LD News
Each week, LD OnLine gathers interesting news headlines about learning disabilities and ADHD issues. Please note that LD OnLine does not necessarily endorse these views or any others on these outside websites.
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Genetic and Environmental Influences on Language
Springer Link
In a recent study published in the Annals of Dyslexia, findings revealed that:
"Genetic influences on writing were significantly correlated with genetic influences on all of the language and reading skills, but significant independent genetic influences were also found for copy and samples, whose genetic correlations were significantly less than 1.0 with the reading and language skills. The genetic correlations varied significantly in strength depending on the overlap between the writing, language, and reading task demands. We discuss implications of our results for education, limitations of the study, and new directions for research on writing and its relations to language and reading.
Common Core Test Accomodations
Education Week
"The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for Colleges and Careers, which had released pieces of its proposed accommodations policy for students with disabilities, has now put out a full draft of its accommodations manual for public comment. (The organization also has an explanatory Powerpoint presentation and a list of frequently asked questions linked to the release.)"
Springer Link
"By the upper elementary grades, writing becomes an essential tool both for learning and for showing what you know. Students who struggle significantly with writing are at a terrible disadvantage.
Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that only 25% of students can be classified as competent writers; students with learning disabilities (LD) have even greater problems with writing than their normally achieving peers and frequently demonstrate a deteriorating attitude toward writing after the primary grades. In this article, we focus on composing and the writing process, and examine the knowledge base about writing development and instruction among students with LD."
How to Use Mobile Devices for Learning
Edutopia
"Getting kids engaged with learning, focused on working smarter, and ready for the future. This guide can help you better understand how mobile gadgets -- cell phones, tablets, and smartphones -- can engage students and change their learning environment."
Poetry Tips for Students with LD
Teachers & Writers Collaborative
Nicole Callihan describes a poetry lesson she came up with for students with LD:
"Teaching very young students often sends me grappling for something new. It was, I believe, on a very long train ride to teach learning-disabled kids in the Bronx or Jamaica, Queens, or students participating in an after-school program in Jackson Heights, Queens, called “Project Read” that I concocted a new game I call “OK, Tell me Something I Don’t Know.” Much to my delight all populations responded well. The following lesson incorporates this game. It works best with students through the 6th grade, although modifications can be made for older students."
Poet and Pulitzer Prize Winner with Dyslexia
The New York Times
"Philip Schultz is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry and the author of the forthcoming memoir My Dyslexia."
In a New York Times opinion article, Schultz wrote: "We know now that dyslexia is about so much more than just mixing up letters — that many dyslexics have difficulty with rhythm and meter and word retrieval, that they struggle to recognize voices and sounds. It’s my profound hope that our schools can use findings like these to better teach children who struggle to read, to help them overcome their limitations, and to help them understand that it’s not their fault."
How the iPad Transforms Learning
Edutopia
"The micro-computer revolution of the 80's radically improved how teachers and schools carry on the business of learning. We now have iPads in classrooms that will not only improve it, but it has the potential to change the business of learning in schools. The question is, "Are teachers ready to adjust their teaching for this new learning revolution?'"
Branson Urges Curriculum Changes
BBC
Sir Richard Branson, one of the UK's richest men, went into business in his teens. "It's important people do learn the difference between gross and net, and how Tesco, Virgin or Apple works," he told BBC News School Report. "Some of the things people study at school are not particularly relevant for when they actually leave school."
Branson's success with the Virgin Group has made him one of the wealthiest men in the world, and he suggested the ability to learn the key skills of business was something that students could pick up by being given the opportunity to try their hand. On how dyslexia shaped his career, Branson said, "I just don't think people who are dyslexic need worry because they are often really good at other things," he added. "They'll realise they've got a problem in some areas but they'll be really good at other things."
Anxiety Attack: Conquering a Fear of Math
WNYC
Math anxiety refers to feelings of tension and fear that interfere with solving mathematical problems in everyday life and school settings. Math anxiety involves physiological arousal (e.g., sweaty palms, racing heart), negative thoughts (e.g., “I am just not a math person.”), escape and/or avoidance behaviors (e.g., developing pains to get out of math class), and, when the individual cannot escape the situation, poor performance.
The negative impacts of math anxiety are enormous. Math-anxious students do not see the value of math for everyday life, they participate — and learn — less in math classes, receive lower grades in math, and take fewer math classes in high school and college.
Research in Reading Development, Disorders, and Instruction
NCLD
Learning to read is critical to a child's (and an adult's) well-being. The child and adult who cannot read at a comfortable level experience significant difficulties mastering many types of academic content, are at substantial risk for failure in school, and are frequently unable to reach their potential in the vocational and occupational arena. Unfortunately, the rate of reading failure and illiteracy are unacceptably high in the United States. Over 40 percent of fourth grade students performed below basic levels on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in both 1994 and 1998.
Team Teaching Helps Students with LD
WNYC
A school program in New York is committed to helping all students, including those with learning disabilities, achieve their full potential.
To "make this as effective as possible, [they] used a team-teaching approach for the students with disabilities. The team teaching, the longer school day, adult to student ratio in year one, and a six-week summer program focused on geometry have contributed to 68 percent of students with disabilities having scored a 65 or higher on a math regents and 12 percent of students scoring an 80 or higher on a math regents."
Learning Disabilities Movement Turns 50!
Washington Post
Fifty years ago, on April 6, 1963, a group of concerned parents convened a conference in Chicago to discuss a shared frustration: they all had children who were struggling in school, the cause of which was generally believed to be laziness, lack of intelligence, or just bad parenting. This group of parents knew better. They understood that their children were bright and just as eager to learn as any other child, but that they needed help and alternative teaching approaches to succeed in school.
How to Improve Writing with Technology
LearningWorks for Kids
While texting is obviously not the same as writing a book report, it still involves formulating sentences and communicating in written form. For children who cringe when given a writing assignment, providing opportunities such as texting, scribing, or using speech recognition software helps them recognize that they have something to say… and to write it! For parents who think that texting is not a form of writing, we suggest that you read the studies on texting and writing by Jeff Grabill at the MSU and Beverly Pliester at Coventry University and begin thinking about how you can help your texter develop writing skills.
What Is It like to Have an Auditory Processing Disorder?
NCAPD
It is often difficult to understand what it may be like for people with auditory processing disorders (APD) to deal with information they receive through their auditory systems. One way to have a better understanding is to simulate what it is like to have a problem processing verbal information. This resource simulates some of the behaviors often seen in children and adults who have various types of APD so you can get a better sense of the disorder's impact.
ACT Testing Resources for Teens with LD
The ACT
Know a college-bound high school student with LD? Here's what you need to know about testing.
ACT is committed to serving students with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations appropriate to the student's diagnosis. ACT has established policies regarding documentation of an applicant's disability and the process for requesting accommodations. For details, see ACT Policy for Documentation to Support Requests for Test Accommodations on the ACT.
Dyslexia Workarounds: Creativity Without a Lot of Reading
The Wall Street Journal
Actor Henry Winkler was told he was stupid. A teacher labeled Dan Malloy, the future governor of Connecticut, "mentally retarded." Delos Cosgrove recalls "hanging on by my fingernails" in high school and college before becoming a thoracic surgeon and the Cleveland Clinic's chief executive officer.
Each has dyslexia, a condition that makes reading difficult but has little to do with intelligence. Mounting evidence shows that many people with dyslexia are highly creative, out-of-the-box thinkers, and neuroimaging studies demonstrate that their brains really do think differently.
Literacy Activities for Young Children
Get Ready to Read!
The 36 Get Ready to Read! skill-building activity cards are fun, engaging, child-friendly early literacy activities to try with 3- to 5-year-old children. They’ll give you new ideas for bringing literacy activities into your classroom, home, and daily routine. The cards were created with both parents and educators in mind, and they’re free and easy to print.
IEP Tips from a Special Education Parent
NCLD
In her last post, Parent Contributor Ellyn Levy discussed the experience of getting an initial Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for her teenage daughter. Now, Ellyn’s daughter is a successful college graduate, and Ellyn is back to share the lessons she has learned in advocating for her daughter throughout her learning disability (LD) journey.
Out-of-the-Box Advocacy: Talk LD in Your Community
NCLD
“Out-of-the-Box Advocacy” is all about finding ways to start conversations about LD in an effort to raise awareness, remove stigma, and encourage others to embrace your child for who they are, despite their disabilities. While starting a blog or tweeting about LD-related topics may seem difficult for some, sometimes the hardest part of advocacy for many parents is actually talking about the realities of LD within their very own communities.
New Guide to Social and Emotional Learning Programs
Get Ready to Read!
New Guide to Social and Emotional Learning Programs The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning released their 2013 publication that identifies well-designed, evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for the pre-K and elementary grades. It’s downloadable and free!