tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/dyslexia-6060/articlesDyslexia – The Conversation2023-10-10T22:22:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141292023-10-10T22:22:37Z2023-10-10T22:22:37ZReading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551855/original/file-20231003-23-co45y4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C352%2C7249%2C4219&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inquiries into how reading is taught across Canada join efforts in other countries to ensure educators are supporting students' rights to effective reading instruction. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As fall school routines settle down, for many families whose children struggle with reading, it could mean another year of stress and financial burden as they navigate school systems to advocate for support.</p>
<p>Findings in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9977256/sask-human-rights-report-reading-disability-supports/">September 2023 report</a>, “<a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EQUITABLE-EDUCATION-for-Students-Reading-Disabilities-Report-2023.pdf">Equitable Education for Students With Reading Disabilities in Saskatchewan’s K to 12 Schools: A Systemic Investigation Report</a>” capture the social and financial challenges faced by individuals and caregivers affected by dyslexia, and also the effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1531">mental health</a>. Families share difficulties they encounter in obtaining the necessary support and interventions in Saskatchewan school systems.</p>
<p>In 2020, the SHRC launched an investigation following a group complaint. Families of children diagnosed with <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-at-a-glance/">dyslexia</a> alleged their children were discriminated against based on disability and were not provided access to equitable education. </p>
<p>The report summarizes <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/downloads/pdf/advocacy/Education%20Implications%20-%20Moore%20Decision.pdf">legal precedents</a> outlining <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/E0-2.pdf">government and school division</a> responsibilities relating to the education of students with disabilities, and calls for changes in teacher and student education. </p>
<h2>Multiple provinces investigating reading</h2>
<p>Saskatchewan isn’t the first province to consider children’s human rights and reading instruction. The Ontario Human Rights Commission released its “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Right to Read</a>” inquiry report in February 2022. An <a href="http://www.manitobahumanrights.ca/education/pdf/specialprojects/termsofreference.pdf">inquiry</a> in Manitoba is currently underway.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan inquiry gained input from stakeholders including students, families, teachers, school administrators and other professionals via discussions, and also gathered input through surveys. One hundred and eighty-three people provided information through a parent/student survey and 293 people responded to a survey for educational and medical professionals. The inquiry also conducted a review of current research related to reading instruction.</p>
<p>The report identifies 17 recommendations for schools and school systems, the province’s education ministry and teacher education programs to consider, including issues related to classroom instruction, provincial curriculum and teacher preparation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Less than 70 per cent of Grade 3 students in Saskatchewan are reading at grade level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Reading landscape in Saskatchewan</h2>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/46482/1/13.Shane%20R.%20Jimerson.pdf#page=225">95 per cent of children</a> can develop word reading skills when provided with the right support. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan students consistently fall short. In the most <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/education#annual-reports">recent annual report from the</a> <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/121656/formats/140952/download">Ministry of Education</a>, only 68 per cent of Grade 3 students are reading at grade level.
The SHRC report notes “because of marginalization and structural inequality,
racialized students, Indigenous students, Métis students, multilingual students and students from low-income backgrounds are at increased risk for reading difficulties.” The report calls for improvements to support all equity-deserving groups and consultation with Indigenous community members in education and learning.</p>
<p>Previous attempts to increase reading scores have been addressed by <a href="https://saskschoolboards.ca/wp-content/uploads/provincial-CYCLE-2-ESSP-Level-1-Matrix-and-A3-for-Web.pdf">the province</a>, however, provincial reading data remains relatively stable. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/120477/formats/139300/download">Saskatchewan provincial education plans</a> don’t include specific actions and goals related to early reading proficiency. </p>
<p>This is despite wide recognition that reading proficiency in the early years is strongly related to <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf">later achievement</a> and <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518818.pdf">graduation rates,</a> and is a critical period for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">early intervention</a> to prevent and address reading difficulties.</p>
<h2>Reading instruction</h2>
<p>The SHRC report outlines two perspectives on reading instruction. “<a href="http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2017/05/balanced-literacy-instructional.html">Balanced literacy</a>” is the type of instruction common to Saskatchewan classrooms, guided by the provincial curricula and <a href="https://saskatchewanreads.wordpress.com/acknowledgements/">companion documents</a>. </p>
<p>This approach influences the types of books students read, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2013.857970">assessments</a> used to monitor reading development and <a href="https://nicolejosephlaw.com/evidence-based-reading-instruction/">intervention programs</a>. </p>
<p>As the Saskatchewan report notes, the approach is about balancing “the importance of comprehending the meaning of written language … <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3314">with the acquisition of a range of skills and knowledges</a>.” These could include phonics lessons (how letters represent sounds). However, in practice, students are often taught that when they come to a word they don’t know they should guess, look at the picture, skip the word or think about what makes sense based on context.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher seen with book and children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Debates around best approaches to teaching reading have a long history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>“<a href="https://dyslexialibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/file-manager/public/1/Spring%202019%20Final%20Moats%20p9-11.pdf">Structured literacy</a>” is an alternate approach. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917750160">differs</a> from balanced literacy in that necessary skills for reading are taught explicitly. Students are introduced to these skills through a systematic progression from easier to more complex. </p>
<h2>Learning letter patterns</h2>
<p>This approach is recognized as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906010">more effective</a> than balanced literacy, particularly for students who are struggling to develop reading skills. Students learn to read from texts that contain words made up of letter patterns they have been taught. Instead of guessing or skipping unknown words, they are encouraged to sound them out using their knowledge of the letter-sound connections.</p>
<p>The report says many educators surveyed “believed the implementation of a universal, province-wide, scientific approach to reading would be better for students as well as teachers.”</p>
<p>This refers to following the most recent <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/what-is-the-science-of-reading/">scientific evidence</a> guiding structured literacy approaches. As one educator quoted in the report notes, this approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">limits the number of students</a> who will require additional support.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-struggles-dont-wait-to-advocate-for-your-child-130986">Reading struggles? Don't wait to advocate for your child</a>
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<p>The call for Saskatchewan to embrace a structured literacy approach was one of the most common themes to emerge from the inquiry. </p>
<h2>Updating curricula</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">Debates</a> around reading instruction have a long history. Growing interest in how reading is taught has led to <a href="https://www.shankerinstitute.org/read">legislative changes</a> in some U.S. states. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/how-to-improve-our-schools/how-mississippi-reformed-reading-instruction">Mississippi</a> passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013. In the state, significant funding is used for teacher training on science-based reading instruction, literacy coaches, screening and early interventions and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/education/learning/mississippi-schools-literacy.html">results</a> show that reading scores in the state have improved significantly.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan report suggests updating provincial curricula, echoing a recommendation in the OHRC Right to Read. </p>
<p>Ontario responded with a new <a href="https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-language">language curriculum</a> and a <a href="https://onlit.org/">literacy hub</a> to support educators in adopting a new approach to reading instruction. </p>
<p><a href="https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Six%20Pillars%20of%20Effective%20Reading%20Instruction.pdf">Nova Scotia</a>, <a href="https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/s/laneng">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dominic-cardy-literacy-reading-gene-ouellette-mount-allison-new-brunsiwck-1.6732875">New Brunswick</a> and the <a href="https://www.fnsb.ca/literacy">First Nation School Board</a> in Yukon are also embracing instructional practices to include explicit and systematic instruction of foundational skills.</p>
<h2>Teacher preparation</h2>
<p>The SHRC commits to engaging with stakeholders. These include the faculties of education at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina. </p>
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/raising-readers-writers-and-spellers/202309/elite-universities-call-for-change-in-reading#">two top universities for teacher education</a> respectively in the United States (Teachers College, Columbia University) and Australia (La Trobe University), moved away from decades of instruction based on the balanced literacy model to align programs with current research. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/en/blog/dyslexia-canada-applauds-new-shrc-report-for-championing-equity-in-education">Advocates</a> support the recommendations proposed in the report and view them as an important step for students with dyslexia. </p>
<p>The SHRC suggests this is an initial stage in continued collaboration with stakeholders to further address issues related to the educational rights of children in Saskatchewan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Fraser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission outlines government and school responsibilities for educating students with disabilities and calls for changes in reading instruction.Andrea Fraser, Assistant Professor Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107772023-09-12T22:24:31Z2023-09-12T22:24:31ZPeople with dyslexia can bring unique strengths and advantages to the workplace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546741/original/file-20230906-32499-rq5er9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C25%2C5523%2C3685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employers miss out on untapped potential when they overlook or discount abilities in the workplace.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/people-with-dyslexia-can-bring-unique-strengths-and-advantages-to-the-workplace" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Dyslexia is the <a href="https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/dyslexia-faq/">most common learning disability</a> in the world, and up to <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/frequently-asked-questions-2/">15 to 20 per cent of the population</a> has a language-based learning disability. If you don’t have dyslexia yourself, you likely know someone who does.</p>
<p>Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with reading, writing and spelling. Like other learning disabilities, people with dyslexia <a href="https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/">process information and learn differently</a>. </p>
<p>Though learning disabilities are often characterized as a childhood issue, they are lifelong conditions that follow people into the workplace. People with dyslexia <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1728">find it harder to find jobs</a> and they often experience challenges once they are hired because of their learning disability. </p>
<p>Dyslexia can result in challenges with <a href="https://healthmanagement.co.uk/our-insights/articles/dyslexia-awareness/">organization, time management</a>, reading and writing, <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/speds2430/2020-topics/dyslexia/">effective communication</a> and comprehending complicated instructions. These challenges can be compounded if companies don’t have accommodations in place for people with disabilities.</p>
<p>But people with dyslexia often <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage">bring unique strengths to the workplace as well</a>. Employers miss out on untapped potential when they overlook or discount their abilities in the workplace.</p>
<h2>Misconceptions and stigma</h2>
<p>Under the <a href="https://ridm.net/glossary-disability-management-terms/is-dyslexia-considered-a-disability-in-canada/">Canadian Human Rights Act</a>, individuals are protected from discrimination based on disabilities, including learning disabilities such as dyslexia. However, misconceptions and stigma can often make it difficult for people to disclose that they have dyslexia.</p>
<p>While there can be <a href="https://canadianequality.ca/invisible-disabilities-in-the-workplace/">positive impacts from self-disclosure</a>, such as receiving accommodations like text-to-speech software or <a href="https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/sites/default/files/good_fonts_for_dyslexia_study.pdf">dyslexia-friendly fonts</a> at work, there can also be negative impacts.</p>
<p>Self-disclosure can result in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-017-0242-y">workers feeling isolated</a>, discriminated against and receiving lowered expectations from managers and co-workers.</p>
<p>Some of this can be attributed to the stigma surrounding dyslexia. Even though dyslexia is the most common type of learning disability, it is widely misunderstood. There is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0004-0894.2004.00227.x">more discussion about mental disorders and physical disabilities</a> than learning disabilities, so <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5826.00069">people tend to know less about them</a>.</p>
<p>One of the most common misconceptions about learning disabilities is that <a href="https://nildcanada.org/learning-disabilities/">having one makes you less intelligent</a>. But this isn’t true; many people with learning disabilities have <a href="https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/">average or above-average</a> intelligence.</p>
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<img alt="A sad-looking woman sits in front of a desktop computer screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546740/original/file-20230906-29-3tuk1m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Self-disclosure can result in workers feeling isolated and discriminated against.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>This harmful stigma can lead to <a href="https://opus.govst.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=capstones">lower self-esteem, stress</a>, shame or isolation. It can also result in people with dyslexia <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-5826.00069">being seen as liabilities at work</a>.</p>
<p>Because of this, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-013-9227-9">many people with dyslexia choose not to disclose their condition</a>. This can discourage people from seeking accommodations or help in the workplace, and prevent them from reaching their full potential.</p>
<p>Those that don’t self-disclose must instead find ways to manage their learning disability without the company’s help. For most people with dyslexia, knowing their learning style can help them <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/30035532">adapt and compensate for their learning disability</a>.</p>
<p>It’s crucial for people without dyslexia to learn more about it so they can better understand and support individuals who have it. This knowledge can empower people to advocate for those with dyslexia, reduce the stigma associated with it and create better, more inclusive workplaces.</p>
<h2>Advantages of dyslexic workers</h2>
<p>Because people with dyslexia process information and think differently than others, they can bring distinctive advantages to the workplace. </p>
<p>People with dyslexia tend to be visual thinkers and can often see the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-advantages-of-dyslexia/">big picture</a>. This can help them visualize complicated scenarios and come up with <a href="https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v30i3/4.1268">new, original solutions to problems</a>. </p>
<p>People with dyslexia also have above-average <a href="https://www.dyslexiasupportsouth.org.nz/parent-toolkit/emotional-impact/strengths-of-dyslexia/">problem-solving skills</a>, and are skilled at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1190309">thinking creatively</a> and coming up with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2009.05.034">abstract and unique ideas</a> — all of which results in a more innovative work environment.</p>
<p>In addition, people with dyslexia are often <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-and-resilience-in-adults-a-psychologists-perspective/">resilient and persevering</a> because of their experience overcoming challenges and barriers. This can lead to a strong work ethic, determination and motivation towards accomplishing their goals.</p>
<h2>Building inclusive workplaces</h2>
<p>Canadian employers have a duty to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with learning disabilities to ensure they have the supports needed to perform their jobs well. </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2019001-eng.htm">Workplaces can be more accommodating</a> by providing employees with assistive technologies like spellchecking tools, allowing flexible work schedules, modifying job tasks and training methods, and providing instructional materials in a variety of formats.</p>
<p>Support is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time effort. Employers should be ready to provide continuous assistance to their employees and be understanding and supportive towards their needs and preferences.</p>
<p>People with dyslexia can bring a great deal to the workplace. Establishing an inclusive and accommodating work environment for people with learning disabilities like dyslexia can foster a diverse workforce and improve productivity, innovation and performance. Doing this ultimately creates a more supportive and productive work environment for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Rahimi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Establishing an inclusive and accommodating work environment for people with dyslexia can foster a diverse workforce and improve productivity, innovation and performance.Sarah Rahimi, PhD Candidate in Business Administration and Management, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1839052022-06-03T12:16:23Z2022-06-03T12:16:23ZCan Bionic Reading make you a speed reader? Not so fast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466634/original/file-20220601-49081-ugrudd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C20%2C6720%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In an age of distraction, the desire to read faster and more efficiently is understandable. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/no-one-is-safe-royalty-free-image/1291463895">eclipse_images/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if something as simple as bolding parts of a word could make reading a breeze, improving your focus, speed and comprehension?</p>
<p>That’s the claim made by the creators of <a href="https://bionic-reading.com">Bionic Reading</a>, an app that revises texts so that the most concise parts of the words are “highlighted.” </p>
<p>Doing so, according to the makers of the app, directs the eyes to focus on the important parts of the text. Because “your brain reads faster than your eye,” this allows users to read more quickly and efficiently.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1529067758914256898"}"></div></p>
<p>Early adopters have raved about the app on social media – <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_KaVksCPU">including some users with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia</a>. But <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8pomrUYAAAAJ&hl=en">as an educational psychologist</a> who researches reading in print and digital mediums, I think the hype is overblown – if not misleading.</p>
<h2>Shaky claims</h2>
<p>On the <a href="https://bionic-reading.com">Bionic Reading website</a>, the inventor, a typographer named Renato Casutt, explains that Bionic Reading was tested independently using 12 participants. He adds that it wasn’t explicitly tested on people with dyslexia.</p>
<p>He then goes on to write that “the results are unclear.” From there, Casutt says Bionic Reading had a positive effect for most participants, but that others found it “disturbing.” </p>
<p>These tests don’t adhere to standard scientific practices. A sample size of 12 is extraordinary small, and it is highly unlikely it would make it past an editor’s desk for peer review at a reputable journal. Casutt doesn’t tell readers what the “positive effect” refers to. Was it reading time? Comprehension? Enjoyment?</p>
<p>The Conversation reached out to Bionic Reading for more clarity and to better understand its methodology. The company did not respond.</p>
<p>The company website’s assertion that the “brain reads faster than the eye” is also deeply flawed. Perhaps it’s a reference to <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Orthographic-Mapping-in-the-Acquisition-of-Sight-Ehri/156bd9fa294573538a19dc2ef4bd19bdae9cf418">sight words</a>: When someone learns how to read, they normally have many words that they can make sense of via simple recognition, rather than by breaking down the word into individual syllables or sounds. These sight words often appear at a higher frequency in texts at all reading levels. </p>
<p>Either way, what makes reading “slow” is not due to an inability to quickly perceive the words themselves – which is what Bionic Reading claims to fix. Instead, reading takes the time it does <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100615623267">due to language processing</a>, which is where our brains turn strings of letters into words and a series of words into meaning.</p>
<p>So no matter how quickly you recognize certain words, your brain still has to do the work to understand the sentence. </p>
<h2>Speed at a cost</h2>
<p>This isn’t the first time someone has tried to introduce ways to read text more quickly. In fact, educators <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1000838">used to teach speed reading in the 1980s</a>. However, that method faded from curriculums as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1529100615623267">research showed that faster isn’t always better</a> – nor do the techniques even lead to faster reading in most cases.</p>
<p>Bionic Reading may even hinder readers. Consider the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-6918(77)90012-9">speed-accuracy trade-off</a>, which theorizes that the more quickly one does something, the worse their performance.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I tested this theory for reading comprehension across print and digital mediums. We found, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2017.1411877">time</a> after <a href="https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/24981">time</a>, whether in print or on a screen, the faster someone read a text, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.04.001">the less likely they were to comprehend it</a>.</p>
<p>When people read quickly, <a href="https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/24981">they interact with the text on a more superficial level</a>, often skipping over entire sentences or paragraphs and failing to reread important parts of the text. </p>
<h2>Tried and true techniques</h2>
<p>To help struggling readers, especially those with dyslexia and ADHD, research suggests that one of the most helpful tools can be to simply encourage reading more slowly.</p>
<p>This is the antithesis of Bionic Reading’s argument. However, unlike Bionic Reading, the “read more slowly” school of thought <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=suc1o0hueowC&oi=fnd&pg=PA91&dq=slow+down+reading+for+dyslexia&ots=j9deteB8pJ&sig=0IRQ0YYJ7nou5U4PhOmmd8Oc9W8#v=onepage&q=slow%20down%20reading%20for%20dyslexia&f=false">has decades of research</a> supporting it.</p>
<p>Other simple steps, such as <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XZvzCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=follow+along+as+you+read+for+comprehension&ots=1GHql5fO44&sig=DKWLKk9lwWbjx3bWyTsm5lcRK54#v=onepage&q=follow%20along%20as%20you%20read%20for%20comprehension&f=false">following along with your finger or computer mouse</a>, can be helpful for those with reading difficulties, too. </p>
<p>I can understand the allure of Bionic Reading. Information bombards us. Sources of distraction are rampant. But <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/americas-reading-problem-scores-were-dropping-even-before-the-pandemic/">reading proficiency scores were dropping to new lows</a> even before the pandemic. Now is not the time to be valuing speed at the cost of comprehension.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren M. Singer Trakhman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The claims made by the creators of the app – which highlights parts of words to supposedly enhance users’ reading abilities – are dubious.Lauren M. Singer Trakhman, Assistant Clinical Professor of Human Development, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823782022-05-31T15:50:25Z2022-05-31T15:50:25ZWhy Ontario’s ‘Right to Read Inquiry’ needs to broaden its recommendations<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464865/original/file-20220523-13-sr3l5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C619%2C6000%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If teachers were to only address the skills, knowledge and referral protocols that Ontario's Human Rights Commission recommends, students wouldn't have essential knowledge to support their reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The release of the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) Right to Read Inquiry</a> earlier this year <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8650951/ontario-to-revamp-approach-to-literacy">calls for rethinking early literacy teaching in Ontario</a>.</p>
<p>The inquiry examined how Ontario schools are meeting the needs of students with reading disabilities. The report relies heavily on a body of research that has been called the “science of reading,” a body <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.334">of scholarship focused</a> on learning phonics, word recognition skills, comprehension and vocabulary.</p>
<p>We applaud the report’s intent to ensure <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/right-to-read-inquiry-report-literacy-ontario-1.6378408">students with reading disabilities</a>, and all students, are able to access appropriate literacy instruction as required by the <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ontario-human-rights-code">Ontario Human Rights Code</a>.</p>
<p>But the body of research which informs its analysis, and thus, its recommendations, is too narrow. </p>
<p>The report’s call for Ontario to remove “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/appendix-1-list-recommendations">all references to … instructional approaches to teaching foundational reading skills that have not been scientifically validated</a>” also misleadingly asserts that Ontario’s current literacy curricula isn’t evidence-based.</p>
<h2>Background to the commission</h2>
<p>It is important that boards and teachers go beyond the OHRC’s recommended teaching practices and materials so that classroom practices will support the literacy success of all students including those with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377211024625">reading disabilities</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher is seen beside a boy; they look at text." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464868/original/file-20220523-25530-bjv4m4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The inquiry calls for Ontario to overhaul its approach to teaching reading.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.all4ed.org/license/">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The report stems from a public inquiry <a href="https://www.youtube.com/OntHumanRights">that collected data from</a> Ontario school boards, faculties of education, the Ministry of Education, parents and the general public. Consultations included Indigenous engagement at three Ontario Friendship Centres, and with representatives of an Inuit organization and of the Métis Nation of Ontario.</p>
<p>The report notes some of its limitations relate to the fact that student/parent surveys tended to come from people with higher levels of income.</p>
<p>Although it “has paid special attention to the accounts it did receive from vulnerable groups to better understand intersectional barriers,” a “relatively low number” of accounts of experiences came from racialized students, First Nation, Métis and Inuit students, and students whose first language learned was not English or French and those not born in Canada.</p>
<h2>Findings and presentation</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/appendix-1-list-recommendations">report’s 157 recommendations</a> relate <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/03/01/many-students-are-being-denied-the-right-to-read-ontario-human-rights-commission-issues-157-calls-to-action.html">to curriculum and instruction</a> as well as early screening for reading disabilities. </p>
<p>It calls for school boards to “track students based on learning disability subtype and recognize dyslexia” and calls for all boards to “collect demographic data about equity indicators including race, ethnicity, creed (religion), disability, gender identity, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.”</p>
<p>It also addresses accommodations and calls for criteria for referring students with suspected reading disabilities for assessment to account for the risk of bias.</p>
<p>No longer should school boards “consider delaying assessment if the pupil’s first language is other than English or French and/or the pupil lacks facility in either of these languages.”</p>
<h2>Current curriculum is evidence-based</h2>
<p>The report’s executive summary acknowledges “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Right%20to%20Read%20Executive%20Summary_OHRC%20English_0.pdf">a comprehensive approach to early literacy recognizes that instruction that focuses on word-reading skills, oral language development</a>, vocabulary and knowledge development.”</p>
<p>There is an exclusive emphasis on what the report calls “science-based” approaches to reading. Our concern is that people who read the report may not realize Ontario’s current balanced literacy approach is evidence-based, and does recognize <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15248370903453584">phonemic awareness</a> (the importance of noticing the individual sounds in words) and other related elements as one piece of a complex teaching process.</p>
<p>A balanced literacy approach draws on evidence from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500780802152762">decades of empirical studies done in sociocultural literacy research</a> that recognizes language and how we communicate is always rooted in our particular social and cultural situation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of children sitting in front of a word wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464869/original/file-20220523-21-bajf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching reading begins with making connections to what children know.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.all4ed.org/license/">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Interconnectedness of all aspects of literacy</h2>
<p>Ontario teachers now follow a literacy curriculum that recognizes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798414533562">the interconnectedness of all aspects of literacy</a>. Teaching reading begins with making connections to what children know and to their cultural experience, piquing students’ curiosity in making sense of the words and images. At times, it also involves direct, explicit instruction.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/40071616">Sociocultural research examining literacy</a> shows how reading achievement depends on teachers drawing on a wide range of resources and knowledge to develop their students’ oral communication, reading, writing, viewing and representing abilities.</p>
<p>Oral communication is fundamental to thinking and learning and to students’ social and emotional development. Talking with others introduces students to new ideas, vocabulary and perspectives they can use in their writing that help them understand what they read. Thus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.08.002">oral communication primes students’ abilities to read and write effectively</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-1/digital-literacies">Writing (and representing ideas with images, sound and print when using digital technology to create texts)</a> provides opportunities for students to apply what they know about print.</p>
<p>All aspects of literacy work with one another. If boards and teachers were to restrict their approaches to addressing the list of skills, knowledge and referral protocols that the OHRC recommends, students would not have essential background knowledge and experience to support their reading.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child's hand is seen reaching for a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464871/original/file-20220523-26-pv91ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children’s reading achievement depends on teachers drawing on a wide range of resources and knowledge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What being literate means</h2>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27617354/">Research shows that writing provides opportunities</a> for children to experiment with and consolidate understandings about print that they can use when they read. Through writing with teacher guidance, children further develop their phonological awareness (ability to hear separate sounds in words in order to write and read them).</p>
<p>Sociocultural research <a href="https://www.talejournal.com/index.php/TJLE/article/view/41/16">shows that becoming literate means being able to create and read diverse texts for a range of purposes</a>, such as creating grocery lists or posters at play centres in kindergarten, or messages to family members at home.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-help-children-learn-how-to-read-in-the-pandemic-encourage-writing-messages-as-part-of-play-153171">To help children learn how to read in the pandemic, encourage writing messages as part of play</a>
</strong>
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<p>Children are highly motivated to learn to write and read when classroom and home literacy activities involve real-life texts in play rather than those involving writing or reading words on a list.</p>
<h2>Literacy from sociocultural perspective</h2>
<p>The OHRC’s recommendations rightfully note that First Nations, Métis and Inuit students should “see themselves in the school system …” and that schools should “find ways to also incorporate Indigenous experiences, culture and values throughout classroom content.” This is especially important, given the long history of marginalization of Indigenous ways of teaching and learning in schools, the lack of teaching materials that reflect Indigenous families and communities and the scarcity of research on Indigenous children’s literacy learning.</p>
<p>We note that the extensive research on <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ee/culturalrelevantpedagogy.asp">culturally responsive teaching</a> for engaging socially and historically marginalized students, including racialized Black students and students who speak languages other than English at home is absent in the report’s recommendations.</p>
<p>This concerns us, since Ontario students bring diverse cultural and racialized knowledge and practices to their reading and writing, and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/170817/dq170817a-eng.htm">many families are multilingual</a>. All students similarly should be able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.241">affirm their identities</a> to “see themselves in the school system.”</p>
<p>A sociocultural approach means that along with reading and talking about various texts, teachers encourage learners to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.116">tap into their own prior knowledge embedded in their primary home language</a>. Students learn to <a href="https://doi-org.ledproxy2.uwindsor.ca/10.1093/applin/amx039">use their multilingual abilities</a>, shifting regularly between languages.</p>
<p>In the name of advancing the literacy rights of all Ontario students, we call on the OHRC to broaden its recommendations for school literacy teaching and the professional preparation of teachers to teach literacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182378/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan M. Holloway receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shelley Stagg Peterson receives funding from SSHRC.
</span></em></p>Direct instruction matters in learning to read, but reading can’t happen unless children are supported in making connections to what they know and their experiences.Susan M. Holloway, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of WindsorShelley Stagg Peterson, Professor of Elementary Literacy, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1779852022-04-07T12:26:45Z2022-04-07T12:26:45ZMental health problems come with an added ‘cost’ of poorer cognitive function – a neuropsychologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455334/original/file-20220330-5678-1x2xdee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=120%2C86%2C5630%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cognitive difficulties that accompany mental health disorders can potentially lead to misdiagnoses and improper treatment.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/backlit-teenager-sitting-in-a-dark-indoor-doorway-royalty-free-image/1281225732?adppopup=true">Elva Etienne/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>All types of mental disorders come with a hidden cost in the form of cognitive dysfunction, including deficits in memory, attention, executive functions and processing speed, according to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2021.102007">comprehensive study</a> that my colleagues and I published in June 2021 in the journal Clinical Psychology Review. </p>
<p>We found that both diagnosable mental disorders, as well as some common symptoms such as anxiety and worry, carry a so-called “cognitive price.” We termed this phenomenon “The C Factor” – short for cognitive dysfunction. This can be defined either as lower performance on cognitive tests or reduction in cognitive abilities such as attention and memory. Our analysis suggests that it can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-1001-2">found across disorders</a> and that it constitutes an integral part of poorer mental health.</p>
<p>Our team analyzed data from all existing meta-analyses and systematic reviews of cognitive function across all disorders recognized by the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a>. We included 97 meta-analyses covering 29 disorders. Overall, our study incorporated data from more than 200,000 individuals.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>In recent decades, mental disorders have become <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/mental-illness-is-far-more-common-than-we-knew/">increasingly prevalent in the U.S.</a> and around the world, particularly in young adults and adolescents. Even before the pandemic, <a href="https://www.nami.org/mhstats#">1 in 5 Americans suffered from a mental disorder</a>. </p>
<p>In fact, the most comprehensive study to date examining the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders projected that 55% of Americans will <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18188442/">meet criteria for at least one mental disorder</a> over the course of their lifetime. Notably, that study – which was conducted 15 years ago – examined diagnosable disorders. But, in fact, the prevalence of lifetime experience of clinically meaningful symptoms in the general population is much higher. For example, one study found that although only about 20% of Americans will meet formal criteria for major depressive disorder in their lifetime, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114409">62% of Americans will experience meaningful symptoms of depression</a>.</p>
<p>Since our findings demonstrate that poorer mental health is associated with at least some degree of cognitive dysfunction, this type of deficiency may be far more common than previously thought. </p>
<p>These findings are important because some mental disorders may be misdiagnosed based on cognitive dysfunction. For instance, a college student who struggles with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2012.09.001">obsessive-compulsive disorder</a> should be expected to have some difficulties in areas such as concentration, organization, time management and memory. However, in such a case, these cognitive challenges do not stem from conditions such as dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but rather from OCD. This potential confusion may lead to a misdiagnosis. </p>
<p>Indeed, ADHD, a disorder characterized by deficits in executive functions, <a href="https://www.pghr.org/post/the-global-misdiagnosis-of-adhd-and-the-devastating-long-term-effects">is one of the most misdiagnosed disorders</a> across all age groups. According to one 2010 study, about 20% of youths diagnosed with ADHD and receiving medications <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.06.003">are misdiagnosed</a>. In addition, there is evidence that doctors all too readily prescribe <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-1500">stimulant medications for symptoms of inattention</a>, even without a complete or formal diagnosis of ADHD. </p>
<p>Therefore, lack of knowledge about cognitive dysfunctions associated with OCD in the example above could lead to inappropriate treatment. Indeed, stimulant medication <a href="https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.15r10601">may increase irritability and anxiety</a> and exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in such individuals. So it is crucial that mental health professionals gain a better understanding of how mental health and cognitive dysfunction go hand in hand, particularly in the context of misinterpretation of cognitive symptoms.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Two major questions arise from the results of our study. First, why does any significant mental health issue come with a cost in the form of cognitive dysfunction? That seems surprising given that various mental health disorders differ significantly in terms of symptoms and type of interventions. Our team is working to unravel the factors that can have a negative impact on cognitive functioning, including reduced motivation, low effort and lower self-efficacy.</p>
<p>Second, what is the actual mechanism underlying this phenomenon? For example, if we find that general suffering is common to all mental disorders, what is the specific mechanism by which suffering hinders performance on cognitive tests? More research is needed to examine these questions.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amitai Abramovitch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While only about 20% of people would qualify for a formal diagnosis of a mental disorder, more than 60% express symptoms of those disorders – and those symptoms can lead to cognitive difficulties.Amitai Abramovitch, Associate Professor of Psychology, Texas State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1722632021-11-24T14:18:03Z2021-11-24T14:18:03ZHow moving dots are helping us learn more about dyslexia in children – new research<p>Around one in ten children in the UK have <a href="https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia">dyslexia</a>, a developmental condition which means that they struggle to learn to read.
It often causes difficulties in spelling too. </p>
<p>Reading and spelling involve <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1529100618772271">mapping what we see</a> on a page to correspond to spoken language and meaning. So, reading difficulties could at least in part be caused by differences in how the brain processes visual information (how the brain makes sense of what we see).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-dont-understand-the-depth-of-dyslexia-107384">Teachers don't understand the depth of dyslexia</a>
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<p>One visual skill that has been found to differ between people with and without dyslexia time and time again is the ability to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/dys.412">perceive motion</a>, which essentially means how we work out the direction of moving objects.</p>
<p>In a display of dots moving in different directions, people with dyslexia tend to need more dots to be moving in the same direction in order to accurately judge the overall direction. But until now, we have not really understood why this ability is affected. We wanted to try to find out, to get a better understanding of how the brain develops differently in children with dyslexia.</p>
<h2>How children with dyslexia perceive motion</h2>
<p>One possibility is that a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028393218301155?casa_token=55BSveBWbYIAAAAA:ap2zwFRrcwaXreu0kVP41_-aadjh1v5evLXMO02lGpy344eWSqJDXxS6i9qbAMJO-T66RRFH_7k">pathway in the brain</a> that is required for perceiving motion develops differently. This pathway is specialised for processing information that changes rapidly over time, such as moving objects which change in location over time, or speech sounds, which change in frequency over time. That is how we distinguish one sound from another.</p>
<p>There are many processing stages involved in making a judgement about the direction of a moving object. Not only do we have to first encode the visual information, by seeing the object. We then have to gather enough evidence about which way it is moving so that we can make a decision about it, before we can then respond. That might be moving towards a ball to catch it, for example.</p>
<p>So far, it hasn’t been clear where the differences lie in people with dyslexia. In our recent <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2021/11/08/JNEUROSCI.1232-21.2021">study</a>, we wanted to find out whether it is the early sensory encoding or the decision-making stages, or both, which are affected. </p>
<p>Children were presented with patterns of moving dots in child-friendly games and asked to work out their overall direction across two tasks. They had to press a button to say whether they were going “left” or “right”. We also measured children’s brain activity using an EEG cap on their heads. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tZcKT4l_JZk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An EEG is used to measure brain activity during a particular event or task.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then we analysed how accurate children were, and how long they took to make their responses, using a mathematical model. The results of this model showed that children with dyslexia were slower to gather evidence, and decide on the direction of the dots, compared to the children without dyslexia.</p>
<p>While an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33021019/">earlier study</a> reached a similar conclusion, we were also able to link this behavioural difference in dyslexia to differences in their brain activity measured using EEG.</p>
<p>When making decisions on the direction of dot movement, children showed a gradual ramping up of brain activity measured by sensors positioned at the centre of their heads. Importantly, this ramping up was more gradual in children with dyslexia, which corresponded to the slower rate at which they gathered evidence in our mathematical model. </p>
<p>We also analysed the early EEG <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945221002562">responses to visual motion</a>, from when the children first saw the moving dots. This suggested that early sensory processing – the initial seeing of the moving dots – is similar in all the children who took part in the study.</p>
<p>Taken together, our findings show that children with and without dyslexia do not seem to differ in how they initially process visual information, but instead in how they make decisions about it. They seemed to see the moving dots just as easily, but took longer to decide in which direction they were moving.</p>
<h2>Possible effect on reading ability</h2>
<p>Although words are motionless, differences in these motion tasks could influence children’s ability to read. That’s because the sounds that make up language change quickly over time – just like a moving dot – so rely on the brain processes that can detect these changes well. The ability to process the rapidly changing sounds that make up a language are involved in <a href="https://www.asha.org/Practice-Portal/Clinical-Topics/Written-Language-Disorders/Phonological-Processing">phonological processing</a>, which has been extensively <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.0021-9630.2003.00305.x">linked to dyslexia</a> and basically means using the sounds that make up a language to process spoken and written language.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-dyslexia-and-the-role-women-played-in-getting-it-recognised-89055">A brief history of dyslexia and the role women played in getting it recognised</a>
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</em>
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<p>If children with dyslexia are slower to make decisions about the direction of movement, they may also find it more difficult to differentiate between sounds in the spoken word. In turn, this could make reading more difficult as it is so dependent on spoken language and meaning.</p>
<p>We now want to find out whether children with dyslexia are slower to make decisions for other types of information which we collect through our senses, or whether the differences just relate to visual motion. </p>
<p>Another area of interest, is whether other skills – such as general processing speed and cognitive ability – are related to both the decision-making and reading difficulties.</p>
<p>These studies are helping us to build a better picture of how the brain develops differently in children with dyslexia. Our findings demonstrate that dyslexia could affect more than just a child’s reading and spelling abilities. It is important that we all bear this in mind when supporting children with dyslexia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Manning receives funding from the Wellcome Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaia Scerif receives funding from the Nuffield Foundation and the British Academy. Gaia is a Trustee of the Fragile X Society.</span></em></p>Children with dyslexia seem to find it more difficult to judge the direction of moving dots - this could explain why reading is also more challenging.Catherine Manning, Lecturer in Psychology, University of ReadingGaia Scerif, Professor of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690382021-11-03T14:48:33Z2021-11-03T14:48:33ZToo many neurodiverse children don’t have a full diagnosis – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428215/original/file-20211025-17-gxszox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is often at primary school that symptoms of neurodiverse conditions first come to light.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/image-photo/rack-coats-on-pegs-595873274">AndrewHeffernan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Neurodiversity is an elaborate word for all the different atypical ways in which individual brains can function. It covers both learning difficulties, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-rose-tinted-cure-the-myth-of-coloured-overlays-and-dyslexia-120054">dyslexia</a>, and developmental conditions, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (<a href="https://theconversation.com/gifted-children-with-adhd-and-the-challenges-their-parents-face-168644">ADHD</a>). </p>
<p>These conditions are more likely to be diagnosed in school-aged children than in later life. It is at school that the differences in how certain children function can become more apparent: the way one child might find it harder than others to grasp new concepts or another might have trouble regulating their emotions.</p>
<p>Over recent years, through research, TV, film, books and government strategies, there has been a greater awareness and understanding of <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-25-years-since-we-redefined-autism-heres-what-weve-learnt-125053">autism</a>. Concurrently there has been a ninefold increase in <a href="https://theconversation.com/therapy-for-babies-showing-early-signs-of-autism-reduces-the-chance-of-clinical-diagnosis-at-age-3-167146">autism diagnoses</a> over the past 20 years, according to a <a href="https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13505">recent study</a>. </p>
<p>Other neurodiversity conditions, though, have not seen the same kind of rise in diagnoses. But this is not to say that they are less prevalent. Many cases are incorrectly diagnosed, or not diagnosed at all. </p>
<p>According to Department for Education <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/814244/SEN_2019_Text.docx.pdf">statistics</a> on special educational needs in England, over 20% of children with such needs are labelled as having <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-a-new-approach-to-assessing-special-educational-needs-heres-why-53055">moderate learning difficulties</a>. Yet as a developmental psychologist, working in schools in England, I have assessed over a thousand children but have rarely diagnosed children with moderate learning difficulties. Each child has had a range of specific needs that require targeted support, such as those apparent in dyslexia, or difficulties related to coordination, the senses, attention or language. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02671522.2012.729153">research shows</a> that the label “moderate learning difficulties” is often used in an overgeneralised way in schools as well. When teachers assess children without the involvement of a specialist, there is no reliable way of distinguishing between moderate learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia. </p>
<p>This suggests that a large proportion of children in England could have a neurodiversity that remains undiagnosed. Without a specific diagnosis, these children will not get the support they need. There is no informed and targeted plan in place to help them in their schooling. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A little boy in a stripey T-shirt sits on the floor with his hands over his ears." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428217/original/file-20211025-19-aijtf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With a specific diagnosis, neurodiverse children won’t get the support they need.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/image-photo/little-boy-sitting-corner-room-feeling-1423016582">myboys.me</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>How conditions are diagnosed</h2>
<p>In childhood, diagnoses are generally carried out by specialist teachers, education psychologists, paediatricians and other health professionals. In order for a diagnosis to be accurate – and each child to be given the exact support they need – health workers and teaching staff need in-depth knowledge. </p>
<p>The fact that we use an umbrella term – neurodiversity – to designate these <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6099274/">different</a>, yet highly <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22976615/">prevalent conditions</a>, demonstrates the extent to which they can either seem similar or actually overlap. </p>
<p>Children with autism and dyspraxia often have similar <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-87455-w?proof=t%29">coordination difficulties</a>, for instance. Likewise, a dyslexic child might also have <a href="https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/news/definition-of-dyslexia">attention difficulties</a>. Equally, 60% of children with reading difficulties and 80% of children with ADHD are reported to meet the criteria for having <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002221940003300206">both dyslexia and ADHD</a>. </p>
<p>All of the different difficulties a child might have will make it harder – in ways specific to them – to learn and understand how they feel. This is why health workers and educators, whose job it is to ensure the wellbeing and education of our children, need to understand each neurodiversity in all its specificity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher sits with a pupil in class" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428216/original/file-20211025-19-mxdc9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Children need teachers, psychologists, doctors and specialists to work together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/editor/image/teacher-helping-girl-work-her-desk-432876487">Monkey Business Images</a></span>
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<h2>Lack of training</h2>
<p><a href="https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-9604.12368">Research shows</a> that these professionals are frequently untrained. And where they are trained, it is usually in one specific condition. Dyslexia is seen as the purview of specialist teachers; <a href="https://theconversation.com/dyspraxia-is-more-than-just-clumsy-child-syndrome-it-can-cause-emotional-distress-and-anxiety-throughout-life-66948">dyspraxia</a> is diagnosed by occupational therapists; and paediatricians and psychologists have the final say on autism and ADHD. </p>
<p>The more teachers, doctors and professionals know about a particular neurodiversity, the more they can recognise the features. However, where they know more about one than another, they run the risk of mistaking the symptoms a child displays for those of a condition they do not have. </p>
<p>Oftentimes only a fraction of a child’s needs are investigated, and a diagnosis can be incorrect or incomplete. And if a child does not fit a specialist’s skillset, their getting a diagnosis then involves another professional, another budget, another year.</p>
<p>When on the one hand, teachers and doctors are not trained to recognise and understand neurodiversity, and on the other, specialists are so narrowly specialised, children are not assessed in a holistic way. The overlap between various conditions is not unravelled; the whole child – the full gamut of their individual needs – is not considered. </p>
<p>If specialists were comprehensively trained in all neurodiversity conditions, they would be able to piece together a complete picture of each individual child’s needs. This would prove invaluable in ensuring that the child receives the care and support they need both in education and emotionally.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penelope Hannant does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These children are not getting the help they need to thrive at school and at home.Penelope Hannant, Lecturer within the Disability Inclusion and Special Needs team, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1648592021-09-08T04:12:19Z2021-09-08T04:12:19ZNeurodiversity can be a workplace strength, if we make room for it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416249/original/file-20210816-17-1is8xri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C413%2C3500%2C1723&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">igor kisselev/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Emma can recognise patterns within complex code. James can develop several different solutions when faced with complicated problems. But it is unlikely either will find a job where they can put their specialist skills to work — or any job, actually. </p>
<p>Emma has dyslexia. James has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These conditions mean communicating can be a challenge, particularly in a stressful situation such as a job interview. They may also find it difficult to work in a typical office environment with noise and bright lights. </p>
<p>But often the significant challenge is other people assuming they will be less capable or difficult to work with.</p>
<p>About 15-20% of the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bmb/article/135/1/108/5913187">global population</a> are “neurodiverse”. This term, coined by Australian <a href="https://www.autismawareness.com.au/news-events/aupdate/in-conversation-with-judy-singer/">sociologist Judy Singer</a> in 1998, conveys <a href="https://autismawarenesscentre.com/un-adopts-new-goals-disabilities/">the idea</a> that the neurological differences shaping how people think and interact are natural variations to the human genome. Neurodiversity therefore isn’t something to be “fixed” but understood and accommodated.</p>
<p>Despite this understanding, and the gains made more generally in promoting workplace diversity, prejudices keep the employment prospects for neurodiverse individuals shockingly low. </p>
<p>The cost is personal — denying individuals the chance to do meaningful work — as well as social, sending individuals to the dole queue. It also means workplaces are failing to benefit from highly valuable employees, and missing the opportunity to become better organisations in the process.</p>
<h2>What neurodiversity covers</h2>
<p>Neurodiversity is often referred to as an ‘invisible disability’ and covers a range of conditions. The most common are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder</strong> (or ADHD) manifests as inattention, distractability and impulsivity. It affects about <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/economics/articles/social-economic-costs-adhd-Australia.html">4% of children and 3% of adults</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Autism Spectrum Disorder</strong> (or ASD) typically involves degrees of difficulty in communicating with others and sensory overload. About <a href="https://www.autism-society.org/what-is/facts-and-statistics/">1% of the global population</a> is estimated to be on the spectrum, with higher rates being diagnosed among children.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dyslexia</strong> involves difficulties with reading and spelling. There is no agreed diagnosis. Estimates of its prevalence range from 3% to 20% (with <a href="https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/dyslexia-in-australia/">10-15%</a> commonly cited).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dyspraxia</strong> involves challenges with coordinating physical movements, including muscles for speaking. About 2% of the population are severely affected, with <a href="https://adc.bmj.com/content/archdischild/92/6/534.full.pdf?casa_token=s2n80xJNuhAAAAAA:kzF2QsFQRlR_rmpi80YkV9N8Lp8YT9bIXb1cwOEbaiZUm3f5KfRO4xPk8_F2YoXm6-bM7rHANPkqIQ">6-10%</a> estimated to be affected to some degree.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dyscalculia</strong> involves challenges with numbers. It affects <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4461157/">up to 10%</a> of the population, with <a href="https://www.dyslexia.uk.net/specific-learning-difficulties/dyscalculia/">3-6%</a> commonly cited.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Tourette syndrome</strong> causes involuntary physical and vocal “tics”. It affects an estimated <a href="https://tourette.org/spectrum-tourette-syndrome-tic-disorders-consensus-scientific-advisors-tourette-association-america/">0.6% of the population</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>High unemployment</h2>
<p>The capabilities of neurodivergent people can vary considerably from severely challenged to gifted. Some are nonverbal and fully reliant on care givers. Others have special abilities in things such as <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage">pattern recognition, memory or mathematics</a>.</p>
<p>Yet even those with exceptional talents find it hard to get and hold a job. While unemployment estimates are imprecise, they suggest these conditions are the least accepted in the working world.</p>
<p>For autistic adults aged 16-64, for example, UK statistics suggest <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/articles/outcomesfordisabledpeopleintheuk/2020">78% are unemployed</a>. This is the highest unemployment rate of any group, compared with 48% for all disabled people and 19% for all adults.</p>
<p>Australian statistics put the unemployment rate for people with autism <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/disability/disability-ageing-and-carers-australia-summary-findings/latest-release">at 34%</a>. That’s still more than three times the unemployment rate of 10% for people with disabilities and almost eight times the 4.6% rate for people without disabilities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/expecting-autistic-people-to-fit-in-is-cruel-and-unproductive-value-us-for-our-strengths-103888">Expecting autistic people to 'fit in' is cruel and unproductive; value us for our strengths</a>
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<h2>Supporting neurodiversity at work</h2>
<p>One problem, as Joanna Szulc and her fellow researchers at the University of Huddersfield <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/amo-perspectives-on-the-well-being-of-neurodivergent-human-capita">have put it</a>, is “management practices frequently overlook the relationship between the above-average human capital of neurodivergent employees, their subjective well-being in the workplace and performance outcomes”. </p>
<p>In other words, with understanding colleagues and a flexible work culture, neurodiverse individuals can reach their potential and be recognised as highly valuable employees.</p>
<p>One case study demonstrating this is professional services giant Ernst and Young, which globally employs close to 300,000 people. </p>
<p>In 2016 it established its first “<a href="https://www.ey.com/en_us/diversity-inclusiveness/how-neurodiversity-is-driving-innovation-from-unexpected-places">Neurodiversity Center of Excellence</a>” as part of a pilot program to offer jobs to neurodiverse candidates. </p>
<p>The company says it “considered business metrics only” in evaluating the program. It concluded the neurodiverse employees were comparable to neurotypical staff in work quality, efficiency and productivity. The bonus was “the neurodiverse employees excelled at innovation”.</p>
<p>Australia’s Department of Defence has employed high-performing autistic individuals in its <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/annualreports/16-17/Features/CyberCapabilityTalentAutism.asp">cyber security</a> work. Their strengths for this work include “a remarkable eye for detail; accuracy and consistency; a logical and analytical approach to detecting irregularities; pattern-matching skills; and a high tolerance for repetitive mental tasks”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/neurodiversity-at-work-benefits-everyone-why-companies-are-hiring-autistic-people-146788">Neurodiversity at work benefits everyone – why companies are hiring autistic people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These lessons are being taken on board by others. In July, Google’s cloud computing division announced its <a href="https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/inside-google-cloud/google-cloud-launches-a-career-program-for-people-with-autism">Autism Career Program</a>, which includes training up to 500 managers “to work effectively and empathetically with autistic candidates”.</p>
<p>We all vary naturally. By understanding and encouraging neurodiverse individuals to be fully engaged in society, we will all reap the rewards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164859/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Russo is a Non-Executive Director with Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect), Australia’s largest autism-specific service provider. A not-for-profit organisation, Aspect works in partnership with people of all ages on the autism spectrum, and their families to deliver evidence-informed solutions that includes, among other things, employment services. The views expressed in this article are her own and those of her co-authors, and do not necessarily represent the view of Aspect.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dana L. Ott and Miriam Moeller do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Despite progress in promoting workplace diversity, prejudices keep the employment prospects for neurodiverse individuals shockingly low.Miriam Moeller, Senior Lecturer, International Business, The University of QueenslandDana L. Ott, Lecturer, International Management, University of OtagoEmily Russo, Industry Fellow, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1360872020-04-15T11:37:03Z2020-04-15T11:37:03ZBBC’s adaptation of Malory Towers reveals more about the period and its diversity than Blyton’s book<p>While UK schools are closed for the majority of children, Malory Towers has opened its doors in a new adaptation on BBC iPlayer. Its source text, Enid Blyton’s First Term at Malory Towers (1946), was the first in a series of six, and very much a product of its time. </p>
<p>The clifftop setting was inspired by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47785820">Benenden School</a>, which Blyton’s daughters attended, and which <a href="https://www.benenden.school/our-school/our-history">temporarily relocated</a> from Kent to a hotel in Cornwall during the Blitz. This idyllic landscape sets the mood for the novel, which is steeped in ginger beer and post-war optimism. Now, in a time of national emergency, the series promises both nostalgia and escapism, a welcome distraction from the pandemic. </p>
<p>The title sequence fulfils these promises: bathed in the rose-tinted glow of retrospect, it features a world of pillow-fights, lacrosse matches, and friendship. Yet this saccharine opening belies the series’ revisionist impulse, which is as concerned with diversity, neurodiversity and gender equality as it is with hoodwinking Matron for extra tuck. </p>
<p>It’s widely accepted that adaptations reveal as much about their <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C3CdqCZp8KQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=a+theory+of+adaptation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjyvdLE5ufoAhU-XRUIHW3JAKYQ6AEIKDAA#v=snippet&q=context&f=false">contemporary contexts</a> as their literary sources, but this is more than a simple updating. Rather, the BBC’s Malory Towers reveals aspects of the historical context that were glossed over in Blyton’s novel, finding its inspiration in the gaps and silences of the original. </p>
<h2>Diversifying the cast</h2>
<p>The first change is evident in the girls themselves. The first form is a mix of white and BAME (black and minority ethnic) girls. There is also body diversity, with girls of all sizes and one with facial disfigurement. This upholds the standard set by <a href="https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/review-wise-children-presents-malory-3141857">Emma Rice’s 2019 stage adaptation</a>, which cast a non-binary trans actor and one with restricted growth, as well as two women of colour. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327642/original/file-20200414-117553-4xtmdw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first edition of the novel, illustrated by Stanley Lloyd.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Term_at_Malory_Towers#/media/File:FirstTermAtMaloryTowers.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/05/malory-towers-why-enid-blytons-series-is-made-for-modern-times">The same year</a>, a four-novel reboot, New Class at Malory Towers, introduced black, Asian, introverted and working-class characters to the school. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20190330">illustrations to the first edition</a> of Blyton’s novel, conversely, paint a blandly homogeneous picture. Given that <a href="https://inews.co.uk/culture/malory-towers-emma-rice-new-class-book-499781">children from the Commonwealth</a> were often sent to English boarding schools, this seems like straightforward whitewashing. </p>
<p>The series puts that right, reflecting how, in the words of adaptor <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/mar/20/downton-for-kids-bbc-brings-forward-malory-towers-adaptation">Sasha Hailes</a>, 1940s “Britain [was] more diverse than it’s often accounted for”. </p>
<h2>Learning differences</h2>
<p>The book’s homogeneity also extends to learning differences, of which there are none: only girls who don’t try, and “stupid ones”. “If you are brainless and near the bottom, we shan’t blame you, of course,” says housemistress Miss Potts, in a pep talk bordering on disciplinary offence. “But if you’ve got good brains and are down at the bottom, I shall have a lot to say.” </p>
<p>Two girls fall into the latter category: governess-reared Gwendoline, who phones it in for half the term before discovering the existence of school reports, and heroine Darrell Rivers. Darrell is able but struggles with arithmetic. Being distracted by the class clown causes her to fall in the class order before she hoists her socks with military enthusiasm and finishes fifth from the top. </p>
<p>In the series, however, Darrell has a genuine struggle with spelling and presentation, rising hours before the others to make clean copies of her jumbled prep. Devastated when her class position fails to reflect her hard work, she volunteers to be put in the “dreaded remedial” class. There, tutor and head-girl Pamela diagnoses “word-blindness”, or modern-day dyslexia. As a representative of the countless children with learning differences throughout history, Darrell is a role model for neurodiverse viewers. Her coping strategies, and a renewed commitment to becoming a doctor, also model an admirable growth mindset. </p>
<h2>Choice above all</h2>
<p>Darrell’s interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects, and her belief that “girls [can] do everything boys can do”, shows how the series amplifies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/06/why-we-still-adore-malory-towers-enid-blyton">the feminism of the book</a>. This is largely a product of its single-sex environment, which offers a safe space for the girls to develop, free from the need to conform. The book’s feminism is, however, offset by Blyton’s tendency to downplay academic achievement. </p>
<p>For Miss Potts, the most successful old girls are not “those who have won scholarships and passed exams” but those who have become, more nebulously, “good, sound women the world can lean on”. This bodes ill for “clever Irene”, who is “a marvel at maths. and music, usually top of the form – but oh, how stupid in the ordinary things of life”. Darrell, by contrast, is said to have “the makings of a first-rate person”, combining academics with games prowess and lashings of common sense. </p>
<p>The series inserts several narratives that champion academic achievement, the pursuit of a career and above all a girl’s right to choose her own path. Sally is sent to Malory Towers, not so her mother can focus on her delicate sister, as in the book, but to prevent her from becoming an unpaid carer and wasting her academic potential. Emily, whom Blyton describes as “a quiet studious girl”, has her education funded in the series by her mother’s work in the school’s sanatorium. Meanwhile Pamela chooses in a new storyline to debut in society, instead of pursuing a teaching career, in the hopes of safeguarding her family’s estate. “Maybe [teaching] isn’t my dream,” she tells an incredulous Darrell, “we can’t all be pioneers”. The message is confirmed by Miss Potts when Gwen suggests that she, too, would prefer society to college: “You’re lucky to have a choice”. </p>
<p>For fans of the adaptation, the series has now been novelised by Narinder Dhami as <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/narinder-dhami/malory-towers-darrell-and-friends/9781444957860/">Malory Towers: Darrell and Friends</a>. It is available to purchase alongside <a href="https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book-details.php?id=253">Blyton’s originals</a>, <a href="https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book-details.php?id=2209&title=New+Term+at+Malory+Towers">Pamela Cox’s sequels</a>, and <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/enid-blyton-2/malory-towers-new-class-at-malory-towers/9781444951004/">New Class at Malory Towers</a>, giving young girls, and boys, that most valuable of things: a choice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136087/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bethany Layne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It might seem like nostalgic escapism, but the show has a revisionist impulse at its heart.Bethany Layne, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, De Montfort UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1309862020-02-23T13:13:51Z2020-02-23T13:13:51ZReading struggles? Don’t wait to advocate for your child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315750/original/file-20200217-10980-olyteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C877%2C3902%2C2390&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lack of access to quality reading instruction and early diagnoses and intervention of reading disorders can have significant, long-lasting effects.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reading is an important predictor of future academic performance in all subjects and through all levels of school. The World Literacy Organization notes that weak reading skills <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv:63953">predict lower income levels as an adult, increased health care costs, decreased productivity and increased involvement with the criminal justice system</a>. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/11.9.573">42 per cent of Canadians have literacy skills below those “typically required for high school completion,” or what literacy researchers call level three literacy</a>. At this level, someone’s reading and comprehension skills are advanced enough to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-555-x/2013001/t/tbl1.1-eng.htm">follow multi-step directions and interpret and evaluate texts</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers estimate that <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-58418-005">three to five per cent of Canadians have a learning disability that could negatively affect reading</a>, and 80 per cent of those <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000631">with a learning disability have a reading disability</a>.</p>
<p>Lack of access to quality reading instruction and early diagnoses and intervention of reading disorders can have significant, long-lasting effects, as Colleen Smereka, a Canadian invisible disability and literacy advocate, describes in the documentary <em>Searching for Words: A Woman’s Fight to Learn</em>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HOo1JQEZwU0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Searching for Words: A Woman’s Fight to Learn.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is much more difficult to remediate reading difficulties in older students than in young ones, a fact that highlights <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2011.00347.x">the importance of early intervention</a>.</p>
<h2>Reading and mental health</h2>
<p>In my practice as a school psychologist, I have seen evidence of the research finding that academic performance and mental health can have a two-way relationship. Students who do not develop strong reading skills are at greater risk for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409359939">developing symptoms of anxiety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">depression</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">behaviour problems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390060301">thoughts of suicide</a>. </p>
<p>Longitudinal research has provided evidence that there is not just a relationship between reading difficulty and depression in boys but that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022534527021">poor reading skills actually predict later symptoms of depression</a>. Students who report <a href="https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/mental-wellbeing-reading-and-writing/">low levels of well-being also say that they are below-average readers</a>.</p>
<p>Even when poor reading does not lead to mental health diagnoses, it can <a href="https://thinkingreadingwritings.wordpress.com/2019/04/22/can-reading-problems-affect-mental-health/">increase students’ feelings of shame, failure and exclude them from access to knowledge through print</a>. </p>
<p>Most of us avoid tasks that we are not good at, especially if we cannot find support to improve. But children are regularly required to read for all academic areas, and to gain knowledge in other areas of life. We cannot expect children to read if we don’t help them learn to read.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Systemic, direct instruction for teaching reading is most effective.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading instruction and early intervention</h2>
<p>Twenty years ago, a group of U.S. researchers <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=b0WdAAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=national+reading+panel&ots=RbeDktS16q&sig=8Zoa11oCqwG6J6CaTX5d-f5qrcE#v=onepage&q=national%20reading%20panel&f=false">tasked with reviewing over 100,000 studies on reading by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development</a> summarized decades of research about how to best teach children how to read. </p>
<p>Recent research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">continues to support their findings</a> that the best results in teaching children to read are found through systemic, direct instruction and intervention <a href="http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/">focusing on five areas</a>: </p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>phonemic awareness</strong> (knowing that words are made up of sounds: cat = /c/ /a/ /t/);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>decoding</strong> (connecting letters with sounds to sound out words);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>fluency</strong> (reading quickly, accurately and with expression);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>vocabulary</strong> (knowing what lots of words mean);</p></li>
<li><p>and <strong>comprehension</strong> (understanding both simple direct information and less direct inferences of text). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Unfortunately, students do not always receive such systemic instruction. For example, the Ontario Human Rights Commission is currently investigating whether students who have reading difficulties <a href="http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-read-public-inquiry-on-reading-disabilities">experience human rights violations as a result of schools not screening and providing early interventions</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/201/key-factors-literacy-school-aged.pdf">no province has specific requirements for training or necessary competencies necessary for teachers to be prepared to teach reading</a>, and many elementary school teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to teach reading and even less prepared to support children who struggle. </p>
<p>A 2019 survey by the International Literacy Association of 1,443 literacy experts (including teachers) from 65 countries showed that <a href="https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/resource-documents/whatshotreport_2020_final.pdf">60 per cent don’t think teacher training programs are “equipping educators with the skills they need for effective reading instruction.</a>”</p>
<h2>If your child is struggling with reading</h2>
<p><a href="http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/">Here are some supports</a> you can provide: </p>
<p><strong>Play with words:</strong> Teaching children to rhyme and to pull apart the sounds of words and add new sounds develops phonemic awareness, which is foundational to developing decoding skills.</p>
<p><strong>Read to your children and with your children:</strong> This helps children associate reading with positive feelings of spending time with caring adults.</p>
<p><strong>Spend time reading yourself:</strong> Set an example that reading is valuable and enjoyable.</p>
<p><strong>Talk with your children:</strong> Talking with your children about the world around them, science and literature helps them to develop strong vocabulary skills.</p>
<p><strong>Play word games with your children:</strong> There are free <a href="https://pbskids.org/">online word games</a> that can support reading development, but it is much better to engage in these with your children rather than have your children use them alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching children to rhyme and to pull apart the sounds of words helps build reading skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>If your child still struggles</h2>
<p>Sometimes children <a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/">struggle to learn to read</a> <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/">even when they have good supports in place</a>. For example, children in dual language programs or children whose schooling is not in their first language often have a normal delay in reading.</p>
<p>If your child appears to struggle to progress through their age-appropriate school curriculum, first <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-signs-reading-difficulty">consider if you notice common areas that suggest reading difficulty</a>:</p>
<p><strong>Early language difficulty:</strong> A large number of children with language delays also have difficulty learning to read.</p>
<p><strong>Difficulty with phonological awareness:</strong> Difficulty with rhyming, hearing the syllables in words, pulling apart the sounds in letters and putting sounds together to make a word suggest that your child may have difficulty learning to read. </p>
<p><strong>Difficulty with decoding:</strong> If your children have difficulty sounding out words or learning the connection between letters and their sounds in grade one, then they may be at risk for learning to read.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-suggests-three-profiles-of-communication-delays-in-early-childhood-115769">New research suggests three profiles of communication delays in early childhood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you think your child has difficulty with several of theses areas, discuss your concerns with your child’s teacher. If you have continued concerns, consider:</p>
<p><strong>Assessment:</strong> You can seek out an assessment through your school board or a private provider. Many university training clinics and some non-profit organizations offer lower-cost assessments.</p>
<p><strong>Intervention:</strong> Look for reading interventions provided by your school or seek out private tutoring. </p>
<p><strong>Advocate:</strong> Do not wait until your child is failing and falling behind to advocate for intervention and/or assessment. Early intervention has very high success rates for supporting reading development, but it is much more difficult to improve reading skills in older students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Wilcox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Early intervention with reading challenges has very high success rates for supporting reading development, but it is much more difficult to improve reading skills in older students.Gabrielle Wilcox, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1243302019-11-28T11:42:12Z2019-11-28T11:42:12ZFluorescent lighting in school could be harming your child’s health and ability to read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304269/original/file-20191128-178101-1nltr18.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C8%2C2963%2C2120&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reading problem or problem with the lights?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-education-literacy-concept-asian-girl-419267809?src=37ae4cb7-cf31-4335-a7ad-59c3fbc30f8b-1-15">shutterstock/ Chinnapong</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you step into any British classroom, chances are you’ll be greeted by the bright white light of fluorescent lamps. Schools began to introduce fluorescent lighting in the mid 1950s and rows of these low cost, long life, high efficacy lamps tend to be the lighting of choice in many schools around the world.</p>
<p>But some fluorescent lighting could actually be <a href="https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006324-199108000-00012">causing eye-strain and headaches</a>. This is down to the fact that many fluorescent tubes (but not all) vary in colour and brightness continually. This is because the light of fluorescent bulbs is produced by a gas discharge (like lightning) twice with each cycle of the alternating current.</p>
<p>The variation in colour comes about because ultraviolet light from the discharge is converted to visible light by a coating of phosphor on the inside of the lamp and this continues to glow between flashes. The resulting coloured flicker is too rapid to be seen, but it results in an electrical signal from the back of the eye, indicating that our <a href="https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006324-199108000-00012">cells respond to the variation</a>. </p>
<p>This rapid fluctuation of light from fluorescent lamps is known to affect the way our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001872088602800108">eyes move across text</a> and it interferes with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14771535950270040301">the performance of visual tasks</a>. And while it does not affect everybody, it can have a serious effect on a few. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096032718902100102">Indeed, one study</a> found incidences of headaches and eye-strain in a London office halved when the fluorescent flicker was reduced. </p>
<h2>How colour can help</h2>
<p>Fluorescent lighting installed in the last ten years does not usually flicker in this way. But a 2009 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494408001011">survey</a> found 80% of classrooms were still lit with the old-fashioned flickering fluorescent lighting – so it’s reasonable to suspect that there may well be some of the old-fashioned bulbs still lurking in schools across the UK.</p>
<p>Some children affected by the flicker see an improvement in the clarity of text when a sheet of coloured plastic – <a href="https://www.wiley.com/engb/Reading+Through+Colour%3A+How+Coloured+Filters+Can+Reduce+Reading+Difficulty%2C+Eye+Strain%2C+and+Headaches-p-9780470851166">a coloured overlay</a> – is placed on the page. Children who use coloured overlays find they are able to read more quickly – and often report a reduction in eye strain and headaches. One possible reason is that a coloured filter can reduce the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/096032719002200205">variation in colour</a> that occurs with the old-fashioned fluorescent lighting. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ive-always-wondered-do-fluorescent-lights-emit-uv-and-can-it-harm-me-90317">I've always wondered: do fluorescent lights emit UV, and can it harm me?</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303708/original/file-20191126-112539-5wacd3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">If you have to spend a lot of time under fluorescent light, make sure fluorescent lamps are controlled by high-frequency electronic circuitry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lights-ceiling-211201642?src=486d24e8-eccd-46d8-bb04-436aac40bdb6-1-1">Shutterstock/addkm</a></span>
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<p>Some colours will be more suitable than others at reducing any effects of the rapid variation in colour and brightness from fluorescent lights, depending on the phosphors in the lamps, and how much the children have experienced the flicker and adapted to it. </p>
<p>Experience has also shown that some children will use their overlays for a limited time until they report the overlay is no longer effective. When this occurs, a change in colour can sometimes restore the beneficial effect. Many children who find coloured overlays useful benefit from wearing <a href="http://www.s4clp.org/">glasses with coloured lenses</a>. Indeed, research shows that people who wear coloured lenses experience <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0042698916300402">long-term effects of adaptation</a> on their perception of colour.</p>
<h2>The migraine link</h2>
<p>Of course, fluorescent lighting isn’t just found in schools and the impact isn’t just something that affects children. Many offices are filled with tube lighting and it’s known there’s a link between fluorescent lighting and migraines, too.</p>
<p>Many children, for example, who benefit from coloured overlays suffer headaches and have a history of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8265152">migraine in the family</a>. The brain is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2007.01502.x">excitable</a> in people with migraine, and their brains use large amounts of oxygen when they look at things they find uncomfortable.</p>
<p>But research has found that normal oxygenation is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0333102411409076">restored with coloured filters</a> – provided the colour is individually chosen as comfortable for viewing text. Indeed, people with migraine often have an aversion to fluorescent lighting, and for reading, often choose colours that are <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5150/3/4/62">not typical</a> of conventional lighting. </p>
<p>Clearly, then, it would be preferable for schools and workplaces to replace the old-fashioned fluorescent lighting with newer electronic circuitry that removes the 100-per-second variation. This would not only be healthier for children and teachers but also reduce the running costs. This is particularly important given that <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/409409/Reading_the_next_steps.pdf">one in five children</a> in England cannot read well by the age of 11 – and, for at least some of these children, fluorescent lighting could be part of the problem.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arnold J Wilkins designed the _Intuitive Colorimeter_ . He also designed the Intuitive Overlays but no longer receives royalties. </span></em></p>But there is an answer.Arnold J Wilkins, Professor of Psychology, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1200542019-08-27T14:47:06Z2019-08-27T14:47:06ZA rose-tinted cure: the myth of coloured overlays and dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289601/original/file-20190827-184248-ytzmsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-student-dyslexia-using-colored-overlays-478396255?src=-2-12">Shutterstock/MonkeyBusinessImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is claimed that the use of coloured filters and lenses can alleviate visual distortions for people with dyslexia. These overlays are simple translucent pieces of plastic which add colour to text. But I believe they should not be recommended as a treatment or a form of support for people with dyslexia because there is a lack of <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=21930551">convincing scientific evidence</a> supporting their effectiveness. </p>
<p>What troubles me as a research specialist in dyslexia, as well as being dyslexic myself, is the proliferation and abundance of advertisements and testimonies proclaiming the <a href="https://www.thedyslexiashop.co.uk/coloured-overlays.html">effectiveness of the treatment online</a>, including websites and magazines which are produced by nationally recognised dyslexia focused charities.</p>
<p>In fact, a 2014 survey <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5160">published in the British Medical Journal</a> found that six out of eight UK dyslexia organisations were promoting such products on their websites uncritically and in an unbalanced way.</p>
<p>I believe that promoting the use of these coloured filters gives people with dyslexia false hope. Those who work in this field should, instead, be focusing on the delivery and promotion of evidence-based interventions, such as the <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD009115.pub2/full">systematic teaching</a> of letter to sound combinations (phonics), or the provision of technology supports such as text to speech software. </p>
<h2>What is dyslexia?</h2>
<p>Dyslexia is a neurological condition affecting between <a href="https://www.dr-hatfield.com/educ538/docs/Vellutino,+etal+2004.pdf">7-10%</a> of the population. It is a learning disability which has an impact on a person’s ability to learn how to read and write (despite adequate intelligence and educational opportunities).</p>
<p>Research has demonstrated that people with dyslexia often have difficulty processing and representing the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00482">specific sounds</a> of language. As a result, someone with dyslexia will experience difficulties in associating printed letters with relevant speech sounds, thus causing reading difficulties. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-dyslexia-and-the-role-women-played-in-getting-it-recognised-89055">A brief history of dyslexia and the role women played in getting it recognised</a>
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<h2>Visual stress and coloured overlays</h2>
<p>Visual stress (also referred to as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yaser_Adi2/publication/255651943_The_Effectiveness_and_Cost-Effectiveness_of_Coloured_Filters_for_Reading_Disability_A_Systematic_Review/links/55b62a3608aec0e5f436e4cc.pdf">Irlen</a> or Meares‐Irlen syndrome) is a proposed perceptual disorder that results in apparent movement and distortion of text, headaches and eyestrain while reading, which ultimately interferes with reading ability. </p>
<p>Reported rates of visual stress symptoms in the general population range between <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2005.00275.x">12-14%</a>. However, some have reported rates as high as 46% and 76% in populations of dyslexic and poor readers. These findings have led some researchers to theorise that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673685901795">visual impairments</a> may be a cause of dyslexia.</p>
<p>Proponents of this theory say that prescribed coloured eyeglasses or plastic overlays could alleviate perceived visual distortions. It is believed that the removal of this visual stress would improve reading and facilitate the development of reading skills in the longer term and help people with dyslexia. The simplicity of the intervention has helped it to become embedded into the practice of teachers, educational psychologists, optometrists and NHS orthoptic departments across the UK. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cxo.12676">disagreement</a> among researchers still exists over the mechanisms and theory behind the filters’ effects. And <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1475-1313.2002.00079.x">debate</a> still <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40474-014-0030-6">rages</a> surrounding the fundamental issue of which colour is needed to achieve optimal results. </p>
<h2>Myth versus evidence</h2>
<p>Despite having been actively investigated over the past 40 years, visual stress still remains unrecognised by the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/">International Classification of Disease</a>, the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and the <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=19651597">American Optometric Association</a>.</p>
<p>Listed as one of the “<a href="http://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Howard-Jones-Neuromyth-nature14.pdf">neuromyths</a>” of education in a recent Nature Reviews article, the ability of coloured overlays to support the reading of individuals with dyslexia has been widely contested within published research. The current body of research has failed to produce high quality evidence demonstrating that an improvement in reading when a coloured overlay is applied.</p>
<p>For example, in a rigorous double-masked design (in which neither the subject nor the experimenter knew the true diagnosis and prescribed colour) researchers from the University of Edinburgh reported that Irlen coloured overlays had <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/128/4/e932.long">no immediate effect on reading ability</a>. </p>
<p>The majority of research on this topic has found little evidence of measurable effects on reading accuracy or comprehension. For example, the <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/2/837.long">American Academy of Paediatrics</a> found little to no evidence supporting the link to visual stress in explaining the reading difficulties of people with dyslexia.</p>
<p>And recent <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opo.12316">systematic reviews</a> highlighted that any positive gains in reading may be a result of heightened motivation or placebo effects. Such effects arise when a person with dyslexia believes the coloured filter will enhance their reading, bringing about some changes in reading through an increase in attention, effort and motivation (at least in the short term).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/289604/original/file-20190827-184202-l29u2a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People with dyslexia suffer from visual distortions which can make reading text very difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dyslexia-concept-alphabet-letters-on-pink-724894111?src=-1-7">Shutterstock/HafiezRazali</a></span>
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<h2>So why the visual distortions?</h2>
<p>Yet the question remains as to why so many with dyslexia report the perception of some sort of visual distortions while reading. The answer for this may emerge as a consequence of their disability, not the cause. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0027105">Studies</a> have shown that the perceived visual distortions may be a result of reduced engagement or attention during reading, a consequence of their difficulties in processing the text on the page.</p>
<p>While the use of this unsupported intervention may not pose an imminent harm, use of coloured lenses and filters might deprive people affected by dyslexia of effective interventions such as targeted phonics instruction, as well as waste valuable time and resources associated with gaining a prescription for coloured lens or sheets.</p>
<p>Most worrying is that these simple coloured sheets may provide false hope in a struggling reader and result in feelings of discouragement when this intervention fails to deliver the promised results. </p>
<p>In this sea of misinformation, it is important for special needs practitioners, teachers and parents to become informed consumers. Only then will we ensure that struggling readers will be provided with effective, evidence-based interventions that not only improve the reading and learning of those with dyslexia, but also their quality of life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Law is a lecturer at the University of Glasgow. He receives funding from the Carnegie Trust He is affiliated with Dyslexia Scotland: South West. </span></em></p>Based on the current body of evidence, the use of coloured filters should not be recommended as a dyslexia treatment, nor be provided through publicly funded bodies.Jeremy Law, Lecturer in Education, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1046552019-01-24T10:26:30Z2019-01-24T10:26:30ZDyscalculia: ‘maths dyslexia’ or why so many children struggle with numbers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253849/original/file-20190115-152974-btqp61.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Signs of dyscalculia, also known as a math learning disability or math disorder, can be hard to spot. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’ve probably heard of dyslexia, but have you heard of <a href="https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexic/maths-difficulties-dyscalculia">dyscalculia</a> before? Maybe not, given that children with dyscalculia – or mathematical learning difficulties – are less likely to be diagnosed. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/09/18/uk-study-finds-children-with-maths-difficulties-sldm-dyscalculia-are-100-times-less-likely-to-receive-an-official-diagnosis-than-peers-with-dyslexia/">research</a> shows that children with dyslexia are more than a hundred times more likely to receive a diagnosis and educational support than children with dyscalculia. This is despite the fact that dyslexia and dyscalculia are expected to be equally common. </p>
<p>This is worrying, given that <a href="https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/research-long-term-costs-numeracy-difficulties-2008">research</a> shows low numeracy might affect people’s life chances more negatively than low literacy. Indeed, there is a <a href="https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/why-numeracy-important">strong link</a> between numeracy and educational success, income, mental and physical health and even chances of arrest and incarceration.</p>
<h2>What is dyscalculia?</h2>
<p>Dyscalculia is <a href="http://www.ldonline.org/article/13709/">defined</a> as a condition that involves long-term, severe difficulties with mathematics – which cause significant problems with academic or occupational performance, or with daily activities.</p>
<p>Some typical signs of dyscalculia that parents might notice are using finger counting – even for simple arithmetic – struggling to retrieve number facts from memory (such as times tables), and struggling to learn new procedures. </p>
<p>Dyscalculic children might also have trouble using calendars and clocks, they might struggle with <a href="http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/files/Morsanyi%2042027%20-%20Main%20Public%20report_Final%20(Oct18).pdf">recalling the order</a> of past events, and with following sequential instructions.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253850/original/file-20190115-152992-snqyw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">How having dyscalculia can feel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p><a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-31/august-2018/are-neurodevelopmental-disorders-discrete-conditions">Research</a> shows that developmental disorders very often occur together. So if your child has autism, ADHD or dyslexia, then they could also have dyscalculia. Our recent <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjop.12322">research</a> investigated the links between dyscalculia and other developmental disorders in primary school children, and we found that among the children we identified as potentially dyscalculic, 81% already had another diagnosis. </p>
<p>We also found the number of boys and girls with dyscalculia to be the same. This differs from other conditions that are more common among boys. In our study, twice as many boys than girls had a diagnosis of dyslexia.</p>
<h2>Why is it so rarely diagnosed?</h2>
<p>Primary schools in the UK test pupils using standardised, curriculum-based tests every year, starting from grade three. When a child performs at or below a certain cut-off, and their performance does not substantially improve after receiving specialist support for six months, they should receive a diagnosis of dyscalculia. But despite this, dyscalculia is almost never diagnosed – it appears to be a very rare condition. </p>
<p>This could mean that because practitioners do not have experience of working with children with a diagnosis of dyscalculia, they might feel less confident in identifying a new case.</p>
<p>Former diagnostic criteria for dyscalculia included the requirement that mathematics skills should be well below the person’s level of intelligence. <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dsm-5-changes-in-diagnostic-criteria-for-specific-learning-disabilities-sld1-what-are-the-implications/">This requirement has been now dropped</a>, but practitioners might still expect an unexplained difficulty with mathematics, without any other issues.</p>
<p>There is also no official guidance on how dyscalculic learners can be best supported. And because a dyscalculia diagnosis is very rare, it is also difficult to recruit individuals with dyscalculia for research studies – which is essential for testing and developing intervention methods.</p>
<p>Another issue is that when children already have another diagnosis – such as ADHD – this might be considered the main target of intervention. This means that any learning difficulties might be seen as a consequence of the primary problems. And there can also be a general tendency to view mathematics as a difficult and burdensome subject that is “not for everybody”. </p>
<h2>Why diagnosis matters</h2>
<p>Early diagnosis is particularly important, because missing the basics of mathematics makes it difficult for learners to follow subsequent topics. This can lead to frustration and negative attitudes towards mathematics, as well as school subjects in general. </p>
<p>Officially diagnosing children might also lead to faster changes in government policies. Once dyscalculic learners appear in official statistics, it is more likely that support will be offered. It was only in 2009 that the <a href="http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/media/downloads/inline/the-rose-report.1294933674.pdf">Rose report</a> on dyslexia was published, which called for the availability of special training for teachers to support children with dyslexia. This initiative has been a huge success, and it is likely that the same result would be possible for dyscalculia. </p>
<p>What all this shows is that when it comes to dyscalculia, more needs to be done to help children who are struggling. So if you’re a parent worried about your child, it is important to raise this with your child’s school and seek specialist educational psychology support. </p>
<p>Obtaining an official diagnosis might take a long time. But you can help your child by practising some basic concepts and procedures with them. This can be done by manipulating everyday objects, such as beads or tokens, or playing simple <a href="https://everychildcounts.edgehill.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/01-Numbers-Count-Children_x264.mp4">number games</a>. You can also play board games with a dice – which can help to demonstrate basic number concepts. </p>
<p>These activities might be especially helpful for younger children, but can also help to build confidence in the case of older pupils. Computer based maths programs can also be used for repeated practice of arithmetic. As with literacy, it is important that you don’t see your child’s maths learning as solely the responsibility of schools. </p>
<p>Dyscalculia, similar to dyslexia, is a life-long condition, which continues to affect people beyond their school years. It cannot and should not be ignored. And a better awareness of the condition in parents, teachers and society generally could offer great improvements in the prospects of dyscalculic learners.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kinga Morsanyi received funding from the Nuffield Foundation to carry out research on dyscalculia. </span></em></p>Finger counting and struggling to tell the time or use a calendar are all typical signs of dyscalculia – sometimes called ‘maths dyslexia’.Kinga Morsanyi, Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072752019-01-15T19:12:49Z2019-01-15T19:12:49ZWhat you need to know if your child with a disability is starting school soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252800/original/file-20190108-32151-1hfxcyi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents may need to play the advocate for their child, especially if their child has a disability which affects their ability to communicate.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is a longer read at just over 1,300 words. Enjoy!</em></p>
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<p>A new school year can be daunting for any parent, prompting many questions: will my child settle in, make friends and progress academically? If your child has a disability these worries can seem too big to overcome. </p>
<p>In Australia, teachers often <a href="https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/command/download_file/id/246/filename/Inclusive_education_for_students_with_disability_-_A_review_of_the_best_evidence_in_relation_to_theory_and_practice.pdf">feel unprepared</a> to support children with disabilities in classrooms. Teaching organisations have <a href="https://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Committees/Pages/Committees.aspx?CTId=3&CId=320">raised concerns</a> about the large amount of additional time and resources necessary to help children with a disability learn and meet their educational goals. Lack of professional knowledge about the impact disabilities have on a child’s development are often the reason for this concern, along with a lack of confidence about how to cater for the student’s needs. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/students-with-and-without-disability-its-always-better-when-were-together-21014">Students with and without disability: it’s always better when we’re together</a>
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<p>Parents should also be aware a teacher might be concerned about how accepting a child with a disability might negatively affect the academic progress of other children in their class, risking complaint from other parents. <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/446/CDA_Issues_Paper_on_Inclusion_%284%29.pdf?1547508273">Research</a> suggests these worries are persistent, but also typically unfounded. </p>
<h2>Talk to your local schools</h2>
<p>The first thing to do is figure out whether your local school can meet your child’s specific needs. This will involve a discussion meeting, usually with the principal as well as the local support officer. </p>
<p>In all communication try not to be emotive, but polite and assertive. Keep records of all communication. Where possible, use email. If you have a meeting or telephone conversation, take a record of the key points and send it to the participants asking for their clarification that it’s an accurate record.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252794/original/file-20190108-32148-x1sufs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Schools have a legal and moral duty to provide education to students with a disability.</span>
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<p>Talk to other parents in the area who also have a child with a disability. Two local schools can have very different responses to supporting children with a disability. </p>
<p>Schools have a legal duty to cater for students with a disability under the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/dse-fact-sheet-1-dda_0.pdf">Disability Discrimination Act</a> and the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/disability_standards_for_education_2005_plus_guidance_notes.pdf">Disability Standards for Education</a>. But as many parents know, this can fall significantly short in practice. </p>
<p>Admission to a new mainstream school can be a grey zone for inclusion. In some schools, the euphemism “we can’t cater for your child’s needs” is used to recommend sending a child somewhere else. In such extreme circumstances, parents can politely but firmly remind the school of their legal (and moral) responsibility to educate all children.</p>
<h2>Mainstream is best when possible</h2>
<p>Schooling in the mainstream classroom is considered the <a href="https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/command/download_file/id/246/filename/Inclusive_education_for_students_with_disability_-_A_review_of_the_best_evidence_in_relation_to_theory_and_practice.pdf">first and best</a> option when possible in Australia for students with a disability. </p>
<p>One myth which needs to be disposed of immediately is that there is a special, unique method for teaching children with disabilities. This is not the case. Successful teaching for children with disabilities is simply <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309608290_Chapter_9_The_Ideal_School">very high quality teaching</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252796/original/file-20190108-32130-llx9xq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents need to be able to communicate their child’s specific needs to their teacher, for example if they get overwhelmed by too much noise.</span>
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<p>Some key features of this excellent practice are: it’s clear and has a predictable structure, motivates the child calling on their interests, and is regularly reviewed against clear objectives to ensure it is effective. </p>
<p>All children have strengths and challenges. These attributes of excellent teaching also greatly benefit children without disabilities. For example, when they’re <a href="https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/using-drama-as-a-tool-for-inclusion-within-the-classroom">learning to read</a> in the first years of primary school. </p>
<h2>Consider what’s best for your child</h2>
<p>If a school is not being supportive at the start, you need to consider whether you want your child to be in an environment of continual conflict and barrier. Luckily, this is a minority attitude in Australian schools. But statistics from a national survey in 2017 show 12% of children with a disability still appear to be <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/447/Education_Survey_Summary_2017.pdf?1547509192">refused initial enrolment</a> in their local school. </p>
<p>If the admissions hurdle is simply too difficult, you may decide to send your child to a special school, or even home school. Look at your capability. Can you offer solutions to support the school? Can you make the commitment to teach at home? Is a School for Specific Purpose (SSP) the best setting for your child? Will your child receive a full educational experience? </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-your-rights-if-your-child-with-a-disability-is-denied-a-school-place-53500">What are your rights if your child with a disability is denied a school place?</a>
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<p>Special schools don’t come in one format and vary considerably, but they tend to: educate students from reception or prep through to year 12, be attended by students with more severe or multiple forms of disability and deliver a modified curriculum. </p>
<p>This modified curriculum, for instance, might mean expectations of what a student should understand and be able to do at a given age in English, maths, or science are adjusted to their level of intellectual development, rather than being based on levels expected of typically developing children. Many special schools also focus on preparing students for independent living after age 18. </p>
<h2>Parents and teachers working together</h2>
<p>Let’s now assume your child has been accepted into a mainstream school, and you’ve established a cordial parent-teacher relationship with their teacher. The issue now becomes what parents and teachers should know and share about a child’s disability to provide the best chance the child will flourish in school. </p>
<p>Not all parents may be willing or able to undertake this time-consuming role. It’s vital parents and teachers are flexible in their expectations about how much parental involvement is possible in each case. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/252801/original/file-20190108-32124-urtz03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">When everyone works together, everyone wins.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Some <a href="https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/file/0016/1412170/Castan-Centre-Improving-Educational-Outcomes-for-Students-with-Disability.pdf">studies</a> suggest schools are too often not receptive to the valuable advice parents have to give about their child. Teachers should consider the parent, at least initially, as an expert on their child’s needs. Parents are a priceless resource in planning, delivering and reviewing their child’s learning. </p>
<p>Listening to parents is especially important for children who have a disability which affects their ability to communicate or understand the world around them. This may include children with autism, intellectual disability or speech and language impairments. </p>
<h2>Parents should do their research</h2>
<p>For parents, doing your own research about the features of the disability that affects your child can help you better relay their needs to teachers, doctors and therapists.</p>
<p>Many parent-led, not-for-profit disability organisations in Australia, the UK and US have excellent public resources to develop your knowledge. For instance, there are great resources for <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/#">autism</a>, <a href="http://www.speldvic.org.au/research/">dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-could-lead-the-way-in-educating-students-with-a-disability-80812">NSW could lead the way in educating students with a disability</a>
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<p>The Australian government also provides <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/disability-in-australia-intellectual-disability/contents/table-of-contents">high quality, research-based information</a> about, for example, intellectual disability and other relatively common forms of disability. These resources can be a gateway to further reading and discussion with teachers. </p>
<p>One word of caution: parents and teachers should avoid or be ultra-sceptical of claims products or treatments can “cure” disability. Only accept therapies or interventions recommended by registered medical or clinical practitioners, such as occupational therapists, psychiatrists or paediatricians. </p>
<h2>Maintaining strong relationships</h2>
<p>The complexity of the three-way <a href="http://assets.cambridge.org/97811074/39726/frontmatter/9781107439726_frontmatter.pdf">parent-school-child</a> relationship raises the chance of confusion, misunderstanding or communication breakdown. If left unchecked, this can damage the relationship and negatively affect a student’s life in school. All parties need to listen to each other and put the child’s needs first – not the workplace or budget.</p>
<p>There is no universally agreed-upon model of what a good parent-school-child relationship looks like. But <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/dse-fact-sheet-3-parental-engagement_0.pdf">research</a> offers practical suggestions for parents and teachers:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>communication has to be three way between parents, the student and teacher if there is to be a shared responsibility for supporting the child’s learning </p></li>
<li><p>parents, the student and the teacher have to feel confident they can be honest and open about their views on where each has strengths and weakness</p></li>
<li><p>parents, the student and teacher have to feel their views are valid, will be listened to and, if agreed on, acted upon in good faith. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>When everyone works as a team, everyone wins.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Armstrong is affiliated with the British Psychological Society (BPS) and is a Specialist Assessor for the Australian Research Council (ARC) </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Roy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s important for the child and their achievement at school that there is a good parent-teacher-student partnership.David Roy, Lecturer in Education, University of NewcastleDavid Armstrong, Senior Lecturer in Special and Inclusive Education, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1073842018-12-12T13:41:58Z2018-12-12T13:41:58ZTeachers don’t understand the depth of dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250205/original/file-20181212-76962-18ak5j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Helping - but is it enough?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-male-elementary-school-pupil-problem-485303140?src=g471WUm5QTzAYEhHiD7B6A-1-9">SpeedKingz/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that most of us know for causing problems with writing, reading and spelling. But it is more than this, and can affect people in many different ways. </p>
<p>It is <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11881-003-0001-9.pdf">generally accepted</a> that underlying neurological aspects, such as slight differences in brain structure, can change the way that dyslexic people process information, and this affects the behaviour they might display. <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia/symptoms/">In addition to literacy difficulties</a>, people with dyslexia may also have trouble expressing themselves, even though they are very knowledgeable about a topic. People with dyslexia also have <a href="http://madebydyslexia.org/">many strengths</a>, such as being able to visualise things differently, thinking outside of the box and being creative. </p>
<p>School is often the place where dyslexia is first discovered, however, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dys.1593">my recent survey</a> found that the majority of teachers in England and Wales describe dyslexia as a problem with literacy – and don’t understand the biological and cognitive aspects.</p>
<p>For the study, I asked 2,600 primary and secondary school classroom teachers in England and Wales to provide a description of dyslexia. The majority of teachers (79.5%) described dyslexia at the behavioural level. They mentioned the outward symptoms of dyslexia, mainly issues with reading, writing, and spelling.</p>
<p>Only 39.3% of the teachers in the survey described the cognitive aspects associated with dyslexia. They talked of things like phonological processing differences – the cognitive ability to identify sounds in words, for example, breaking down “cat” to “c”, “a” and “t” – as well as issues with decoding, and memory problems. Finally, 9% described the condition’s biological aspects. These teachers described dyslexia in relation to the brain, as well as neurological differences, or genetics being the cause of the dyslexic symptoms. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250207/original/file-20181212-76989-12qxjyq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Learning to write.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/learn-write-208531888?src=WGKlbxTBxa2Bb0hSKiU_gQ-1-9">Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Together these results reveal that most teachers have a stereotypical understanding of dyslexia, focusing more on the behaviour they see. But while teachers certainly need to update their own understanding of the condition, and play a better part in changing the way dyslexic children are taught, it is not down to them alone. My research also found that there is a problem with the way in which teachers themselves are taught about dyslexia. </p>
<p>During the survey, the teachers were asked, in their opinion, how well dyslexia was covered on their teacher training programme. A large majority (71.8%) said it was “not covered well at all”. This lack of training could help to explain why teachers tend to only understand dyslexia based on how it impacts students at the behavioural level. </p>
<p>Research suggests <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/340/6130/300">between 4% and 20% of the population have dyslexia</a>. As the average primary school class consists of 27 students, and the average secondary school class is <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552342/SFR20_2016_Main_Text.pdf">20 students</a>, it can be estimated that teachers will have between one and five dyslexic students in each class. This is a significant proportion and in order for teachers to be able to properly help each dyslexic pupil, it is vital that they understand the condition at more than just a behavioural level. </p>
<p>Effective interventions have been found to help those showing dyslexic symptoms. A large body of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538781/">research</a> links dyslexia with a phonological processing difficulty. A 2009 report commissioned by the UK government concluded that prioritising phonological skills <a href="http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/media/downloads/inline/the-rose-report.1294933674.pdf">is an effective</a> way to teach children with dyslexia how to read. So it is now <a href="http://www.4d.org.nz/school/dyslexia_intervention_research.pdf">recommended</a> that teachers use phonic-based reading approaches with all students, to best help those who might struggle with literacy. And as the children grow older, teachers must provide work in different learning styles to help pupils that process information in different ways.</p>
<p>To ensure school children with dyslexia are getting the help they need, teacher training needs an overhaul. Educators need to know about all the different aspects of the condition, and have access to good quality, evidence‐based training too. Only with up-to-date knowledge of how to best help their students with dyslexia can they help them reach their full potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107384/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathryn Knight receives funding from ESRC.</span></em></p>Teachers’ understanding of dyslexia is mostly limited to behaviour, new survey finds.Cathryn Knight, Lecturer in Education, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/928462018-03-22T19:09:25Z2018-03-22T19:09:25ZMy dyslexic perspective on academia – and how I found science communication<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211336/original/file-20180321-165587-v4ykud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Academic writing is so different from the spoken word. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/laptop-office-1050707252?src=OeNptsRUPTJHE0y1ljdH7Q-1-10">from www.shutterstock.com </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I am an academic with dyslexia and I would like to share my story with you. </p>
<p>Dyslexia in academia is a conundrum – it is basically a learning difficulty, and coping with dyslexia is a very personal journey. It is different for everyone. </p>
<p>For me, dyslexia affects – among other skills – my maths, sciences and languages, including English. The very skills you need to succeed in the competitive world of <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-starting-university-with-dyslexia-50035">academia</a>. What is often so easy for others is <a href="https://www.une.edu.au/current-students/support/student-support/special-needs-office/information-for-staff/specific-disabilities/learning/learning-assessment">difficult</a> for me. </p>
<p>Academia is a place where you are expected to spit out research <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/competitive-streak-academia">papers</a>, the more cited and higher impact the better. While I do publish papers, I am not confident in my scientific writing. And I am so slow … my coauthors can get frustrated with my basic grammar errors, and don’t even get me started on statistics! </p>
<p>Still I persist. I go into university every day and work on those papers, determined to get them out. But more recently my career has taken a turn towards science communication – and it turns out that people think I’m quite good at it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-dyslexia-and-the-role-women-played-in-getting-it-recognised-89055">A brief history of dyslexia and the role women played in getting it recognised</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Education is hard</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211476/original/file-20180322-165577-mqw5rc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=964&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ecology is the branch of science that deals with animals and how they relate to each other and their environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grainne Cleary</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sticking with the university environment may make me unusual among the dyslexic lot, as many don’t enjoy <a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-disabilities-do-not-define-us-81157">education</a>. </p>
<p>I’ve always loved school for the learning, the knowledge. But I could not easily share my knowledge through written essays or sitting exams. I failed most subjects miserably at high school and was asked to leave. But this didn’t deter me – I stayed at school and worked my arse off. And still failed! </p>
<p>Growing up in Ireland, unfortunately I had to drop Irish – which is a required language for Irish universities even today. If I wanted to study I had to move to England. </p>
<p>So that is what I did. I followed my dream to an agriculture college, where I studied for a higher national diploma in wildlife management. </p>
<h2>High hopes</h2>
<p>I, like so many, aspired to a career in academia. It is sold as the ultimate <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-phd-graduates-expecting-too-much-11854">goal</a> – the premier way to gain and share knowledge. I was addicted to learning, and inspired by the engaging and passionate academics who taught me.</p>
<p>However, it has taken nearly 20 years for me to realise that passion alone won’t magically deliver the skills that are so vital to <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/dyslexia-the-invisible-disability-20140703-zsuxb.html">academia</a>. Dyslexic academics need support for their invisible disability, the disability that I still feel so ashamed of.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1184&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211485/original/file-20180322-165577-1cnaog8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ol’ Blue Eyes knew a thing or two about persistence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chicago-illinois-usa-10th-september-1986-718829473?src=Ewfku0K0ZO38wjO4O7n3TQ-1-88">Mark Reinstein / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What kept me going through the hard times? Well an inspirational song helps! Mine is Frank Sinatra’s <a href="http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+sinatra/high+hopes_20055241.html">High Hopes</a>. Take the following verse: </p>
<p><em>Once there was a silly old ram</em></p>
<p><em>Thought he’d punch a hole in a dam</em></p>
<p><em>No one could make that ram scram</em> </p>
<p><em>He kept buttin’ that dam!</em></p>
<p><em>Cause he had high hopes</em></p>
<p><em>He had high hopes</em></p>
<p><em>He’s got high apple pie in the sky hopes.</em> </p>
<p>And us dyslexic lot don’t give up easily – we can be <a href="http://dyslexia.yale.edu/success-stories/">very determined and think outside the box</a>. We can be written off as amounting to nothing – but it is hard to make us “scram” as we keep “buttin’ that dam”. We have tenacity and grit, and are inspired by others who went before <a href="https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/dyslexia-success-stories">us</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bored-reading-science-lets-change-how-scientists-write-81688">Bored reading science? Let's change how scientists write</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Adapt to survive</h2>
<p>Despite not getting a first class undergraduate degree, after a year of persistence I gained entry to a PhD program. I researched the diet of badgers and possible connections to <a href="https://www.tbfacts.org/bovine-tb/">cattle tuberculosis</a> (a bacterial disease that can spread through cow herds). </p>
<p>My dyslexia shone as I wrote up my papers and thesis – for example, one of my early reports was on how badgers need a vacation (instead of vaccine) for tuberculosis! </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211480/original/file-20180322-165574-103v329.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Yes please, I’d like a vacation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/tailed-cow-looking-into-camera-1051111175?src=AaOhejY6MSJJJTxJ3Rho5g-1-20">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So I had to adapt to survive. I turned to my peers to proofread my work for me. It is hard always needing help, and can really shake your confidence. It would be so much easier just to give up. </p>
<p>So why did I keep going? To make a difference in the world. To teach and inspire – I could do this by presenting my research to the public. I was told by my peers and supervisors that my presentation style was more like a cabaret show – but I always got my message across.</p>
<h2>Where I am today</h2>
<p>Today I lead the <a href="https://www.csdb.org.au/feedingbirds/home.aspx">Australian Bird Feeding and Watering Study</a>. This work was initiated on behalf of the public who want to know how best to care for birds in back gardens. </p>
<p>People wanted to know how to provide food to birds safely and correctly, and we are using a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-citizen-science-is-great-news-for-our-native-wildlife-63866">citizen science</a> approach to help them find the answers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-really-so-wrong-to-care-for-an-introduced-bird-species-78557">Is it really so wrong to care for an introduced bird species?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Part of the study includes sending frequent update emails on the research. This was a drama for me, as I was so nervous in case bad grammar and spelling slipped through. But I felt I had to be honest with the email recipients.</p>
<p>I explained “I am dyslexic” so they wouldn’t think I was being careless or lazy if mistakes did get through. The support they gave me was overwhelming. They didn’t care that I was dyslexic, and loved the way I wrote. </p>
<p>“My daughter is also dyslexic, and you are an inspiration to her,” one email read, while another told me: “Keep the faith – you are doing great.”</p>
<p>It is only now, after 20 years, that I am starting to find confidence. Finally I have found an aspect of academia that comes naturally to me: writing in a style that is easy to read and understand. For me, this is second-nature – it’s just how my brain <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-the-brain-changes-when-we-learn-to-read-76783">works</a>. Big words scare the holy hell out of me, partly because I often can’t pronounce them – let alone spell them. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211478/original/file-20180322-165554-1w6f5yf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Here’s me talking about birds in front of the camera.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grainne Cleary</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So I write more simply than most – is this a bad thing? We are often told to write without <a href="https://theconversation.com/academics-need-to-embrace-new-ways-of-writing-and-sharing-research-59010?">passion</a>, and I am still told by some colleagues and collaborators that my writing style will hold me back. I’m told it makes my research too colloquial. Ironic isn’t it – it’s actually what we call <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-academics-should-write-for-the-public-50874">science communication</a>. </p>
<p>For now I am going to keep on pushing, helping to break down the walls of academic writing. Maybe they need people like me? And always remember … never underestimate a person with dyslexia – we have grit! </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-where-do-seagulls-go-when-they-die-and-why-dont-we-find-dead-seagulls-on-the-beach-91825">Curious Kids: Where do seagulls go when they die and why don't we find dead seagulls on the beach?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92846/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grainne Cleary does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Never underestimate a person with dyslexia - the skills and strategies they’ve developed to survive academia can be the right fit for effective communication.Grainne Cleary, Researcher, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/890552018-03-06T15:08:38Z2018-03-06T15:08:38ZA brief history of dyslexia and the role women played in getting it recognised<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208897/original/file-20180305-65541-whsbo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dyslexia affects up to <a href="http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about">10% of the population</a> and is widely accepted as a learning difficulty that can cause problems with (among other things) reading, writing and spelling. But it hasn’t always been this way.</p>
<p>In fact, it wasn’t until quite recently – in 1987 – that the UK government announced that they were dispelling “a myth” – the myth that they did not believe in dyslexia. <a href="http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1987/jul/13/dyslexia">The government said that it:</a> </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Recognises dyslexia and the importance to the education progress of dyslexic children … that they should have their needs identified at an early stage. Once the assessment has been made, the appropriate treatment should be forthcoming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The story of how dyslexia came to be recognised in the UK is a story in which women were at the forefront – as advocates, teachers and researchers. And it’s also one that’s largely yet to be told.</p>
<h2>Word blindness</h2>
<p>The earliest references to (what we would now call) dyslexia came in the late Victorian period, when several doctors first identified “<a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/2/1871/1378">word blindness</a>”. Otherwise able children were showing pronounced reading difficulties. </p>
<p>Today, reading and spelling difficulties are <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121004075623/https:/www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/00659-2009DOM-EN.pdf">still considered</a> central to dyslexia, but other skills are believed to be affected, too. These includes motor coordination, concentration and personal organisation. The “link” to intelligence has also been lost. It’s now recognised that dyslexia can occur across the spectrum of intellectual abilities.</p>
<p>Interest in dyslexia waned between the world wars, but emerged again in the early 1960s, with the creation of the <a href="https://www.barnardhealth.us/bangor-dyslexia/the-wordblind-centre.html">Word Blind Centre</a> in 1962. The centre brought together several researchers, including the neurologist Macdonald Critchley and the psychologist Tim Miles, who had encountered dyslexic children in their work. </p>
<p>The centre closed after a decade, but its principal director, Sandhya Naidoo, published one of the first major studies into the condition, Specific Dyslexia in 1972. Her book, along with Critchley’s The Dyslexic Child (1970), were landmarks in <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-31/march-2018/brief-history-dyslexia">early research</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=816&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201521/original/file-20180110-46733-1q8mu7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1025&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beve Hornsby was one of the great pioneers of the dyslexia movement.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>During the same period, larger organisations were being founded to help dyslexic children. In 1972, the British Dyslexia Association was formed, principally by the efforts of Marion Welchman. This brought together several smaller regional associations, leading to Marion being dubbed the “needle and thread of the dyslexia world”. </p>
<p>In the same year, the Dyslexia Institute was created by Kathleen Hickey and Wendy Fisher. And in 1971, the <a href="https://www.helenarkell.org.uk/about-us.php">Helen Arkell Centre</a> also opened. Bevé Hornsby, the “grande dame” of dyslexia, became head of the Word Blind (later Dyslexia) Clinic at Barts Hospital the same year. Dyslexia was now on the map.</p>
<h2>A mother’s motivation</h2>
<p>The motivation for these pioneers was often personal. Marion Welchman had observed the lack of provision (and sympathy) at school for her dyslexic son, Howard. For Wendy Fisher, it was the similar experience of her dyslexic daughter, Sophy. Helen Arkell grew up with dyslexia, and was first diagnosed by the Danish dyslexia pioneer, Edith Norrie. </p>
<p>After moving to the UK, Helen was asked to help the child of a friend with similar difficulties, and from there it continued. As <a href="https://dyslexiahistory.web.ox.ac.uk/uk-dyslexia-archive">she explained</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>More and more people came, and before I knew it I was teaching quite a lot of people.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This somewhat ad-hoc, but also highly effective approach was shared in schooling and research. In the late 1970s, for example, Daphne Hamilton-Fairley, a speech therapist, was increasingly encountering dyslexic children. As numbers grew, the children’s parents offered to support Daphne in founding a specialist school. <a href="http://www.fairleyhouse.org.uk/">Fairley House</a> became (and remains) one of Britain’s few specialist dyslexia schools.</p>
<p>Daphne <a href="https://dyslexiahistory.web.ox.ac.uk/uk-dyslexia-archive">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was magic from the point of view of parent power, and how they’ll fight for their children.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Growing evidence base</h2>
<p>The 1970s also saw research on the condition expand. The Language Development Unit at Aston University opened in 1973, under Margaret Newton. And the Bangor Dyslexia Unit at Bangor University was officially opened in 1977, by Tim Miles and his wife, Elaine.</p>
<p>Again, achievements were predicated on improvisation. Ann Cooke, later director of teaching at Bangor, recalls that part time workers, mostly women, “were all paid on pinkies” – claim forms that you put in either every month, or every half term. Together with others, they built an evidence base for the existence and diagnosis of dyslexia.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209073/original/file-20180306-146671-n3ylk8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children with dyslexia can often struggle with their handwriting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=PMwyxll_kVmYUSSe09Jlmg-1-6">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Driven by parents and those with direct personal experience of the condition, the history of dyslexia mirrors that of other conditions, like <a href="https://senmagazine.co.uk/articles/articles/senarticles/a-brief-history-of-autism-the-big-ideas-that-have-shaped-our-understanding-of-autism">autism</a>. Against an often antagonistic political atmosphere, these women, together with male counterparts, drove progress. They did so through a unique intersection of care and emotional engagement, alongside formal research, advocacy and study. </p>
<p>At the University of Oxford, a team is <a href="https://dyslexiahistory.web.ox.ac.uk/">charting</a> a comprehensive history of the condition, uncovering the stories of these women, who helped to get dyslexia recognised. And in the current climate, where there are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/05/crisis-in-support-for-sen-children-ehc-plans">challenges to funding</a> for special educational needs, the story of dyslexia’s pioneers serves as a warning against the gains that could be lost. </p>
<p>It also shows how women – during a period when they were largely excluded from formal political spheres – found other ways to achieve support and recognition for children with dyslexia.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89055/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>philip Kirby receives funding from the Wellcome Trust. </span></em></p>Dyslexia affects up to 10% of the population, but until recently it was thought to be a pseudo-medical diagnosis used by parents to explain their children’s poor performance in reading.Philip Kirby, Research Associate in the Faculty of History, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/811572017-07-25T19:01:55Z2017-07-25T19:01:55ZLearning disabilities do not define us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179518/original/file-20170724-11166-1dhg9w2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Though challenges like dyslexia can make learning difficult, these disabilities shouldn't define who you are – or what you can do.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/pdkvf1">Tim Kwee</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I am an educator of educators. I teach others how to be the best teachers. But, I’m also different. </p>
<p>I have learning challenges.</p>
<p>As we celebrate the <a href="http://www.adaanniversary.org/">anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)</a>, I’m reminded of my personal journey. </p>
<p>My disabilities could have defined me. But they did not. I don’t consider myself dyslexic or learning-disabled. </p>
<p>I am Jim. And here’s the story of how I overcame my challenges and found my life’s calling – and of the dedicated educators who helped me along the way.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178906/original/file-20170719-13593-fm4oo1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This year the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrates its 27th anniversary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/PGroup-Rainmaker-Photo-MediaPunch-MediaPunch-IP-/ce87a1b0e6db4dc9b217445f7d7f6718/1/0">Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch/IPX/AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>My disability</h2>
<p>Born in 1970, I suffered a head injury as a young boy while roughhousing with friends. Maybe that led to my learning problems. Maybe it didn’t. Doctors aren’t really sure. </p>
<p>What I do know for sure is that in kindergarten, I couldn’t spell my name: James. That’s when I became Jim. Over a period of time, I turned Jim into Mij. </p>
<p>I didn’t like school. I decided it was about one thing: learning to read and write. I was poor at both.</p>
<p>I didn’t like myself. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=873&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89574/original/image-20150723-22852-x5bwpe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">James Gentry, the author, in second grade.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the age of six, I was diagnosed with dyslexia or a minimal brain dysfunction with learning disabilities. At the time, awareness about dyslexia was so poor that my mother asked, “Is it contagious?” </p>
<p>Then something changed. </p>
<p>In 1975, Congress passed <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/idea35/history/index_pg10.html">Public Law 94-142</a>, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law provided special education services for all students with disabilities.</p>
<p>A breed of new educators – called special education teachers – came to my school in East Texas. They developed a curriculum tailored just for kids like me. The curriculum provided reading and writing experiences using specialized learning strategies. My teachers helped me learn to read books by looking at pictures, acting out stories and reading text.</p>
<h2>Left, right, tar</h2>
<p>A crucial event occurred in my second year of first grade that helped crystallize the visual cues I was being trained to see.</p>
<p>It was the summer of 1977. The roads of my small town were being resurfaced with asphalt and tar and I did what any inquisitive young boy would do: I stepped right into the middle of the warm, gooey stuff.</p>
<p>Predictably, it stuck to the side of one of my shoes. </p>
<p>The next morning, I lined up the shoes so they stuck together perfectly. Next, I slid my feet into the correct left and right shoes.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=653&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179503/original/file-20170724-16930-1tbvdop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the ‘70’s, they didn’t have cute stickers to help me figure out which shoe was which.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://shoezooz.com/">Shoezooz</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I was elated.</p>
<p>For the first time, I was able to place my shoes on the right feet using that sticky tar as visual and <a href="http://vark-learn.com/strategies/kinesthetic-strategies/">kinesthetic</a> cues that my teachers had taught me. I was independent.</p>
<p>This was the beginning of understanding visual cues to learn to read, write and tell left from right. Even though it still took a while, I learned to make the connections.</p>
<p>For instance, when one of my teachers told me I needed to write on the correct side, I still didn’t understand. I asked, “What’s the correct side?” She said, “Write from left to right.” </p>
<p>I asked what are left and right. She took my paper, moved the holes of the paper to one side of my desk and said, “The holes face this way, left.”</p>
<p>I looked in that direction and saw these huge windows. </p>
<p>I still remember thinking, “This is like my shoes and that tar.” I knew it was unlikely the windows would move, so every time I began to write, I moved the holes of my paper toward the windows. </p>
<p>I learned to adjust to my visual landmarks if my desk moved by asking people what was my left. </p>
<p>I never wrote on the wrong side again.</p>
<h2>Legs, loops, letters</h2>
<p>Once I understood spatial relationships, I made new discoveries with letters and numbers, finding that some have “legs” and “loops” that faced the holes in the notebook paper while others faced in the opposite direction. </p>
<p>For instance, letters and numbers like a, d, 7, 3, and Jj faced the holes, while Bb, L, Ee, Ff, and Cc faced away from the holes. There were confusing ones like Zz, 5, Ss, and 2 that had loops and legs that faced toward and faced away from the holes on the notebook paper. I had to memorize or review them each time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178908/original/file-20170719-13534-1i865tt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For people with dyslexia, learning letters and numbers can require special strategies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/learning-write-abc-384722392?src=qzm6n2uoLBzOgEteMvslJQ-1-4">Cmspic/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As I learned to write, I learned to read better too. I could call some words out orally and use pictures to fill in the missing parts. </p>
<p>Using visual cues and working with my peers and teachers were the solutions to learning, reading and writing. Also, I could persuade peers to read to me, and piece the meaning together like a puzzle.</p>
<p>Later, using visual cues helped me play football and drive a car. And it all started with tar and some teachers holding my hand.</p>
<h2>College and beyond</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=866&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89577/original/image-20150723-22816-1gu63wn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1088&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author, James Gentry, in his college graduation photo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Learning with learning challenges is never easy. But higher education proved to be an even greater challenge. </p>
<p>Spelling often seemed to me to be an insurmountable challenge. Professors required me to type my papers, but the end result resembled patchwork drywall thanks to the amount of white correction tape I used to correct misspelled words. </p>
<p>That’s when I found something that was as life-changing as the tar-on-my-shoes experience: the invention and availability of the personal computer.</p>
<p>I purchased an IBM clone with a word processing program that would review and check spelling. Once I used the word processor to complete various written assignments for college, I was like a caveman who discovered fire. I could turn in clean documents without worrying about handwriting legibility or the letters facing the wrong direction. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178910/original/file-20170719-26705-18bgi53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A personal computer – with word processing and spellchecking software – helped me overcome dyslexia and become a writer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stiefkind/6981093960/">Wolfgang Stief</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I was free. I could be a writer.</p>
<p>I completed my bachelor of science degree in psychology with a 4.0 grade point average. Later, while working as a schoolteacher, I completed my master’s degree in special education and my doctor of education degree in curriculum and instruction, again with a 4.0 grade point average.</p>
<h2>Making a difference</h2>
<p>I’m now a teacher. And as an associate professor at Tarleton State University, I work with students and their parents to focus on their abilities and not their disabilities – just like my teachers did.</p>
<p>And I still face the same learning challenges that I did as a young boy.</p>
<p>My experiences and challenges have enabled me to listen to my students more. I model every day the value of building relationships and collaborative learning. My school days taught me that learning occurs best when done together.</p>
<p>In 2016, the students at my university selected me as a speaker for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyC-7e4MbJE">Tarleton’s “Last Lecture” speaker series</a>. I shared my story. I wanted our students with disabilities to know, “You are not alone!”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/179517/original/file-20170724-24759-y54zds.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2016, James Gentry was asked to deliver a lecture about his experiences as a disabled professor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tarleton State University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since this speech, I’ve had numerous students and professors come up to me to describe various learning challenges they’ve endured for most of their lives. Many of them are still working to overcome these challenges today.</p>
<p>This experience has helped me to discover that we’re all working to do our best with the challenges we face. Hiding or ignoring learning challenges is lonely and sad. We all – humans, I mean – have challenges in common. If anything, sharing and overcoming them together is the new reality.</p>
<p>We’re all different, and that’s a good thing. Remember that you have something to offer the world: a thought, a story, a new way to do something or some creation that may change the world for the better. Please be brave and overcome that challenge. We need you. You belong. You’re not alone.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://dredf.org/advocacy/comparison.html">Americans with Disabilities Act</a> and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act before it have given me and others like me the opportunity to thrive.</p>
<p>And what a difference that has made in our worlds.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cyC-7e4MbJE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/my-disabilities-do-not-define-me-i-am-jim-45081">article</a> originally published on July 24, 2015.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/81157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Gentry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The story of a six-year-old boy with dyslexia who, with support from friends and teachers, became a successful professor. Now he teaches teachers how to help children like him.James Gentry, Associate Professor, Tarleton State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/734752017-03-28T09:38:07Z2017-03-28T09:38:07ZAnalysing the way children sleep could help us to understand autism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162885/original/image-20170328-30776-12apovu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On average, humans spend roughly a <a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/org/ncsdr/">third of their lives asleep</a>. This might sound like quite a long time, but sleep has been shown to be vital for “normal” human functioning. Without enough sleep, things go downhill for most people pretty quickly.</p>
<p>As well as being vital for getting through the day, sleep is well known to play an important part in the process of memory making – sleep helps us take newly formed “fragile memories” and make them “robust”. Through sleep, our brains hit the “save” button, allowing us to transfer memories to a long-term storage system.</p>
<p>Research from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19933145">Sleep Language and Memory</a> (SLAM) lab at the University of York has focused on the relationship between sleep and language learning. This research has shown that sleep plays a role in strengthening our memories for newly learned words – for both adults and children. </p>
<p>We found that people who get more deep sleep <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989532/">show bigger improvements</a> in their memory for new words after sleep. And that going to sleep after learning new words also allows those words to be embedded into the brain’s mental dictionary – meaning these words begin to behave like words we already know. </p>
<p>As part of this research, children learned new words before and after a period of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01172.x/abstract">wakefulness or sleep</a>. Greater improvements in vocabulary learning were seen after a period of sleep, compared with the equivalent time spent awake. So in essence, children who learned new words then went to sleep were able to better recall the words, compared to the children who learned the new words and just stayed awake.</p>
<p>And with this in mind, the SLAM lab is now working out the optimal delay between learning something new and going to sleep. This includes the use of bedtime stories for vocabulary learning in children. </p>
<h2>Sleep and developmental disorders</h2>
<p>But outside of learning new words, this research could also help to better understand developmental disorders. This is because children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia often have <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.13506/full">sleep problems</a> and as part of our research, we are looking at how these sleep problems impact on children’s learning. </p>
<p>Sleep difficulties are thought to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10578-006-0028-3?LI=true">affect up to 86%</a> of the ASD population, and given that we know about sleep and the learning of vocabulary, it’s clear these sleepless nights could be having a damaging impact on these children’s lives. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162746/original/image-20170327-3303-1eeq379.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many children have sleep issues. But for those on the autism spectrum, sleeping well may be particularly difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13682820903461493">Levels of vocabulary</a> in children with ASD vary dramatically. While some children have typical or above average vocabularies, many children with ASD show delays in early language acquisition – and often have smaller vocabularies than expected for their age. Researchers cannot currently explain this diversity, but it is suspected that sleep difficulties play a key part. </p>
<p>And <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12169/abstract">our own research</a> has also shown that children with ASD show almost the reverse pattern in terms of word learning and sleeping – so sleep doesn’t seem to have the same memory making impact for these children in terms of vocabulary.</p>
<h2>Impact on education</h2>
<p>Our research is now beginning to untangle whether sleep difficulties might impact on learning difficulties in children with autism. And we are doing this by recording brain activity while children sleep in their own beds. </p>
<p>As yet, there has been no investigation into how poor sleep patterns may impact on the language learning difficulties that characterise ASD. So this is exactly what our research aims to address. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162887/original/image-20170328-30794-15zazvp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Can sleep disturbances impact a child’s ability to learn?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The SLAM lab, along with University College London, was recently awarded funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for the SleepSmart project, which will look at how sleep supports language learning in both children who are developing “typically” as well as children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). </p>
<p>This type of research is vitally important and could potentially make a difference to many children’s lives. And this all comes at a time when researchers are beginning to understand the importance of sleep – particularly for learning and memory. </p>
<p>Yet historically far more emphasis has been placed on what we do while awake than what we do when we’re sleeping. Which is why it’s time to start giving sleep – especially for children – the respect that it deserves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Henderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Can disturbed sleep patterns have an impact on a child’s ability to acquire language and vocabulary?Lisa Henderson, Lecturer in Psychology, specialising in the development and disorders of language, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/636842016-10-07T11:08:05Z2016-10-07T11:08:05ZFive iPad apps that can help students with dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140517/original/image-20161005-14215-106tpw6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The right app can help a child with dyslexia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Billion Photos/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is estimated that around <a href="http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/page/facts-and-figures-about-dyslexia-0">one in ten people</a> have dyslexia – a common learning difficulty which can cause problems with reading, writing and spelling. But dyslexia can cause more than just spelling difficulties, because it effects a person’s self-esteem and self-worth. Many dyslexics feel that they are “stupid” or “dumb”, but this is simply not the case. And in fact, most dyslexic students are no different to their non-dyslexic peers in their understanding of their academic subject.</p>
<p><a href="http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/tools/apps">Research</a> shows that many dyslexic students can benefit from using apps to help aid their learning. This is because apps can help dyslexic learners with <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-starting-university-with-dyslexia-50035">specific cognitive difficulties</a> making it easier to process particular kinds of information. Apps can also help dyslexic students overcome some of the challenges that come with learning in an environment that isn’t gearerd up to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-starting-university-with-dyslexia-50035">dyslexic styles of learning</a>” – such as non-interactive lectures and timed, written examinations – which many dyslexic students find hard to do. </p>
<p>This kind of <a href="http://mjay2.weebly.com/what-is-assertive-technology--content-3.html">assistive technology</a> is also important in the workplace. And below are my top five apps for iPads for dyslexic learners of any age.</p>
<h2><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/popplet-lite/id364738549?mt=8">Popplet Lite</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140504/original/image-20161005-14215-z7s5mc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Popplet is great for school and for learning in the classroom and at home.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is a brilliant app that constructs mindmaps – which can be a great tool to help learners see the bigger picture. It basically helps users to capture and organise their ideas. With the app you can quick jot down your ideas and sort them visually. </p>
<p>As a lot of dyslexics are visual learners, being able to make a spider diagram or link ideas helps with organisation. This can be really useful and can save a lot of time, as many dyslexic students spend so much intellectual effort trying to spell and make a grammatical sentence that they can forget what the big picture is. Mind mapping is a great way to show the detail in any big picture.</p>
<p><strong>Cost:free</strong></p>
<p><br>
<br></p>
<h2><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sonocent-recorder/id888823208?mt=8">Sonocent</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140507/original/image-20161005-14221-1ykkyvc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sonocent Recorder takes accurate records of classes.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sonocent records live talks such as lessons but could also be used in a meeting. It is easy to use and you can highlight key moments in the audio to make it easier to find things later. </p>
<p>The app also allows you to add photos right alongside your audio and type brief notes for further context – which is ideal for lectures.</p>
<p>As most speakers talk very fast, having dyslexia means spending more time physically recording and trying to keep up. These tools are great and can save you a lot of time transcribing.</p>
<p>There are alternatives such as <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sonocent-recorder/id888823208?mt=8">NoteTalker</a> which does a similar job but isn’t free.</p>
<p><strong>Cost:free</strong></p>
<p><br>
<br></p>
<h2><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/clarospeak-free/id977258467?mt=8">ClaroSpeak </a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140509/original/image-20161005-14236-dm8glh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Type into ClaroSpeak and have the text read back to you.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clarospeak is a writing app that provides a list of words for you to select from. It can then read these back to you. It offers a good range of colour and font settings to allow for optimum reading, and word prediction to help with writing. You can also use it to help you proofread any documents or essays by listening back to what you’ve written.</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/clarospeak-plus/id845128025?mt=8">ClaroSpeak Plus</a> is a paid-for version that adds Optical Character Reading to enable any text book to be scanned and edited electronically. It can even capture text from a photo – meaning you can take a photo of your text book and have it read back to you.</p>
<p><strong>Cost:free</strong></p>
<p><br>
<br></p>
<h2><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vbookz-pdf-voice-reader-us/id497274026?mt=8">vbookz</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140510/original/image-20161005-14212-gfy31c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">vBookz on iPad.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>PDFs are now used extensively in most walks of life – and especially at university and school. If you have problems with reading, this great little app will help you have PDFs read back to you. An interactive cursor allows users to follow along, pause reading or even repeat lines to ensure reading comprehension.</p>
<p>This app is available for both the iPad and iPhone which means you can read your documents on the go. It works with your email account to directly open PDFs and read them to you.</p>
<p><strong>Cost:free</strong></p>
<p><br>
<br></p>
<h2><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/clicker-sentences/id575603433?mt=8">Clicker Sentences</a></h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140515/original/image-20161005-14208-1uoortd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Helps learners build sentences with whole words.</span>
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</figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140516/original/image-20161005-14243-1xm20md.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adding a picture to each sentence provides pupils with an additional cue.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clicker Sentences is designed for primary aged learners and provides a grid selection of words for the learner to construct a sentence with. </p>
<p>Pupils tap words in the grid to build sentences in the simple word processor, then hear each sentence automatically spoken aloud as they complete it, helping them to identify any mistakes and make corrections. </p>
<p>It is great for developing young pupils’ writing skills and build struggling writers’ confidence.</p>
<p><strong>Cost:£24.99</strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63684/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Myles Pilling is affiliated with BATA council member - non- for profit organisation of suppliers of Assistive Technology and AT professionals in giving assistive technology solutions to the public</span></em></p>Dyslexic? There’s an app for that.Myles Pilling, External lecturer, Assistive Technologist, Specialist SEND ICT Consultant, Bath Spa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/500352016-10-03T15:44:51Z2016-10-03T15:44:51ZHere’s what you need to know about starting university with dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139250/original/image-20160926-31849-oqv7vh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stocked House Studio/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Going to university can be a test for anyone, fresh, or not-so-fresh from school. Students are not only expected to adapt to independent study and increased reading loads, but they also have to learn as soon as possible how to “do” the kind of academic writing and academic talk their given field demands. And for those students with dyslexia, this can be <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2012.01231.x/abstract">particularly challenging</a>. </p>
<p>Dyslexic students are normally no different to their non-dyslexic peers in their understanding of their academic subject, but dyslexia can make things like reading course books, writing essays and remembering lecture points harder to do. And there can also be difficulties for dyslexic students in getting their <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687599.2016.1152951">words and ideas</a> across in seminars and tutorials.</p>
<p>These things are hard partly because of specific cognitive difficulties with processing particular kinds of information, and partly because of the way schools and universities tend to structure and assess learning – through non-interactive lectures and timed, written examination. And because there is a lot of <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-27/edition-8/end-dyslexia">disagreement about what dyslexia actually means</a> in terms of cognitive function, it can also be difficult to agree on what to do about it, in practice.</p>
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<h2>Grade driven learning</h2>
<p>In today’s society being academically literate is particularly valued – with the most successful learner often seen as the one who gets the highest grades. High grades are often thought to go hand-in-hard with hard work, meaning lower grades are often thought to imply a lack of effort and a lack of academic ability – the twin-evils of “laziness” and “stupidity”. </p>
<p>But part of the challenge for dyslexia and learning isn’t so much that dyslexic people can’t keep up with complex ideas, it’s more that they may need to approach tasks in a different way to get the learning to make sense, and to “stick”. So when a student with dyslexia finds their learning preferences don’t fit so well with the learning environments on offer, they will often use additional study aids – such as speech-to-text software, mind-mapping applications and “<a href="https://www.texthelp.com/en-gb/products/read-and-write-family--">read and write text help</a>” – in addition to attending regular tutorials with a specialist teacher to work on their academic literacy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139251/original/image-20160926-31856-1w49jin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Having dyslexia can make learning difficult at university.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>But sometimes dyslexic students (and their peers) feel that using additional study help gives them an an unfair leg-up. This means that although dyslexic students have a right <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance">under the law</a> to make use of things – like extra time in exams and specialist tuition – doing so can be a threat to their sense of self-worth and academic identity. </p>
<p>In other words, they can feel like they are not really “intelligent” if they can’t do the work without making use of adjustments. This can lead dyslexic students to play down their difficulties, and to refuse help. And students with dyslexia will sometimes try to go it alone, so to speak, to work hard and “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2015.1092510">just deal with it</a>” – even though they will be disadvantaged by this approach. This can leave dyslexic students in a lose-lose situation.</p>
<h2>Peer support?</h2>
<p>Working out when to access support at university is further complicated by the uncertainty of how the students and staff they come across will react to a disclosure of dyslexia. Media representations of dyslexia have tended to be rather sensationalist, and often follow the “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2570977/PETER-HITCHENS-Dyslexia-not-disease-It-excuse-bad-teachers.html">dyslexia as a myth</a>” line without care for the details of the studies which they refer to. </p>
<p>Attitudes towards dyslexia among <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/cthe/2012/00000017/00000003/art00009">academic staff can also vary</a>, and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075079.2015.1092510">peers can react in unexpected ways</a> – saying things like “that’s ridiculous, why do you get a printer just because you’re dyslexic?”. </p>
<p>Dyslexic students have to be ever-ready to explain what dyslexia means and how it affects them to whomever needs to know. They may need to declare it to their personal tutor one day, to an exams invigilator another, and to their housemate the next. And in each case they need to guess how their declaration will be received – which can be exhausting. </p>
<p>A dyslexic student may also find themselves stuck between contradictory ideas about who they are as a dyslexic person, and what they should be doing about it. And in this sense they internalise the apparent “common-sense view” that they are solely responsible for the difficulties they experience. </p>
<h2>Rethinking dyslexia</h2>
<p>So, to dyslexic students who have just begun their university education, it is time for you to rethink the concept of disability – because it is not a dirty word. The disabling aspects of dyslexia are not inside you, but rather they are part of a particular educational set-up and learning environment. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139254/original/image-20160926-31856-qutboi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Don’t let dyslexia hold you back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Syda Productions/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>To tackle this, work out which situations at university put you at a disadvantage compared to other students, and make use of any adjustments you need to help you. It’s not an unfair leg-up, it’s simply a small step towards evening the playing field. </p>
<p>You should also make use of specialist dyslexia tutors, because they not only there to help you develop academic skills and confidence, but more importantly they can also help you critically reflect upon what dyslexia means for you and your learning. </p>
<p>And finally, remember you are not to blame for some of the difficulties you may experience in university learning, so be kind to yourself. These difficulties are nothing to do with how worthy you are, or how “clever” you are – and you belong at university just as much as anyone else does.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50035/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Harriet Cameron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It is time for you to rethink the concept of disability – because it is not a dirty word.Harriet Cameron, Academic Director: specific learning difficulties in higher education, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633182016-09-25T19:32:58Z2016-09-25T19:32:58ZWhat brain regions control our language? And how do we know this?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137024/original/image-20160908-25244-1zf7n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Our language abilities are enabled by a co-ordinated network of brain regions that have evolved to give humans a sophisticated ability to communicate.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/homeofbastian/2830133659/in/photolist-5j6b8V-2YLMgN-fdTet2-7E3qmp-dPDTKu-FvFi2-3Z7wR-e77LXU-ezqVA5-dQJ17i-ae4PEz-efSzmw-3eVbfC-ksi7-7Yvcat-8uRQV3-4QjLhj-3gSMF-7kA9JT-8VBQJX-6XfwDL-aaUhVY-6us67C-nqLMx7-95FwVE-dW52ER-ekqqxZ-f5EWZ7-bD3QnG-azHACF-2d1ebs-4pnRe7-a8x7N1-aKvFiX-c8SU6A-nAhRbL-bxzm7F-4wr7ZJ-hrX29-9U6cxS-5gknjQ-9u5Wvw-6YHDmi-kkyR4p-8jnvRE-7P2tfd-rFK9Nx-cvHKWA-bD3PH9-BPupf">[bastian.]/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The brain is key to our existence, but there’s a long way to go before neuroscience can truly capture its staggering capacity. For now, though, our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/brain-control-series-31489">Brain Control series</a> explores what we do know about the brain’s command of six central functions: language, mood, memory, vision, personality and motor skills – and what happens when things go wrong.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>When you read something, you first need to detect the words and then to interpret them by determining context and meaning. This complex process involves many brain regions. </p>
<p>Detecting text usually involves the <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter15.html">optic nerve and other nerve bundles</a> delivering signals from the eyes to the visual cortex at the back of the brain. If you are reading in Braille, you use the <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter04.html">sensory cortex</a> towards the top of the brain. If you listen to someone else reading, then you use the <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter13.html">auditory cortex</a> not far from your ears. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter08.html">system of regions</a> towards the back and middle of your brain help you interpret the text. These include the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4107834/">angular gyrus</a> in the parietal lobe, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb25546.x/abstract">Wernicke’s area</a> (comprising mainly the top rear portion of the temporal lobe), <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4885738/">insular cortex</a>, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2424405/">basal ganglia and cerebellum</a>.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138932/original/image-20160923-25499-1v86vev.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<hr>
<p>These regions work together as a network to process words and word sequences to determine context and meaning. This enables our receptive language abilities, which means the ability to understand language. Complementary to this is expressive language, which is the ability to produce language. </p>
<p>To speak sensibly, you must think of words to convey an idea or message, formulate them into a sentence according to grammatical rules and then use your lungs, vocal cords and mouth to create sounds. Regions in your frontal, temporal and parietal lobes formulate what you want to say and the <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s3/chapter03.html">motor cortex</a>, in your frontal lobe, enables you to speak the words.</p>
<p>Most of this language-related brain activity is likely occurring in the left side of your brain. But some people use an even mix of both sides and, rarely, some have right dominance for language. There is an evolutionary view that <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/45/10351.long">specialisation of certain functions to one side or the other</a> may be an advantage, as many animals, especially vertebrates, exhibit brain function with prominence on one side.</p>
<p>Why the left side is favoured for language isn’t known. But we do know that injury or conditions such as <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/67/10/1813">epilepsy, if it affects the left side of the brain</a> early in a child’s development, can increase the chances language will develop on the right side. The chance of the person being left-handed is also increased. This makes sense, because the left side of the body is controlled by the motor cortex on the right side of the brain.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138756/original/image-20160922-22540-xt2j8i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">To speak sensibly, you must think of words to convey an idea or message, formulate them into a sentence according to grammatical rules and then use your lungs, vocal cords and mouth to create sounds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulpod/478995331/in/photolist-JjYCc-yKtpE-6GWm9M-8Bo6Kj-eQM8tp-dB1fWn-53382S-5NyF79-abEHgE-qtbHu-8s9MD-iLV85-4vmaxd-4Q14um-eMgfdz-8kqWBn-aJifav-qvck3-8ku5Rw-o4rcHW-ac55u-7piWQa-dDNWKm-8kqUgt-ekqH7B-6Zo69a-86iZdJ-gCnhb3-m9KL4-5cDdfX-6DqwK3-6MBJJ-qpjzf-3cyUdJ-afF9dL-nr3wd-9t4HD2-6AQmA1-ojh79-2hshBG-3d7qaZ-agQ1vn-4VBLqh-4ebAFg-8pjxvJ-pkr9jn-cgc9fw-4rAjC4-Yfc67-aieCb3">paul pod/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Selective problems</h2>
<p>In 1861, French neurologist Pierre Paul Broca described a patient unable to speak who had no motor impairments to account for the inability. A postmortem examination showed a lesion in a large <a href="http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Broca/perte-e.htm">area towards the lower middle of his left frontal lobe</a> particularly important in language formulation. This is now known as <a href="http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter08.html">Broca’s area</a>. </p>
<p>The clinical symptom of being unable to speak despite having the motor skills is known as expressive aphasia, or Broca’s aphasia.</p>
<p>In 1867, Carl Wernicke observed an opposite phenomenon. A patient was able to speak but not understand language. This is known as receptive aphasia, or Wernicke’s aphasia. The damaged region, as you might correctly guess, is the Wernicke’s area mentioned above.</p>
<p>Scientists have also observed injured patients with <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01067101">other selective problems</a>, such as an inability to understand most words except nouns; or words with unusual spelling, such as those with silent consonants, like reign. </p>
<p>These difficulties are thought to arise from damage to selective areas or connections between regions in the brain’s language network. However, precise localisation can often be difficult given the complexity of individuals’ symptoms and the uncontrolled nature of their brain injury.</p>
<p>We also know the brain’s language regions work together as a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811912004703">co-ordinated network</a>, with some parts involved in multiple functions and a level of redundancy in some processing pathways. So it’s not simply a matter of one brain region doing one thing in isolation. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138758/original/image-20160922-22530-1mflhwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=977&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Broca’s area is named after French neurologist Pierre Paul Broca.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Broca_2.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do we know all this?</h2>
<p>Before advanced medical imaging, most of our knowledge came from observing unfortunate patients with injuries to particular brain parts. One could relate the approximate region of damage to their specific symptoms. Broca’s and Wernicke’s observations are well-known examples.</p>
<p>Other knowledge was inferred from brain-stimulation studies. Weak electrical stimulation of the brain while a patient is awake is sometimes performed in patients undergoing surgery to remove a lesion such as a tumour. The stimulation causes that part of the brain to stop working for a few seconds, which can enable the surgeon to identify areas of critically important function to avoid damaging during surgery. </p>
<p>In the mid-20th century, this helped neurosurgeons discover more about the <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/855.html">localisation of language function in the brain</a>. It was clearly demonstrated that while most people have language originating on the left side of their brain, some could have language originating on the right.</p>
<p>Towards the later part of the 20th century, if a surgeon needed to find out which side of your brain was responsible for language – so he didn’t do any damage – he would put to sleep one side of your brain with an anaesthetic. The doctor would then ask you a series of questions, determining your language side from your ability or inability to answer them. This invasive test (which is less often used today due to the availability of functional brain imaging) is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1076/jhin.8.3.286.1819">known as the Wada test</a>, named after Juhn Wada, who first described it just after the second world war.</p>
<h2>Brain imaging</h2>
<p>Today, we can get a much better view of brain function by using imaging techniques, especially magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a safe procedure that uses magnetic fields to take pictures of your brain. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138760/original/image-20160922-22540-8fqobz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When we see activity in a region of the brain, that’s when there is an increase in freshly oxygenated blood flow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using MRI to measure brain function is called functional MRI (fMRI), which detects signals from magnetic properties of blood in vessels supplying oxygen to brain cells. The fMRI signal changes depending on <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/89/13/5951">whether the blood is carrying oxygen</a>, which means it slightly reduces the magnetic field, or has delivered up its oxygen, which slightly increases the magnetic field. </p>
<p>A few seconds after brain neurons become active in a brain region, there is an increase in freshly oxygenated blood flow to that brain part, much more than required to satisfy the oxygen demand of the neurons. This is what we see when we say a brain region is activated during certain functions.</p>
<p>Brain-imaging methods have revealed that much more of our brain is involved in language processing than previously thought. We now know that <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811912004703">numerous regions in every major lobe</a> (frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes; and the cerebellum, an area at the bottom of the brain) are involved in our ability to produce and comprehend language. </p>
<p>Functional MRI is also becoming a useful clinical tool. In some centres it has replaced the Wada test to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20097290">determine where language is in the brain</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists are also using fMRI to build up a finer picture of how the brain processes language by designing experiments that compare which areas are active during various tasks. For instance, researchers have observed <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322302013653">differences in brain language regions</a> of dyslexic children compared to those without dyslexia. </p>
<p>Researchers compared fMRI images of groups of children with and without dyslexia while they performed language-related tasks. They found that dyslexic children had, on average, less activity in Broca’s area mainly on the left during this task. They also had less activity in or near Wernicke’s area on the left and right, and a portion of the front of the temporal lobe on the right. </p>
<p>Could this type of brain imaging provide a diagnostic signature of dyslexia? This is a work-in-progress, but we hope further study will one day lead to a robust, objective and early brain-imaging test for dyslexia and other disorders.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Want to know how the brain controls your mood? Read today’s accompanying piece <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-emotion-centre-is-the-oldest-part-of-the-human-brain-why-is-mood-so-important-63324">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Abbott receives fellowship funding from the Australian National Imaging Facility. He has received grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), the Australian Research Council, and the National Institutes of Health (USA). David works at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and has honorary affiliations with The University of Melbourne. The Florey acknowledges support from the Victorian Government and in particular the funding from the Operational Infrastructure Support Grant.</span></em></p>When you read this text, certain regions in your brain begin working more than others. Advanced imaging allows scientists to map the brain networks responsible for understanding language.David Abbott, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Epilepsy Neuroinformatics Laboratory, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental HealthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/593162016-06-21T20:11:16Z2016-06-21T20:11:16ZSpacing of letters, not shape of letters, slightly increases reading speed of those with dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127260/original/image-20160620-9559-usuw68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Arial font was as effective as Dyslexie front when the spacing of letters and words were enlarged.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2008, a new font designed called “Dyslexie” was labelled “<a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/31480740/new-font-a-breakthrough-for-dyslexics/#page1">a breakthrough</a>” by the media for reportedly being about to help increase the reading speed of those with dyslexia. It received media attention worldwide. Publishers even announced they were going to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/books-just-the-type-to-help-tame-dyslexia/news-story/6a9c75ba9d7c1e4175b3136b3af8a5b2">publish books</a> in the font.</p>
<p>This is despite there being hardly any empirical evidence for the efficacy of Dyslexie.</p>
<p>We conducted a study to see if Dyslexie is indeed more effective than a commonly used sans serif font (Arial) and, if so, whether this can be explained by its special letter design.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dys.1527/abstract;jsessionid=05EAC01A23C6222730B122EA2DC876B1.f03t02">Our results</a> found that the benefits of Dyslexie font were pretty small, and that the slight gain to reading speed was actually down to the spacing of the letters and words rather than the specially designed letter shapes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The design</h2>
<p>Dyslexie’s hallmark is its letter shapes. These shapes have heavy bases which are postulated to suppress the supposed tendency of individuals with dyslexia to mirror-reverse or rotate letters. Dutch artist Christian Boer, who designed the font, aimed to make the letters as distinct as possible from each other to avoid confusion between letters. </p>
<h2>Disproving the effectiveness of Dyslexie</h2>
<p>In our research we tested 39 English speaking low-progress readers from grades 2 to 6. The children were asked to read texts of similar difficulty in Arial and Dyslexie font that had the same letter-display size, but differed in the degree of word and letter spacing. </p>
<p>Our findings show that the Dyslexie font increased reading speed by just 7%. To put this into perspective, in order to match the reading speed of normal readers at least a 70-100% improvement is needed. </p>
<h2>Arial gives same results</h2>
<p>Importantly, the same gain could be obtained with Arial font when we enlarged the spacing settings.</p>
<p>In most individuals with dyslexia, the cognitive problems that cause their reading impairment are beyond the early visual letter processing level. Many people with dyslexia struggle to learn the rules for sounding out letters. In this case there is no reason to assume that specific letter shapes would assist in making reading easier. </p>
<p><a>Previous research</a> has also shown that individuals with dyslexia can benefit to a small extent from larger spacing of objects. This is because they struggle more than their normal reading peers to process objects that are presented closely together. In the case of reading, these objects would be words or letters. However, more research is needed to validate this interpretation. </p>
<p>Based on our research and earlier findings, it is clear that typesetting factors like spacing can only marginally contribute to reading improvement in individuals who struggle with reading. </p>
<p>To significantly improve reading it is important to concentrate on remediation of the specific underlying cause(s) of the reading impairment, like training rules for converting print to speech sounds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Marinus receives funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders (CE1 10001021), <a href="http://www.ccd.edu.au">www.ccd.edu.au</a> </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Wheldall is an Emeritus Professor of Macquarie University, Sydney. He is also the Chairman of MultiLit Pty Ltd of which he is a shareholder and from which he receives financial benefit.</span></em></p>A new font designed called ‘Dyslexie’ was labelled ‘a breakthrough’ by the media for reportedly being about to help increase the reading speed of those with dyslexia. But does it really work?Eva Marinus, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Macquarie UniversityKevin Wheldall, Emeritus Professor of Education, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/513992016-01-14T19:21:34Z2016-01-14T19:21:34ZSchools need advice on how to help students with reading difficulties<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108110/original/image-20160114-10409-jsq940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some students struggle with reading and need to be taught in different ways. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As students prepare to go back to school, it’s estimated that between <a href="https://www.ldaustralia.org/disabilities-and-dyslexia.html">10% to 16%</a> of those aged from five to 16 years will have reading difficulties such as dyslexia and inadequate comprehension skills.</p>
<p>All teaching makes particular assumptions about how students tend to learn. For these students, regular literacy teaching will be insufficient. They need alternative teaching pathways. </p>
<p>Despite numerous policies, such as the <a href="http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/content/npa/education/smarter_schools/literacy_numeracy/national_partnership.pdf">Literacy and Numeracy National Partnership</a>, and the <a href="http://www.budget.gov.au/2013-14/content/glossy/gonski_policy/download/NPSI.pdf">A$706.3 million</a> spent between 2008-2014 on reading programs to support students, <a href="https://www.acer.edu.au/documents/MR_PISA2006-6AtRiskStudents.pdf">literacy underachievement</a> continues to <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/literacy-numeracy-skills">plague Australian education</a>, suggesting that current interventions are not working for all students. Teachers <a href="https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/e247d1a7a88786caca2576d4001905cc/$FILE/Submission%2074.pdf">don’t necessarily know</a> how to teach these children. </p>
<p>The problem is not a lack of research about what works. It is more the lack of guidance for teachers and schools in how to use this knowledge in teaching. </p>
<p>School leaders are responsible for making definitive decisions about educational provision in their schools. They need clear and explicit guidelines on how to choose effective literacy interventions that will work for these students.</p>
<h2>Why do some students struggle with reading?</h2>
<p>Reading comprehension is a <a href="http://www.ite.org.uk/ite_readings/simple_view_reading.pdf">complex process</a>. Students have difficulty comprehending text for several reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Some don’t know the sounds that make up spoken words (phonological and phonemic skills) or have difficulty saying letter patterns accurately (phonic skills). These lead to word reading and spelling difficulties, or dyslexia. </p></li>
<li><p>Some lack the vocabulary and other oral language knowledge that scaffolds reading comprehension. </p></li>
<li><p>Others have a relatively poor self-concept as a reader. They believe they can’t learn to read and disengage from literacy. </p></li>
<li><p>Some students don’t transfer what they learn about reading some texts to other texts. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Any interventions, then, need to cater for this range of differences. </p>
<h2>What’s needed</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/research/supported/Pages/nrp.aspx">Research suggests</a> that reading comprehension could be improved by teaching:</p>
<ul>
<li>explicitly phonological and phonemic skills</li>
<li>phonic skills</li>
<li>how to improve reading fluency</li>
<li>ways to enhance vocabulary</li>
<li>paraphrasing</li>
<li>how to visualise and summarise what a text says while reading, and generate questions </li>
<li>how to use various idea-organising techniques such as concept mapping to link the ideas in the text. </li>
</ul>
<p>Teaching the sound patterns and how to say written works is particularly useful for dyslexic difficulties.</p>
<h2>Interventions that work</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/research/catholiceduofcerikabstract.pdf">Early Reading Intervention Knowledge (ERIK)</a> program is an example of how research can be used to develop school-based interventions.</p>
<p>Developed from a large <a href="https://students.education.unimelb.edu.au/selage/pub/readings/literacyld/literacy_intervention-1.pdf">research analysis</a> of the causes of early reading difficulties in the early 2000s, it has been used in grade 1-5 in Catholic primary schools in Victoria.</p>
<p>Students are allocated to one of three parallel intervention pathways depending on their reading difficulty profile; a phonological pathway, an orthographic pathway for students who have phonological skills and difficulty reading letter clusters, and an oral language pathway. Students can move between pathways.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.cem.edu.au/learning-teaching/">recent evaluation</a>, available for Catholic Education Melbourne, showed that the three intervention pathways are very effective in improving the reading outcomes of students who underachieve or are at risk of future reading and writing difficulties. </p>
<p>Effect sizes were calculated for eight reading profiles, based on whether the students began with difficulties in one or more of reading comprehension, accuracy or rate. Students with difficulties in two or more areas improved in excess of two years in comprehension and in accuracy. The intervention usually lasted between one and two terms. </p>
<p>Younger students benefited more from the phonological and orthographic interventions while their older peers benefited more from the oral language intervention. </p>
<p>Findings such as these have implications for schools. </p>
<h2>How to select the right program for your school</h2>
<p>When a school leader is <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-things-to-consider-before-you-buy-into-phonics-programs-50702">selecting a program</a> to help improve students’ literacy outcomes they first need to ask: </p>
<ul>
<li>Does it match the range of ways in which my students underachieve? Students need a program that accommodates their reason for underachievement. </li>
<li>Does it have multiple parallel literacy learning pathways, and doesn’t assume that one size fits all? </li>
<li>Does it have explicit teaching procedures for each pathway? How comprehensive and systematic are they?</li>
<li>Does it provide a means for identifying each student’s literacy learning profile and for deciding the pathway for optimal progress for that student? Or does it assume that all students will best progress by following the same pathway?</li>
<li>What research supports the effectiveness of the intervention? Does it provide data that show that students of different reading profiles make progress using it?</li>
<li>Is it based explicitly on an accepted research theory of how students learn to read? Many programs are not based on a rigorously and extensively researched theory.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are key issues that any school leader who is thoughtfully and responsibly selecting a literacy intervention program in 2016 needs to answer. </p>
<p>Many know their current interventions do not work for all underachieving students. Decisions they make will live with their most academically vulnerable students for years to come. Education providers need to develop clear guidelines to ensure teachers are making appropriate decisions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51399/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Munro received Australian Government funding for the research on which ERIK was based in 2004. He consults periodically for Catholic Education Melbourne. He contributed to the evaluation of ERIK. </span></em></p>Around a fifth of children aged five to 16 will experience reading difficulties. Schools need clear guidelines on how to choose the best literacy programs for their students.John Munro, Associate Professor, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/492012015-10-21T19:27:15Z2015-10-21T19:27:15ZSeven myths about dyslexia put to rest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/105908/original/image-20151215-23172-1bddikd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reading is a complicated task and it can go wrong in many different ways.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>As researchers who study dyslexia, we often read articles or overhear conversations that completely misunderstand what dyslexia is – or how it can be treated.</p>
<p>Dyslexia is the term used to describe someone with reading difficulties – and it affects up to <a href="http://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/index.php?page=what-is-dyslexia">10% of Australians</a>.</p>
<p>A reader with dyslexia may have difficulty in reading unusual words like <em>yacht</em>; have difficulty with nonsense words like <em>frop</em>; misread <em>slime</em> as <em>smile</em>; struggle to understand passages; or struggle in a number of other ways when reading.</p>
<p>To coincide with <a href="http://dyslexiaempowermentweek.com.au/">Dyslexia Empowerment Week</a> – aimed at raising awareness and understanding of the disorder – we highlight the seven most common misconceptions about dyslexia.</p>
<h2>Myth 1: I’m a bad speller because I’m dyslexic</h2>
<p>Some researchers and organisations include spelling problems in their <a href="http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexic/definitions">definition</a> of dyslexia. This can be a problem because spelling and reading are different skills even if they are both based on written language. </p>
<p>There are some processes involved in both spelling and reading, so some people will have problems with both skills. But <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10888430903162878#.VicO1mThC2w">research</a> has clearly shown that many people are good readers, but poor spellers; or good spellers, yet poor readers. </p>
<p>To avoid grouping different kinds of problems together, it is less confusing to use the distinct terms dysgraphia (or spelling impairment) for problems in spelling, and dyslexia (or reading impairment) for reading problems.</p>
<h2>Myth 2: I have trouble with (<em>insert problem here</em>), because I’m dyslexic</h2>
<p>Reading problems are about problems with reading. That may seem obvious, but sometimes problems in other areas become so strongly associated with reading difficulties that they start to be talked about as if they were the same as having a reading difficulty.</p>
<p>For example, some people with reading problems also have problems with some aspects of memory. This can lead people to say things like, “David forgets his lunch box a lot because he’s dyslexic”, but this assumes a connection between the two problems. If dyslexia leads to poor memory, then everyone who has a reading problem should also have memory problems, but this is not at all the case.</p>
<p>In the extreme, one <a href="http://www.dyslexia.com/leonardo.htm">website</a> claims that Leonardo da Vinci had dyslexia not because of any evidence that he had trouble reading, but because he could write backwards and reversed (as in a mirror image). This is clearly using the term far too broadly.</p>
<h2>Myth 3: Dyslexia is the same for everyone</h2>
<p>Though it may not feel like it to many of us, reading is a very complex task which involves many sub-skills and processes. It requires identifying and ordering letters, mapping letter patterns to sounds, and accessing knowledge stored in memory (among other things).</p>
<p>This means that the process can fail in a variety of ways, so as researchers we will almost never say “dyslexia” or “reading impairment” without first discussing what kind of problem we mean. </p>
<p>Does the reader have trouble with new words they have never seen before? Do they mistake <em>broad</em> for <em>board</em> more often than others their age? Do they read <em>have</em> as though it rhymes with <em>save</em>? Do they have trouble understanding what they have read? These are different problems, which don’t necessarily go together.</p>
<h2>Myth 4: There is one way to treat dyslexia</h2>
<p>Since dyslexia is not one problem, there also isn’t a single solution. The particular nature of the reading problem a person has determines the treatment they need. </p>
<p>Based on current evidence, effective treatment of a struggling reader requires first identifying the specific reading problems the reader has, then designing a reading-based program to develop the skills that have fallen behind.</p>
<h2>Myth 5: Gymnastics can cure dyslexia</h2>
<p>Treatments like physical exercise, coloured lenses or coloured paper are not helpful for two reasons. First, they assume that all dyslexias are the same. Second, they have nothing to do with reading. </p>
<p>There are many more “snake oil” treatments out there, and many of them have been adopted by school boards and education administrators with no reliable evidence to support them.</p>
<p>Currently, the <a href="http://www.language-brain.com/docs/Friedmann_Coltheart_types_of_developmental_dyslexia_NaaMax.pdf">evidence</a> favours treatments that are based on developing reading skills that target the specific reading problem.</p>
<h2>Myth 6: Phonics is a waste of time</h2>
<p>This one is a particular challenge in Australia, where many teaching programs do not emphasise phonics in early reading education. As a result, some children who appear to have a form of dyslexia are struggling because of classroom teaching methods. </p>
<p>Phonics helps children learn to read by teaching them how to convert letters into sounds and then blend those sounds into words. Effective teaching methods for reading should always include systematic teaching of <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED479646.pdf">phonics</a>, particularly in the early years.</p>
<h2>Myth 7: Dyslexia runs in my family, so I just have to live with it</h2>
<p>Research has found that genetics can play a role in reading difficulties. Sometimes the phrase “genetic cause” is mistaken for “there’s nothing anyone can do”. This isn’t true for reading difficulties. </p>
<p>No matter the source of the dyslexia, there are treatments that can help - provided the problems are clearly identified, and the treatment is targeted.</p>
<p><em>Researchers in The Reading Program of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders (CCD) at Macquarie University also contributed to this article - see <a href="https://www.ccd.edu.au/news/articles/2015/dylexiareadingimpairment/supplement.html">here</a> for a list of signatories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49201/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Serje Robidoux's position is funded by a grant from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Dyslexia is often poorly understood by the public, leading people to attribute a problem they have, like bad spelling, to dyslexia. Here are the most common misconceptions explained.Serje Robidoux, Postdoctoral research fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.