http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities_treatment_help_coping.htm
I wish I had seen this nice concise listing of tips 6 years ago.
If I can point out any of these as most important, I would pay attention to looking at the big picture of life with a learning disability - this is not something that can be cureed, but something that you must live with, so accept that and learn strategies for dealing with the challenges you have.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
Frequently Asked Questions About Dyslexia
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.
What causes dyslexia?
The exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions. Moreover, most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties. Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexics can learn successfully.
What are the effects of dyslexia?
The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation. The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading fluency, spelling, and writing. Some dyslexics manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material, and writing essays.
What Are the Signs of Dyslexia?
The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using language--reading and writing letters in the wrong order is just one manifestation of dyslexia and does not occur in all cases. Other problems experienced by dyslexics include:
Learning to speak
Organizing written and spoken language
Learning letters and their sounds
Memorizing number facts
Spelling
Reading
Learning a foreign language
Correctly doing math operations
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.
What causes dyslexia?
The exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions. Moreover, most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties. Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, dyslexics can learn successfully.
What are the effects of dyslexia?
The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation. The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading fluency, spelling, and writing. Some dyslexics manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material, and writing essays.
What Are the Signs of Dyslexia?
The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using language--reading and writing letters in the wrong order is just one manifestation of dyslexia and does not occur in all cases. Other problems experienced by dyslexics include:
Learning to speak
Organizing written and spoken language
Learning letters and their sounds
Memorizing number facts
Spelling
Reading
Learning a foreign language
Correctly doing math operations
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Journey into Dyslexia
We watched the documentary and WOW - it was powerful! Here were my take aways:
* LOTS of super smart and super creative people with dyslexia.
* We have only been reading as a culture for the last 5000 years. Before that there were people with dyslexia and it did not matter because they were not asked to use the part of the brain that is best suited for understanding symbols that turn into words. They were probably the leaders of those times because they could see the big picture!
* Dyslexia can be seen in brain scans - a complete different part of the brain lights up when people with dyslexia read.
* No two people have the same kind of dyslexia - how it affects a person is different in everyone. So there is no one way to tackle the issue.
* Dyslexia is truly a gift if you can learn to manage it enough to make it thru school with your self esteem in tact.
* LOTS of super smart and super creative people with dyslexia.
* We have only been reading as a culture for the last 5000 years. Before that there were people with dyslexia and it did not matter because they were not asked to use the part of the brain that is best suited for understanding symbols that turn into words. They were probably the leaders of those times because they could see the big picture!
* Dyslexia can be seen in brain scans - a complete different part of the brain lights up when people with dyslexia read.
* No two people have the same kind of dyslexia - how it affects a person is different in everyone. So there is no one way to tackle the issue.
* Dyslexia is truly a gift if you can learn to manage it enough to make it thru school with your self esteem in tact.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Journey into Dyslexia
Journey into Dyslexia
I have been waiting for this documentary to come out on DVD. I just purchased it and can't wait to see it.
JOURNEY INTO DYSLEXIA presents profiles of dyslexic students and adults who share their experiences of struggling in school and then succeeding in life. Academy-Award winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond examine the complexities of this differently structured brain and debunk the myths and misperceptions about dyslexia.
Dyslexia is a specific leaning disability that is neurobiological in origin and typically manifests through difficulty in reading, writing, spelling and math. It has nothing to do with intelligence, birth defects, or a mental illness of any kind, the home environment, level of education or economic status.
Dyslexia persists throughout one's lifetime and is prevalent in every culture in the world. In the U.S. it affects as much as 10% of the population.
Surprisingly, however, Journey into Dyslexia reveals that many adult professionals who once struggled to learn in school consider their dyslexia a unique gift and the defining reason behind their success.
For more info: http://videoverite.tv/pages/film-JID-about.htmlWednesday, July 13, 2011
New type face for Dyslexia
A team from the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, has developed a new 'Dyslexie' typeface, designed to help dyslexic people read more easily.
It's based on the notion that of the 26 letters in the standard Latin-based alphabet, as used in English, many of the letters look similar - such as v/w, i/j and m/n - thus people with dyslexia often confuse these letters. So by creating a new typeface where the differences in these letters are emphasized, it was found that dyslexic people made fewer errors.
Video (no audio):
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/06/30/dyslexie-a-typeface-for-dyslexics/
Project website (in English):
http://www.studiostudio.nl/en/project-dyslexie/
It's based on the notion that of the 26 letters in the standard Latin-based alphabet, as used in English, many of the letters look similar - such as v/w, i/j and m/n - thus people with dyslexia often confuse these letters. So by creating a new typeface where the differences in these letters are emphasized, it was found that dyslexic people made fewer errors.
Video (no audio):
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/06/30/dyslexie-a-typeface-for-dyslexics/
Project website (in English):
http://www.studiostudio.nl/en/project-dyslexie/
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Acting for Kids with Disabilities
http://angelsonstage.org/index.html
I was just introduced to this group that does productions with kids with disabilities. What a wonderful experience.
I was just introduced to this group that does productions with kids with disabilities. What a wonderful experience.
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