Words Fail Me: How Language Works and What Happens When It Doesn’t

It’s report card day — the most dreaded day in Hank’s school year. And when Hank gets his grades, they’re his worst nightmare come true: a D in spelling, a D in reading, a D in math. After school, Hank and his friends go to his mom’s deli. His mom is on the prowl — she knows a report card day when she sees one. Hank tries to stall her, but she’s going for his backpack. He’s cornered. Hank hands the report card off to his friend Frankie, who gives it to his friend Ashley, who gives it to Robert, who puts it into a meat grinder! Hank watches as his Ds are ground into a big salami, and this particular salami is being made for a very important client. How will Hank get out of this one?

There was something wrong with my brain. What had previously been a shadowy suspicion that hovered on the edge of consciousness became certain knowledge the year I was nine and entered fourth grade. I seemed to be like other children, but I was not like them; I could not learn to read or spell.

In this first account of what it is like to grow up dyslexic, Eileen Simpson vividly recreates the frightening world of a child living in the limbo of illiteracy. Simpson’s lack of reading skills so exasperated her teachers and relatives that they began to think she was mentally retarded. She could get lost walking to the grocery store; at times she felt as if she had no control over her speech. It was not until she was twenty-two that her future husband, the poet John Berryman, finally named her mysterious ailment.

Simpson intersperses her narrative with nontechnical explanations of dyslexia and what is being done to treat it. But despite growing public awareness and advances in research, dyslexia remains a frustrating and frightening disorder.

When Marvin’s name is not on the class roster on the first day of school, he feels like he’s one too many – in fact he doesn’t even have a desk. Plus, Marvin can’t seem to catch on to reading as quickly as the other kids. Perhaps a little help from his teacher and his parents will give Marvin the boost he needs.

All children go through periods of saying “ting” for “thing” or “feets” for “feet,” and no two children learn to speak on exactly the same schedule. This informative, reassuring guide helps parents and teachers identify normal speech development and potential problems, with advice on when and where to seek help, how to support your child’s prescribed speech program, and how to lessen the risk of speech or language difficulties. Easy-to-understand question-and-answer format; guidelines for assessing your child’s speech and language development; practical strategies for coping with stuttering, poor listening or memory skills, vocal fatigue or hoarseness, ear infections and hearing and much more; and ways to enhance speech and language development that both you and your child will enjoy.

This popular desktop guide to punctuation, grammar, and style was first published two decades ago. Now in its third revision, Write Right! reflects how the language has changed since the book first appeared. The updated information in this new version makes it even more useful as a handy guide. Write Right! simplifies the most important points of written English. The quotations from literature and politics that demonstrate proper usage add an element of fun to the book’s practical advice. Lists of frequently misspelled and misused words help the writer avoid embarrassing mistakes. Write Right! belongs at your side — at work, in the home, or at school.

The revised, updated, and expanded edition of the classic in the category.

This book outlines a unique and revolutionary program with a phenomenally high success rate in helping dyslexics learn to read and to overcome other difficulties associated with it. This new edition is expanded to include new teaching techniques and revised throughout with up-to-date information on research, studies, and contacts.