LEARNERS WITH DYSLEXIA JENINE KASTNER, M.ED., M.A., LDTC

STATE LAW State of NJ – It’s the LAW  Identify children with dyslexia- Screening  Improve teacher training for dyslexia instruction  Definition and inclusion of Dyslexia in NJAC 6A:14

STATE LAW Pending Law for NJ: A recommendation for instructional certification for teachers who teach reading to students with reading disabilities

PART 1: DYSLEXIA SCREENING The screening should include: Phonological and phonemic awareness Sound symbol recognition Alphabet knowledge Decoding skills Rapid naming skills Encoding

SCREENING TOOLS Orton Gillingham Based Programs Assessments including WADE, Fundations DRA 2 Running Records DIEBELS National Center on Intensive Interventions

REFERRAL PROCESS Same process as I&RS Complete Screening Provide Intensive OG Instruction******** Collect Data Review Progress

PART 2: TEACHER TRAINING Goals of Training: Understand NJ Law regarding Dyslexia Definition of Dyslexia Signs and Symptoms Identification of Dyslexia Diagnosis of Dyslexia Interventions for students with Dyslexia

PART 3: WHAT IS DYSLEXIA/ DEFINITION Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

MYTHS Myth #1: “Individuals with dyslexia are of low intelligence, slow learners, or mentally retarded.” Myth #2: “Individuals with dyslexia are just lazy Myth # 3: Individuals with dyslexia see backwards to apply the Myth # 4: There are only a small number of people with Dyslexia. Myth #5: “Those with dyslexia will never improve and will always be poor readers.” Myth #6: “Multi-sensory instruction means student “air write” letters DYSLEXIA SIMULATION

STATISTICS 1 out of 520%

THE SIMPLE VIEW OF READING RC=D X LC Reading Comprehension (RC)= The product of decoding (D) times Listening Comprehension (LC) “Every child would read if it were in his power to do so” (Betts, 1936)

FOUR TYPES OF READERS Impaired decoding, but typical listening comprehension (SLD, DYSLEXIA) Impaired listening comprehension, but typical decoding (language impairment) Impaired decoding and listening comprehension Typical decoding and listening comprehension

NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION

COGNITIVE FACTORS IMPLICATED IN DYSLEXIA PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING RAPID AUTOMATIZED NAMING PROCESSING SPEED WORKING MEMORY 45% COMORBIDITY WITH ADHD

INSTRUCTION NEEDS TO BE…. EXPLICIT SYSTEMATIC VISUAL

COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE READING INSTRUCTION Provided daily 30 minutes per day Supported with listening comprehension activities/opportunities Progress monitored frequently Explicit Systematic Visual

HOW TO TRAIN THE BRAIN EARLY ON….. Syllable recognition Rhyming Alliteration Oral Language Comprehension Abstract Words Background Knowledge Sentence Structure Oral language expression Vocabulary Print awareness Letter recognition- identification and writing Phonological and phonemic awareness MUST HAVE THESE UNDERLYING SKILLS TO LEARN TO READ…. LEARNING TO READ IS NOT A NATURAL PROCESS

BEST PREDICTORS OF READING Orthographic knowledge- letter naming ** needs to be taught through multisensory approach Phonemic Awareness Rapid Picture Naming/ Working Memory

DIFFICULTIES  Phonological Awareness  Sound-symbol association  Fluency  Reading comprehension  Vocabulary  Spelling  Written expression  Auditory processing skills  Rapid naming  Rhyming Dyslexia DOES NOT affect general intelligence

PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING Phonological Processing  Use of phonological information to break words into sounds/phonemes  A Dyslexic learner- cannot hear individual sounds and all the phonemes blend together Phonological Awareness Aware of speech sounds Elision Test- omitting a sound within a word Phonological Memory Adding phonological information for temporary storage in working or short term auditory memory Error- use initial sound to guess at the word Blending nonsense words Rapid Naming Efficiently retrieving sounds from long term memory Reading- always retrieving sounds from LTM Students with Dyslexia- Slower retrieval from LTM

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES Syllable segmentation Which word has two syllables? Cat, Bunny, mystery How many syllables in elephant? Clap How many syllables in anatomy? RhymeDo cat and car rhyme? Mat, sun, cat. Which doesn’t rhyme? Tell me words that rhyme with bat. Phoneme identityWhat’s the first sound in man? What’s the last sound in mat? What’s the middle sound in tip? SegmentingC-at- What word? S-t-o-p what word? D-og what word? DeletionSay cowboy without saying cow Say part without saying /P/ Say step without saying /p/

DIFFICULTIES Sound-Symbol Association Problems a- apple- /a/ 44 sounds

DIFFICULTIES – CONT. Fluency … the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. PROSODY. RAN- Rapid Naming of Colors, Shapes, Objects, Letters, Digits READING MUST BE FLUENT GOAL OF DECODING INSTRUCITON To Read Fluently

DIFFICULTIES – CONT. Vocabulary Students with dyslexia struggle with written vocabulary. Creating different ways to teach vocabulary will help greatly. Ex…. Illustrating words, acting them out, create a story using vocabulary word, etc. vocabulary not to be taught in isolation

DIFFICULTIES – CONT. Spelling Problems Sound tapping Written Expression Verbal rehearsal Daily analysis of exemplar text- quick opening activity

DIFFICULTIES - CONTINUE Reading Comprehension Dyslexics are so focused on decoding the meaning of each word that they “miss the forest for the trees”. VISUAL IMAGERY … …. SOMETIMES MUST BE TAUGHT

UNPACK THE PROMPT- BUILD COMPREHENSION Daily opening Activity Dissect the question EXAMPLE PARCC Question Interpreting text Draw a plan

READING DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES Reading StageSkillsDeficits Pre-Reading (PreK/ K)Recognizing letters (name) and some words Beginning of phonological awareness Rhymes Limited knowledge of rhymes, letter names Slow Rapid naming of highly visual objects- colors, pictures Need: Training in phonemic awareness, training in the alphabet Decoding Stage Beginning grades 1 and 2 Use of letter cues to decode words Basic correspondence between letters and letter combination and sounds (sh, ch, ing) Limited phonological processing skills Few words id by sight Sounding out words is inaccurate Need: Instruction emphasizing letter sound correspondence, in isolation and context Teach using Pseudowords Traditional Reader Beginning grade 2 and 3 Gain fluency Integrate decoding and context clues Decode automatically Reading lacks fluency and prosody Reading comprehension limited Need: Repeated readings

SUMMARY OF READING DEVELOPMENT…CONTINUE Reading StageSkillsDeficits Fluent, Independent, Functional Reading Oral Reading is fluent and expressive Silent reading for comprehension makes up the majority of reading activity Comprehension problems due to poor comprehension, monitoring, working memory limitations, and limited knowledge Need: Teach reading comprehension Metacognitive and Memory enhancing strategies Advanced organizers to access background knowledge and organize information

SIGNS IN PRE-K-KINDERGARTEN One of the very first clues to dyslexia may be delayed language. Once a child begins to speak, look for the following problems: The Preschool Years Trouble learning common nursery rhymes such as “Jack and Jill” and “Humpty Dumpty” A lack of appreciation of rhymes Mispronounced words: persistent baby talk Difficulty in learning (and remembering) names of letters Failure to know the letters in his own name Rapid naming difficulty

KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE: Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters; for example, the word “big” is read as “goat.” The inability to read common one-syllable words or to sound out even the simplest of words, such as “mat,” “cat,” “hop,” “nap.” Inability to learn to associate letters with sounds, such as being unable to connect the letter b with the /b/ sound. Failure to understand that words come apart; for example, that “batboy” can be pulled apart into “bat” and “boy” and, later on, that the word “bat” can be broken down still further and sounded out as ‘b’ ‘aaa’ ‘t’‘. Complaints about how hard reading is, or escape behaviors when it is time to read Rapid Naming issues

3 RD GRADE AND OLDER Very slow progress in acquiring reading skills Trouble reading unknown (new, unfamiliar) words that must be sounded out; making wild stabs or guesses at reading a word; failure to systematically sound out words The inability to read small “function” words such as “that,” “an,” “in.” Stumbling on reading multi-syllable words, or the failure to come close to sounding out the full word Omitting parts of words when reading; the failure to decode parts within a word, as if someone had chewed a hole in the middle of the word, such as “conible” for “convertible.” A terrific fear of reading out loud; the avoidance of oral reading Oral reading filled with substitutions, omissions, and mispronunciations Oral reading that is choppy and labored, not smooth or fluent A reliance on context to discern the meaning of what is read A better ability to understand words in context than to read isolated single words The inability to finish tests on time The substitution of words with the same meaning for words in the text he can‘t pronounce, such as “car” for “automobile.” Disastrous spelling, with words not resembling true spelling (some spellings may be missed by spell check)

HOW WE RECOGNIZE PRINTED WORDS Unreachable--- Word Un-reach-able--- Morpheme Un-reach-a-ble--- Syllables Un-r-ea-ch-ab-le--- Grapheme U-n-r-e-a-c-h-a-b-l-e ---Phoneme

WHY INSTRUCTION FAILS Fails to teach all 44 Phonemes Fails to teach phoneme manipulation, segmentation, and blending Programs are visually driven and not phonemically driven  Think of child development- vision is last to develop Too many rules to memorize and not practiced daily Reading and Spelling taught as two separate processes instead of one REVERSIBLE Process based on the Alphabetic Code Organized by letter patterns not phoneme patterns Clusters the wrong perceptual units- i.e. consonant clusters and word families should be taught as one sound- Wrist and rist  McGuiness 1997

ORTON GILLINGHAM METHOD Natural Development of Language Approach to teaching the structure of language Orton Gillingham is not the approach to remediate as a child reads…. It is to teach reading in a very systematic way, sequentially building on skills. Based on the Alphabetic Principle---- letters represent sounds and are blended to form words Multisensory approach Bring words to life Based on theory of mixed cerebral dominance

ORTON GILLINGHAM Direct Instruction Sequential Systematic- prescriptive and diagnostic Extensive Review Rule Based Multisensory- all senses are engaged Insists on Success! An approach that can be used for Every Child

ORTON GILLINGHAM- THE FACTS 44 SOUNDS 6 SYLLABLES DIFFERENCE –VOWELS AND CONSONANTS Differentiated by their acoustic properties- produced by vocal organs Every syllable has a vowel- necessary bridge between consonant sounds Vowel sounds can be prolonged indefinitely as long as you have the breath Short, long, and unstressed sound (schwa- which happens when you take in or release breath) Consonant sounds- not all are voiced (make a sound) Language is based on the Alphabetic Principle- letters represent sounds and sounds blend to words Six Syllable Families- order to teach syllables- closed, vce, open, C-le, R controlled, double vowel

AREAS OF FOCUSED INSTRUCTION Phonemes- daily drills Sound Tapping Syllables- scooping and marking Syllabication rules- lets divide words Vocabulary/Comprehension Spelling rules Sentence Structure Paragraph Structure Essay Formats

WILSON – ORTON GILLINGHAM BASED

DAILY DRILLS a- apple - /a/ 1.1 An-fan-/an/ 1.5 Ang-fang-/ang/ 2.1

MARKING WORDS Marking up words in  Underline the digraph with one line wh ch sh th ck  Circle the chicken letter qu  Star the bonus letter huff fill pass  Box the welded sounds. b all ran h am bank  Scoop the baseword, circle the suffix hill s deck s  Underline blends and digraph blends t r, sh r, m p t  Scoop and mark syllables send m old c c

SYLLABLE TYPES Type of syllableExample Closed syllableDrip VCEBrake Open syllableShe Consonant leTable R controlledBark Vowel digraph/ diphthongTown break

GETTING GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT: Reading Practice vs. Engaging and Understanding…..

STRATEGIES/RESOURCES B/d Reversals  Give the child a visual cue at his desk for commonly reversed letters. For example, “’d’ is the first letter of ‘dog’. A dog has a tail. This stick is like the dog’s tail. The body comes first, then the tail.” As the child improves his skills he will no longer rely on or use the visual cues.  Over-teach 'b", then over-teach 'd", before presenting both together.  Have the child follow directions: drawing lines up, down, right to left, etc. and in touching parts of body  Trace, then write, the confused letter or word and pronounce it as written.  For young children, encourage left and right awareness. Give the child time to develop motor skills.  If the child is confused about his own left/right, use a ring, watch, ribbon or band on his writing arm. Color cue side of desk/table or paper or word as a starting place.  For students who reverse multiple letters (b/d, m/w, p/q), address one discrimination at at time. Over-teach one of the letters before introducing the other. For example, if you are addressing the b/d reversal, over-teach writing of the “b” before introducing the “d”.

STRATEGIES/RESOURCES Use of graphic organizers Students create their own books - Cast UDL Book Buildershttp:// Use of Learning Ally Bookshare Hyperlink vocabulary words to Merriam-Webster Dictionary Strategies table - place information/manipulatives on a table that corresponds to topic/concept Use of overlays – stops words from jumping around on page MANIPULATIVES- letter tiles, letter cubes, linking blocks with letters

STRATEGIES/RESOURCES Elkonin Boxes

STRATEGIES– SOUND TAPPING Teach sound tapping to increase letter sound association while segmenting words into individual phonemes. The students tap out the individual phonemes in a word with their fingertips, and then blend the phonemes into a word.  The first sound or phoneme is tapped with your pointer finger and your thumb.  The next sound is tapped with your middle finger and your thumb.  The next sound is tapped with your ring finger and your thumb.  The next sound is tapped with your little finger and your thumb.  Last - blend the sounds together.

STRATEGIES

PROGRAMS Earobics- develop effective listening comprehension skills, phonological awareness, and auditory processing skills. Strengthening the role of superior temporal gyrus- enhance proper auditory discrimination of sounds. Wilson Language Series/ Fundations- Kindergarten through Adult Phono-Graphix- addresses the fundamental pitfall of most phonic based programs – not teaching the written language code backwards. Phono Grafix teachers symbols to sounds- multisensory approach Lindamood Bell – LIPS program. Auditory discrimination in depth DISTAR – The Direct Instructional Model Project Read- Different strands- decoding, comprehension, and written language Read 180 SRA Corrective Reading

EVERY STUDENT CAN LEARN JUST NOT ON THE SAME DAY OR IN THE SAME WAY

REROURCES BOOK: OVERCOMING DYSLEXIA SALLY SHAYWITZ BOOK: STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT READING Louisa C. Moats NJ INTERNATIONAL DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION WEBSITE