise–promises to help children and adults improve their concentration, memory, reasoning, and other mental skills. Sandy Hausman has the story.

Unlike many reporters who too-often fall for pop-psych and pop-ed theories (as regularly noted in other posts here on LD Blog), Ms. Hausman gets many facts right (e.g., prevalence of LD), phrases her report carefully (describes LearningRx reports as “internal studies”), includes appropriate caveats along with personal-interest angles, and even incorporates alternative explanations from the experts she interviews.

This is an example of journalism done better. Listen to an MP3 of Ms. Hausman’s report and explore WVTF.org.

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A success story

Published on 5 January 2011 in Dyslexia, News and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

In “From illiterate to role model” Carla Rivera provides one of those examples worth passing along to others. Ms. Rivera, who reports for the Los Angeles Times, described the case of John Zickefoose, a man who at 30 years of age was not able to read to his own children, read their report cards, read prescription labels, or to order from a menu. As a boy he was diagnosed as having dyslexia but, after adult literacy studies, he participates in book clubs, writes his own speeches, and is an advocate for his local library.

Now, as Ms. Rivera reported, Mr. Zickefoose will serve as a member of his local school board.
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Willingham making sense of brain research

Published on 3 January 2011 in ADHD, Dyslexia, Foundation, News, Research and The press. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

In what will be his last guest column for the Washington Post education column, “The Answer Sheet,” cognitive psychologist Dan Willingham advises people to be skeptical about the poppycock that masquerades as scientific advice about brain-based education. Under the headline “Willingham: 3 brain facts every educator should know,” Professor Willingham explains clearly and with the force of evidence and plain, ordinary reason why “most of what you see advertised as educational advice rooted in neuroscience is bunkum.”

Professor Willingham contends that there are three facts educators should know.
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