Why Jane and John Couldn’t Read — and How They Learned

This book focuses on adults with severe learning disabilities (LD) and the educators who work with them. In this volume, experts in the fields of learning disabilities and adult literacy describe the characteristics, demographics, and educational and employment status of adults with LD and discuss the laws that protect them in the workplace and in educational settings. Combining cutting-edge research findings with firsthand instructional expertise, the authors examine the various screening procedures used to identify learning disabilities, present a range of instructional strategies and staff development programs for teaching literacy skills to adults, and showcase exemplary programs that assist adults with LD to find the right job and to be successful.

Some strategies are effective and efficient, and others are not. Those that are both effective and efficient share characteristics that fall into three categories: content features, design features, and usefulness features. The content of the strategy refers to its steps and what they are designed to facilitate during the learning process. The design features refer to how the steps are packaged to facilitate learning and subsequent use of the strategy. The usefulness feature refers to the potential transferability of the strategy to everyday needs in a variety of settings. Ellis and Lenz (1987) identified a number of critical features across these dimensions.

“Clearly it is time for a holistic approach to the understanding of writing. The Writing Dilemma offers an embarrassingly overdue breakthrough, as this most important work acknowledges and describes vividly the multiple possible breakdown points that must be considered in a child who is not developing writing skills.” Other sections include components that facilitate automatic writing performances, assessment techniques, and a variety of recommendations for compensations and remediation of writing problems.

When Josh’s friends call him “Slosh,” it’s particularly painful. Although he’s smart when it comes to computers and math, Josh also has ADHD — Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder. After talking to his teacher, Josh’s parents decide to take him to a doctor, and things start looking up. Best of all, over time, Josh’s classmates come to appreciate him as just another one of the guys.

Gary just can’t seem to fit in. He doesn’t have any friends, his school work is always sloppy, and his teachers endlessly criticize him. But Gary has a way to escape—he spaces out. Then one day Gary accidentally hurts someone, and now he’s being sent to a new school for kids with different learning styles. Will Gary finally be able to catch up and fit in, or will he remain the Spaceman forever?

In Ready to Learn, Stan Goldberg draws on thirty years of clinical experience (and personal experience as the father of two kids with learning differences) to provide an easy-to-use guide to helping children overcome any problems and improve their learning skills.