Dyslexia the decade ahead: Recent reports and current

research

Dr. Gavin ReidIndependent Educational

Psychologist and consultantVancouver, BC

www.drgavinreid.com

The learning and teaching approaches used my most authorities included:

• Metacognitive approaches

• Reciprocal teaching and scaffolding •Small group and one-to-one teaching

• Reading recovery

• Synthetic phonics

• Structured phonics programmes

Education for learners

with Dyslexia (HM

Inspectorate of

Education, (Scotland)

2008)

Areas for development included:

• Involving parents and young people in setting targets in IEPs.

• Delays in obtaining an assessment of children who may have dyslexia.

• Delays in providing the right support for children with dyslexia.

• Raising awareness among parents of difficulties associated with dyslexia and helpful support strategies

Education for learners with Dyslexia (HM Inspectorate of Education, (Scotland) 2008)

There were good examples of partnership working between schools and specialist support staff within authorities to jointly deliver literacy programmes.

Most authorities considered key features of effective learning and teaching for children with dyslexia should be multisensory, well structured and interactive, should raise self-esteem and be relevant and meaningful.

Area for development - Teachers’ knowledge of appropriate learning and teaching approaches for children and young people with dyslexia. (HMI Scotland report 2008)

Where schools had teachers with additionalqualifications, parents reported a difference inchildren’s confidence in using self-help strategies.

..small numbers of teachers who had undertaken post-graduate certificates .. in support for learning .....unsure whether this included any modules on supporting dyslexia.

A few class teachers in ‘dyslexia-friendly’ schoolswere skilled in differentiating tasks to meet learners’ needs.

National Reading Panel (USA Government 2000)

The panel determined that effective reading instruction includes:

• teaching children to manipulate the sounds in words

(phonemic awareness),

• teaching them that these sounds are represented by

letters of the alphabet which can then be blended

together to form words (phonics),

• applying strategies to guide and improve reading

comprehension.

Dr.Gavin Reid, www.gavinreid.co.uk

• Children’s differences/difficulties are identified and

addressed at an early stage to avoid the consequence

of frustration and failure.

They understand their learning differences/difficulties

and feel supported by adults who understand them.

Report of the Ireland Task Group on Dyslexia April 2002 pg. 55)

“They are catered for in a pastoral care system that is proactive in ensuring their emotional well-being”.

Rose Review - UK (July, 2008) http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/jimroseanddyslexia/

Report can be justified:

•because there is now a significant body of scientific research substantiating the various neurological and cognitive components of dyslexia

•and this can indicate that special consideration is needed for intervention.

New Zealand Government Recognises Dyslexia(Sabbatical Report 2008, Allan Marshall, Ministry of Education)

‘Dyslexia is a spectrum of specific learning difficulties and is evident

when accurate and/or fluent reading and writing skills, particularly

phonological awareness, develop incompletely or with great

difficulty. This may include difficulties with one or more of reading,

writing, spelling, numeracy, or musical notation’

(Dyslexia Ministry Of Education 2010 p.3).

Dyslexia Friendly Schools • Dyslexia friendly schools are able to identify and respond to the “unexpected difficulties” that a dyslexic learner may encounter.

• Dyslexia friendly schools are proactive schools

• The delay between identification and response is kept to a minimum.

• Dyslexia friendly schools are empowering schools because they recognise the importance of emotional intelligence.

Nova Scotia • The Department of Education developed a new

strategy to provide enriched programming to students

with learning disabilities (2007)

• Appoint an LD consultant

• Provincial LD strategy

• LDANS important role - to evaluate effectiveness of

practice such as tuition support programme

Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students with Special

Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6.This report provides Ontario teachers with specific strategies that will help them: • teach literacy and numeracy more effectively to students with diverse strengths and needs;

• show them how to develop a learning profile for individual students;

• provide assessment, evaluation, and planning strategies;

• provide detailed information on instructional support and assistive technology.

Czech Republic Ministry definition for learning disabilities"A person with special educational needs is a

person with a chronic health condition, physical handicap or social disadvantage.

A chronic health condition may be a mental retardation, physical disability, visual and/or hearing impairment, speech impediments, autism, simultaneous multiple disabilities, learning or behavioral developmental disorders. "

(Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, 2008/2009)

Recognise Strengths

•Enhancing Learning; making learning effective

• Recognising the barriers to learning

• Self-esteem

• Motivation

• Learning experience

Main Theories of Dyslexia

1. The Phonological Deficit

2. The Double Deficit Hypothesis

3. Magnocellular Deficit Hypotheses

4. The Automatisation Deficit

Hypothesis

5. The Cerebellar Deficit Hypothesis

15www.drgavinreid.com

•Structural and functional brain-related factors (Galaburda and Rosen 2001)

•Genetic factors -developmentalal migration of magnocells in utero  (Stein 2008)

•Genetic correlations (Gilger 2008)

•Procedural timing of sequences in task accomplishment (Fawcett and Nicolson (2008)

•Processing speed (Wolf & Bowers 2000)

•Inter-hemisphere transfer (Breznitz 2008)

•Difficulty in automatising skills (Fawcett and Nicolson 1992, 2008)

•Working Memory difficulties (Jeffries and Everatt, 2004)

•Phonological deficit (Snowling, 2000)

•Orthographic transparency (Share 2008, Everett and Elbeheri (2008)

•Role of IQ in diagnosis (Siegel and Lipka 2008, Joshi and Aaron 2008, Wagner 2008) •Co-morbidity between SpLD’s (Bishop and Snowling 2004, Visser 2003)

Environmental factors

• Learning environment • Classroom layout• School ethos• Learning styles• Student sense of ownership • Education policy/legislation• Social and Cultural factors

17www.drgavinreid.com

Report of the Northern Ireland Task Group on Dyslexia April 2002 pg. 55)

Their peers are understanding of their learning differences.

They have opportunity to share mutual support with other children who have similar difficulties.

Their parents are informed partners with the school in supporting their child emotionally and educationally.

They have opportunities to build self-esteem and self-confidence through success

They are encouraged to play a full part in the life of the school

Teacher checklist • Have small steps been used?• Are the sentences short?• Is the vocabulary easy to understand?• Have visuals been used?• Has large print been used?• Is the font style appropriate?• Has enough attention been given to presentation?• Are there opportunities for self-monitoring and self-correction?• Are the tasks within the child’s comfort zone?

Further readingDyslexia: A Practitioners Handbook 4th edition 2009 Gavin Reid published by Wiley-Blackwell Foreword by Sir Jackie Stewart “ This book will benefit a multitude of people” Sir Jackie Stewart, President of Dyslexia Scotland

100 Ideas for DyslexiaGavin Reid and Shannon Green Continuum Publications

20www.drgavinreid.com