Learning Disabilities

When it comes to understanding dyslexia, many people still ask, what are characteristics of dyslexia? While the condition is most often linked to difficulties with reading, spelling, and phonological processing, misconceptions continue to blur the facts. This post clears up common myths and replaces them with accurate, research-based information about what dyslexia truly is—and what it isn’t. Given this age of information, we should have a distinct picture of what constitutes a diagnosis of dyslexia. Surprisingly, however, many misconceptions still persist about this condition. The following are some common myths and the truth behind them: Myth: You can tell a [...]

Does my child or student have a reading difficulty? This question can arise as early as the preschool years when children begin receiving instruction in early literacy skills. Given that fifteen to twenty percent of the population has a reading disability, it is important for educators, as well as parents, to be knowledgeable about the early warning signs of such a difficulty so that proper intervention can be implemented immediately and effectively. Delayed language development, articulation problems, or frequent ear infections can be the first clues to a reading problem. Signs to look for in a child to ensure they are [...]

There has been much speculation and discussion about the idea that people with dyslexia seem to have particular strengths in areas of the brain responsible for perceptual reasoning or visual spatial tasks. Visual spatial tasks or visuospatial processing refers to strengths in tasks that are based on the ability to work with pictures not words. Strengths in visual spatial tasks in the everyday world translates to the ability to understand maps, make origami, figure out puzzles, assemble things, read graphs of data, build complex structures with Legos, make model airplanes, excel at woodworking, draw, direct a school play, make creative [...]

When a child is diagnosed with dyslexia, parents often want to know what the road to reading and spelling success will look like.  While this road varies from child to child, there are certain landmarks that characterize the journey.  These include initial success with word attack which leads to improvement in automatic word recognition and eventually improvement in spelling.  The following case study describes one child and her experience.** When a child is diagnosed with dyslexia, it’s important to understand both the primary and secondary characteristics of the condition. Primary characteristics of dyslexia include difficulties with phonological awareness, decoding, and [...]

Many of the people who we consider as changing the course of history for the better were dyslexic. These people were not only able to think outside of the box, but they had the ability to shatter the limitations of the current thinking of their day. They were visionaries who gave birth to ideas that have impacted history in remarkable ways. These revolutionary thinkers are not limited to one area of pursuit, but have contributed to the world in all areas. They were inventors & scientists, political leaders, writers & journalists, filmmakers, actors & entertainers, athletes, artists, designers, architects, lawmakers, military [...]

Dyslexic second grader Olivia is learning to read and spell words with the digraph ch.  Her learning center teacher asks Olivia to trace the letters ch with her fingers while naming them. She teaches Olivia the key word chin and the sound /ch/.  Throughout her reading lesson, Olivia works with this new sound: she points to and reads ch words in isolation and in sentences, selects pictures that begin with /ch/, and writes dictated words with the target sound on dotted lined paper.  When she spells a dictated word, Olivia segments the sounds in the word with plastic chips and then names the letters while writing them.  [...]