Straight Talk About Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference During the Early Years

This book deals with visual thinkers and computer data visualization, neurological research and gifted persons with learning difficulties — examining the role of visual-spatial strengths and verbal weaknesses in the lives of ten historical persons, including Albert Einstein, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Winston Churchill, Gen. George Patton and William Butler Yeats.

In the Mind’s Eye was selected as one of the “Outstanding Academic Books of 1998” by Choice magazine, a publication of the Association of College & Research Libraries of the American Library Association. In January 1999, the book was designated as among the “best of the best” for 1998, being among 13 books in the psychology category recommended for inclusion in college and university libraries. Selection for the award is based on “overall excellence in presentation and scholarship, importance relative to other literature in the field, distinction as a first treatment.”

As any parent, teacher, coach, or caregiver of a learning disabled child knows, every learning disability has a social component. The ADD child constantly interrupts and doesn’t follow directions. The child with visual-spatial issues loses his belongings. The child with a nonverbal communication disorder fails to gesture when she talks. These children are socially out of step with their peers, and often they are ridiculed or ostracized for their differences. A successful social life is immeasurably important to a child’s happiness, health, and development.

“Bad” Helen is in trouble. If she can’t improve her reading skills, she will be stuck in the sixth grade forever! An ace baseball pitcher and class clown, Helen must now face the fact that reading is not one of her skills. With the help of a sympathetic teacher, Helen decides to brave her classmates’ teasing and enter a special education class.

Basic reading proficiency is key to success in all content areas, but attending to students’ literacy development remains a challenge for many teachers, especially after the primary grades. Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading presents recommendations for the essential knowledge about the development, acquisition, and teaching of language and literacy skills that teachers need to master and use.

This completely updated book contains new chapters on Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and on the public laws that guarantee an equal education for learning disabled children. There is also an entirely new section on learning disabled adults and the laws that protect them. Sally Smith, the parent of a learning disabled child herself, guides parents along every step of the way, from determining if their child is learning disabled to challenging the school system to provide special services. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of experience at her own nationally acclaimed school, she also offers valuable strategies to teachers who are anxious or discouraged as they struggle with learning disabled students. Although there are no easy answers, Sally Smith’s experience, wealth of information, and sense of humor provide essential support.

A unique and comprehensive reference for K-12 teachers that translates what the experts are saying about vocabulary instruction into easy-to-understand language and graphics, and offers practical sample lesson models in a familiar teacher’s guide format. Includes special tips for teaching ELLs, and is aligned with the requirements of both Reading First and Striving Readers.