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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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Clinician Observations of Preschoolers' Behavior Help to Predict ADHD at School Age
Medical Xpress
Don't rely on one source of information about your preschoolers' inattention or hyperactivity. Rather, consider how your child behaves at home as well as information from his or her teacher and a clinician. This advice comes from Sarah O'Neill, of The City College of New York, based on research she conducted at Queens College (CUNY), in an article published in Springer's Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. The study examines how well parent, teacher, and clinician ratings of preschoolers' behavior are able to predict severity and diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at age six.
JAMA Article Teaches Doctors About Learning Disabilities
Medical Xpress
Rossignol, who only this fall was admitted into a doctoral program in the University of New Mexico Department of Sociology, is the primary author of "Empowering Patients Who Have Specific Learning Disabilities," an article that appears online in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and will be in the print edition of the journal next month. Rossignol's co-author is Michael Paasche-Orlow, M.D., Boston University School of Medicine.
Special E-Readers for People with Dyslexia
Education Week
Educators sometimes ask me about the virtues of print versus screen reading. Unfortunately, the basic summary of my position is "we don't know enough and the technology changes too fast to learn" Studies take a long time to put together and technology moves faster than the research. There are some great studies comparing print to CRT monitors; these may or may not be so useful anymore. Studies are often conducted in labs rather than in real-life conditions, limiting the usefulness of the findings. There certainly isn't any clear consensus.
ECU Notes: Transition to College
The Daily Reflector
Faculty members at East Carolina University have developed and released free curriculum materials designed to help high school students with learning differences make a successful transition to college. The curriculum -- all available online -- is an outgrowth of six years of experience with Project STEPP, a program at ECU for students with learning disabilities.
Dyslexia Diagnosis: the Ability Within the Disability
Las Vegas Guardian Express
Many who receive the diagnosis of dyslexia are conditioned in believing that it is a negative learning disability. According to research, someone who is dyslexic just has a different ability to process information, specifically within the phonetic region of the brain. If an individual does not process the same way as the mass population, does this really mean that a disability is present?
Sequoya Student-Author Speaks At Holbrook Chamber About Having a Learning Disability
Suchem Patch (NY)
Sky Burke is a 12-year-old author from Holbrook attending Sequoya Middle School who recently became the youngest member of the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce. Burke gave a presentation to the Chamber at a previous meeting about living with her disabilities of dyslexia and dysgraphia, and the organization has posted it to their Youtube channel.
Guide to Supporting Students with Dyslexia Published
Medical Xpress
The IOP has produced a practical guide to supporting STEM students with dyslexia - thought to be about 5% of all STEM students in higher education. It aims to show how dyslexia affects students in STEM and describes some simple measures for making teaching and learning more accessible. The Institute's diversity programme leader, Jenni Dyer, said: "We've tried to make it as practical as possible. There's a lot of material out there on dyslexia and good practice already, but nothing specific to STEM students. Hence it was important that the guide was very STEM-focused so that people could read it and think 'maybe I'll try that'. It includes a lot of really good material that will enable all STEM academic staff to make simple adjustments to ensure that all their students, not just those with dyslexia, learn better."
E-Readers Can Make Reading Easier for Those With Dyslexia
Science Daily
As e-readers grow in popularity as convenient alternatives to traditional books, researchers at the Smithsonian have found that convenience may not be their only benefit. The team discovered that when e-readers are set up to display only a few words per line, some people with dyslexia can read more easily, quickly and with greater comprehension. Their findings are published in the Sept. 18 issue of the journal PLOS ONE.
Special Education Funding Hit Hard by Sequestration
Education News
The impact of federal budget sequestration on education didn't appear to be all that devastating in the months since the across-the-board cuts went into effect, but that might be changing now that more students are returning to class. The effects of less money are being especially felt by special education students who have had services either rolled back or completely eliminated, leaving them and their parents in the lurch.
ADHD, or Childhood Narcissism?
The Atlantic
Ten times as many children are diagnosed with ADHD today as were in the 1970s. What if their behavior -- consistently distracted, hyperactive, impulsive -- really indicates something else? In a typical American classroom, there are nearly as many diagnosable cases of ADHD as there are of the common cold. In 2008, researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University found that almost 10 percent of children use cold remedies at any given time. The latest statistics out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the same proportion has ADHD.
More Colleges Provide Options for Kids with Learning Disabilities
New York Daily News
As he sits in class at Eastern Michigan University, a flood of images streams from Tony Saylor's vibrant, creative mind down through his pen and onto paper. Often, his doodling features the 9-year-old character Viper Girl who battles monsters with her pet fox Logan. Saylor, 22, has even self-published three books of their adventures. Saylor's professors didn't exactly welcome his constant drawing, but once he explained it was the only way he could hope to process their lectures -- and even to stay awake -- most let him continue. For college students with autism and other learning disabilities, this is the kind of balancing act that takes place every day -- accommodating a disability while also pushing beyond it toward normalcy and a degree, which is increasingly essential for finding a meaningful career.
Montgomery Hockey Team, the Cheetahs, Is a Therapeutic Win for Special-Needs Families
The Washington Post
Bundled in coats and clutching cups of hot coffee, parents chatter while their kids glide across the ice rink in Rockville. But the Montgomery County parents aren't talking much about playing time or stick-handling skills, instead using the opportunity as a sort of weekend therapy session. They talk about their children's medical problems. They fret over the embarrassing emotional tantrums their children have in public. And they complain to one another about how hard it is find the right classroom for their children, who may have autism, can't speak or will never know how to read.
Smarter Balanced Adopts Accessibility Rules for Common-Core Tests
Education Week
Students in grades 3 through 5 who take the Common Core-aligned assessments created by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium will not be allowed to have passages of text read to them as a valid accommodation on the English/language arts tests. The restriction is part of a usability, accessibility, and accommodations manual that the consortium's governing board voted to accept at a meeting in Los Angeles Tuesday. Twenty-five states are part of the Smarter Balanced group.
Elgin Filmmaker Embraces Dyslexia in Documentary
The Courier-News (Chicago, IL)
As Alejandro moved into second grade, things got even worse: He began complaining about headaches and throwing up at school, he said. That's when his grandma, a former teacher, suggested he be tested for dyslexia. And sure enough, Macias said, his son was dyslexic. That experience is what led Macias, a video editor for a graphic design firm in Barrington, to make the documentary "Embracing Dyslexia," now streaming online for free at embracingdyslexia.com.
Health Tip: Identifying a Learning Disability
U.S. News: Health
Parents of school-age children may notice symptoms that could signal a learning disability. So what are worried parents to do? The National Center for Learning Disabilities mentions these suggestions.
Study: Anesthesia Before Age 3 Linked to Later Mental Problems
WebMD
A new study is raising fresh concerns about the use of general anesthesia in young children. Recent studies have suggested that anesthetic drugs may increase the risk for learning disabilities and behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but only in kids who are exposed to the drugs several times.
Feds Invest $10 Million Into Research for Severe Learning Disabilities
Education Week
Developing strategies to help elementary students with the most severe learning disabilities is the focus of a new research project to be based at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. The National Center for Special Education Research awarded a 5-year, $10 million grant to the university to create an "Accelerated Academic Achievement Research Center." Between 2,000 and 3,000 students in Nashville schools will participate in the research.
The Secret Social Setback Of Learning Disabilities
The Jewish Press (NY)
There are many remediation techniques to help children with dyslexia learn to read. However, research shows that children like Dena are more likely to suffer from low self esteem than their peers. This is a problem that parents and educators often overlook. In order to integrate these children into the classroom, we cannot simply focus on helping them cope academically. We need to help build their self-esteem through social interventions as well. The Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities has compiled a list of ways that parents can help children with LD gain self-esteem.
Column: For Some, Starting School Can Be Difficult -- Here's Help
Duluth News Tribune (MN)
We parents are hopeful after this first week of school. We imagine our children excited about classes or academic projects. None of us visualize a child saying, "I wish I could do my English homework, but I just can't read it," or "Every time the teacher gives me a direction I can't remember what to do after the first thing."
Supporting Students with Dyslexia: Tips, Tricks and Tech for Teachers
The Guardian (UK)
1.2 million children in the UK have dyslexia, a print disability where students have difficulty reading and interpreting meaning. For them, though words are visible, they may swim or dance on the page and this can seriously affect their studies and performance. But with the right support from their teachers and the use of technology, simple changes can make a big difference. Technology is an important tool that can be used to support students with dyslexia with reading and writing. Here are some resources and ideas that teachers can employ, however, you should note that dyslexia manifests itself differently amongst children so it's important to try a combination of methods to find out what works best for them.