We have had numerous parents and individuals ask about problems with numbers. Many who struggle with reading also struggle with math. Just as dyslexia refers to individuals who struggle with reading, dyscalculia refers to individuals of average intelligence who struggle with mathematical concepts and problems. “Dyscalculia is a broad term for severe difficulties in math. It includes all types of math problems ranging from an inability to understand the meaning of numbers to an inability …
Reading and Spelling Skills: The Mirror Processes
Yesterday a call came from someone who indicated he didn’t struggle with reading or dyslexia, but had big trouble with spelling. He was frustrated that he couldn’t put his thoughts on paper in any real form because his spelling was so limited. Since spelling is a mirror process of reading—we blend the sounds when we read and we should be segmenting the sounds to spell—I told him that the language learning weakness he had could …
Intensive Support – Its Application in Teaching Reading
Today in browsing an article from an education publication, I came across the term intensive support having to do with aniticpating and responding to an expected flood of challenges with autism in the future. Having a daughter with special needs, (down syndrome), in our family, this term rings some bells with me. There are so many different types of situations where intensive support is called for in raising our children, period, whether they have such …
Reading Fluency and Phonics Instruction
There is more and more emphasis on fluency as research shows that it is a necessary precursor to reading comprehension. In educational language, “fluency” is a buzz-word that gets thrown around with great weight. What is fluency? Reading fluency encompasses the speed or rate of reading, as well as the ability to read materials with expression. It is often a misconception that if they are reading at a faster, more fluent rate, that they simply “know” …
Reading Programs Bring Life Changes
I have just spoken this morning with a sweet woman I’ll call Joan, (not her real name), who feels embarrassed about her inability to read well. She wonders if there is any hope, because even a private tutor didn’t make much difference for her. The tutor didn’t use a reading program, I learned, but rather had her do a lot of reading. Many tutors don’t have the understanding necessary for giving dyslexics help. Explicit, systematic, …
Silent Movie Prompts Teaching Reading Reflection
A recent Friday night video at our house happened to be a 1929 oldie, “Wings” with Jack Powell. The cultural experience of watching a silent film is perspective-tilting to me. This particular Air Force story was to have happened in 1917. The clothes, cars, buildings and historical scenes I found fascinating. It was easy to imagine grandparents sitting in a theater on a date watching that very movie. The interspersing black and white screens of …
Sharing Literacy With Others
My parents live close by, just up the street. We very much enjoy that fact, finally able to share more of life than we did for years while in different states. One of many things they share with us, my own family, is their daily newspaper. When finished reading, they promptly roll the sections all back up into the same elastic and place the roll in a spot on their kitchen desk to await our next visit. If a few …
How to Teach Reading
Hello again. I have been working with some schools and homeschooling families the past couple of weeks to help everyone get up and running for the new school year. It is becoming more and more evident to me that very few of us really know how to teach reading. I put together an article addressing this subject and thought I’d share it with you. Click here to learn how to teach reading. With all that …
Friend Cares About Success With Reading Skills
As frequently happens, I had a phone conversation last week with a person concerned for their fellow employee needing improved reading skills in order to go any further in her line of work and leadership. Other than being challenged with the written word, she was the ideal person for her position; evidently sharp, personable, and likeable in every way. (She had to be very intelligent to have circumvented all the daily struggles with necessary reading …
Auditory Processing Disorder and Dyslexia Learning Disabilities
Hello again. I have been researching and looking at the connection between Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and dyslexia. There is a lot of confusion between the two since they have similar symptoms and both deal with how language is processed auditorily by the central nervous system. I have finished a new article on the subject that will be posted in the next few days, so be sure to look for that. In my research I …
