Reading Disabilities Workshop JAime Lehrhoff, M.A., LDT-C & Dr. Megan Brown

1. Reading Disabilities Workshop JAime Lehrhoff, M.A., LDT-C & Dr. Megan Brown Better EverythIng A Specialized Therapeutic Center (973) 376-8602 www.bettereverythingnj.com

2. Common Disabilities and disorders in the classroom • Reading (Dyslexia) 5 to 10% of the population • Writing (Dysgraphia) • Math (Dyscalculia) 4-7% of children • ADHD- Over 6.1 million have been diagnosed • Language Processing/Auditory Processing-5-11% • Autism Disorder: 1 in 68 children

3. What if I Suspect My Child Has a Disability? • Take notes on types of errors they are making • Collect Work Samples • Conference with the teacher • Request a meeting with the school’s student/teacher support team • Consult with a professional • If you are worried, don’t wait!

4. Meet Kara 10 years old-never been identified by the school for evaluation because she achieves at grade level expectations Speech Delayed, therapy for articulation-continues to mispronounce sounds/words and substitute similar sounding words (ex. pacific-specific) Difficulty following directions, sequencing, memorizing information Cannot recall stories she has heard or read and misses the point Spelling is average but she makes mistakes when writing essays, stories, etc. Takes much longer than her peers to read and complete her work Emotionally Sensitive

5. WARNING SIGNS Takes a long time to complete tasks Makes many spelling mistakes in writing Has limited/poor reading comprehension Struggles to read a map Often asks to have things repeated Organizing and planning activities is hard Has difficulty understanding stories or jokes Sounding out words is a struggle Jigsaw puzzles are difficult or avoided Words that look alike can be confusing Reverses letters when reading and writing Solving multi-step problems is a chore Misreads similar words Cannot tell when something looks wrong Writing assignments take foreverReading is labored/little fluency

6. Diagnostic tools In order to properly diagnose, multiple testing measures should be used including but not limited to: • •A cognitive battery such as the WISC-5 •An academic battery such as the Woodcock Johnson-IV •A language battery such as the Woodcock Johnson-Oral Language Battery •A Phonological Processing Test such as the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-2 • Recommended additional tests include the following: •Written language such as the Test of Written Language-4 •Fluency Testing such as the Gray Oral Reading Test-5 •Test of Word Reading Efficiency Gray Silent Reading Tests

7. Reading Disorders according to the DSM-5 The following describe the updated 2013 DSM-5 diagnostic subtypes of specific learning disorder: 1. Specific learning disorder with impairment in reading includes possible deficits in: • Word reading accuracy • Reading rate or fluency • Reading comprehension DSM-5 diagnostic code 315.00

8. Reading Disorders Basic Reading Skills: i.e., Dyslexia, phonological awareness, decoding, word recognition, etc Reading Comprehension: Retention of written text, connecting to text, applying concepts from text and grasping important details. Reading Fluency: Reading at a rate commensurate with others and reading with accuracy.

9. Basic reading Disorder:DYSLEXIA •“a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experiences that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” •People with Dyslexia have a neurological disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.

11. Say the Color not the word YELLOW BLUE ORANGE BLACK RED GREEN PURPLE YELLOW RED ORANGE GREEN BLACK BLUE RED PURPLE

12. How many f’s do you see? FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE- SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIF- IC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS.

13. Who has dyslexia? •Children and adults! •It often runs in families. •5 to 10 percent of the population •It is not a disease, rather something you are born with. •There has been no correlation found between the incidence of dyslexia and nationality, income, ethnicity, race, or IQ. • Most people with reading disorders such as dyslexia have average and above average IQ’s.

14. What type of remediation is needed? •There are a variety of research-based programs that help children with Dyslexia. The essentials of any effective reading program include the following: A systematic and direct approach in both phonemic awareness and phonics, practice in applying these skills in both reading and writing, fluency, as well as an enriched language experience. Orton Gillingham Recipe for Reading Explode the Code SONDAY Program Lindamood Bell GO Phonics Wilson Reading Program

15. ACCOMMODATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS Extra time to complete assignments and tests Copies of teacher notes Study guides ahead of time The use of a computer for writing assignments Spelling waiver for all subjects Waiver for a foreign language/pass or fail option Reading software such as Kurzweil Dictation software such as Dragon/or teacher scribe Clarification on tests and quizzes

16. What role does spelling play? Often kids with reading disabilities also have encoding issues: The reason why is that they can’t recall how words look and/or They can’t hear the individual phonemes that make up the word and/or They confuse letters and their sounds (i.e., b and d’s) and/or They can’t remember the rules and patterns of the English language (i.e., closed syllables)

17. Warning signs of reading comprehension disorder • Cannot retell a story after its been read • Has trouble answering both implicit and explicit questions related to text. • Providing inferences based on what one has read is troublesome. • Trouble understanding vocabulary within text and then providing synonyms and antonyms for keywords • Slow reading fluency which means difficulty understanding the overall meaning.

18. What type of remediation is needed? • Direct instruction to understand these aspects of written (and verbal) communication. Students will need assistance in identifying items such as implied messages and metaphors to interpret further meaning. • Active reading strategies such as making connections, inferences, asking questions and analyzing the text will be necessary. Each child requires a plan before beginning so that he/she understands the requirements set forth. • Look for common patterns, prefixes, suffixes, etc. Having a student identify common parts of words will not only help them build automaticity for words, but it will increase his/her comprehension of written text. • Stopping and jotting, annotating text and using sticky notes with key details to help the student recall what he/she has read

19. accommodations/modifications • Accommodations including audiobooks and other technologies will aide in a students rate and accuracy. He/she should become familiar withhttp://www.learningally.org or www.audible.com which has access to thousands of books online. • Provide text that is on a child’s lexile level • Providing notes/outlines of the topics prior to reading so that a student can follow along. • Give a completed study guide prior to a test to ensure that a student has the correct answer. • Keep away from answers that may be similar as to not confuse the child. Keep answers direct and to the point.

20. What does it mean to be a fluent reader? Meyer and Felton defined fluency as "'the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding" (1999, p. 284)

21. Warning signs of reading fluency disorder • Choppy reader. Reads each word one at at time and not the sentence. • Needs to use a finger to keep track • Reads part of a word/sentence multiple times. • Takes a very long time to get to the end of a passage • Takes an even longer time to answer questions pertaining to the text because they can’t remember the information read. • Does not pay attention to punctuation

22. What type of remediation is needed? • A specific program that is geared for improving rate and speed such as the Great Leaps Reading Program or Read Naturally. • Use of plays and other dramatic readings to improve intonation and voice. • Implementation of choral readings to have the student try and keep up with the reader. • Rereadings of short sentences and passages so that the student becomes familiar with the words, vocabulary and tone of the text. • Rereadings of familiar books with predictable endings such as Dr. Seuss's books for younger children. • Have an adult read one paragraph at a time and the student follows along and then reads the same paragraph. • Track words read per minute and do multiple readings until the amount of words increases.

23. accommodations/modifications • Listening to audio books and following along at the same time. • A reading tracker will be extremely helpful when reading longer text. It will also help a student focus on one line at a time and limit the number of errors he/she is making. • Extended time on tests • A reader for directions and tests • Lessen the amount of reading • Don’t call on a student unless they offer to read out loud. • Pair the student with a buddy who can read the directions or information.