Dyslexia

1. Dyslexia

2. Definition • An impairment in brain's ability to translate written images received from the eyes into meaningful language. • Dyslexia is a specific reading disability and is the most common learning disability in children

3. Prevalence • According to the National Institutes of Health, dyslexia in the United States range from 2% to 15% of the entire population. • Researches have estimated that about 5% to 9% of school-aged children have dyslexia, however, this figure may go as high as 17%. • Out of 100 dyslexics, only 5 are recognized and receiving intervention.

4. Symptoms – Before School • Signs and symptoms that a young child may be at risk of dyslexia include: • Late talking • Adding new words slowly • Difficulty rhyming

5. Symptoms – School Age • Reading at a level well below the expected age level • Problems processing and understanding what he or she hears • Difficulty comprehending rapid instructions • Trouble following more than one command at a time • Problems remembering the sequence of things • Difficulty seeing similarities and differences in letters and words • An inability to sound out the pronunciation of an unfamiliar word • Seeing letters or words in reverse (b for d or saw for was) • Difficulty spelling • Trouble learning a foreign language

6. Causes • Malfunction in certain areas of the brain concerned with language. The condition frequently runs in families. • Most people with dyslexia are of average or above-average intelligence, but read at levels significantly lower than expected.

7. JOURNAL ARTICLEdyslexia-friendly schools and parent partnership Two-year action research study aimed at helping parents of dyslexic students gain proper support. 14 parental cases with varying degrees of dyslexic difficulties for the children involved. Goals of the study: Investigated nature of communication between parents of dyslexic students and teaching professionals. Examined experiences of parents of children who have dyslexic difficulties. Identified promising policies and practices which promote parental partnership and dyslexia-friendly schools. Findings: Majority of parents had positive feelings regarding labeling of their child as dyslexic as it explained the struggles their child was dealing with in school. This was in direct contrast to teachers feelings that labeling students had negative consequences for students. Many parents paid for professional help outside the school to determine the cause of their child’s disability. Teachers/schools that were willing to reach out to parents when they suspected a student had dyslexia had mostly positive results with parental reception and involvement. Norwich, B., Griffiths, C. & Burden, B. (2005). Dyslexia-friendly schools and parent partnership: inclusion and home-school relationships. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 20 (2), 147-165.

8. JOURNAL ARTICLEComparing inclusive and segregated settings for children with dyslexia Study in Ireland evaluating and comparing children with dyslexia in three different settings: Special Schools Reading Units Mainstream school resource provision Participants of the study were parents of dyslexic children in the age 8-13 range who had been assessing special education services for at least two academic years. Total participants were 113 parents Findings: Results mostly positive for all three categories Results MOST positive for special schools Very significant finding as parents of dyslexic children in the special schools group reported the highest levels of happiness for their children. Parents in this study are saying that they prefer special education services above all others for their dyslexic children Results least positive for mainstream school resource provision in comparison to the other two categories Nugent, M. (2007). Comparing Inclusive and Segregated Settings for Children with Dyslexia – Parental Perspectives from Ireland. Support for Learning, 22 (2), 52-59.

9. JOURNAL ARTICLEpromotingDyslexia FRIENDLY SCHOOLS Article on Durham, UK program designed to promote dyslexia friendly schools. Working group was set up in 1998 to identify policies and guidelines to promote inclusive schools with respect to dyslexia. 2001 conference held with key educational leaders and policy makers. Conference was highly successful and is now an annual event to discuss the promotion and continual improvement of dyslexia friendly schools. Findings: Children with dyslexia best served through effective classroom practice and use of available resources. Training is crucial to allow teachers and professional staff the ability to best serve students with dyslexia. Consistent and constant monitoring and reviewing of best practices and teaching methods for students with dyslexia is critical to success for students in mainstream classrooms. Coffield, M. & O’Neill, J. (2004). The Durham Experience: Promoting Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Friendly Schools. Dyslexia, 10 (3), 253-264.

10. Recommendation(norwich, griffiths and burden, 2005) Schools need to address parent partnership issues more seriously for dyslexic students. Teachers need to: Sensitive to parents perspectives regarding dyslexic difficulties of their children. Take concerns of parents seriously and respectfully. Assume that parents are highly concerned and interested in their children’s education. Non-involvement of parents does not necessarily mean a lack of interest.

11. Recommendation(Nugent, M., 2007.) Special education environments are still working well for dyslexic children and therefore inclusion should not be the only option. It is important that the voices of parents and children be heard with respect to dyslexia and not just schools and policy makers. Policies and best practices should be supported by evidence and not just opinions. Parents and children need to be provided with options so that they can choose the educational services that are the best fit for their specific needs. One size does not fit all and while inclusion works for many children with dyslexia it does not work for all and eliminating special services for children with dyslexia is not a good idea or best practice.

12. Recommendation(Coffield & O’neill, 2004.) Children with dyslexia should be educated in mainstream schools to promote inclusive practices. Schools should work closely with parents in a partnership to continually improve educational methods and instruction for students with dyslexia. Important that teachers and schools have high expectations of students with dyslexia as a means to promote confidence, self-esteem and higher achievement. Schools should have regard to inclusive practices and are responsible for providing equal access to learning for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

13. Inclusion – Pro’s & Con’s Pro’s Con’s • Inclusion can promote self confidence and self-esteem if success is achieved in mainstream classroom. • Placing dyslexic students in special education settings may contribute to their feelings that they are not intelligent and therefore inclusion is a much better approach. • Some research has shown that labeling helps parents and students with dyslexia explain and cope with their struggles much better. • Training and monitoring can be costly and time consuming for general education teachers and schools. • Students with dyslexia often feel embarrassed about their disability and those feelings can be devastating if exposed in the general education setting.

14. Application to the classroom Teachers need to watch for signs of students being withdrawn or depressed as this can be a sign of dyslexia. (medicinenet.com) Setting up students with dyslexia with supportive peers is crucial to them succeeding in the general education classroom. (Nugent, 2007) Teachers need to be flexible with how assignments are structured i.e. allowing dyslexic students to listen to books on tape if the disability is severe. (Nugent, 2007) Constant communication with parents is critical for teachers to make sure that the student is progressing properly. (Coffield & O’Neill, 2004)

15. Application to the classroom Teachers can help in identifying dyslexia by watching for symptoms such as reversing letters and numbers, difficulty in copying work from the board or a book, and general disorganization of a student’s work. (medicinenet.com) Accommodations should be provided such as extra time on tests that require a lot of reading or allowing the child to tape record lessons at school for playback later. (bing.com) Creating a clean, organized environment with minimal distractions is helpful for students with dyslexia. If this environment cannot fully be achieved in the classroom the teacher should make sure to let the parents know that this environment would be ideal for the student’s room at home. (bing.com)

16. References Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). (2009). Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/health/article/mayo-117226/Dyslexia?q=dyslexia Medicinenet.com: We Bring Doctor’s Knowledge to You. (2010). Dyslexia. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/dyslexia/article.htm Organized Wisdom: Health. (2009). Dyslexia Statistics. Retrieved from http://organizedwisdom.com/Dyslexia_Statistics Norwich, B., Griffiths, C. & Burden, B. (2005). Dyslexia-friendly schools and parent partnership: inclusion and home-school relationships. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 20 (2), 147-165. Nugent, M. (2007). Comparing Inclusive and Segregated Settings for Children with Dyslexia – Parental Perspectives from Ireland. Support for Learning, 22 (2), 52-59. Coffield, M. & O’Neill, J. (2004). The Durham Experience: Promoting Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Friendly Schools. Dyslexia, 10 (3), 253-264. Nugent, M. (2008). Services for Children with Dyslexia – the Child’s Experience. Educational Psychology in Practice, 24 (3), 189-206. Phadraig, B. (2007). Towards Inclusion: The Development of Provision for Children with Special Educational Needs in Ireland from 1991 to 2004. Irish Educational Studies, 26 (3), 289-300.