Joe Torgesen, Barbara Foorman, and Richard Wagner of the Florida Center for Reading Research published an excellent overview of dyslexia that is readily available for public download. Although the title, “Dyslexia: A Brief for Educators, Parents, and Legislators in Florida,” makes it sound as if it is only applicable to people in a specific geographical area bounded by arbitrary marks on maps, this paper will be useful to millions of people.
In the document, Torgesen and his eminent colleagues address questions such as these: What is Dyslexia? What type of instruction is most effective for students with dyslexia? and Can reading difficulties in dyslexic students be prevented? How effective is remedial instruction for older students with dyslexia? The writing is clear as well as clearly well-informed.
This document will be valuable to people in PreK-12 schools, students studying education and the professors who should be teaching them the contents of the document; parents who are seeking straight talk with the authority of firm scientific underpinnings; and advocates who can benefit by distributing a tightly reasoned and written document to help explain concepts to constituents.
Snag a free copy from the Florida Center for Reading Research.
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Adrienne Edwards of Dyslexia Tutor: News-Resources posted an entry about the potential influence of head trauma on learning and behavior.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, by Thomas M Burton, researchers at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York believe they have found a common thread running through many cases of seemingly unrelated social problems: a long- forgotten blow to the head.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 5.3 million Americans suffer from mental or physical disability due to brain injury.
But what is new in this research is the contention that there are many other cases where a severe past blow to the head, resulting in unconsciousness or confusion, is the unrecognized source of such problems.
Link to Ms. Edwards’ post.
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The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) has scheduled a panel discussion about prevention of Learning Disabilities. Entitled “RTI Goes to Pre-K: A Comprehensive System for Early Intervention to Promote School Readiness,” the discussion is slated for 11-noon on Wed. 30 January 2008 in HC-6 U.S. Capitol Building, Washington (DC, US).
Participants will discuss the most recent data that supports [sic] the need for universal early literacy screening and supportive services before children enter kindergarten and will specifically discuss the impact of a new program — Recognition and Response — on students in preschool and will highlight key policy recommendations.
Continue reading ‘NCLD panel on early early intervening services’
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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).
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Under the headline “Study shows stronger links between entrepreneurs and dyslexia,” Brent Bowers of the International Herald Tribune reported that a survey of business leaders showed an unusually high proportion of them consider themselves dyslexic. Liz Ditz covered this story a couple of weeks ago, which is fitting given her recurring coverage of high-achieving dyslexics.
Continue reading ‘Dyslexic entrepreneurs’
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Reversals plugged on NPR
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.
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).
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