Hello everybody,

This was to be in the "Educational Resources", but I've changed to a new heading, since I am making a new point.  (Thanks for your moderation, Rochelle).

In the discussion on this list concerning "Educational Resources" there seems to be an assumption that adults have reading problems for different reasons from children.  For example it is said that "models from K-12 don't work".  But we know, from reports on the Clackmannanshire study, that 20% of children are failing to read satisfactorily if taught by methods that do not put phonics first: and teach phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle and blending skills.  As these children grow up, they remain poor readers and writers.  In fact it is more than 20% who are struggling at work.  A recent report shows that 40% of the workforce in the UK have a reading age of children, see  http://education.guardian.co.uk/further/story/0,,1693572,00.html.  This is the dreadful legacy of decades of teaching by the wrong methods - methods which do not teach phonics systematically, first and fast.

If you work on the assumption that reading problems arise from teaching by the wrong method, then everything falls into place.  For example consider the heart-wrenching story from the "MedicalHELP" programme, referred to by Barbara Guyer on this list.  Go to http://www.marshall.edu/medicalhelp/ and press on the button "Here" to read the "compelling story".  It is quite clear to me that this person had not been taught to read by an effective method, and suffered the most dreadful consequences.  If you'd asked him what the problem was, he'd have blamed himself.  He did not have a different "learning style", it was the teaching that was the problem.

Following up on another pointer from the list, see message below, I went to www.ahead.org.  From here I looked at the "AHEAD Deaf & Hard of Hearing SIG.  http://www.jsu.edu/depart/dss/ahead_sig/links.html and followed the link concerning Cued Hearing.  I know that hearing people have great difficulty in learning to read, and the average deaf adult has a reading age of a child.  So I was interested to read this article: http://www.cuedspeech.org/sub/viewpoints/overcome_late_start.asp
which shows how attention to phonics teaching, through cueing the phonemes, lead to success. It shows that systematic/synthetic phonics can be applied for profoundly deaf children by using a different modality from speech, namely visual cueing of the phonemes.  Julie persisted in her phonics approach, although a significant challenge in her first year were the people who were "philosophically opposed to the program".  You bet!   It seems that when anybody tries synthetic phonics they get a lot of opposition at first, but people are converted when they see the results.

Cheers from Chiswick,

John Nissen
Cloudworld Ltd - http://www.cloudworld.co.uk
maker of the assistive reader, WordAloud.
Try WordAloud with synthetic phonics:
http://www.cloudworld.co.uk/teaching-synthetic-phonics.htm
Tel: +44 208 742 3170  Fax: +44 208 742 0202
Email: info at cloudworld.co.uk

 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: bgiven at gmu.edu 
  To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List 
  Cc: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov 
  Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:48 PM
  Subject: Re: [LearningDisabilities] Educational resources for someone interested in a profession working with


  also, there is a strong LD teacher preparation program at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. bkg

  Barbara K. Given, Ph.D.
  Director, Adolescent and Adult Learning Research Center
  Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, and
  Director, Center for Honoring Individual Learning Diversity and International Learning Style 
  George Mason University
  Fairfax, VA 22030-4444
  Fax: 703-993-4325
  Ph:  703-993-4406




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  Suggest that he go to 
  www.ahead.org 

  as one source of information.

  He may also find useful information at the websites for the International Dyslexia Association and the Learning Disabilities Association.

  There are degrees in Rehabilitation, counseling psych, learning disabilities, etc. at many universities.

  Many disability services providers in colleges/universities, though, come from a wide range of backgrounds, some having nothing to do with disabilities (which is not necessarily a good thing.)

  Nancy Reed


  Nancy Larkin Reed, Ph.D., CCC-SLP,
  Liaison/Consultant
  Regents Center for Learning Disorders
  Georgia State University  
  P.O. Box 3995
  Atlanta, GA 30303-3995
  404/651-4662
  nreed at gsu.edu 
  www.gsu.edu/rcld 
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