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ED 235 168 AUTHOR Ngandu, Kathleen M. TITLE Dyslexia and Severe Reading Disability. INSTITUTION American Federation of Teachers,Wathington, DC. Teachers' Network for Education of the Handicapped. SPONS AGENCY Office of Special EducationAnd_Rehabilitative Services (ED), Washington, DC. Div. ofPersonnel Preparation. PUB DATE 81 G007901295 9p.; For related documentS, see SP023 083-088. Guides Non -Classroom Use (055) -- Reports Descriptive (141) -- Reference Materials Bibliographies (131)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Dyslexia: *Educational Strategies;Elementary Education; Instructional Materials;Learning Disabilities; Mainstreaming; *ReadingDiagnosis; *Reading Difficulties; Reading Failure;Remedial Reading; *Student Characteristics;Teacher Role; *Teaching Methods

ABSTRACT This handbook contains advice forthe teacher in diagnosing dyslexia -and developing anindividualized program for overcoming severe rending problems.Observable characteristics of dyslexia are listed as an aid tothe teacher's diagnosis, butit is emphasized that cooperation betweenthe teacher and a reading specialist is of great importancein developing effective instructional plans. Fifty effectiveinstructional strategies are listed which highlight many teachingtechniques and ideas that have been successfully used with severelydisabled readers in_clastroom as well as in clinical settings. Alist of resources with additional information about dyslexia and severereading disability is included. (JD)

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EOUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTT OF EDUCATION F 1)(:(A IIONAL liESOUF7CES INF()FINIA rION AFT Teachers' Network for Education 1.1N TIFF ,F.111E, I14 .11..ntIra,11.rtroli1 c,f1111.41 of the Handicapped tho Loq!,11 1",,,t . M1,1 11.1, twof ,prod, !Hui q.11I, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO ,t11

11$, 14,,III 01, NIL Educational Issues Department

The AFT Teachers' Network for Education of the Handicappedis intended tO faciliLlte regular education teachers' ability towork effectivd} With handicapped children in their classrooms: TheNetWOrk is invOlved in inserVice training and preparation anddissemination of resOrirces to teachers to help accomplish this In conjunction with its dissemination efforts, the Network_ ispublishing a Serie, of rjimphlok onvarious disabilities for teachers who work with handicapped children. These pamphlets provide practical information for use in the regular classroom in relatiOn to the followingdisabilities: hearing; visual, and orthopedic impairments; and special health problems, such as asthma and diabetes.

_Carolyn Trice Project Director

I hi work_ upon which t puhlit.ation I. ha,tt.I W.IN pert or-rvinil pur,uant to Grant .G007001205feint tfic t,ttilt'I.:;.. ()1tig Sptial Falut.ationInLI tit.rvit.t, It not ntct.,aril t view, that agcnt v. "...dyslexia is II you ask ten people what the termtion reflects educators' viewpoints. Today classified as adyslexia means, you will probably get amost teachers, parents, and the general specific learning public do n ,tusually associate brain disability andvariety of responses. The following are funds aretypical answers to the question, "What isdamage with all dyslexic students: A more available throughdyslexia? acceptable definition for dyslexia now the federal I.-DysleAm...011, that's when 0 personcenters on a severe reading disability, ac- government tocan't read anything.- companying an individual with normal or provide special 2. -Yes, my daughters mildly dyslexic,better intelligence. education services In 1968 The National Advisory Corn= to children whobecause she sometimes reverses the letters have this'b' mittee on Dyslexia and Related Reading diability." 3, *Dysle.tia is inherited. If a Mall isDisorders investigated controversies sur-

111151E:;X C, its likely that Ills soils will alsorounding the _term dyslexia. Members of I e dysle-Aic.- this group included educators, medical ex- 4.-it's a disease that affects an in-perts; psychologists, parents, and others dividuals ability to read well.- servicing children with reading problems. 5. -When someone is dyslexic, he hasTheir findings were that "In view of these brain damage, which leads to trouble withdivergencies of opinion (among the group reading. members) the Committee believes that the 0."I think half of my lowest readinguse of the term 'dyslexia' serves nouseful group is dysleAic! There's nothing wrongpurpose." (p. 38) with their vision or hearing, but they have Itis almost impossible to distinguiSh a lot of trouble 'mining to read.- between a child with medical dyslexia and another with severe reading disability The common element in each definition(Bond and Tinker,1967). For reasons is an emphasis on problems with reading.previously outlined, the remainder of this Perception of the extent of reading prob-pamphlet will discuss the term dyslexia as lems, however, varies greatly. The firstsynonymous with the term severereading . definition implies that dyslexia means adisability,focusing on the educational total lack of reading ability, while the sec-rather than the medical definition.It ond quote conveys a much simplified situ-should be noted that under P.L. 94-142 of ation.The thirddefinitionsaysthattheEducationforAllHandicapped genetics plays a role in determining who isChildren Act, dyslexia is classified as a dyslexi.7, and the fourth statement equatesspecific learning disability and funds are dyslexia with a virus. Definition five in-available through the federal government dicates that brain damage accompaniesto provide special education services to dysleXia. Finally, the last quote indicateschildren who have this disabilty. that dyslexic students are those who have difficulty learning to read, when this sub- jectistaught according totraditionalRECOGNIZING A STUDENT basal reading methods. WITH A SEVERE _READING_ The term dyslexia was originally basedDISABILITY OR DYSLEXIA on another term, alexia, which refers to an adult's loss of reading due tobrain in-There are a number of commercial assess- jury; such as cerebral stroke. Medical ex-ment instruments available, such as the perts working with children who did notDyslexic Schedule (McLeod, 1968), which learnto read normally assumed thesesupposedly identify whether or not a stu- children had brainlesionssimilartodent is dyslexic. But many of these tests adultswithacquiredalexia.Thesedo not involve students in regular reading children'Sdifficultiesweretermedactivity. I believe that classroom teachers' "developmental alexia," or dyslexia. observations are a more valid test Of their Althoughthe medicaldefinitionofstudents' reading abilities. Listed below dyslexid, which indicates brain lesion,are several observable characteristics and was commonly accepted during the thebehaviors that may accompany reading 2early 60's, a more contemporary defini-problems. When students exhibit several "...children's ofihrsc qualities in combination; theirstudent reads the printed text, "The boy interest in the readingdill icultiessimultaneouslysaw the dog," as -The boy say the dog,"specific content become more complex: thestudent'spronunciationof"say"they read can intelligence seems normal or evenwould be a miscue, since it was an unan-strongly affect superior; but reading abilities are poor_ ticipated reading of the original wordtheir reading no signs of vision or hearing impair- This is a mispronunciation type ofability." ment and no medical history ofbrainmiscue,sincetheoriginal word was damage; but reading tasks are difficult mispronounced. Other miscue types in: problems following oral or writtenelude word omissions,insertions, and directions substitutions. After the student completes easily distracted the oral reaCing, comprehension ques- writing tasks, including copying; aretions are asked about the reading passage. difficult If the child r-lakes more than 10 miscues problems decoding words through(10%) and scores below 75% on the ques, phonics tions, the reaLling material is considered I requently disruptive during readingto be too difficult for the child to comfor- class tably read during a regular reading group generally seems disorganized situation.By examining thetypesof poor attitude toward reading ac-miscues made, the teacher can determine tivities ifthechild'sdifficultiesaredueto words or whole lines skipped whilevocabulary, grammar; and/or phonics: reading orally It should be noted that children's in- few techniques used to determineterest in the specific content they read can meaning Of unknown words stronglyaffecttheirreadingability. problems comprehending whatisTherefore; itisadvisabletoassess read children's interests in reading. Inventories motor coordination abilities not wellsuch as those developed by Miller (1974) developed_ may readily be used for this purpose: spelling is very poor _ inability to quickly assimilate new information WHICH OTHER typical basal reading materials arePROFESSIONALS not effective CAN HELP YOU? frequently makes comments such as "This is _boring," or "I hate this stuff"Certainly-you will want to refer a student when_assigned reading tasks with a severe reading disability for an low performance on an informalevaluation to determine if special educa- reading inventory tion services are needed, but in the mean- An informal reading inventory (I.R.I.)time, whom can you go to for immediate can be given to a child whom you suspecthelp?Ifyour schoolhasareading has reading problems. This test will helpspecialist, ask this person for assistance in you to determine students' instructionalplanning your students' work. Of course, reading levels as well as to diagnose theira learning disability specialist may also problems while reading. Your readingoffer valuable_ information._ Don't forget specialist can give you more informationto integrate information and insight from on this type of test. Most general readingparents. Ask other colleagues who have texts, such as those by Stauffer (1978) in-successfully worked with these or similar clude a more complete description of thischildren in previous years to share their test, but a short synopsis will suffice atstrategies. Some school districts have ad- this point. The test requires a child toministrationspecialists who may visit orally read an unfamiliar short passage ofyour building and give suggestions on about 100 words. While the student reads,relevant methods or materials. Request the miscues (unanticipated readings) arehelp from your local teacher center if one noted by the teacher. For example, if theexists in your community. If you feel you 3 "the best formneed to update your knowledge on an in=teachingrepertoiretoiacilitateyour of treatment fordependent basis, you might read some ofstudents' reading abilities. Don't expect students withthe journals or selected portions from themiracles to happen instantly. Many of ' dyslexia or these students have experienced a history severe readingresources listed at the end of this pam- disability seemedphlet. Or, you might consider enrolling inof reading failures and progress will be to be gooda dynamic staff develop orgraduateslow. This necessitates patience on your teaching by thereading course which emphasizes prac-part. classroom teachertical teaching ideas rather than theory 1. Listen to your students. Note their and a qualified hobbies and interests, using materials in special remedialonly. feather." L't herprofessionalssuchasthese areas for reading asignments. neurologists, pediatricians, nutritionists, 2. Provide backgroundexperiences optometrists,oncologists,audiologists,prior to reading about specific topics. Not etc., may be helpful in terms of diagnos-only will this heighten motivation to read, ing possible causes of students' difficul-butitwillalsoclarifyinformation ties.They willnot be veryhelpful,necessary for improved comprehension. however, in telling you how to teach your 3. Create reading materials based on studentstoread. That becomes yourexperiences of the children. This approach primary duty, because you are the expertfollows the language experience method in educational matters. It certainly mayoutlined by Stauffer (1970). For example, help you to know what is influencing afollowing atriptoalocal computer student's difficulties, but the most effec-business, children dictate a story about tive way to overcome these problems is tothe terminal's printout process. This story directlyteachreadingabilities,ratheris then used as a the basis for vocabulary than to spend most of your time trying todevelopment and reading skill work. overcome causal factors. The ideal situa- 4. Provide meaningful drill practice of tion would seem to be a ioint effort be-vocabulary words only after the word has tween you and selected specialists who been identified in contextof a sentence can provide meaningful informationFor that the child understands. effective instructional plans. 5. Use teacher-made games to inexpen- sively practice skills such as sight word recognition. A modified game of "concen- FIFTY ;EFFECTIVE tration" can quickly be assembled by INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES writing two Sets of selected sight words on Research during the 70's continually em-index cards, spreading them face down, phasized that the best form of treatment and then challenging achildto draw forstudents withdyslexiaor Severematched pairs of the words. Similarly, reading disability seemed to be goodmodifications of "go fish" and "old maid" teaching by the classroom teacher and a can be developed. qualified special remedial teacher (Chall, 6. Read to your students on a daily in SarnuelS, 1978). The following sugges-basis. This helps develop a positive at- tions highlight many teaching technique..;titude toward reading. arid ideas that have been successfully used 7. Gentlyencourageandprovide with severely disabled readers in class-positive support for your children. room as well as in clinical settings. Please 8. Encourage cross -age or peer tutor- do not try to implement all of these ideasing.If there's something you're having immediately, because you will simply be-difficulty explaining, ask another child to come frustrated with this impossibletask.explain itto the child you're teaching. Pick one or two suggestions to try ac first.' Sometimes children can be moreeffective, Select those ideas that seem most ap-especially if they explain something that propriate for specific children, as not allwas once difficult for them to master. of the sugge8tiong may apply to every 9. Maintain a sense of humor. Laughter child you work with. Then as you become can facilitate many learning sittthtions. comfortable with your initialefforts, 10. Integrate all aspects of, communica- 4gradually add more strategies to yourtion in your program, including reading,

5 speaking, listening, thinking, and writing.Sentence. These cards may be used for"Teach children to set purposes for These abilities naturally accompany eachskill work later, such as alphabetizing,their reading other in our daily lives, and a false dichot-practice with certain phonic skills, andrather than omy should not be made in our schools.also for writing assignments. reading without 11. Keep writing activities short and 19. Teach children to set purposes forthinking..active highly interesting, Letting children copy atheir reading rather than reading withoutinvolvement with thinking. This active involvement withprint will recipe for chocolate chip cookies they stimulate have just prepared would certainly beprintwillstimulateretentionofretention of nor re:evant than simply copying a dittoinformation: information." exercise. 20. Emphasize a variety of strategies to 12. Let the children create their ownunlock new words,including context, books: Sew pages together and bind thecontext plus phonics, and context plus booklets in contact covered tagboard.structure. The excitement of creating a personal 21. Helpyourstudentslearnto book can greatly enhance students' desirecategorize. This ability to organize words; to read their own books as well as thoseinformation,andideasinspecific prepared by friends. categories will facilitate comprehension. 13. Let each child purchase a book if 22. Sentence combining activities;in your school budget allows: Possibly RIFwhich the student rewrites two short (Reading Is Fundamental, L'Enfant 2500,sentences as one longer, more complex Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.sentence also improves comprehension. 20560) funds may be secured for theseSimilarly, paraphrasing an author's work purposes: can be valuable practice.In these ac- 14. Allow children to self-select a per-tivities students are forced to put into tion of their reading materials. They maytheir own words, the thoughts of others. not be able to read each word in their per-Here the original author's intent must be sonal selections, but it is not necessary forunderstoodbeforetheideas ca be students to know every word before sometranslated into the child's words. level of comprehension occurs. 23. Cut dialogue from the comic strip 15. If a child selects a book that is toospeech balloons and let children replace difficult to read alone, you can read thethe original quotes _with their own ideas book with the child several times. Then about what the characters are saying. let the child read along with you. Finally,This encourages them to infer conversa- encouragethe bookto bereadin-tion from actions and setting. dependently. This procedure allows the 24. Contactparentstotellthem childtomasteranotherwise something special about their child's pro- "impossibily" difficult book. gress. This can have a very positive effect 16. Tape record popular books and leton the child, as the parent shares your the children listen to the recording as theymessage of praise. follow the text. Gradually they will be 25. Letchildrensometimesprepare able to read along with file recording andtheir own quizzestotestthe reading eventually will not need the hell, of thematerial they are to read. Their questions tape. may begin with key words suchas 17. Some children will require extrinsic what," "why," "who," "where," "when," motivation beyondtheverbalpraiseandhow." level. Charting the number of books read, 26. Let children make a quiz for you to for example, may encourage a few of youranswer. You select the reading material lesswillingreadersto become moreand first read it. Then give the passage to active. children and have them write questions to 18. Facilitate learning of new vocabula-test your knowledge. Of course, this task ry with the use of word box files. One ornecessitates the children's comprehension two new words are written on an individ-ofthepassagealso,althoughmost ual index card each day. On the back sidechildren will see this as a chance to test ofthe card, the word is placed inayou, just as you frequentlY test other "Provide parentschildren's reading abilities! in your plans. During this time, both you with ideas to distractionswhenever and your studentssilentlyreadself- involve their 27. Minimize children inpossible. This may mean finding the mostselected materials for a pre-determined enjoyable readingquiet area in an open space classroom, oramount of time (usually 10-15 minutes). relatedconstructing a small study carrel frofnBy reading rather than completing lesson activities."tagboard to block out visual distractions.plans, you demonstrate that you really 28. Let the paraprofessional help you tovalue reading. personalize instruction for students who 39. Use ditto worksheets and work- generally require additional attention. book pages as infrequently as possible if 29. Be satisfied if your student readsthey deal with isolated Skill areas. These one page well, although most of yourexercises are viewed by children as having other normal children read three and fourabsolutely nothing to do with reading for pages in the same amount of time. Qua li-meaning. ty, not quantity, is important. 40. Do use real life reading materials 30. Let your poorer readers rehearse afound in our every day activities. There is play or choral reading and then read thisa wealth of reading material in public for the entire class. In overlearning thebuildings,the newspaper, and inthe script they will be memorizing many basicsupermarket, to mention a few spots. words. 41. Build reading assignments around 31. Plan activities in which the studentschildren's favorite television programs. cannot fail. Scrip ts,follow -upexercisesanda 32. Make yourclassroomanin-teacher's guide can be acquired for many teresting, involving, exciting place to be.ofthese programs by writingto Dr. AS one student said, "School is a lot betterMichael McAndrew, Director of Educa- when it's fun, 'cause then I want to learn.tionalServices,CapitalCities Com- It's better that way." munications,Inc.,4100CityLine 33. Combine creative dramatics with Avenue,Philadelphia,Penna.19131. reading. Spontaneously acting out a storyOriginalscriptscanbe prepared by will help children better understand thestudents. TV guides are an additional story's sequence, character relations, plot,source of interesting reading material. etc. 42. Use camera or video tape equip- 34. Don't Make comparisons between ment ifthis is available to film scenes students with a severe reading disabilitywhich the children can later write and and average children in an attempt to en-then read about. courage the lower performance children 43. Provide parents with ideas to in- to improve. This practice generally is self-volve their children in enjoyable reading defeating,asthepoorreadersfeelrelatedactivities.Such suggestions as disCouraged, iather than motivated to tryreading to their children or finding all the harder. items in the garage that begin with the 35. Occasionally give students your same sound that "car" startsWith are sirn-- test questions before, rather than after,pie easy ways to begin. Summer Reading they read a specified selection. This wayIs Important by Micklos (1980) is a pam- they v ill have a clearly defined focus forphlet recently published by the Interna- thc,irreading,rather =thantryingtotional Reading Association that provides rerhernber everything they encounter. many other excellent suggestions. 36. Never assigna reading task as 44. Select high interest, low vocabulary punishment. materials for older students, rather than 37. Make raisedletters by allowingusingprimarygradematerialsthat white liquid glue to dry in the shape ofgenerally are not very interesting for desired letters and words. Children canteenagers to read. feel the letters better as they trace over 45. Create a newspaper made by the this dried glue. Letters cut from sandpaper children. Various columns such asa are also good for tactile reinforcement. feature section, want ads, weather, family 6 38. Incorporate sustained silent readingsection, cartoons,etc., can reflect the students' divergent talents and interests,viewpoint is essential in working with"Use a variety of Children dictate their material to you ifstudents who experience severe readingprint material besides books for they cannot write it themselves: This in-disabilities. This positive attitude, in com-sources of formation is put on a ditto, which is laterbination with carefully planned instruc-reading." run off by the student in charge of "print-tion,willleadtostudents' improved ing." This newspaper is then used as areading abilities. source of reading material, and it is later sent home to parents to inform them about what is happening with your class. References referred to in text 46. Use a variety of print material be- sides books for sources of reading. Signs, Bond, Guy L. and Miles A. Tinker, Reading Dif- ficulties: Their Diagnosis and Correction, 2nd ed. filmstrips, and magazines are readily ac-New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts; 1967. cessible. Some magazines, such as People, Challjeanne; _''A Decade _of Research on Reading are excellent sources for older students, and Learning Disabilities." In S. Jay Samuels (Ed.) because they are written at an upperWhat Research Has To Say About Reading In= elementary level of reading difficulty. s_truction. Newark, Del:: International Reading 47. Provide spaced practice of newAssociation, 1978. vocabulary and reading skills after theyCole, Ann, Carolyn Haas, Faith Bushnell, & Betty are introduced. Emphasize these wordsWeinberger, I Saw a Purple Cow and 100 Other and skills in different contexts for variety.R_ecipes for Learning. Boston: Little; Brown & If they are stressed only on the day they CO., 1972. are introduced, they will not be remem-McLeod, John, Dyslexia Schedule, Cambridge: bered.SpacedpracticeinsurestheirEducators Publishing Service, 1968. mastery. Micklos; John Jr.; Summer Reading Is Important. 48. UsepopularsongsasreadingNewark; Del.: International Reading Association; material. Children continually listen to 1930. the lyrics of many of these songs at home,Miller Wilma H., Reading Diagnosis Kit. NeW and these can readily be adapted to workYork: The Center for Applied Research in Educa- with word recognition, vocabulary devehtion, 1974. opment, comprehension,phonics, andNational Advisory Committee on Dyslexia and many other reading related skills. RelatedReadingDisorders.Reportto Secretary of the Departnzent of Health, Ethicatiaq 49. Hobbies can be an excellent sourceand Welfare. Augus; 1969. of reading. Many model kits are available with simple directions to be read and fol,Stauffer, _Russell G., Jules C. Abrams & John J. Pikilski, Diagnosis, Cdrrection and Prevention of lowed. Simple make-it books such as IReading Disabilities. Ne v York: Harper & Row, Saw a Purple Cow and 100 Other Recipes 1978. for Learning (Cole, Haas, Bushnell, &Stauffer, Russel F., The Language Experience_ Ap- Weinberger,1972)involvereadingproach to the Teaching of Reading. New York: activities. Harper & Row, 1970. 50. Provide alternativeactivities,so that students have options from which to select their tasks. When students feel they have no alternatives, pressure may build to the explosicpoint. This is especially true with secondary students. These fifty ideas are only a starting point. I am certain that you have many other ideas which are just as good, if not better than these suggestions. In my experience working with dyslexic students I haveneverencountered elementary or secondary pupils who did not respond favorably to instruction by conscientious teachers. A success-oriented H. Texts RESOURCES Gillespie-Silver-, Patricia; Teaching Reading to Children with SPecial Needs. Columbus, Ohio: The following sources may provide you with addi-Charles E. Merrill, 1979. tionalinformation about dyslexia and severe reading disability: Kaluger, George and Kolson, Clifford J. Reading and Learning Disabilities. Columbus, Ohibi I. Journals Charles E. Merrill, 1978. Exceptional Children and Teaching ExceptionalLee, Grace E., and Berger, Allen. Learning Children with Emphasis on Reading, (an an- Council for Exceptional Children : notated_bibliography); Newark; Dela Ware: Inter= 1920 Association Drive national Reading Association, 1978. Reston, Virginia 22091 Lerner, Janet W. Children with Learning The Journal of Learning Disabilities (second edition) Boston; Mass:: 101 East Ontario Street Houghton Mifflin; 1976. Chicago, Illinois 60611 Savage; John F. and Mooney, Jean F. Teaching The Journal of Special Education Reading to Children With Special Needs. Boston, Button Wood Farms Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 1979, 3515 Woodhaven Road Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19154 Sawyer, Diane J. (Ed.) Disabled Readers. In- sights, Assessments, Instruction. NeWark, Language Arts Delaware: International Reading Association, National Council of Teachers of English 1980. 1111 Kenyon Road Urbana, Illinois 61801 III. National organizations Reading HorizonS Association for Children with Learning Western Michigan University Disabilities (ACLO) Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008 5225 Grace Street Pittsburgh, PA 15236 Reading Teacher International Reading Association Closer Look 800 Barksdale Road Box 1492 Newark, Delaware 19711 Washington, D.C. 20013 The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) 1920 Association Drive Reston, VA 22091 The Orton Society 8415 Be Ilona Lane Towson, MD 21204