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How do we deal with our child’s learning challenges?

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He was 2 years old when his speech began to decline. Fear enveloped my cousin as she realized that one of her twin boys was not developing as planned. A parent places their hopes and dreams into their children and when their child struggles, it hurts. One doesn’t want their child to struggle but to be happy, successful and content in life. Being able to accept the fact that one’s child is struggling academically or socially is very difficult and will often take a long time. It is okay to feel discouraged, or to cry, but there is hope.

Every child deserves hope for the future - overcome dyslexia and learning disorders at Therapeutic Literacy CenterAccepting and acknowledging that one’s child is struggling is the first step towards understanding and seeking help. The goal is not to diagnose one’s child, but to see the multifaceted issues that may be affecting your child’s self-esteem and confidence. Behaviors are often seen as an issue with a child’s motivation or how hard they try when these behaviors are more likely attributed to a learning challenge. People like to succeed. Have you ever met anyone that loved to fail? It is the same with our kids. No kid truly wants to fail at something, but when they do fail and can’t seem to get it no matter how hard they try, they may give up. The challenges they face are more than just motivation or bad behavior, they stem from actual learning deficits.

We have to accept that our children are not perfect, that sometimes they have real learning difficulties, and that there are resources and interventions that can help. From here we can tackle whatever challenges may come. A child knows when they are falling behind in class. They often wonder why it is taking them so much longer to complete assignments in class. “Why does everyone else get it and I don’t?” “It is too difficult. I am trying hard but it just isn’t working. I know that I am in the group that is not ‘smart.’” Confronting this head on and getting to the root of these feelings and learning challenges is so important. It is not about providing a label but rather figuring out the root of the problems. Labels can help to provide a child with an understanding of the challenges that they face. With that, it is very important that the negative stigmas attached to labels are eliminated.

Breaking through the stigmas that are attached to labels can be very beneficial for parents and children. Letting a child know that the reasons that they are struggling in class is due to a specific learning challenge that they have allows the child to move forward. It is more the way in which we deal and view the labels that matters. Diagnosing a child with dyslexia does not mean that they are incapable or unable to do everything that everyone else does. While giving your child a diagnosis of dyslexia seems scary, it can be helpful and beneficial. They can begin to understand their challenges more and learn about others who have overcome their difficulties. In fact, children and adults with dyslexia are very creative and have amazing talents. When a child is able to own the term and understand that they are amazing and so talented because they are dyslexic, and not the other way around, change happens.

When we acknowledge and identify the child’s challenge and we create a plan we create hope. A hope that your child will no longer view himself/herself negatively, they will embrace their differences and they will pursue their dreams!Your child deserves hope for the future - overcome dyslexia and learning disorders at Therapeutic Literacy Center

Dyslexia diagnosis

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Term “Dyslexia” Not Used In Schools Per Federal Guideline Adopted by Florida

Nov 05, 2013

Panama City- Dyslexia makes it very difficult for children to read, write, and spell. According to the National Institutes of Health, it’s the most common learning disability in our country, so it might surprise you to learn that Florida Public Schools don’t use the term at all.

Just a few months ago 8-year-old Jakob Nelson couldn’t identify letters or numbers. “His problem was so huge he could not take pictures and keep them in his head of letters and numbers,” said Paula Nelson, Jakob’s mom. Now he’s reading. But the journey to get here hasn’t been easy.Why won't schools use the term dyslexia?

“After his Pre-K experience 13 people were ready to put him on a different track rather than regular ed. We stopped it and said not yet, we have much more to offer him and research before that happens. We found someone to test him and identify his major problem being dyslexia with a normal IQ,” said Paula.

The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the handbook that healthcare professionals use to diagnose patients, dropped the term dyslexia when they published a revised edition in May. Now it includes the same title school districts use, “Specific Learning Disorder with Reading Impairment.” Dyslexia is noted as an alternative term, but does not have it’s own heading. “We never use that word in the school system,” said Bay District School Psychologist Dr. Mimi Bozarth. “Dyslexia is a medical term, a medical diagnosis. In the school system we use educational categories. The child has the same problem, we call it something different,” she explained.

The state says the terms are interchangeable. The Nelson family disagrees. Failing to recognize or regard a dyslexia diagnosis has dire consequences for the child’s future.  “Specific testing and intervention therefore is not complete and not individualized at times for those students,” said Paula. “C’s are the goal standard. If the child is making at least C’s then the teacher, and we have excellent teachers in the district, we’d most likely accommodate that child’s needs but that child would not qualify for an individualized education plan,” said Dr. Bozarth.

The Nelson’s would like to see the district use different curriculum to address a dyslexia diagnosis specifically and are trying to rally other parents for change. “It’s just like the parents of kids with autism. That is how they made a breakthrough and had a difference made for specialized intervention for their children,” said Paula.

In the meantime, they’ve hired a retired teacher to teach Jakob at home. They hope to one day return him to a normal classroom.

If you think your child might be dyslexic there are many resources on the web to help identify symptoms and how to address them, we’ve created a list for you.

And if you think your child might have a learning disability, you can request they be evaluated by the district. After they complete the response to intervention process, if the child is eligible, an individual educational plan will be developed.

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Living-with-Dylexia-230720031.html

 

Summer Reading Programs, summer tutoring, or summer school?

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When your child is struggling to read….

Teaching a child to read requires deep knowledge in cognitive processing. It requires informed observation of every error a student makes. Thanks to neuroscience, we know a lot more about the brain and learning processes involved in reading and writing than we ever have known before.  Neuroscience has given us a view into the brain during reading and  phonological tasks. This brain research is beginning to provide us information about why some students struggle more than others in learning to read and write.

Yet, education hasn’t yet partnered with neuroscience and cognitive psychology to best inform how we instruct students in learning to read. For now, it is up to the most inquisitive educator to continue to ask questions about every error their students make while they are learning to read.

Part of the problem is that most educators received their training before the new insights were available. Additionally, time and resource constraints prevent schools from applying the insights offered through recent research. Even if schools were able to find opportunity to support teachers in developing the deep knowledge necessary for this level of observation and study, class sizes don’t allow even the most informed teachers to take the time with each individual student necessary for this work.  The system of schooling just isn’t prepared to meet the needs of all students.

School curriculum indeed works for 80% of the student population. Another 3-5% qualify for additional services in special education. So what about the 15% of students who are still struggling?  Those students have difficulty getting their needs met in the traditional school model. Even the best teacher has difficulty in knowing what to do and when to help that 15% of students.

How can these students get what they need to succeed?

We can talk about the school year in the coming months. Right now, most families are looking into summer options. As you look at summer school, a summer tutor or summer reading programs for your child, consider these questions: [checklist]

  • Does your child need to maintain skills they already have?
        – If so, traditional summer programs or tutoring may be appropriate.
  • Does your child need to “catch up“ and achieve grade level expectations?
        – If so, a more intensive and research based approach is what they need.

[/checklist]

Stay tuned. In the next few weeks we will discuss how the brain research helps us give students what they need to be successful in the essential skills in:

  • Reading: decoding, fluency and comprehension with critical thinking

  • Writing: spelling, fluency and organization and expression of ideas.

Pediatricians help identify learning disabilities in children

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As many as 20% of people in the United States have a learning disability and in 2007, an estimated 2.7 million children aged 6 to 11 years were affected. Learning disabilities often prevent children from reaching their full potential. They can have difficulty learning to listen, speak, read, spell, write, reason, concentrate, solve mathematical problems, and organize information. They may also experience difficulty mastering social skills or motor coordination.

Learning difficulties are frequently associated with and complicated by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For affected children, learning difficulties are not merely a source of frustration. Left untreated, these children may develop low self-confidence, poor self-esteem, and have increased risk of developing psychological and emotional problems.

Learning disabilities are complex problems with complex etiologies that are not yet fully understood. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities, including reading disabilities and dyslexia, frequently go undetected, misdiagnosed, or mistreated in children. Sadly, even in cases where learning disabilities are recognized, most children have already been experiencing years of academic difficulty in elementary school.

However research in brain function and learning has shown that learning and attention challenges can be permanently corrected. The American Academy of Pediatrics policy states that “early recognition and referral to qualified professionals for evidence-based evaluations and treatments are necessary to achieve the best possible outcome.”
Family Physicians identify learning disabilities
The role of the child’s physician in identifying and managing a learning disability is one of vigilance and support. The child’s parents and educators may not fully recognize the symptoms of a learning disability in their children and it may be the child’s pediatrician that is first to suspect and inform parents of available resources for assistance. Some parents may already suspect that their child may harbor a learning disability and turn to the child’s physician for guidance. In any case, the child’s physician is an important partner with the family and educators in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment for the child.

It is not the role of the pediatrician to diagnose learning disabilities but instead to inquire about the child’s educational progress and be vigilant for early signs of learning disabilities. Even if there is no apparent delay in speech or language development, a family history of learning difficulties should alert parents and physicians to this possibility in the child. With enhanced awareness of the pediatric community on early detection and referral we can do away with the traditional scenario in which the child must show persistent poor academic achievement for years before referral, assessment, and remediation. Early recognition and referral to qualified professionals means more effective treatment for more children.

Therapeutic Literacy Center:
Current neuroscience shows that learning “disabilities” do not have to be permanent. The brain exhibits enormous plasticity so the cognitive skills involved in reading and writing can be improved. (More about Plasticity)  At the Therapeutic Literacy Center we specialize in the cognitive processes behind learning to read, write and spell. Auditory and language processing, phonological awareness, visual memory and critical thinking can be strengthened, often significantly, in a relatively short time given intensive targeted instruction. Our network of clinicians, psychologists, and neuropsychologists have studied how children learn, and applied that research to Therapeutic Literacy Center programs and instruction. Through carefully researched and consistently effective methods, we help clients to develop control over their thinking processes to make sense out of reading, spelling, written language and math.

Accessibility Apps Help Students With Dyslexia

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We need to remind ourselves that ‘Accessibility’ needn’t be a term reserved just for physically disabled. Those with dyslexia or other learning disabilities face real challenges navigating the world of printed words. It’s largely inaccessible to them because it’s often incomprehensible. However, new accessibility apps from Apple and others, are beginning to give these people the access that most of the rest of us tend to take for granted. While they may not have been the targeted market or driving force behind the design, it’s clear these apps benefit those with dyslexia and related disabilities.

Accessibility Apps help students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities overcome their learning problemsFor someone with Dyslexia, reading a simple paragraph or even a couple lines of instructions is a tedious and frustrating process. This makes everyday activities difficult and learning from textbooks or other dense, voluminous material is nearly impossible. Spelling and written expression can also be very difficult.

 Dyslexia does not impact intellectual ability but it will prevent these bright people from acquiring information as others do in the typical learning environment.

 So what do people who have dyslexia do when they encounter printed text? Sadly enough, some simply avoid it or give up. Others find or create methods to help them succeed.

Thanks to accessibility technologies built into Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and Mac, more and more people with dyslexia and other disabilities are finding they can readily access the information in books, newspapers, websites, email, and more. Using devices to help people adapt the world to their needs is not a new paradigm, but having inexpensive, easy to use, readily available tools (these apps!) is what success is all about these days. Below I’ll highlight a few of my favorite apps for use on Apple devices. Visit iMore to find out about these and others from Apple. Of course there are plenty of more universally applicable educational tools and resources out there that have been around for years. I’ll mention some of them as well because of their proven positive impact.

Speak Selection
Speak Selection reads aloud any text highlighted on the iPhone or iPad. Having the words spoken really improves understanding of students. The app can even be set to highlight words as they’re read to help the reader follow along. We also use it to highlight text so the highlighted part can be read back again to the reader to aid in comprehension.

Dictation
The Dictation feature allows students to get their ideas out so they can freely and fully express themselves; returning later to work on fine-tuning the written script. Writing can be painfully frustrating for students with dyslexia since they often end up forgetting their overarching thought or stream of consciousness as they struggle with the task of spelling and writing individual words.

QuickType
iOS 8 brings with it the option to activate this feature — a predictive keyboard that gets smarter as you use it. It helps with poor spelling by suggesting words based on the first few characters.
With these types of integrated technologies and apps, people with disabilities can have access so they can readily use their creative and intellectual abilities rather than being held back by their disabilities.

Apple device users can also enjoy services offered by third-party apps developed with the Apple devices as the foundation.

One of these services, Bookshare, offers over 280,000 books that can be downloaded directly and read with text-to-speech. The combination of text-to-speech and highlighting greatly improves readability and comprehension for qualifying students. Thanks to a grant from the United States Department of Education Bookshare is free to U.S. students.

Voice Dream Reader is a super-cool text-to-speech app for iOS. It allows students to input text from a variety of sources (Bookshare, web, clipboard, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, Project Gutenberg, etc.) Once the text is loaded, it can even be read with a number of different text-to-speech voices (albeit at additional cost). The app includes highlighting, note taking features, and students can customize the look of their text as well. This app is a great pairing with Bookshare for reading books on the go.

Another service, called Learning Ally provides human-narrated audio books that can also be downloaded to a wide variety of devices such as Android, not just Apple. Learning Ally is a national nonprofit with resources designed to support students with learning disabilities and their families. Of note, the highlighting of feature of this service is not word by word as in Bookshare and Kurzweil (see below), but rather is paragraph by paragraph.

Prizmo is an especially powerful app that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to recognize and read back text in a matter of seconds from a picture of a text document. So if a student is having a tough time reading through something, they can take a picture and have Prizmo read it back to them. Though not the strongest OCR engine in the industry, it is ideal for use with mobile devices.

Individuals with dyslexia and other learning disabilities have already given these apps and services positive reviews – explaining that these apps level the playing field for them, and encouraging developers to come up with even more life-enabling tools. Hopefully, the increased focus on accessibility from sites such as iMore will help push innovation even further.

All the above are apps and services oriented to mobile users and more specifically Apple devices. With the school year already in swing, I’ll mention a number of other powerful applications and sites that are available for the home, office, and school and can be accessed and used across just about any platform, Mac or PC.

Kurzweil 3000
Kurzweil 3000 is a reading and writing program for scanned and digital documents so students can benefit from high quality text-to-speech and synchronized highlighting. Mrs. Kurzweil was actually the name of my sweet and wonderful teacher in first grade so I’m more than just partial to this one. Students can annotate documents with text notes, audio notes, highlighting and circle functions. Even test taking is simplified since students can fill in the blanks on documents – answering directly on the digital document. This powerful tool has additional writing help such as mapping and word prediction features mentioned above.

Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a fantastic free service providing video tutorials for students in just about any subject. Enthusiastic scientists and teachers walk students through difficult concepts step-by-step in a way that is easy to understand and follow. The video tutorials cover an enormous range of content ranging from algebra to zoology and is helpful for learning new subjects as well as reinforcing material that may not have been fully grasped in the classroom. And at the end of many lessons students can even take a short quiz to reassure themselves that they have understood the content. Visit Khan Academy at khanacademy.org.

The last items I want to share are devices that once again, help level the playing field for those with learning or hearing disorders.

Phones and tablets are convenient tools for recording classes and lectures but unless the speaker is consistently close to the device, the built-in microphone may do a poor job of isolating the speaker from surrounding noise. The resulting recording may be filled with background noice making it difficult to hear and virtually useless for those with hearing disorders. MightyMic from Ampridge is a discreet, compact microphone that plugs into the headphone jack on any portable device and then angled toward the part of the room that has the most important sounds to be captured. When recording in a classroom or lecture hall environment, it has the effect of reducing the nearby background noise resulting in capture of ideal recordings of the speaker.

The Sky Wifi Smartpen from Livescribe is a computerized pen for note taking. The way it works is that students take notes on special notebook paper their written notes are synchronized with an audio recorded from class. Revisiting this synchronized audio and written material helps students review and fill in gaps of information they may have missed. Many students within the spectrum of learning disabilities find it’s frustratingly easy to miss important content while trying to focus on writing everything down. Amazingly, the Sky Smartpen can also wirelessly synchronize notes to Evernote or even to other students who need audio and digital notes provided.

It bears repeating that while these tools and apps may not have been created specifically for those with dyslexia and related disabilities, the benefits for them are clear. What’s your experience? We hope you’ll share with us any discoveries you’ve made about technologies or resources that you’ve found helpful (or not!) for students facing learning challenges due to dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, or any other learning disability.

Expanding our office

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Expanding to meet the needs….

Young people are masters at hiding their struggles in school.  They mask their difficulties in so many ways that sometimes it takes adults time to realize what it really going on.

Many times these are just below the surface of other behaviors such as these:

Attention Difficulties
High Energy
Low Energy
Aggression
Acting out / Getting in Trouble
Depression/Anxiety
Withdraw
Impatience
Spacing out
Being too social in class
Low self esteem
Resistance to homework
Lack of desire to read or write

These are just a few of the initial outside behaviors that we might notice.  Part of what makes it difficult is that each child is individual in the behaviors they use to mask their difficulties.

We are all born with a natural inquisitiveness and desire to learn, perform and achieve.  A lack of desire to learn at school is usually a symptom of a struggle to learn.

When our children are showing struggles in school, a well-known approach to help them is to find a tutor or sometimes use the “wait and see” approach and see if they will “grow out of it.”

But when children with at least average intellectual ability struggle to learn, there is likely something in the way that they are processing information that is underdeveloped, different, or inefficient.  Tutoring isn’t the answer.

The Therapeutic Literacy Center recognizes that if we are going to effectively impact academic learning problems, we must prepare the brain for learning by strengthening or developing the underlying thinking processes that support academic skills.

We might find ourselves saying such things as “He just needs to pay attention,” “She needs to put her head in school” or “When it’s something he’s interested in, he can do it!”  Yet, they really need help now to change the way they experience learning in school.

“These things can be FIXED – permanently. We are seeing lives change every day.”

The work at the Therapeutic Literacy Center is done one-to-one with students and focuses on teaching, strengthening, and developing those skills that lead to independent, academic success.

Meeting the Need

The Therapeutic Literacy Center is expanding to meet the needs of more students in North County. We are seeing changes happening every day.  Kids that have been working harder than their peers are finding confidence and success and independence.

These kids are not resisting homework anymore because they have confidence in their skills as an independent learner. They feel their success and they are interested in learning again.

TLC provides free screening and evaluations to help identify what the issue is behind struggles in school 1st grade through college.  These can be scheduled by calling (858) 481-2200.

-September 20, 2013

Why not tutoring?

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How is your therapy different from tutoring?

That’s a question we get all the time. The truth is, we are very different from tutoring or test prep facilities.  Most schools and tutoring focus on WHAT a student learns. We focus on HOW a student learns. We work on the skills needed to be an efficient and independent learner.

Often parents tell us, “We even went to the big name franchise learning center and it didn’t help.” That’s because, for many students, the underlying learning skills are not in place. Here is an explanation of the details…

5 big differences between tutoring and remediation

“Spencer HATES school! He feels like the dumbest kid in the class. He gets very frustrated and angry doing homework. As a family, we can’t stand this anymore. We need to get Jason a tutor!”

Are you sure? Will getting a tutor really be enough to solve this problem?

Sometimes, tutoring is exactly what is needed. But more often, when a child has a learning problem, tutoring is like putting on a band aid. It covers up some of the symptoms, but doesn’t really solve the problem.

Here are 5 big differences between tutoring and remediation, or educational therapy, and how you know which is right for your situation.

  1. Tutoring typically focuses on academic skills or school subjects and remediation addresses the underlying processing or thinking skills that are needed in order for a someone to learn easily in school.

Here’s a way you can think about this. Think of learning like a tree. When you look at a tree, the most obvious, noticeable part is the top…the branches and leaves. But without a good root system and trunk, those branches and leaves can’t grow and thrive. Learning is like that. The top of the tree is the academic skills – reading, writing, math, history, science…

Growth and learning in these areas is dependent upon a strong root system and trunk. The roots are what we call the underlying processing skills. These are things like memory, attention, processing speed, auditory and visual processing (or how we think about and understand things that we hear or see). If there are problems at the root, or processing skills level, there will be problems at the top.

The trunk is like what we call “executive function.” This is the part of the brain that takes all the information that comes in through the roots and organizes it for learning. Again, if the student has problems with organization, planning, and reasoning (or executive function skills) it will affect school performance.

Traditional tutoring assumes that these underlying processing and executive function skills are in place and it works at the top of the tree, with the academics. In most cases learning problems are the result of weak or incompletely developed skills at the root level.

Working on the academics without a solid foundation of processing skills is just “spinning your wheels.” It may cause students to wonder what is wrong with them that they always have to have tutoring and can never seem to learn to do the job on their own.

To permanently solve a learning problem, the underlying skills must be developed.

The great thing is that we know now, through current brain research, that the brain can be retrained – these skills can be developed – so students don’t have to go through life crippled by their learning challenges.

  1. Tutoring typically looks a lot like school.

If a child is having trouble learning phonics for reading, tutors will provide more phonics practice. But more of the same is often more frustrating than helpful.

Current research tells us that the key factor in success or failure in reading is what’s called phonemic awareness, or the brain’s ability to think about the sounds inside of words. Without this underlying thinking process, you can have the best phonics program and the best phonics teacher, but you’re still going to struggle to learn and use phonics for reading and spelling.

In remediation, or educational therapy, we know that we have to teach the brain HOW to think about the sounds – to actually re-train the brain to process the sounds in a more efficient way. Then, the brain can learn to read.

  1. Tutoring is most effective as a solution to a short term problem. A long term learning problem must be dealt with by getting at the underlying issues.

An example is a 10th grade student who transferred from a very mediocre high school to a very high achieving high school. He got into an Advanced Placement Algebra 2 class that was way over his head. He found a tutor, and after 6 or 8 weeks, he began to get things sorted out.

This was a short term problem with a short term solution.

That is very different from Katy, a student with a history of difficulty with math. Katy had learned to do math by rote memory and lots of painful effort. But she didn’t really understand how numbers work. She could easily mix up math processes or steps and not realize it. Or she might recognize her error but not know how to fix it. When Katy got into algebra, she was lost. And no amount of tutoring was going to clear up the issue. Because Katy did not have the underlying concepts or thinking skills that were absolutely critical to her success.

  1. Tutoring may feel like an easier, more comfortable solution.

Tutoring provides a way to give students support and help them get their homework done. But it can also become a crutch because it doesn’t really solve the problem so that the student can do his homework on his own.

Many parents have said, “My child has had tutoring on and off over the years. He seems to do OK when we’ve got a tutor, but as soon as we quit, things go downhill again.” And that brings us to the fifth big difference between tutoring and remediation – the outcome.

  1. If tutoring is used to treat a learning problem, it is likely to end up being a “never-ending” process.

The goal of remediation, and our goal at the
Therapeutic Literacy Center, is to permanently stop
the pain, frustration, dependence, and embarrassment that
a learning problem can cause.

This is done through specialized programs and techniques that address the weak underlying processing skill areas that are causing the problem. Once students have a solid foundation or strong root system, they can become comfortable and independent learners.

There is an old saying, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”

Tutoring may support students to help them get through this night’s homework or this class. Remediation eliminates the learning problem and teaches students to learn so they can learn anywhere, anytime, for a lifetime.

Here are some common symptoms, any of which may indicate that there are underlying processing skills not supporting the learner well enough:

  • Bright child, teen, or adult is underachieving
  • Difficulty paying attention
  • Gets distracted easily
  • Avoids work
  • Yawns all the time when listening
  • Tries really hard for minimal outcome
  • Struggles to sound out words
  • Can’t remember months, days, math facts, spelling words
  • Can’t follow more than one or two directions at a time
  • Is inconsistent with math processes; can’t find or correct math errors; doesn’t understand how numbers work
  • Struggles to read, write, or spell
  • Is uncoordinated, awkward, or has poor posture
  • Has to work excessively hard
  • Gets fatigued quickly / has very low stamina for listening or schoolwork
  • Misunderstands what is heard or read
  • Misses or mishears information when listening

These issues can be changed! With specialized training the brain can learn to think and process information in more effective ways. Children and adults do not have to continue to suffer the effects of learning problems, but it will typically take more than a traditional tutor.

Assistive Listening Devices in Classrooms for Children with Dyslexia

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Two reports from the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, Northwestern University show that Bluetooth-style listening devices in the classroom can treat dyslexia.  Sounds suspicious I know, but if nothing else, trust the source enough to read on and you’ll be suitably impressed and hopefully inspired. Their research also uncovers a biological explanation which could lead to earlier diagnosis for this language disorder. The studies were published in Journal of Neuroscience and in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (links provided below).   These important findings further support an already large body of research pointing to a neural explanation for auditory processing in children with language learning problems, including dyslexia.

Assistive Listening Devices in Classrooms for Children with Dyslexia
Dyslexia is the most prevalent learning disability among children. Contrary to widespread public teaching, it is not only an affliction of the visual system; merely causing the eyes to rearrange written words.  Dyslexia stems from problems with auditory processing, a skill necessary to accurately interpret speech. Dyslexics typically have poor “phonological awareness”.  This means they struggle assigning the right sounds to the right letters. For example, they might confuse the words “bean” and “dean” because they cannot clearly distinguish the “b” and “d” sounds. Moreover, many children with poor phonological awareness suffer distractions from background noise, making it even harder to pay attention and focus on what a teacher is saying.

In the J. Neuroscience report, the authors show that poor readers have less stable auditory nervous system function than do good readers.  In the children with inconsistency in response to sound the data point to a biological mechanism and it may contribute to their reading impairment.  The authors proposed that assistive listening devices (classroom FM systems) may enhance acoustic clarity and thus reduce the auditory processing variability so elegantly described in the J.Neuroscience paper.

In the PNAS classroom study, they assessed the impact of classroom FM system use for 1 year on auditory neurophysiology and reading skills in children with dyslexia.  The results were clear and dramatic. Children with dyslexia who used classroom assistive listening devices (FM systems) had more consistent auditory brainstem responses to speech after 1 year.  This improvement was linked to increases in reading and phonological awareness. These changes were not seen for children in the same classrooms who did not use the assistive listening devices. The thinking here is that the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio provided by the FM system improved auditory brainstem function by providing the nervous system with a clearer acoustic signal. This would be particularly true for children with dyslexia who are more adversely affected by background noise than their classmates. It is important to note that the FM systems were not used during testing. The brainstem function had undergone a lasting change by enhancing signal-to-noise ratio over the course of the school year.  (Read more on Brain Plasticity)

Aside from the obvious practical implications of these findings for the home and classroom, they have provoked many questions and lines of inquiries for the research community.  Stay tuned!  Both articles are available as free full text for a closer look at the study set up and data.

J. Hornickel et al., “Assistive listening devices drive neuroplasticity in children with dyslexia,”Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 32:14156-64, 2012.

J. Hornickel, N. Kraus, “Unstable representation of sound: a biological marker of dyslexia,”Journal of Neuroscience, 33:3500–04, 2013.

Helping Children Learn To Love Reading

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In a follow-up to our introductory blog which shed some light on who we are, the Therapeutic Literacy Center would now like to tell you a little bit about where we are and what we do: TLC is located in Solana Beach, California and our clients include those who have been diagnosed with autism, dyslexia, ADHD or a learning disability as well as others who may simply struggle within a traditional school system.

In a warm and comfortable setting high above the Pacific Ocean, we offer specialized programming which is short-term and individually based on an evaluation of specific areas of need. Your child may require 2 weeks or up to 12 weeks depending on progress that is monitored regularly.

When learning styles are de-mystified in a supportive setting, students gain the tools to become confident learners. This, combined with goal setting and descriptive feedback, fosters self esteem and independence in our students.

One of the areas we specialize in is dyslexia. Dyslexia can be difficult to diagnose and is frequently mislabeled as an auditory processing disorder. To further complicate the problem, reports on testing may do an excellent job of describing the reading and writing issues but then fall short in their recommendations. Children often have difficulties with decoding, spelling and fluency. Tests can show a clear deficit in phonological awareness, but what are the recommendations? “Student needs to improve reading.” Ok, so now what?

At Therapeutic Literacy Center we use a program called Fast For Word which applies the principles of brain science to help your child become a more efficient learner. Fast For Word is a proven reading and learning intervention that applies neuroscience principles of brain plasticity to help children, adolescents and adults achieve their full potential. Your child will simultaneously develop cognitive and language skills in a safe environment where they can learn to take risks.

This program, in conjunction with everything else we offer at TLC, is an effective tool to develop and improve fundamental cognitive and reading skills. We help our students by improving their memory, attention and ability to follow instructions, plus language and reading skills including phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary, spelling and comprehension. Our program has been designed from extensive neuroscience research and is specifically designed for various ages and ability levels to maximize your child’s potential for learning.

Your child will not only be more confident in classroom participation but they will learn to enjoy reading.

Stay tuned for our weekly blog which will cover a wide range of topics ranging from autism, dyslexia and ADHD to the latest innovations in educational technology and so much more. Thank you for reading!

“The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.” ~ Mary McLeod Bethune

Embracing Dyslexia: Cornell Amerson’s Inspiring Story

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Is your child struggling in school? Are you concerned about their success? A recent interview with Cornell Amerson by Educating Dyslexia has shed some light on the struggles that kids go through when they have a learning disability. He addresses his own personal struggles and sheds light on the issue. Being able to identify a child’s struggles early on can help to prevent a child from losing confidence and self-esteem. Most children with a learning difficulty will begin to perceive themselves as incapable and different from the other kids in the class. This can lead to low levels of self-esteem and behaviors that appear to be uninterested or uncooperative in the classroom.

Cornell Amerson is the author of “The Janitor’s Secret“, a fictional novel that provides insight into the struggles of having a learning disability. Many people do not understand the difficulties a child has in a classroom when they have dyslexia. Being able to understand how it affects a child’s confidence and beliefs is so important. Cornell is a great example of a man who has dyslexia and who reveals these challenges.

Amerson’s interview has two parts. The first part focuses on his difficulties in school and as an adult with dyslexia. It is a fascinating story that truly demonstrates the emotional, social and intellectual issues that arise when a child does not understand his/her challenges. He fell through the cracks and spent many years not understanding why he was unsuccessful. Identifying the challenges early on and seeking support and help is so beneficial for a child’s success.

The second part demonstrates his artistic talents. He shows work that he did when he was younger and his amazing abilities. While he failed the traditional school system, his abilities and talents reveal his true intellectual ability. His story is inspiring in that it reveals his resilience to continue to seek education even when the system failed him. The work that we do here focuses on building confidence and training kids so that they can be successful in a classroom environment.

Understanding the struggles behind dyslexia will help you to deal with the challenges that you or your child face. At TLC we strive to help you and your child overcome any challenges that you may face. It is common, and you have support!