The Writing Dilemma: Understanding Dysgraphia

Some of us learn things in a different way from those around us — do you too? One frog might need a bit of help with counting; another might not know how to behave around other frogs. Other young frogs in this book are easily distracted and get themselves into trouble. But help is at hand: if we think differently about things that we find difficult, we can find our own ways to get better at doing them.

This book takes the reader step-by-step through an understanding of the research on reading and ways in which parents and educators can make a difference in the learning ability of every student in our nation’s schools.

In America today, 43 percent of our children fall below grade level in reading. In her meticulously researched and groundbreaking work, Diane McGuinness faults outmoded reading systems for this crisis — and provides the answers we need to give our children the reading skills they need. Drawing on twenty-five years of cutting-edge research, Dr. McGuinness presents bold new “phoneme awareness” programs that overcome the tremendous shortcomings of other systems by focusing on the crucial need to understand and hear reliably the sounds of a language before learning to read. Maintaining that any child can be taught to read fluently if given proper instruction, she dramatically reveals how dyslexia and behavior problems such as ADD stem not from neurological disorders but from flawed methods of reading instruction. With invaluable information on remedial reading programs that can correct various ineffective reading strategies, this book is a must for concerned parents, teachers, and others who want to make a difference.

Davey Fischer is a fifth grader who can’t seem to do anything right. He can’t spell, do long division, or shoot baskets. When he finds out he has dysgraphia, a writing disability, his father can’t admit he has a problem. Will Davey get the help he needs?

Approaching literacy development as a complex process that unfolds over time, this book gives educators the guidance they need to help students continuously advance and deepen their reading skills — not just in the early grades, but into the upper grades as well. All the suggested ideas and approaches are evidence-based or identified as best practices in reading, so educators can use them with confidence in their classrooms. Equally effective as a text for preservice educators, a manual for in-service teachers, and a resource for administrators wrestling with different approaches to reading instruction, this in-depth, accessible book will lead to sharper skills and better outcomes for a wide range of struggling learners.

This guide offers specific tips and strategies especially for unique learners like you. Use these “school tools” to help build confidence in reading, writing, spelling, math, and more. Learn to organize time, set goals, stick up for yourself, handle conflict, stay out of trouble, cope with testing, and get help from adults.