What is Decodable Text?

2021-10-07T09:12:28+00:00

The rationale for explicit and multisensory phonics instruction can no longer be ignored. Science tells us that most kids will benefit from a structured, code-based approach to learning how to read words.(1) Students with dyslexia certainly require this type of teaching, and no child is harmed by learning the sounds and syllables types of his or her own language. When students are learning to crack the code of English, we use decodable text to help them apply learned skills to reading in context. In this type of text, the majority of the words follow the regular patterns of English. Practice with decodable [...]

What is Decodable Text?2021-10-07T09:12:28+00:00

What Can I Do?

2021-10-10T05:18:06+00:00

Parents and guardians often feel at a loss when children are diagnosed with dyslexia, but this doesn’t need to be the case. Supporting a student with dyslexia can be easier with these home tips that are designed for students in mainstream classes. To begin with, you can help your child with time management: Map out more than the due dates. Note when to start working on each smaller piece of larger tasks. Break assignments—whether it’s a project or studying for tests—into smaller, more manageable pieces. There is scheduling and project management software to help with this, or color code a large wall calendar. First [...]

What Can I Do?2021-10-10T05:18:06+00:00

A Parent’s Guide to Advocating for Middle & High School Students with Dyslexia

2021-10-05T13:10:26+00:00

Parents and guardians are invested in helping their children with dyslexia learn and grow, but they also might not know how to help them thrive in school. These are some quick tips for accommodations in the classroom: Extra time on tests. For a number of students with dyslexia, the information is there; however, it may take them longer to retrieve it than neurotypical readers due to slower processing skills. Advocate for additional time on tests so your children can display their depth of knowledge. Shorter assignments. Students with dyslexia are often working significantly harder than their non-dyslexic peers to produce the [...]

A Parent’s Guide to Advocating for Middle & High School Students with Dyslexia2021-10-05T13:10:26+00:00

Establishing Organized Back-to-School Routines

2021-10-05T13:07:21+00:00

Start the academic year off stress free with these back-to-school organization tips! Display a household master calendar. Discuss it with your child each day. Not only will this help with mastering the ideas of time and time management, but knowing what is coming up reduces stress for everyone. Color code school events, sports, doctor appointments, play dates, etc. Set up a designated homework area. Having a quiet place to work with school supplies at the ready will set your child up for successful homework completion. Place lined paper, a stapler, ruler, timer, index cards, and other tools in a bin. [...]

Establishing Organized Back-to-School Routines2021-10-05T13:07:21+00:00

Books That Celebrate Those Who Learn Differently

2021-10-05T13:08:34+00:00

Dyslexia Awareness Month has us thinking about our bright and resilient students who work so hard to succeed despite learning differences. We have come up with a list of uplifting books that celebrate this spirit of tenacity. Happy reading! The Back to Front World of Azzie Artbuckle  Written by Beth Montgomery Azzie wishes she could spend every day at school drawing and painting, but the teachers make her read. The trouble is, she struggles tremendously to read letters, words, and numbers. This makes her feel stupid. But she knows that she isn’t. Recommended for Grades 1-2 Help! Somebody Get me Out of Fourth [...]

Books That Celebrate Those Who Learn Differently2021-10-05T13:08:34+00:00

Time & ADHD

2021-10-07T07:10:04+00:00

There is seemingly never enough time. There’s always more to do, and ostensibly fewer hours in which to get those things done. For a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, this is especially true. And that’s because of the unique relationship that exists between the ADHD brain and time. The ADHD brain processes time differently than a neurotypical brain. It is “time blind.” Everyone experiences occasions when a minute doesn’t feel like a minute, and an hour doesn’t feel like an hour. Sometimes the minutes stretch into eternity, and other times an hour can seem to disappear in a flash. This stretching [...]

Time & ADHD2021-10-07T07:10:04+00:00

Prevent Summer Learning Loss Before It Happens

2021-10-07T09:17:27+00:00

Reading activities during the summer can play an important role in helping students maintain their reading skills. Summer slump, or the potential for academic skills to regress during school vacation, is a concern for many students. Children with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, may be at a higher risk of summer slump than their peers.(1) More generally, children who may also be more vulnerable to summer slump are those who take a vacation not just from school, but also from engaging with text during the summer months. These reduced reading experiences may be because students don’t enjoy reading, they may not [...]

Prevent Summer Learning Loss Before It Happens2021-10-07T09:17:27+00:00

Academic Success and ADHD

2021-10-07T07:21:18+00:00

Staying in their seats until given permission to get up, raising their hands before talking, paying attention when the teacher speaks, following directions to complete repetitive work within time constraints, and becoming increasingly independent and organized are all hurdles the student with ADHD faces—hurdles which can prevent them from meeting academic success. Experts suggest that many of the school problems experienced by children with ADHD do not result solely from the biological factors that underlie the disorder, but from a disparity between the child and the learning environment. Some suggest that a shift needs to occur away from accommodating these students’ weaknesses to [...]

Academic Success and ADHD2021-10-07T07:21:18+00:00

Strengths of the Dyslexic Mind

2021-10-10T05:28:13+00:00

“The single most important implication of research in dyslexia is not ensuring that we don’t derail the development of a future Leonardo or Edison; it is making sure that we do not miss the potential of any child. Not all children with dyslexia have extraordinary talents, but every one of them has a unique potential that all too often goes unrealized because we don’t know how to tap it.” —Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid(1) Too often we focus solely on remediation for students with dyslexia; while that’s critical, it also is important to recognize the many strengths that individuals with dyslexia possess. Most [...]

Strengths of the Dyslexic Mind2021-10-10T05:28:13+00:00

What is Orton-Gillingham?

2021-10-07T07:14:35+00:00

What is Orton-Gillingham? To begin, a different question might be: who were Orton and Gillingham? Dr. Samuel Torrey Orton was a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist who, in the 1920s, became interested in studying children and adolescents who were not reading as expected despite average or above average intelligence. He described the students as having streshosymbolia, or “twisted symbols,” because many of them reversed their letters or read letter sounds in the wrong order in words.(1) Dr. Orton hypothesized that the brain organization of these students was different, and he experimented with multisensory methods to teach them to read and spell. Later, Dr. Orton worked with Anna [...]

What is Orton-Gillingham?2021-10-07T07:14:35+00:00
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Beth Dinelli, M.Ed
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