I am an ABE teacher, not a diagnostician, but when we were using Forms 5
and 6, Complete Batteries of the TABE tests, I found that students who
did much better on the comprehension section of the reading test than
they did on the vocabulary section often responded well to lessons on
the sound structure of English. They themselves recognized that this was
something they needed help with, so I guess I was using an RTI approach
before I ever heard of it.

To get a diagnosis, we have to go through the state DVR, which takes
many months, and then I have found that educational psychologists only
find "disabilities in the area of language," not dyslexia. Some ed
pyschs in the area refuse to test for or acknowledge even that, and find
all sorts of other demeaning things to say about students we've
referred. It reminds me of doctors treating ulcers with milk and mashed
potatoes, long after the culpability of H. pylori had been demonstrated.

Christy Breihan
Milwaukee


>>> Andrea Wilder <andreawilder at comcast.net> 10/03/08 7:46 AM >>>

Maureen,

The Slingerland--did you do any diagnostic assessing before using  
this?  Do you  use an initial assessment?  Or did you feel that the  
Slingerland would do it for you?

I am trying to find out what teachers use to describe / diagnose   
learning disabilities.

Thanks!

Andrea

On Oct 2, 2008, at 5:05 PM, Maureen Carro wrote:


> It was my son also born in 1971 that launched a career change for  

> me from teaching High School Chemistry to Learning  Specialist and  

> ultimately Educational Therapy.  When his second grade teacher  

> refused to believe me when I said he could not read the class  

> reader because he was answering all the questions correctly, I  

> asked him how he filled out the worksheet.  His answer was a  

> simple, " well I just ask my friend what it says and then I know  

> the answer"!  Well, that statement gave me my answer!  Here was a  

> pretty smart kid who could not read.  With no help from the school,  

> I embarked on a teaching career change.  Since then I have worked  

> in Welfare to Work with adults, and in private practice with young  

> school age children.  Some of the adults became angry when I taught  

> them language structure and spelling rules, that no one ever taught  

> them this before in their entire school careers.  Many thought they  

> were stupid and had dropped out of school   With the students I  

> work with in private practice, well, I just sit back and enjoy  as  

> they blossom!  A client of mine who refused to do anything ( read  

> or write) for almost a year of therapy in third grade, walked into  

> my sessions with 400 page books by grade 7 , a different one every  

> week! .  She is an avid reader and a top student!

>

> I support Lucille Cutler's remarks.... if would teach these basics  

> in K-2 all of our children would do better!  I have a precocious  

> granddaughter starting kindergarten this year and her favorite play  

> at Nana's is to "work on our letters and sounds"!  Adults may think  

> this is boring rote stuff, but from my experience.... KIDS LOVE  

> IT!  It makes them successful!  I use Slingerland Method.... my  

> favorite, but there are others out there that work!

>

>

>

> On Oct 1, 2008, at 7:22 PM, Sharon Hillestad wrote:

>

>> I had such a child born in 1971. I knew he was bright even though  

>> his language abilities (speaking and reading and writing)  

>> indicated otherwise. I tutored him at home. For one year I mainly  

>> read to him. Little by little he learned, but could not advance  

>> into the high school level reading unless I helped him with the  

>> books. He had learning blocks that could only be handled by  

>> advance counceling techniques. It took years, but he started  

>> college at age 26 and is now working at the Mayo Clinic on his  

>> doctorates in genetics. I would not have believed it possible when  

>> he was ten years old. His education was special. No one told him  

>> he was learning disabled, ADHD, o>> thought it just took longer for him to learn to read than it did  

>> the other two kids in the family. He was right.

>> Sharon Hillestad

>>

>> --- On Tue, 9/30/08, Dina M Schwam <dschwam1 at student.gsu.edu> wrote:

>> From: Dina M Schwam <dschwam1 at student.gsu.edu>

>> Subject: [LearningDisabilities 2389] Re: Dyslexia - What is it?

>> To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov

>> Cc: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov

>> Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 9:49 AM

>>

>> I would like to chime in as a parent who has a child who was  

>> suspected of having

>> dyslexia at age 5.  I was teaching privately emergent readers at  

>> the time and

>> although all my students were reading above grade level, my  

>> daughter was still

>> having difficulty with her phonics (letter/sound recognition)  

>> despite my efforts

>> to tutor her.  In addition she displayed many of the symptoms  

>> associated with

>> Dyslexia.  When she reached second grade and was still unable to  

>> read at grade

>> level I asked about having her tested for dyslexia and I was told  

>> by her school

>> to bring her to the eye doctor.  You can imagine my faith in our  

>> school (and

>> teachers) when I received this advice since all the literature I  

>> had rread

>> specified that this was a neurologic disorder and not an eye  

>> disorder.

>>

>> She continued on in grade finally receiving special education, but  

>> never was

>> assessed formally for dyslexia.  When I asked her special  

>> education teacher she

>> advised me that there were no formal assessments and that it is  

>> something that

>> she needs to learn personal strategies on her own.  I trusted  

>> these people as

>> the experts and felt quite let down.  Mind you we were in a school  

>> labeled

>> "a school of excellence".  They did bring her up to grade appropriate

>> reading while in elementary school and we continued to work with  

>> her at home.

>> She is now currently 15 years old, in the 10th grade and continues  

>> to struggle

>> with reading and spelling.  She is a very bright girl (and I am  

>> not just saying

>> that because I am her mother:-)).  She truly has huge potential.   

>> Unfortunately,

>> I find that these kids that do not find there needs adressed tend  

>> to become

>> quite frustrated, develop low self esteem, and low self-efficacy  

>> which then

>> leads to a "why bother" attitude.

>>

>> I was very excited to see this discussion going on.  To date I am  

>> still

>> clueless to how dyslexia is assessed.  Can someone share with me what

>> assessments are used and how dyslexia is typically diagnosed?   

>> Also what

>> techniques and strategies can be used with individuals with dyslexia?

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Dina

>>

>> -----Original Message-----

>> From: "Sandman-Hurley, Kelli" <KSandmanHurley at sandiego.gov>

>> To: "The Learning Disabilities Discussion List"

>> <learningdisabilities at nifl.gov>

>> Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:28:17 -0700

>> Subject: [LearningDisabilities 2385] Re: Dyslexia - What is it?

>>

>> Mary et al.:

>>

>> While I agree with you that dyslexia is developmental, if it is  

>> comorbid with

>> another developmental disability, then the interventions and  

>> discussions we have

>> been having are not quite the same. The type of dyslexia that I am  

>> speaking of

>> is independent of low I.Q (below 80). The studies (fMRI, MEG) that  

>> have been

>> conducted and reported widely, include only those with average or  

>> above average

>> I.Q. Also, in most circumstances the researchers also gone to  

>> great lengths to

>> control for ADHD, which is also commonly associated with dyslexia,  

>> although that

>> is another topic on it's own. TBI is also ruled out, that would be  

>> aquired

>> alexia. All these exceptions are why we need to make sure our  

>> assessments are

>> top notch. So, what assessments are you using to define you  

>> learners and their

>> needs?  How do we determine between dyslexia, TBI, DD, and lack of  

>> educational

>> opportunity and wha>> decisions and carrying out the intervention? Is training an issue?

>>

>> I would also like to loudly agree and reiterate that not all peope  

>> confuse (not

>> 'see') letter directionality, but it is one symptom among a list of

>> symptoms.

>>

>> Kelli

>> ________________________________

>> From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov

>> [learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Mary Kelly

>> [mskelly at aecom.yu.edu]

>> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 7:36 AM

>> To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List

>> Subject: [LearningDisabilities 2384] Re: Dyslexia - What is it?

>>

>> I agree with Andrea that dyslexia is a developmental disability.   

>> Very

>> influential definitions disseminated by The National Joint Council  

>> on Learning

>> Disabilities and the Interagency Committee on Learning  

>> Disabilities (in a report

>> to Congress) both note that learning disabilities, including  

>> dyslexia, may occur

>> concomitantly with other handicapping conditions, including mental  

>> retardation.

>> This is a difficult concept to accept because we know that MR  

>> makes it very

>> difficult to diagnose dyslexia.  But I have seen people with very  

>> low IQs (below

>> 68) who have very specific problems in processing phonemes that I  

>> do not see in

>> others with low IQs.  Dyslexia is present at birth and the  

>> literature suggests

>> it is a result of neuronal migration gone slightly awry during the  

>> development

>> of the brain.

>> Not everyone with dyslexia mixes up letters, and I have not seen  

>> anything

>> relating it to visual neglect.

>>

>> Mary S. Kelly, PhD

>> Director, Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of LD

>> Albert Einstein College of Medicine

>> 1165 Morris Park Ave.

>> Bronx, NY 10463

>>

>>

>> At 03:45 PM 9/26/2008, you wrote:

>> Hi Kelli--

>>

>> Correct me if I'm wrong--but dyslexia is a developmental  

>> disability, in

>> that  it is inborn--part of the individual's genetic make-up.  I  

>> think there

>> is some mixing up of letters when the individual has a condition  

>> akin to

>> "visual neglect," which I understand only slightly.

>>

>> Andrea:)

>>

>> It has occurred to me that we have discussed some interventions,  

>> but we have

>> not discussed what the actual definition of dyslexia is. There are  

>> many myths

>> and misconceptions about dyslexia. I will use the definition  

>> adopted by the

>> International Dyslexia Association:

>>

>>

>> Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in  

>> origin. It

>> 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 experience that can  

>> impede the growth

>> of vocabulary and background knowledge.

>>

>>

>> One of my favorite things to do is explain what dyslexia is not:

>>

>>

>> •       Caused by poor eyesight or hearing problems

>>

>> •       A Developmental Disability

>>

>> •       Acquired Alexia, Aphasia or Anomia – these are caused by  

>> some type

>> of head injury (ie: stroke)

>>

>> •       A degenerative disease

>>

>> •       Lack of educational opportunity

>>

>> •       The result of a lack of effort or laziness on the part of  

>> the student

>>

>> •       It is NOT seeing letters or words backwards. Although this  

>> is a

>> symptom, people with dyslexia don’t actually see things backwards.  

>> Rather,

>> they have trouble processing with phoneme goes with the grapheme.

>>

>>

>> I have attached some slides I have taken from a much longer  

>> presentation to

>> help discuss the definition of dyslexia and the remediation/ 

>> accommodation that

>> we can use with these students.

>>

>>

>> Kelli

>>

>>

>>

>> <dyslex>> Learning Disabilities mailing list

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>>

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