5 Life Lessons

1
5 Life Lessons

• Greg Davis, M.B.A.
• (gregbdavis_at_gmail.com)
• Nikki Davis, Ph.D. (nikki.davis_at_vanderbilt.edu)
• February 22, 2008

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Goals of Speech

• Gregs Story
• Research Supporting Gregs Journey
• Audience Participation

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Outline of Talk

• Support your child with dyslexia.
• Get your child with dyslexia to read.
• Teach your child to educate others about
  dyslexia.
• Success outside of school is important.
• Your child can be more than s/he thinks.

4
Quote from Gregs Testing March, 1983

• 8.5 years old, 3rd grade
• Reading at 4 grade level.
• Spelling at 3.5 grade level.
• Neuropsychological studies are within normal
  limits and not indicative of underlying organic
  process. It does appear that the patient may not
  fully process word and letter groupings.
• The parents may be putting a little bit too much
  pressure and stress on this child. There is also
  competition from the younger sibling that may be
  adversely affecting the child.

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Gregs Testing October, 1984

• 9.11 years old, 4th grade
• Reading at 4.4 grade level
• Spelling at 4.8 grade level
• This child is now displaying rather clear
  features of a dysphonetic dyslexic pattern. In
  comparison with previous testing, these problem
  areas were not so clearly defined because the
  patient was able to compensate so well by his
  superior intellectual abilities.

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1. Support Your Child with Dyslexia

• Gregs Stories
• Correct Diagnosis
• Tutoring
• Support System
• Texas AM Philosophy Class
• Research Based Support
• Identification
• Intervention
• Accommodations

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A Few Support Systems

• School Based
• Extended Test Taking Time
• Note Takers
• Non-Distraction Environments
• Homework should be graded on content not form,
  especially spelling.
• What is the goal of the schoolwork?
• How necessary is it that the student read/write
  on his own?
• Other Support
• Kurzweil www.kurzweil.com
• Microsoft Word www.microsoft.com
• taping lectures
• Books on tape www.rfbd.org
• Spell checkers www.franklin.com
• IDA www.interdys.org

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Gregs Tests August, 1991

• 16.9 years old, 10th grade
• He is unable to express his ideas within a
  spontaneously written story at a level
  appropriate to his age and ability. Word attack
  skills are extremely poor, and Greg also has
  trouble with spelling. He reads very slowly when
  he is reading aloud, and makes numerous errors in
  accuracy.
• There are no emotional factors interfering with
  learning.

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Research Tells usIdentification, Instruction,
Accommodations

• Children with Dyslexia have
• A weakness in speech sound awareness
• Problems with word recognition
• Many strengths in thinking and reasoning
• Children with Dyslexia need
• Identification of strengths and weaknesses
• Intervention for the language weakness
• Encouragement for the various strengths

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Research Tells UsIdentification, Instruction,
Accommodations

• Instruction should be (IDA Statement)
• Simultaneous and Multisensory
• Systematic and Cumulative
• Direct Instruction
• Diagnostic Teaching
• Synthetic and Analytic.
• Accommodations will be needed
• Dyslexia Theory and Practice of Remedial
  Instruction by Diana Clark and Joanna Uhry
• Shaywitz explains, Dyslexia robs an individual
  of time accommodations return it. Studies
  carried over the last two decades confirm a
  dyslexic readers absolute physiologic need for
  extra time.

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Gregs Testing September, 1986

• 11.10 years old, 6th grade
• Reading at a 6th grade level
• Spelling at a 6th grade level
• He continues to be more of a sight recognition
  reader than a phonetic analyzer.
• It should be noted that the child is slow in the
  reading process, and there certainly does appear
  to be some frustration/stress reaction,
  particularly with more difficult multisyllabic
  words.

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2. Get Your Child with Dyslexia to Read

• Gregs Stories
• Bookstore
• Feeling Different
• Peace Corps
• Research Based Support
• Reading is like a mystery
• Oral language support
• Let them read anything

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Why is Reading Important?
Shaywitz, 2003
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3. Teach Them to Educate Others

• Gregs Stories
• Ask for what you need
• Know your rights
• Research Based Support
• Importance of self-advocacy
• Well trained teachers (NRP report)
• Questions to ask

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Questions You Should Ask

• What specific reading programs are used? Are they
  evidence based?
• How is a students progress in reading tracked?
• What happens if my child does not make progress?
• What is done to promote the growth of a childs
  vocabulary?
• Is there a specific writing program?
• How is instruction individualized to fit each
  childs needs?
• Are there provisions for hands-on learning?
• Are there opportunities for advanced work in art,
  math, or science?
• Is there support for developing organizational
  and study skills?
• Who coordinates services for students with
  reading disability?
• Are students provided with accommodations, and if
  so, what kinds?
• Does the school work with books on tape?
• Are dyslexic students allowed extra time on their
  examinations?
• What is the policy concerning foreign languages?
  Are waivers granted?

Shaywitz, 2003
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Gregs Testing January, 1987

• 12 years old, 6th grade
• School claims the patient is working at grade
  level and does not qualify for any particular
  help.
• The patient suffers severe stress in school and
  has a terrible fear from getting behind. He is
  extremely aware of his peers and does not want to
  be singled out for special treatment.
• In other areas of reading accuracy, handwriting
  quality, spelling, and visual coordination, the
  patient functions one to three grades below
  average.

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4. Why Success Outside of School is Important

• Gregs Stories
• Math/Science
• Summer Camp/Sports
• Not only academics
• Research Based Support
• Self Esteem and Self Confidence
• Importance of Attainable Goals

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Gregs Tests, March 2001

• 27 years old, returning to get MBA
• Mr. Davis exhibits strong cognitive ability in
  contrast to his weak reading and spelling
  abilities in which he scores 2 to 3 standard
  deviations below his peers (bottom 5).
• (on a spelling assessment) as words became
  increasingly more difficult, Mr. Davis at first
  made errors in which he left out individual
  sounds, and then left out complete syllables.

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5. Teach them they can be more than they think
they can be

• Gregs Stories
• Spanish
• If there was a magic pill
• My Gift of Dyslexia
• I challenge you to lead by example.
• Research Based Support
• Support for interest in a specific area.
• Commitment to childs strengths.
• Others who have blazed the path.

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Dyslexics Successful in Literacy

• John Irving Author
• Wendy Wasserstein Playwright
• Stephen J. Cannell Novelist
• Don Mullan Best-selling Irish author/journalist

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Some Good Books

• Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz
• About Dyslexia Unraveling the Myth by Priscilla
  Vail
• Parenting a Struggling Reader by Susan Hall
  Louisa Moats
• Straight talk about Reading by Susan Hall and
  Louisa Moats
• Understanding Dyslexia and the Reading Process A
  Guide for Educators and Parents by Marion Sanders

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Research Summary

• Snow, Burns, Griffin (1998). Preventing Reading
  Difficulties in Young Children
• Report of the National Reading Panel (2000)
  Teaching Children to Read An Evidence Based
  Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature
  on Reading and Its Implications for Reading
  Instruction. http//www.nichd.nih.gov/publications
  /nrp/smallbook.htm.
• Rayner, K., Foorman, B.R., Perfetti, C.A.,
  Pesetsky, D., Seidenberg, M.S. (2001). How
  Psychological Science Informs the Teaching of
  Reading, Psychological Science in the Public
  Interest, 2, 31-74.
• Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read Thinking
  and learning about print. Cambridge, MA MIT
  Press.
• Snowling, M.J. (2000). Dyslexia, MA Blackwell
  Publishers

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Audience Feedback/Questions

• We would love to receive your feedback or
  questions concerning the presentation.
• Please feel free to contact Nikki or Greg at the
  following email addresses
• Nikki nikki.davis_at_vanderbilt.edu
• Greg gregbdavis_at_gmail.com