July 14

July 14

"When I was a kid, they didn't call it dyslexia. They called it, you know, you were slow, or you were retarded, or whatever. What you can never change is the effect that the words 'dumb' and 'stupid' have on young people. I knew I wasn't stupid, and I knew I wasn't dumb. My mother told me that. If you read to me, I could tell you everything that you read. They didn't know what it was. They knew I wasn't lazy, but what was it?"
– Whoopi Goldberg

In the News
Beginning reading and phonological awareness for students with learning disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/eric540.html

But does increased fluency increase a student's reading comprehension? Evidence-based strategies in the teaching of reading comprehension are needed: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1465/

Cooperative Learning and Social Stories: Effective Social Skills Strategies for Reading Teachers: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/social_skill_strategies.html

Dyslexic sues over 'teachers' failings': http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/education.cfm?id=755192004
A man is suing a Scottish council for £100,000, claiming that his poor exam performance at school was a result of a failure to diagnose his dyslexia.

Five Key Skills for Academic Success:
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/va/204/improve/gn
Sometimes it's all the things that surround reading, writing, and arithmetic that have the biggest impact on how well a child does in school. This article from GreatSchools.net has specific tips on how to help a child get organized, manage time, prioritize, concentrate, and get motivated.

How children learn to read: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/ccld_learn.html

The key to learning to read is motivation. What motivates children to read?: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/literacy_personalities.html

Literacy problems weighing on society: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/7635502.htm
Those who can't read well more likely to be on welfare or in prison, costing everyone
So, Johnny can't read. What do you care? Johnny is the neighbor's kid. Not yours. He's the guy working in the next cubicle. He's no threat to your career.

On the Mind of a Child: A Conversation with Sally Shaywitz: http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200304/darcangelo.html

Parent of boy with ADHD files lawsuit: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040702/NEWS/407020408/1060
Joanie Derry says the school district discriminated against her son and violated a federal law.

Parents of children with reading problems may struggle with reading too. Primary-grade educators and adult literacy: some strategies for assisting low literate parents: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/low_literate_parents.html

Reading Disabilities: Why Do Some Children Have Difficulty Learning to Read? What Can Be Done About It?: http://www.educationnews.org/Reading-Disabilities-Why-Do-Some-Children.htm

"Reading disability" or "learning disability": The debate, models of dyslexia, and a review of research-validated reading programs: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_approaches.html

Reading is fundamental to academic turnaround:
http://www.educationnews.org/reading-is-fundamental-to-academ.htm
It's not easy being a kid. Especially one diagnosed with a learning disability in an age of crowded classrooms and schools grappling with tight budgets

Reading methods and learning disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_methods.html

Remediation training improves reading ability of dyslexic children:
http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2003/february26/dyslexia-226.html

Report of the National Reading Panel on teaching children to read: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/teaching_children_to_read.html

Reading Fluency: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/reading_fluency.html

Scientific Approach to reading instruction: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/cars.html

Time to Refocus Special Education on Reading Achievement: http://www.mackinac.org/article.asp?ID=5000

Too much testosterone blights social skills: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994981
Levels of testosterone in the womb may have profound effects on a person's social development. The findings might also explain why men are four times as likely as women to suffer from autism.

The trouble With "Reading Disabilities": http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/swerling.html

Tutors for Kids: http://www.tutorsforkids.org/
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, low-income children in public schools in need of improvement can receive free tutoring (also called supplemental educational services). This website helps families take advantage of this opportunity by providing information on who is eligible for free tutoring, which tutoring firms have been approved by each state, and how to choose services for a child.

Web Accessibility for All: http://www.educationnews.org/web-accessibility-for-all.htm
Many educators have created webpages and websites to communicate with stakeholders and to deliver educational content. Yet while technology has helped disabled students more fully participate in mainstream classrooms, the Internet can be challenging for many students with disabilities as most webpages have elements that are inaccessible to disabled users.

Yale Researchers Identify Two Types of Childhood Reading Disability With Different Brain Patterns and Different Outcomes: http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/03-06-30-01.all.html

Understanding Students with Disabilities
About Our Kids.org: http://www.aboutourkids.org/index.html
This is the Web site for the New York University Child Study team. Their Web site has a newsletter and up-to-date information on topics related to child development. They also offer information about upcoming research projects and timely tips.

ADHD--Building Academic Success: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/ael_success.html

bridges4kids: http://www.bridges4kids.org/ is a compact Web site that attempts to build partnerships between families, schools and communities. You can click on a topic and find articles related to that topic.

Disability Museum: http://www.disabilitymuseum.org
This is a searchable, theme-based digital collection that exists only online offering documents and images related to disability history in the United States. Materials in the Library date back to the 18th century.

Disability Studies for Teachers: http://www.disabilitystudiesforteachers.org/
The Center on Human Policy has a new web-based project to help teachers at the middle and high school levels integrate disability studies into the regular school curriculum. The web site includes lesson plans, organized according to units (topics), with background essays and links to a variety of publicly accessible web sites containing historical source documents. It also has essays on why teachers should include disability in their teaching and on "differentiated instruction" (how to adapt the curriculum for diverse learning styles). The current "units" on this web site address: an introduction to disability studies, the history of deaf education, Dorothea Dix's reform efforts regarding poorhouses in the 1840s and 50s, P.T. Barnum and the development of "freak shows," and Conscientious Objectors during World War II who exposed horrific conditions and brutality at state institutions. All of these plans have undergone external review.

Is your Daughter a Daydreamer, Tomboy or "Chatty Kathy"?:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/nadeau.html
She may have undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder.

A Lexicon of Learning: What Educators Mean When They Say: http://www.ascd.org/educationnews/lexicon/lexiconoflearning.html
The ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) hosts a web site that contains definitions to specialized educational terms.

The position of the monitor is very important for the student. Most monitors can be adjusted. Be sure to adjust the monitor so the student can look at it at eye level.
If the student has a physical disability, such as a wheel chair, be sure the computer is at a table that is tall enough for the wheelchair to fit underneath. You can purchase adjustable tables that can be raised and lowered depending on the needs of the student. If an adjustable table is not available you can purchase adjustable keyboards. Younger, smaller students may need a much lower table.

In "Medicating Kids," FRONTLINE reviews the increase in the prescription of behavior-modifying drugs for children. Are these medications really necessary--and safe--for young children, or merely a harried nation's quick fix for annoying, yet age-appropriate, behavior? The program exams ADHD and the use of Ritalin. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/etc/synopsis.html

Overview of State Accessibility Laws, Policies, Standards and Other Resources Available On-line: http://www.ittatc.org/laws/stateLawAtGlance.cfm

Questions To Ask When Selecting a Professional To Assess or Treat ADHD:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/assessment/adhd_assessment.html

A Man's Reach Should Exceed His Grasp: http://www.ldonline.org/first_person/winkler_henry.html
Henry Winkler, star of Happy Days, speaks of his struggle with dyslexia and how through his difficulties he found his self-image.

What is ADHD? A Basic Review: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/what_is.html

Help for Students with Learning Disabilities
Adaptive Environments: http://www.adaptiveenvironments.org/
Part of this website is Building Careers in Design: http://www.CareersInDesign.org
Building Careers in Design is an online project which provides distance learning and Web resources about career development in the design professions to encourage the participation of people with
disabilities in the design professions in order to strengthen the practice of universal design and create more inclusive communities. Building Careers in Design is a technical assistance project for vocational rehabilitation counselors funded by a contract with the RSA National Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center.

The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre: Information Commons, University of Toronto: http://www.utoronto.ca/atrc/

Assessing Learning and Evaluating Progress
A chapter from the book can be found at: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/assessment/adolescents_and_inclusion.html
It discusses authentic ways inclusive classrooms can grade children.

Assistive Technology and the Multiage Classroom: http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/03/assistive.html
These tips and technologies from the special needs classroom can help teachers reach struggling students.

Children with LD as Emergent Readers: Bridging the Gap to Conventional Reading:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/emergent_readers.html

Developing Behavioral Intervention Plans: A Sequential Approach: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/behavior/behavioral_intervention.html

Do2Learn: http://dotolearn.com/
At this site you can: find information on disabilities, advocacy resources, and teacher tips, select 350 free picture cards in 1", 2" and larger sizes; find directions on how to use cards to make schedules, choose from art projects and organizational tools; print learning helpers like math grids, alphabet figures, color matches, & shape tracing; or purchase subscriptions to the Make-A-Schedule and Fire Safety programs. The sited includes ideas for books, toys, games and products that parents and teachers have found useful.

Don't lose sleep over it! AD/HD and Sleep Problems: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/sleep_problems.html

Braille Bug: http://afb.org/braillebug/
The American Foundation for the Blind created an age appropriate site for students to learn about braille. Under games, students can see what their name looks like in braille, or figure out words with a braille alphabet close by. A sighted student can send a friend a "secret message" in braille.Students can also change the colors on this website to make it easier to read. Students who are designing their own pages can learn about accessibility.

The CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) and Ohio State University have developed Cornerstones, an approach to literacy development for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, and have released three free Cornerstones teaching units on the Web at: http://pbskids.org/lions/cornerstones

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Engaged Learning for At-Risk Students: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/atrisk/at400.htm

The Early Childhood Education Network: http://www.literacycenter.net/

Enhancing the Note-Taking Skills of Students with Mild Disabilities:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/notetaking.html

Finding Friends and Persuading People: Teaching the Skills of Social Interaction: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_skills/findingfriends.html

HandSpeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Online: http://www.handspeak.com/

Helping Helpers Brochure: http://www.ldonline.org/helpinghelpers/pdf/brochure.pdf
"For many children, the most rewarding part of the week is the time spent in after-school programs, clubs, and activities. Volunteers play an essential role in making sure each child has a great experience. The Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation has provided us with a generous grant to help volunteers work with and relate to children in their groups who may have a Learning Disability (LD) or Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We have put together a free brochure and companion section on LD OnLine with some basic strategies volunteers, mentors, or teachers can use to make the time they spend with all children more rewarding."

Helping Teachers Formulate Sound Test Accommodation Decisions for Students with Learning Disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/assessment/sound_test_accommodation.html

Helping with Homework: A Parent’s Guide to Information Problem-Solving:
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed402950.html

Homework How-To’s: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/hwguide.html

"How Do You Know If Your Child Might Have a Learning Disability?": http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/silver_have_ld.html

IEP (individualized education program) basics
Parents and teachers are involved in meetings to plan for a child's education in meetings held throughout the year. The sites below give information to help all involved understand the process. It is important to take time to "go back to basics."
The first step is to know "the steps."
How a Student Is Identified as Having a Disability and Needing Special Education Services: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/basic_iep_process.html
Next it is important to understand the components of the IEP.
What is the Individualized Education Program?:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/what_is_iep.html
Writing the IEP: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/writing_the_iep.html
Follow a sample IEP Meeting
Writing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) For Success:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/success_ieps.html
Ten Ways to Take Charge of Your Child's IEP Meeting or Family Support Plan:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/holmes_tenways.html
The Importance of Good Communication Skills: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/iep_communication.pdf

Learning Disabilities
Increasingly, special education discussions focus on the "rethinking" of the diagnostic category of learning disabilities. These discussions are central to current IDEA funding debates. Is a learning disability a "reading disability, "a "learning difference," or a "learning
disability?" These sites help define this issue.
What are learning disabilities?:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/what_are_ld_silver.html
Learning Disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/general_info/future_children.html
Rethinking Learning Disabilities: http://www.edexcellence.net/library/special_ed/special_ed_ch12.pdf
Rethinking Special Education For A New Century:
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=110&subsecID=181&contentID=3344
The Disabling of Labeling: A Phenomenological Approach to Understanding and Helping Children Who Have Learning Disorders: http://www.ldonline.org/mminds/levine_paper.html
The Politics of Learning Disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/legal_legislative/politics.html

Motivation: The Key to Academic Success:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/self_esteem/motivation.html

The National Center for Learning Disabilities: http://www.ld.org/ teamed up with Cisco Systems to launch a Web site for those adolescents and adults with learning disabilities to help them achieve educational goals, chart a career path and sustain social relationships. There is also advice on interviewing skills, job hunting, legal rights, etc.

Notetaking
Helping Students to Become Better Note-takers Through Better Lectures:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/notetaking_lectures.html

Prevention and Intervention of Writing Difficulties for Students with Learning Disabilities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/prevention_intervention.html

Questions to Ask When You Meet Your Child's Therapist:
http://www.pinofpa.org/resources/fact-3.html

Researchers hail dyslexia breakthrough: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,9865,1220980,00.html
Researchers at Exeter University have been studying a new treatment for individuals with dyslexia which includes balance and motor-strengthening activities. This technique is based on the theory that the cerebellum is partly responsible for making reading and writing an automatic process.

Rise, Resilience, and Adjustment Of Individuals With Learning Disabilities:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_skills/risk_resilience.html

Schwab Learning is a program area of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, a non profit. Schwab Learning's mission is to help kids with learning differences (LD) be successful in learning and in life. Their web site, Schwablearning.org, is a parent's guide
to helping kids with learning differences with over 250 articles, free publications, message boards, email newsletter and information in Spanish: http://www.schwablearning.org/

Showcasing Strengths
For children with LD and/or ADHD the classroom experience is often one of isolation, embarrassment, and low self-esteem. Creative choices in types of learning can improve a child's emotional and cognitive sense of self-worth. Sports, the arts, and music can help children develop skills that foster new paths to self-esteem and cognitive growth. Children who struggle in the classroom can shine as they proudly showcase their strengths!
Recognizing and Nurturing Your Child's Strengths and Interests: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/parenting/nurturing.html
A Game of Strengths and Weaknesses- Athletics amid Academics: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/abilities/athletics.html
Art and the IEP: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/iep/art_and_the_iep.html
"I dread to think where I would have landed up but for my art," writes Pat Buckley Moss, nationally recognized artist, as she explains her life growing up with LD. Visit the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education at: http://www.mossfoundation.org/
Music Therapy and Special Education: http://www.musictherapy.org/factsheets/specialed.html
The Importance of Music, Art, and Movement/Dance Activities: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/parenting/music.html
The Effect of Orff-based Music Instruction on Spatial-Temporal Task Performance of Young Children: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/abilities/orff_based_music_instruction.html
A Spoonful of Music: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/abilities/spoonful_of_music.html
Institute Puts Professional Artists In Little Ones' Classrooms: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/abilities/professional_artists.html
SPARK - Skills Promoted through Arts, Reading, and Knowledge:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/sped/spark/
Dyslexic Talents & Nobel Prizes: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/abilities/thomas_west_nobel.html

Social Skills Deficits in Learning Disabilities: The Psychiatric Comorbidity Hypothiesis: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/social_skills/psychiatric_comorbidity.html

Special Needs: http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/specialneeds/index.htm

SpedEx: The Special Education Exchange, has information for parents, professionals and students: http://www.gigglepotz.com/speced.htm

Strategies for the Reluctant Writer: http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/writing/reluctant_writer.html

Targeting Home-School Collaboration for Students with ADHD:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/add_adhd/tec_home_school_collab.html

Tips to Being a Better Note-taker (Or How to Grab More Gold Nuggets):
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/notetaking_lectures.html#students

Twenty ways to work more effectively with your paraeducator:
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/teaching_techniques/work_with_paraeducator.html

Examples of Assistive Technology Devices
Synthetic voice, digital audio, or Brailee for people who are blind.

Screen magnification and large text fonts for people with diminished vision or dyslexia.

Descriptive text, captioning, and visual cues for people who are deaf or people who have hearing disabilities.

Specialized adaptartions for people who have physical disabilities involving the use of a keyboard, voice recognition mechanism, mouse, or other input device that requires a part of their body other than their hands and fingers to control a Web browser.

Screen magnifier--Usually a software application that increases the size of text or images on a computer screen. Special monitors and other types of hardware adaptations can be used to project larger images as well.

Refreshable Braille display is a hardware device that reads, translates, and subsequently renders electronic information from a computer interface to Braille.

Screen readers and voice browsers--Software applications combined with a synthetic voice that reads computer data back to users who are blind, or users who are more successful at auditory learning than reading due to a learning disability. This includes all screen objects (for example, windows and icons).

Synthetic speech--Combined with a screen reader application or browser.

Screen recognition--A software application combined with a speech input device (usually a separate or built-in microphone) that enables a blind user or a user with a physical disability to speak or issue commands that the speech recognition recognizes and then acts upon. Speech recognition can also be used for creating and annotating existing material.

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This site began in March 1998 and was created by Janet Luch.
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