Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

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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IDA research grants

Published on 2 February 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Over on SpedPro.org I’ve posted a note about a research program sponsored by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) to examine the effects of multisensory structured-language reading instruction. Skip over there to check on it.

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TZP is “Like Stars on Earth”

Published on 3 October 2010 in Dyslexia, Events, Families, The press and Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .
Darsheel Safary as Ishaan
Darsheel Safary as Ishaan

Those who remember Taare Zameen Par will find Like Stars on Earth very familiar. For others, who are familiar with the usual stories about children with disabilities who benefit from concern on the part of a
caring adult, the story will be familiar, too. I remark on it here as a reminder about Dyslexia Awareness Month and ’cause I’m sometimes a sucker for smaltzie uplifting stories.
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Finding out about a child’s dyslexia

Published on 13 January 2010 in Uncategorized. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Over on a Psychology Today blog, Robert Langston has a post about recognizing dyslexia early. He’s putting it through the filter of his own personal experience with dyslexia and the filter of a parent discussing a child’s problems with a teacher. Is dyslexia inherited? in the original.

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K. Rooney’s new book

Published on 18 November 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

My colleague and friend, Karen Rooney, has a new book and I am shilling for her! It’s called Strategies for Learning: Empowering Students for Success, Grades 9–12.

Karen, who has a private practice in Richmond (VA, US), has a wealth of commonsense procedures for helping students who struggle with the requirements of secondary school content. Since she was a teacher in the 1980s, during her Ph.D. studies, and while she’s been conducting evaluations and making recommendations for instruction, Karen’s been developing and refining these practical strategies.

Although I’ve not yet had a chance to review the book, I expect it to be one that teachers will find chock-a-block with readily understood and implemented techniques. Anyone who’s seen Karen present at a conference is likely to endorse this book, as she regularly gets packed rooms and those who attend are enthusiastic about implementing what they’ve learned from her as soon as they can get back to their classrooms.

Download a copy of the flyer describing the book.

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About on Irlen

Published on 10 July 2009 in Dyslexia, Not LD, Research, The press, Treatment and Uncategorized. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Whoever writes the section of About on Learning Disabilities provides support for Irlen Syndrome. Although there are two sentences expressing reservation and it doesn’t flatly commend the idea, there are 100s of words describing it and making fact-like statements such as “It often runs in families and typically goes mis-diagnosed as a learning disability or dyslexia.”

Here are the two disclaiming statements:

  • “Research in this area, however, is quite limited.”
  • “It is important to note that Irlen syndrome and visual treatments are unproven and not recognized by the major academic Pediatric Organizations in the US(AAP, AOA, and AAO.)”

    • At least there are those two sentence. Still, why report all the other stuff uncritically? But, perhaps I’m misreading the entry or over-reacting. I invite readers to check it (link to the entry) and then vote in this poll.

    How favorably does the About entry on Irlen Syndrome treat the topic

    View Results

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    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.

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    Last call on first RtI poll

    Published on 3 August 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

    The first of LD Blog’s polls about response to intervention (or instruction) will close the evening (US Eastern time) of 4 August. If you haven’t cast your vote in the poll yet and you wish to do so, jump over there and pick a winner!

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