08 12 21 New interventions Accessibility and English as a second for children inclusivity language

Volume 29, Number 2. Autumn 2019 The Journal of The Dyslexia Guild Celebrating 25 years of The Dyslexia Guild

Welcome

Welcome to the Autumn edition of Dyslexia Review. Fellowsofthe Dyslexia Guild: From theleftLaura CareyFDG This issuecontinues our celebrationsfor 25 years of theDyslexiaGuildand andLouise Vander Valk FDG. 50 years of Dyslexia Review.Our Summer Conferencetook place in London in June andwas agreat opportunityfor ustomeetmembers andcelebrate our doublehappy birthday. We hope that those of youwho attended enjoyed theevent andlook forwardtomeeting more of youatnextyear’sconference 50 which will be held at Bath University, a2020event foryour diary. years of Dyslexia Review

Dr Robert Savage andhis team of researchers presenttheir findings on promisinginterventionsfor childrenwithdyslexia; interesting international research that investigatesthe impact of carefullyevaluated theory-driven 25 interventionsfor persistent poor readers. We also presentanaccessibility years of the andinclusivity follow-onfeature from ArranSmith,who presentedatthe Dyslexia Guild conference,withhighlights andfurther detailsfor youtoexploreonthis topic. This year’s conference slides can be foundonthe GuildMembers’website.

TheDepartmentfor Education hasnow advisedthatfromFebruary2019, adyslexia/ 1,500+ Guild Members, UK SpLDassessment,conducted at anyage,will be accepted as evidence foraDisabled and International StudentAllowance.Where such an assessment is produced by aspecialist teacher assessor,theyshould howeverholdacurrent Assessment PractisingCertificate(APC) at thetimeofassessment.Manyofour assessorsalready hold acurrent APCand in our article on this topic,DrAnna Smith, our Lead Assessor forAPC applications, adviseson 700 current topical questionsfor those with an APCorwho arenow seeking to gainone. books and resources in our library collection TheAutumn issuealsohas guestfeaturesonwidening participation in STEM subjects andEnglishasasecondlanguage, as well as agood selectionofbook reviews from our membersand colleagues.Wehope youenjoy our 2019 anniversaryeditionsof DyslexiaReviewand lookforward to meeting andnetworking with youatconference 1,600 andthrough our Guildmembers’onlineforumsin2020. journals in our online collection KathrynBenzine Editor

Contact us: Designed and printed by: ©2019 All rights reserved. Dyslexia Review is Editors: Kathryn Benzine, Headlines MK Ltd, published by Dyslexia Guild /Real Group Ltd. Head of Education and Training 51/52 Triangle Building, Wolverton Park Reproduction or transmission in part or whole Janice Beechey,Guild Librarian Road, Milton Keynes, MK12 5FJ of any item within this magazine is not permitted and Membership Administrator Email: [email protected] until prior written agreement has been granted [email protected] Tel: 01908 014890 by the Editor.While every effort has been made Tel: 01784 222342 www.headlines.uk.com to ensurethe accuracy of the information in this publication, the publisher accepts no responsibility Autumn issue: Advertising enquiries: for errors or omissions. The products and November 2019 Stuart Curry,Head of Marketing services advertised arethose of individual [email protected] suppliers and arenot necessarily endorsed by Published by: or connected with The Dyslexia Guild or Real Dyslexia Guild/Real Group Ltd ISSN Group Ltd. The editorial opinions expressed in Centurion House, London Road 0308-6275 this publication arethose of individual authors Staines-upon-Thames TW18 4AX and arenot necessarily those of Dyslexia Tel: 01784 222342 Action. Images have been reprintedwith the Website: www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk permission of the publisher or copyright holder.

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 3 Contents

Volume 30, Number 2. Autumn 2019 05 Membershipnews 08 Promisingnew interventionsfor children whoare at risk of dyslexia

12 15 Accessibility and Assessment Practising inclusivity Certificate

18 21 Wideningparticipationin English as asecond STEM subjects language

23 24 Supportingpeoplewith Book reviews specific learning difficulties 1in6 adults has thereading level of an 11-year-old

4 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review Membership news

Jan Beechey, Dyslexia Guild Administrator and Librarian, provides an update for Guild members.

SummerConference 2019

This year’s annual Summer Conferencetook place in London andwas awonderful celebration of theDyslexiaGuild (25years of membership)and DyslexiaReview (50years of publication). We were pleasedtohave thesupport of so many of ourmembers andtohear about theirstories andsuccesses. Ourcelebrationsalsohighlighted thepioneering achievements of many individuals who have helped to destigmatise dyslexia andspecific learning difficulties.See our Spring 2019 editionfor atribute to thehistory of dyslexia support in theUKand theDyslexiaGuild websitefor further detailsofour forthcomingevent in 2020.Guild Members canaccess the 2019 conference papers on theGuild Members’website.

Resultsfrom ourSummerConferencesurveyJune2019

Those of youwho joinedusinLondon Suggestedimprovements Some people asked if we could to celebrateour 25th Anniversaryof Some of yourequested aforum for reduce theprice of training courses; TheDyslexiaGuild,will know what a those workingwithin theAdultand FE/ they mightliketonotethatwealready vibrantand enjoyableevent it was. HE sectors andwehave nowmade offer discounts on SpecialistCPD We surveyeddelegates to rank the this available so youcan ask questions, courses andadiscountedratefor Guild membership benefitsmostimportant to networkand find advice.Our FE/HE Members on our conference event. them,which were as follows: specialisttutor Alison BarbourMDG Andfinally, someunsolicitedpositive 1. Annual Summer Conference moderates this forumand thereisalso comments! 2. DyslexiaReviewjournal amoderated forumfor Exam Access Iwantedtotickthemall! (inrelation to 3. LibraryServices–National Dyslexia specialists moderatedbyJanet Desmet benefitsonthe list) Resource Centre(NDRC) MDG,APC. Just to saythe CPDtrainingcourses 4. Discounts at DyslexiaAction Shop Others hadasked that thewebsite areexcellent andsohelpful formy 5. DesignatoryLetters forprofessional design andaccessibilitybeimprovedand practice.Thank you. membership grades we will be exploringhow we canaddress Thelibraryservice andtraininghave 6. DirectoryofMembers this within oursoftware. Julie Trisnan been exceptional. 7. Assessment Practising Certificate worksonthe development of thewebsite MUCH more approachable and (APC)applications andisalwayshappy to hear suggestions. energeticthanmyexperienceof…. 8. Guild Galleryelectronicnewsletter Contact herat: trainingcourses@ (other professional body). 9. IndemnityInsurance. dyslexiaaction.org.uk

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 5 Membership news

called Dyslexia Guild membership Qualifications Update;itisherethat benefits youcan uploaddetails of Areyou gettingthe most out of your your SpLD qualifications. membership benefits? Many Guild Ourmembership grades Members arehappy to read theDyslexia areawarded according to Review andGuild Gallerybut maybe specialistqualificationsand unaware of some of theother useful youcan then use designatory resources available to them online. lettersafter your name. This is valuable if youwish Step 1: Logintothe Members’ to appear in the Directory Area of Members,asearchable https://dyslexiaguild.org.uk/and go to allMembers andthe generaldiscussion listwhere thoseseeking a MemberLogin thread canbeusedfor anythingelse. specialisttutor or assessor will be If youdonot remember your It is here that youcan ask questions able to find youbygeographicarea username, tryusing your email of othermembers andexperts within or by type of serviceyou provide. We addressand requestanewpassword Dyslexia Action.Depending on howyou canadd your contactdetails such as if youhave forgottenit. setupyour preferences,you canbe email, telephonenumberand website Once logged in youwill seemany alertedtonew postsbyemail so you address,sothattheycan contactyou optionsdownthe left-handside. nevermissathing! directly.Ifyou would likethese details TheMemberBenefits tabwill list Anotherareayou maynot be aware to appear,justemail thecontact everythingthatisavailable to youbut of is the Latest News section.Here detailsyou want to appear to us, Iwould liketodraw your attention to a you willfind vacancies from selected [email protected]. fewhere: providers and requeststoparticipate There arestill morebenefits to Guild Forums, there are five different in research studies or surveys around explore suchasa10% discount on threads which relate to assessment, dyslexia and other specificlearning our Dyslexia Action Shop products Access Arrangements, Dyslexia Action difficulties (SpLD). https://dyslexiaactionshop.co.uk/ Literacy Programme (DALP), and a Just create an account and contact the brand-new forum for Adult, Further Step 2: Update your details Shop to set up your discount. and Higher Education Specialists. So, If you click My Account on the If you have any questions about benefits there should be something relevant to left-hand side, you see an area please contact us.

6 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review Annual Summer Conference Save the Date Thursday25June 2020* UniversityofBath, East Building, Claverton Down, Bath. BA27AY

Forall those with aprofessional interest in dyslexia      

*A networking dinner,accommodation and leisure facilities are available on Wednesday 24th June

•Hear expert speakers talk about research and current topics •Network with others from around the world of SpLD •See the most up-to-date assessment tests and resources from our DyslexiaAction Shop •Attend seminar sessions andlearn about specific topics •Takehome an attendance certificate for your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) 5hours www.dyslexiaguild.org.uk Researchers Dr RobertSavage from Department of Psychology andHuman Development, InstituteofEducation,UniversityCollege London,UK; Kristy Dunn and George Georgiou, Faculty of Education,UniversityofAlberta, Edmonton,Canada; RaunoParrila, DepartmentofEducational Studies, MacquarieUniversity, Sydney, Australia; Kristina Maiorino, Departmentof Educational andCounsellingPsychology, McGillUniversity, Montreal,Canada; GiovaniBurgos, Departmentof Sociology, Adelphi University, Garden City,USA.

Promising new interventions for children who are at risk of dyslexia

An international groupofuniversityresearchers reportsonthree intervention studiesfocused on advancingour understanding of optimalinstruction forat-risk readers.

here has been much struggling readers. Traineduniversity givengrapheme (letter(s) to phoneme research on howbestto students deliveredthese interventions, (speechsound)correspondence(GPC) supportchildren whoare at workingwithsmall groupsof‘at-risk’ taught, children should read atext on T risk of dyslexia.Wereport poor readers, typicallyfor 30 minutes, that day that richly embodies thetaught on threeintervention studiesthathave threetimes aweek. GPCs.Wecallthis ‘DirectMapping’ of soughttoadvance our understanding GPCs andargue that ‘DirectMapping’ of optimalinstruction forat-risk Study1:Optimizingthe will consolidateGPCswithin accurate readers. Study 1focuses on optimizing teaching of letter-to-sound word reading. Chen andSavage(2014) theteaching of basic letter-to-sound correspondences andmental rananintervention with38‘at-risk’ correspondencesand mental flexibility flexibilityinusing phonics Grade1and2children in Canada in usingphonics.Study 2focuses We know from existing research that (‘Grade’ is roughlyequivalent to ‘Year’ on teaching more complexletter- both systematicphonicsinstruction and in England).GPCswerefirsttaughtand to-sound correspondences. Finally, shared book readingare importantfor children then shared book readingwith Study3contrasts morphological and poor readers(e.g.,Hatcher,Hulme and adults using textswithahigh density phonological approachestoteaching Ellis, 1994). Anew idea is that forany of taught GPCs.Results showed

8 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review advantages forthe Direct Mapping Existing evidence showsthat involved Grade1children in Canada. intervention overthe controls on word explicitlyteachingchildrenabout We randomlyallocated schools to Direct readingand spelling.Intriguingly, the variable vowels improvesreading Mappingand Setfor Variability (DMSfV) intervention improvedaspecificaspect of wordscontainingvariant vowels or CurrentBestPractice(CBP) control of children’s reading motivation – comparedwithacontrolgroup that conditions. Allchildren scoringbelow perception of task difficulty.Wesought learnedabout GPCs butdid notlearn the30th percentile on astandardised to replicate this smallstudy in amuch such strategies (Steacy et al., 2016). word readingmeasurewereconsidered larger Study1. SfVhas been incorporatedintosome ‘atrisk’ andwereallocated to an Study1alsoinvestigatedanew establishedintervention programmes intervention group.There were 201 processcalled‘Set-for-Variability’ in North America(Lovett,Lacerenza ‘at-risk’participants (119 and82inthe (SfV). To understand SfV, consider andBorden, 2000). Furthermore, DMSfVand CBPschools respectively). popular syntheticphonics Dysonetal.’s (2018) briefexperimental What did we teach? In theDMSfV programmes. Here children intervention withtypical readersin programme children received intense aretaughttoblend GPCs. Englandshowedthattrainingin‘self- systematicphonicswithafocuson Children thus create spelling correction’ofspelling pronunciationsof variable vowelpronunciations. In each pronunciations that arestrings of exception words, along withinstruction lesson we linkedthe taught GPCto phonemes,e.g., spoken sounds in word meanings, helped them to real bookscontainingahigh density ‘c’-‘a’-‘t’ forthe printedword‘cat’. self-correct theirpronunciation of of exemplars of that GPC. Thus,when Children then have to matchthese exception words. This work suggests childrenweretaughtthe ‘ou’ GPC, spellingpronunciations of ‘c’-‘a’-‘t’ that teaching SfVhas thepotential to childrenthenreadatextsuch as The to theconventional pronunciation improve readingacquisition.However, Gruffalo that containedmanywords forthe word ‘cat’already stored existing work doesnot provideclear with‘ou’(e.g.,‘mouse’, ‘house’). Once in theirlexicon.Thisisquite an evidence that teaching SfVimproves childrencould decode GPCs,theywere impressiveabilitybecause thereis thereading performanceofat-risk taughtSfV to mapphoneme stringsto quite adistancebetween spelling children.Wetherefore undertook a stored pronunciationsofwords.Children pronunciations andconventional sustained SfVintervention to answer played ‘Simon says…’ gameswhere for pronunciationsofwords. Spelling this issue. example, ‘Simon says.. touch your ‘ar’- pronunciations arealinearset of Ourintervention study(Savage, ‘m’or‘k’-‘n’-‘ee’or‘l’-‘i’-‘p’). We carefully phonemes,whereas conventional Georgiou, Parrila andMaiorino, 2018) differentiated thecurriculum to children’s pronunciationsofwords ‘co-articulate’ ability levels anddelivered it with asense (i.e., overlap)the individual phonemes. of funand playfulness. We taught ‘self- Spellingpronunciations cancontain Funding correction’ofspelling pronunciations This work wassupportedbythe MaxBell ‘schwas’ whereas conventional of exception words. Children in the Foundation,and theSocialSciencesand pronunciationsofwords do not. Humanities Research CouncilofCanada CBPprogramme alsoreceivedlively Schwas arethe vowelattachments (Grant no:435-2012-0614). differentiated syntheticphonics. that existinsomearticulated consonants within phoneme strings: In reality, ‘c’-‘a’-‘t’ispronounced more like‘cuh’ –‘ahh’ –‘tuh’ duetothe presence of schwasafter the‘c’ and ‘t’phonemes. Eventhese challenges, however, aremodest compared with contexts where theGPCs vary across words(e.g.,considerthe ‘i’in‘pin’ and‘find’),orwhere children attemptto usephonic rulestodecode exception wordsthatcontain GPCsthatbreak thecommonrules (e.g., ‘two’, ‘above’, ‘some’, ‘your’ etc). In allthese cases, matching of spelling pronunciationsto conventional pronunciationsofwords requires children to have aflexiblemental SfV(Elbro, de Jong,Houterand Nielsen, 2012;Tunmer andChapman,2012).

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review9 They were taughtcommonsight words occurrence. This frequency-coded GPCknowledge (National Reading pronunciationsand read booksbut in GPClistwas then used to model Panel, 2000). We thus predictedthat CBPthere was no close linkage between thepercentageofall wordsacross teaching Simplicity principle-derived GPCs taught andsharedreading of real children’s textsrenderedreadable. GPCs will be most effective for books. They were also nottaughtSfV. Results suggestedthat60-70 GPCs children withstrongerphonological Resultsshowedsignificant were optimal. This optimality is the awareness skills. advantages forthe DMSfVprogramme SimplicityPrinciple forreading. What did we teach? A‘word of overCBP on word reading, andspelling Chen andSavage’s(2014)study theday’was introduced,definedand at post-testatthe endofGrade 1 above used themostfrequently spelled.Childrensearchedfor that andonwordreadingand sentence occurring complexGPCs. In the word in authenticchildren’s books comprehension at adelayed post-test Simplicity programme,children selected to richly representthese in Grade2some 5monthsafter the were taughtcomplex GPCs suchas words. Children were then introduced intervention hadfinished. ‘a_e’, ‘pp’,‘tch’,‘igh’,‘ed’, delivered to the‘sound of theday’–aGPC by theirfrequency of occurrencein within thewordofthe dayexplicitly Study2:The SimplicityPrinciple children’s texts. Children in Direct articulated by theRA. Childrenthen in Grade2 Mappingcondition read textsthat both said andwrote this grapheme Whileweknowalot about richly embodied thetaughtGPCs. In andidentified it in researcher-written phonics, we know much less acontrol programme,childrenwere texts designed toincorporate aboutthe optimal content of taughtabout targetword spellings and ahighdensity of taught GPCs. phonicsprogrammes. Study2 meanings buttheir attention wasnot Childrenwrote asentenceusing thus explored theoptimaltypeand drawntoGPCsinwords.Asalready this grapheme in theirnotebook number of GPCs that should be noted, theSimplicity group performed soundingout theGPC as they wrote. taughttoat-risk readersinGrade significantly better than thecontrol Tasksweredifferentiated.For weaker 2. Vousden, Ellefson,Solityand group on measures of spelling,word readers, if theGPC of theday was/ Chater(2011)developed adatabase recognition,and readingmotivation. sh/, this child wouldbeasked to read of allwords foundin685 popular Study2(Savageetal.,2019) sought theword‘she’. Strongerstudents contemporary children’s booksread to replicate Chen andSavage(2014) were askedtoreadwords suchas by children aged 5–7years in the among 149‘at-risk’ poor readersin ‘seashell’. Thecontrol intervention UnitedKingdom. Vousdenetal. Grade2.There exists strong evidence programme mirrored theSimplicity (2011) extractedGPCsfromtexts that decoding is baseduponthe dual intervention withthe sole exception andcodedthembyfrequency of foundation of phoneme awareness and that childrenwereintroduced to the

10 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review Acknowledgements We would liketothank thestaff and students of theEdmonton Public School Board,Edmonton,Alberta, andthe ‘specialspelling’, notthe sound,of EnglishMontreal,Sir WilfridLaurier, effects (asmeasured by ‘effectsizes’) theday. Lester B. Pearson, andRiverside School forbothinterventionscomparedwith Boards,Montreal,Quebec, Canada. Themainresults showedasignificant controls on word reading. These Intervention xPhonological Awareness findings suggestthatSWI that focuses interaction effectfor Word Reading, aspectsofEnglish spelling –analysis on teaching themorphological Word Attack,Spelling, andSentence of thestructure of meaningswithin and structureofEnglishcan be at leastas Comprehension at post-test. In each across wordsusing an ‘explorative mode effective as aSimplicityprogramme in case,improvements were greaterfor of learning’ (A detailed reviewofSWI is grade3persistent poor readers. theSimplicity overcontrol conditions provided by Bowers in theSummer2018 at post-test, butonlyfor children with editionof DyslexiaReview).Essentially, Conclusions stronger phonological awareness. we formally evaluatedthe statement We report theresults of threecarefully articulated therebyBowers that: evaluatedtheory-driven interventions. Study3:The SimplicityPrinciple “Therole of morphology and Theresults of allshowsomepromise versus StructuredWord Inquiry etymologyinliteracylearninghave in improving thereading of at-risk Ourthirdstudy contrasted theeffects been underestimated andthatthe use children.The findings need replication1, of twointervention approaches: of morphologicaland etymological anditshould be notedthatnonewere SimplicityPrinciple (SP) andStructured approachesare notaswidelyusedasthey ‘magic bullets’thatcured reading Word Inquiry(SWI) on thereading and should be”(Cochrane, 2018,page9). difficulties.Theynevertheless represent spelling ability of Grade3persistent We randomlyassigned48English- promising alternative approachesthat poor readers. SWIfocusesonchildren’s speaking children withreading mayoptimizeinterventionsfor the understanding of themorphological difficulties to threeconditions: SP, communityofat-risk readers. SWI, andwaitinglistcontrol.Results showedthatfor aMorphological 1 Relatednesstask wherechildren read Theauthors arecurrently replicatingthe Grade1study andanalysedmorphological structures in Alberta(Canada)and in an of words, both SWIand SP were Education Endowment Foundation funded trial in England. Savage and superior to controls at post-test. There collaborators have replicated the wasatrend forthe sameoutcome Grade2paperamong students with measureatadelayedpost-test (this Englishasanadditionallanguagein Hong Kong (Authors,2019, Paper time favouring SWIovercontrols and under revision). SP). Therewerealso clearly discernible

References • Chen, V.,&Savage,R.S.(2014). Evidence forasimplicityprinciple: Teaching common complexgrapheme-phonemesimproves readingand motivation in at-risk readers. Journal of ResearchinReading, 37,196–214.doi:10.1111/1467-9817.12022 • Cochrane, G. (2018). Beyond phonics: In conversation with Professor Jeff Bowers. Dyslexia Review,28,8-12 • Dyson, H.,Best, W.,Solity, J.,&Hulme,C.(2017). Training mispronunciation correction andwordmeanings improves children’s ability to learntoreadwords. ScientificStudies of Reading, 21,392-407. doi:10.1080/10888438.2017.1315424 • Elbro,C., de Jong,P., Houter, D.,&Nielsen,A.-M. (2012). From spelling pronunciation to lexical access:Asecond step in word decoding. ScientificStudies of Reading, 16,341-359.doi:10.1080/10888438.2013.8119356 • Hatcher,P.J., Hulme,C., &Ellis, A. W. (1994). Ameliorating early readingfailurebyintegrating theteaching of readingand phonological skills: Thephonological linkage hypothesis.Child Development, 65,41-57. • Lovett,M.W., Lacerenza, L.,&Borden,S.L.(2000). Putting struggling readersonthe PHASTtrack: Aprogram to integratephonological and strategy-basedremedialreadinginstruction andmaximise outcomes. Journal of Learning Disabilities,33,458-467. • National ReadingPanel Report (2000). https://www1.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf • Savage,R.S., Georgiou,G., A. Parrila,R., &Maiorino, K. (2018). Preventative readinginterventionsteaching directmapping of graphemesintexts andset-for-variability aidat-risk learners. ScientificStudies of Reading, 22,225-247.doi:10.1080/10888438.2018.1427753 • Savage,R.S., Georgiou,G., Parrila, R.,Maiorino, K.,Dunn,K., &Burgos,G.(2019). Theeffects of teaching complex grapheme- phoneme correspondences:Evidence from adualsiteclustertrial withat-risk grade2students. ScientificStudies of Reading (paper in press). • Steacy,L.M., Elleman,A.M., Lovett,M.W., &Compton,D.L.(2016). Exploringdifferential effects across twodecoding treatments on item-level transfer in children withsignificantwordreadingdifficulties:Anew approachfor testing intervention elements. ScientificStudies of Reading, 20,283-295.doi:10.1080/10888438.2016.1178267 • Tunmer,W.E., &Chapman,J.W.(2012). Doesset forvariability mediate theinfluenceofvocabularyknowledge on thedevelopment of word recognition skills?. ScientificStudies of Reading, 16,122-140.doi 10.1080/10888438.2010.542527 • Vousden,J.I., Ellefson, M. R.,Solity,J., &Chater,N.(2011). Simplifyingreading: Applying thesimplicityprinciple to reading. Cognitive Science, 35,34-78.doi:10.1111/j.1551-6709.2010.01134.

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 11 Accessibility and inclusivity

Microsoft’s declared aimistoempower everystudent to achieve theirpotential within an inclusiveclassroom.AlisonThomasattendedArran Smith’stalkto findout more.

ow in hismid-thirties, Group Ltd. Butitwas hisrole as ArranSmith hasareading Microsoft’s UK Dyslexia andSEND ageofnineand aspelling Consultant that brought him to the N ageofeight. In addition Dyslexia Guild Annual Conference, to being severely dyslexic,hehas whereheintroduced us to some tendenciesofdyspraxia,ADHDand of themanyaccessible features ASD. He received specialist support builtintoMicrosoft products and at school andhas taught dyslexic available forfree. children himself one to oneasan adult. He believes that thesingle Inclusivedesign mosttransformative influence on his In thepast, Microsoft usedto life,however,has been thepowerof design products first andaddress assistivetechnology. an “accessibility checklist”after the “Atthe ageof14, Irealisedthat, Achild shares his learning with event. Withthe arrival of CEOSatya whiledyslexiaismydisability,itisalso MicrosoftPrincipal Product Manager Nadella, himself thefather of achild forEducation, MikeTholfsen my strength,” he says.“Iknowthat with cerebral palsyand another lots of people withdyslexiafind life CREDIT: MICROSOFT withseverelearning difficulties,the very difficult, butifyou understand culture changed andtoday people your difficulty, findyour strengthsand With over15years’experience with differentdisabilities andtalents build on that positivity,you canreally in thefields of dyslexia,education areemployedatevery levelofthe succeed.And forme, technology is the andassistive technology, he now organisation to foster aclimate of wayforward.” owns his ownconsultancy, SEND empathy, inspire innovation and generate solutionsthatwill improve thelearner experiencesofall. Dyslexiaisnoexception and thesuite of Learning Tools initially designedasanadd-on forOneNote came out of the2015Hackathon, an annual eventwhenemployees spend aweek on anytopic they wish, formingvirtual teamsto exploreideas andcomeupwith solutions. Sincethen, therange of toolshas been extended and refined,and builtintoother products available on avariety of platforms anddevices (see chartp14).

12 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review ImmersiveReader Akey featureofLearningTools is ImmersiveReader, which allows students to access atextinthe way that best suits theirindividual needs. They canlistentoparagraphsbeing read aloud while they follow thewords, broken up into syllables.Theycan increase text size andspacing,change thefontand background colour,or narrow thefieldofviewtofocus on one, threeorfive lines at atime.Theycan alterthe speed, turn on PartsofSpeech to revealnouns, adjectives,adverbs or verbs, or usethe PictureDictionarywith imagesfromBoardmakertoclarify the meaningofaword whilesimultaneously listening to it,amultisensorytechnique that hasbeen proventoaid readingand comprehension.Theycan also type in theirown content, or dictate it andlisten or be usinglinefocus to follow the to thesoftwarereadingitback, ahighly highlightedwords as they areread effective tool. aloud.Whateachpersonchooses Arecentadditionisthe facility to is entirely up to them,removingthe translateaword or awholedocument stigmaattachedtousing additional into one of along list of languages, software,not to mention thecost. switchingbetween English andthe Forteachers, it reducestime spent foreign language to compareand differentiating resources;for students it contrast. Thebenefits forEAL students increasesindependence andfacilitates areevident,but it is also aboon for inclusivelearning. dyslexic learners,who oftenstruggle problems,the resultisinevitably a Andthat, in anutshell, is what this in theMFL classroom.Inaddition, densepiece of text,but by launching isall about.Toquote Jordan Shapiro, withOffice Lens on an iPad,iPhone or ImmersiveReader, students can de- an expert in educationtechnology and Android device,students can take a clutter thelayout,focus on onelineata game-basedlearning, whenLearning pictureoftheir textbook or anyother time or useReadAloud to supporttheir Tools first came out:“This is trulyan resource andsendittoOneNote understanding. exampleofuniversal design…Instead Windows10orOneNote onlineto of creating specialised or adapted access it in ImmersiveReader, enabling Co-authoring in Word solutionsfor differentusers,apractice them to translate it into thelanguage LearningTools arenow available whichinevitablycreates aprivileged they need andhear it read aloud in otherplacesbesidesOneNote, normand an underserved‘other’, and, in thecase of some languages, includingOutlook,Edge(thebrowser universaldesign,or‘design forall’, take advantageofthe otherfeatures that comeswithWindows10),Microsoft createsone solution that worksfor ImmersiveReaderoffers. Teams, Flipgrid andmostrecently everyone.” https://bit.ly/2VmqnT0 Minecraft.Theyare also built into ImmersiveReader formaths Word Online(available forfree) andthe Anothernew feature combinesthe desktopversionofWordinOffice 365. Find outmore functionalityofthe OneNotemaths Oneofthe benefitsofLearningTools AwebinarfromArran Smithwith tool with thecapabilities of Immersive in Word is that students areableto linkstoabundantresources Reader.This is stillaworkinprogress, collaborateonadocument,tailoring andtrainingmaterials: https:// so it’s notperfect,MrSmith explained, howtheyviewittosuittheir individual dyslexiaguild.org.uk/2019- as he demonstrated howstudents needs. So whileone person mightbe guild-annual-conference- could generate thesolution to a workinginconventional layout,another presentations/ problem, then click Explaintosee all mighthave changedthe background @arrandyslexia #MicrosoftEDU thesteps laidout.For moreadvanced colour andsplitthe text into columns,

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 13 14 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review Assessment Practising Certificate: recognition of your competence to undertake assessments for dyslexia and specific learning difficulties

Dr Anna Smith MDG answers some common questions regarding gaining or renewing an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC).

Whyshould Iapply foran Changes to legislation this year mean in approachconcerning visual stress, Assessment Practising Certificate that anydiagnosticreportwritten at any where SASCrecommendsthatrather (APC)? time by an APCholdercan beusedto than assessing this issuethemselves, TheAPC is effectively alicence to applyfor DSA.This meansthatreports assessorsshouldrefertheir clients on to practise.Itconfirms that youhave the nowhave alongerlifespanand those optometrists forfurther advice. appropriate qualificationstoundertake commissioningareportmay expect to full diagnostic assessments and that usethis reportoveralongerperiod and Whoisallowed to issueAPCs? your professional practice is up-to-date forseveral purposes. Thereare currentlythree APCissuing andhas been externally verifiedas bodies, theDyslexiaGuild,Patoss, continuing to meet defined competence What does SASC do? andthe BritishDyslexiaAssociation. standards. Only APCholders can TheSpLD Assessment Standards Allthree organisationsattendSASC undertakediagnostic assessment Committee (SASC)was first setupin meetings alongside otherrepresentative reports forDisabled Students’ 2005 by theprincipal organisations bodiesand arealsoinvolved in cross- Allowance(DSA) applications. involved in theassessment of individuals standardisation meetingstoensure that TheAPC Certificateisissued for withdyslexia/SpLD including Dyslexia theiradvice is consistent andfollows the threeyears andconfirms that youhave Action,Patossand theBritish Dyslexia same procedures to ensurefairness to theknowledge,skillsand competences Association (BDA). This followed allapplicants. to assess thedetailed requirements concern about thestandards of some of individualswithdyslexia/SpLD.The reports issuedbyspecialistassessors Whyare APCs onlyvalid forthree years? Departmentfor Education requires andthe evident need foradvice and An Assessment PractisingCertificate that those whoundertake specialist guidance on suitabletests andthe is alicencetopractise andsoitis assessmentsinpost-16 schools, continuing professional development important that assessors notonly colleges,universities, workplace training (CPD)required in this area. undertakerelevantCPD butalso apprise establishments andlocal authority TheSASC Steering Committee themselves of thesuitability of testsfor assessment centresare competent to providesthe rulesand regulations professional practice.SASC provides a do so. governingthe Assessment Practising list of Suitable Testsfor theAssessment TheJoint Council forQualifications Certificateand approvesthe awarding of SpecificLearningDifficultiesinHigher (JCQ)alsorecognises that forthe bodies whoissue thelicensing Education, which is regularly updated purposesofExamination Access certificates.SASCalso provides andcan be found on theirwebsite: Arrangements aspecialist assessor is “… information about changesinpractice www.sasc.org.uk.This issoon to be aspecialist teacherwithacurrent SpLD that arelikely to impact upon assessors. addedto, withalistof suitabletests for Assessment Practising Certificate.” Arecentexampleofthis is achange lowerage groups.

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 15 When samplingreports,SASC has notedthatoften those whofailhave notundertaken regular professional updating,are usingout-of-date assessment testsorare failing to refer to current advice.The SASCCommittee determined that threeyears constitutes arepresentativeperiod of time for specialistassessors to demonstrate theirprofessional commitmentto maintaining theirAPC appropriately.

Ihaveheard that gettingor renewing an APCischallenging and some people fail.What arethe most common mistakespeople make? SASC produces aguidefor assessing assessorstoensure consistency across issuing bodieswho evaluate APC applications. This iscurrently wasinresponse to arecentdecision by courseswill counttowards thefive hours beingsimplifiedand changesare theGovernment that anyreportwritten of required SASC-approved CPD, out expected to take place in November by an APCholderatany time should be of theminimum30hoursofCPD for 2019.The system will be fullyexplained valid foraDSA application. those renewing theirAPC forthe first on theDyslexiaAction website, so it In order to ensurethat all practising time and20hoursfor others renewing. is worthkeepinganeye out forthis. assessorsweregiven theopportunity Seethe SASC Continuing Professional Nevertheless,important practices to hold this qualification,itwas thought Development requirements at: https:// to consider when renewing have not fair that they should be grantedanAPC dyslexiaaction.org.uk/assessment- changed andare still, maintaining under a‘grand-parenting scheme’. If you practising-certificate/(Requirements). accuracy of scores,using tests areconsidering this action,itiscertainly Dyslexia Action andRealTraining also appropriately andproducing accurate worthconsidering some continuing have anumberofcoursesavailable to diagnostic conclusions.The majority professionaldevelopment (CPD)asyou assist professionals in theupdating of of people pass first time or areable to maybeunfamiliar withSASCupdates theirprofessional practice.These include: successfullyresubmittheirapplication andchanges.See thebook list at the •Applying forand Renewingan withadvice andguidance from the endofthe articleand thenextquestion Assessment Practising Certificate reviewing panel. forother CPDideas. •Examining TOMAL2 RefresherCourse •RealTraining Access Arrangements Iobtained my postgraduate My test knowledgeisabit Course (AAC) assessment qualification somewhile rusty; what sort of CPDshould I See: https://dyslexiaaction.org. ago.Can Istill applyfor an APC? undertake? uk/courses-for-qualified-spld- Recentchanges mean that up until SASChas alistofapproved CPDcourses professionals/. March2020, anyone withanappropriate on theirwebsite. Thesecourseshave Thereisalsoafree updating postgraduate assessment qualification, been validatedbythemasappropriate for course forthose conducting Access andwho hasnot previouslyheldanAPC, those undertaking diagnostic assessment Arrangements at: https://realtraining. can applyfor one followingarelatively testing to refresh andimprovetheir co.uk/free-access-arrangements- straightforward procedure. This change knowledge andunderstanding. These update-course.

16 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review areagreedatthe SASC meetings andare thesameacrossall awarding Arethere anybookresources bodies. It is best to applyfor your APC that yourecommend for as soon as youare qualified(Route practising assessors? Yes, thereare anumberof 1) andrenew your APConaregular very good book resources that basis (Renewal).Bothofthese routes assessorsshould be familiar with. currentlycost£180. If youqualified In particular theNational Dyslexia overfive years ago, then it is now£255 Resource Centre has thefollowing to applyfor an APC, howeverthere is books on thelibrarycatalogue: thespecial amnesty/grand-parenting AvailableinHardCopy routeavailable untilMarch 2020 which Johnson,B.and G. Hagger- is £180. Johnson,(2013) Psychometric Individuals withnon-accredited Assessment,Statisticsand qualificationsorseeking accreditation ReportWriting:anintroduction of prior learningcan applythrough forpsychologists, teachersand Route2.Thisroutecosts £555 and health professionals,London: requires asignificantportfolio to be Pearson Assessment submitted. Jones, A. andK.Kindersley, (2013) Dyslexia Assessingand Wherecan Ifind outmoreabout Reporting:The Patoss Guide applying for, or renewing, an APC? London: Hodder Education Dyslexia Action provides awealthof Reid,G., Elbheri,G.and Everatt, J. information forGuildMembers which (2016) Assessing Childrenwith can assist youwithyourapplication for Specific Learning Difficulties: an APC. See: https://dyslexiaaction. ATeacher’sPractical Guide org.uk/assessment-practising- Abingdon: NASEN/Routledge certificate/. AvailableasElectronic-Books directlyfromthe catalogue IamabouttorenewmyAPC.DoI Download thefollowing guides from Adams, Wayneand Reynolds,Cecil have to submit areportwritten in the thewebsite: R. (2009) Essentials of WRAML2 ‘new style’ that Ihaveheard about? Obtaining or Renewing an Assessment andTOMAL-2 assessment. Youare rightthatthe wayweare PractisingCertificateOur regularly Hoboken,N.J.: Chichester:Wiley. expected to writeareportfor DSA updated brochure Boyle, Jamesand Fisher, Stephen. purposeshas changed.Thiswas in an An example diagnosticassessment (2007). Educationaltesting. efforttomakethings simplerand clearer reporttemplate Oxford:Blackwell BPS forthe typicalreaderofthese reports. ARenewal Checklist Homack,Susan Rand Reynolds, Templates forreports that describe ACPD Log CecilR.(2007) Essentials assessmentsfor both youngerand older of assessment with brief individualsare availableonthe SASC Attend trainingcourses foranAPC intelligence tests Hoboken,N.J.: website, under downloads, along with submission Chichester:Wiley. guidanceand presentationsfromthe Dyslexia Action also offersa Mather,N.and Wendling,B.J. SASC conference in June 2019 that preparatorycoursefor thosewishing (2012) Essentials of dyslexia provides agreat deal of background. to applyfor,orrenew,anAPC. assessment andintervention. However, if youare renewing before 1 Available as either an onlinecourse Hoboken, N.J.:Wiley. July 2020,you canstill submitan‘old or aone-dayattendancecourse,this Schneider, W.J.,Lichtenberger, E.O., style’ report forrenewal of your APC. training programme covers current Mather,N.and Kaufman, N.L.(2018) best practice in reportwriting and Essentials of assessment report Howmuchdoes it cost to applyfor, preparation forthe submissionofan writing Hoboken,N.J.: Wiley or renew, an APC? APCapplication.See theCPD question Reminder: Areyou making the Fees forAPC application andrenewal forfurther details. mostofyour GuildMembership? Youcan access theGuildMembers’ References websiteand librarylogin at: https:// • JCQ Adjustments forcandidates with disabilitiesand learningdifficulties:Access dyslexiaguild.org.uk/. Arrangementsand ReasonableAdjustments Sept 2019 –Aug 2020.(Para 7.3.3)

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 17 idening participation in healthcarejobs … they presentaunique understandingtothe extent that science, technology, paletteofskills … themainthing is to they canspotconnectionsbetween engineering and nurtureunderstandinginthem … giving strands of learningand benefit from the W mathematics (STEM) them theconfidence that they areableto exploration of linksbetween aspects of subjects hasbeen andcontinues to be flourish in theirchosencareers.…” factual knowledge. an area of focuswithin education.CBH Alireports that so many young 2. Theapplying of knowledgeneedstobe Education is acompanythatworks in a people arebeing turned awaybecause explicitlysupported in sitting examinations very specificareaofthe STEM sector. they arenot gettingthe sort of specialist as well as in work-based roles. It wasfounded in 2018 with avision teacher/tutorsupporttheyneed at the 3. Careersadvice is crucial to ensure to support studentswithdyslexiawho crucial academic junctures.Hestates: that thereisagood fitbetween the arestudying biologyand chemistry “The fundamental problemisthat potentialemployeeand thedemands of programmeswishing to pursueacareer students arenot able to linkscientific therole. in healthcare. Itsfounder andDirector conceptstogether…iftheyare able to of Education,AdamAli,has hadawide graspthe basicconceptsand to link Understanding andexploration rangeofroleswithin thehealthcare them,theycan flourish.” Thereisatension in education between sector including working in salesatthe So,whatisthe exactnature of specialist whatwemight call content-driven and research-based bio-pharmaceutical supportrequired by studentswithdyslexia enquiry-driven approaches.The former company AstraZeneca, as amedical hoping to pursuehealthcarecareers? tends to seethe curriculumasaset of managerinBioavexia (a bio-tech Thereare threestrands to thelife-long factsthatneedtobeamassed (withthe company)and as apharmacistfor learningsupportrequired,which will be amassing being thefocus), whereas MedicinesManagementSolutions. familiar to many of us: thelattertends to emphasise thevalue Ali’sown challenges throughout 1. Teaching (whether in school, of academic exploration forits his education andprofessional life in privatetuition,oratuniversity) ownsake(or forthe benefitsthat inspired him to setupCBH Education must focusonpromoting relational areaccruedbystudents andby as ameanstodismantlethe barriers understanding(Skemp, 1976, teachers whoundertake more he found to existfor students with Mellin-Olsen, 1981), that is, exploratorylearning experiences). dyslexia wanting to enterhealthcare creating frameworks Aliemphasisesthe role of professions: of understanding relational understandingusing “Whenyou drilldownthere aresome so that learners practicalexampleswherever very,verymotivated students who have conceptual, possible. In this he echoes aremorethancapable of workingin schematic Lindeman’s ideas(1926)about

18 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review theneedtocreatelearning‘situations’ This type of learning situation creates support.Hearguesthatcurrently whichunderstanding emerges fargreater demands upon theteacher/ thesystemmay block thebeliefin from andabout theneedtodraw tutorbecause thesuccessofthe teaching students that successispossible in understandingout from explorations is notmeasured as easily as by the sciencesubjects, as theeffort that create insight. Theapproach amassing of aparticular setoffacts.Itis it takestosucceed without advocatedbyCBH Education amoreopen-ended,insight-oriented type structured supportcan be embraces the‘discovery learning’ of understanding. As Hammer(1997)puts daunting.The solution that model describedbyHammer(1997): it:‘…successful instruction dependson he hasdeveloped is enquiry at CBHEducation theonlinelearning teachers’often unanticipated perceptions anddiscovery-oriented, done spaceisviewed‘as an arena, notonly andinsights.One mightcallthis viathe use of mindmaps,by forstudent exploration butalso for discoveryteaching’(p. 485). thedeconstruction teacherexploration,ofthe students’ of concepts and understandingand reasoning,ofthe Applying knowledge by investing time subjectmatter, of what constitutes Alidiscussed theextent in dialogue that progresstoward expertiseand howto to whichabreakdown supportsthe creation of facilitate that progress’. As Aliputsit: in thecareer trajectory relational understanding. “Learning should be funand linked of students can occur in to real-lifeexamples,young children examination hallsduring Careersadvice canhave deep scientific insights and theteenageyears.Many andprofessional this needstobecapitalisedupon rather of thestudents he is working development than limited(by thedemands of aset with have previouslyexperienced Beyond thetutoring aspect of the curriculum).Some kids willgrasp things difficulties demonstrating theirpotential organisation,CBH Education offers quickly,someare factual learners,our in traditional examination settings.A free career advice to support those approach is aboutembedding the constellation of challengesisatplayin seeking careersinacademicresearch modelofwhattypeoflearner they are examination situations, that can perhaps andbothprivateand public sector into thelessonplanstructures… some be reducedtotwo essential areas: applied science andhealthcare lessonsIammixing solutions, some are Thereisthe requirementto roles; this is seen as anotheraspect factual,but many areverypractical… reproducefacts in atighttimeperiod; of supporting students to have youcan learnalot aboutthe nature of retaining andreproducing factual theconfidence to succeed.The forces from justmaking acup of teaand information that is notunderstood is company offerscoursestosupport discussing theprocesses involved.” reported(anecdotally) to be achallenge individualsaspiring to pursue acareer forpeoplewithdyslexia. in healthcare. CBHEducation is also To gainthe higher grades beginning to develop an academy I never understood what buffer in science subjects(as in most structuretooffer peer-support.The solutions were throughout ‘A’ Level academic disciplines) it is important to visionisthatacademy members will or university. Now I understand demonstrate an understanding of links be able to shareideas andshare them and the physiological effects between keyconcepts. As Aliputs experiencesabout howtheyhave they have in the body because I it:“If youlook at organicchemistry, progressed into healthcarecareers. was able to link it to a professional lookatperiodic trends,look at giant Although thecompany is recently course that I was undertaking. I structures,students areoften notable founded,the principles of education gained an insight into how the body to link theseconcepts together.This it espousesand thechallengesit regulates acid-base systems and is where thedifference lies between outlinesfor learners with dyslexia the biological changes associated gainingaCgrade or an A* grade.” will be familiar to allofus. It will be especially within the kidneys, blood Alistatesthathealthcarecareers interestingtotrackthe contribution cells and the respiratory system. forsomestudents with dyslexia it makestotrainingand supporting Adam Ali become blocked because of thelack healthcare professionals in the of availability of specialist scientific years ahead.

References • Hammer,D.(1997). Discovery learning anddiscovery teaching. Cognition andInstruction,15(4), 485-529. • Lindeman,E.C.(1926). TheMeaning of AdultEducation.New York:New Republic.RetrievedSept2015: https://archive.org/details/meaningofadulted00lind. • Mellin-Olson,S.(1981) Instrumentalismasaneducational concept. EducationalStudies in Mathematics,12, 351–67 • Skemp, R.R. (1976) MathematicsTeaching,77, 20–26

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 19 Fellowship of The Dyslexia Guild

Fellowship confers the status - Fellow of the Dyslexia Guild FDG and is the recognition of a significant achievement and contribution in the field of Dyslexia/SpLD. It is encouraged for those who demonstrate an outstanding level of commitment to advancing standards and best practice. Fellows (FDG) are professional members and specialist teacher assessors with a level 7 specialist teacher/ assessor qualification in dyslexia/SpLD.

If youwish to upgradeto this levelofmembership, whichbrings additional memberbenefits,you must alsohave:

•aminimumof7years specialistteaching •heldprofessional and4yearsspecialist Guild membership as a assessment experience Member(MDG) gradefor in dyslexia/SpLD at leastone year

See: https://dyslexiaguild.org.uk/membership- grades/for further information. Researchers Dr Nigel Rodenhurst ADGFE/HE,a universitystudy skillssupporttutor, AmaniDarwish, apsychology lecturer, JanetRoland, alearning supportco-ordinator, LesleyStevens, aspecialistassessor.

English as asecond language: the challengesfor learnerswith dyslexia

Kuniversitiescontinueto past year,whileArabNewsreported be entering UK higher education without face newchallengesto asubstantial increase in applications establishedstrategiesand mechanisms accommodate students with from Arab countries, theUnitedArab fordiagnosisand support. U dyslexia andco-occurring Emirates (UAE)inparticular,using data Within theUAE thereislittleprovision difficultiesand international students.As from UCAS. forspecialeducational needsalthough UK institutionsfeel theconsequences Being aware of thecontext of federallaw doespromote a‘School of Brexit in termsofapplicationsfrom education within the25Arabnations forAll’education policy. However, this EU students,the numbersofstudents butthe UAEinparticular,itisof is appliedunequallyacrossschools from Arab countriescontinues to rise. considerable concern that many withsome privateschools still refusing TimesHigherEducation reporteda students withundiagnoseddyslexiaas to admit studentsonthe basis that 26%dropinEUapplicationsinthe well as second language difficulties will thereisnosupportavailable to them,

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review21 or charging fees forsupport. Whilst samelevel as European students, or an issuerelated to thestudent’s British andAmericanschools have regardless of literacy barriers such first language.Iftests were repeated raisedawareness of dyslexia as a as dyslexia.InArabic, thereare fewer in thestudent’s ownlanguagefor condition as such,there is still no subtlydifferentvowelsounds and comparison, even if this wasdesigned testingmechanism in place that is seen farfewer consonant clusters than in and undertaken in Arabic in orderto as ‘culturallyfair’ (Rakhlin,Aljughaiman, English. Common errorsmadebyArab test thesameaspectsofreadingand andGrigorenko,2019).Asaresult, learners in reading andwriting English spelling, because of thedifferences thereisevidencethatmanystudents (which overlap withthose faced by first betweenArabicand Englishthis could withdyslexiaand co-occurring language English dyslexicstudents) notbecompletelystandardisedand difficulties enterand complete include misreading letterswith‘mirror’ thereforecouldonlyprovidequalitative higher educationwithout ever being shapes, misreadingletters within words information uponwhich assessors diagnosed. Despite this,one studyhas by righttolefteye movements. could make observations. claimedthat17.6% of female students If Arab studentspresent with It is thereforeclear that further hadreading difficulties consistent with problems reading andwriting in English research andconsideration of dyslexia adiagnosisofdyslexiainrelation to andundergoaformal screening and andco-occurring difficulties among both Arabic andEnglish (Aboudan, diagnosis processasitiscurrently Arab students entering UK higher Eapen, Bayshak, Al-Mansouri, andAl- actionedatUKuniversities, the education is absolutely vital, both to Shamsi,2011). difficulties outlined above maymanifest avoid confusing second language In thelightofthis,itfollows that UK themselves in rapid namingtests issues withdyslexiaand co-occurring education providerswill be called upon such as CTOPP2,but withoutaclear difficulties,but also to ensurethat to provide more support to second indication of whether thecause of alow appropriatesupport strategies can language learners withdyslexiaand scoreisrelated to theacknowledged be putinplace forthis potentially co-occurring difficulties,although at weaknesses associatedwithdyslexia expandingdemographic. presentscreeningand diagnostic assessment still relies heavilyonout of date testswhich merely paylip service to anyEnglish language literacy issues that mayrelatetothe student’s first language.Assessorsoften take into account whether or notalanguage is phoneticorhas many irregularspellings in termsofstrain on working memory andbarrierstoautomaticity. Assessors alsosimplyask thequestion,‘do you struggle in thesame wayinyour own language?’ Studentswhose firstlanguageis Arabic encounterspecific challenges whenlearning in English because Arabic orthography is acursive system that runs from righttoleft(Swan and Smith, 2011). Students must first learn anew alphabet,and cannotreasonably be expected to read or writeatthe

References Aboudan, Eapen, Bayshak, Al-Mansouri,and Al-Shamsi.(2011) Dyslexiainthe United Arab Emirates University –AStudy of Prevalence in Englishand Arabic.International JournalofEnglish Linguistics,1(2), 64-72. Bothwell, E. (2019, February 28) Overseasstudent numbers in UK up,but EU numbersfall. TimesHigherEducation.https://www. timeshighereducation.com/news/overseas-student-numbers-uk-eu-numbers-fall Pukas, Anna (2018, February6). Rise in Arab applicationstoUKuniversities. Arab News.http://www.arabnews.com/node/1240581/world Rakhlin, N. V.,Aljughaiman, A.,&Grigorenko, E. L. (2019). Assessinglanguage developmentinArabic: TheArabiclanguage:Evaluation of function(ALEF). AppliedNeuropsychology:Child,1-16. Swan,M&Smith,B.(eds)(2011) Learner English: ATeacher’sGuide to Interference andOther Problems. Cambridge:Cambridge UniversityPress.

22 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review Useful resources and Supporting people informationsources • Gov.UK (nodate) Understandingdisabilities with specific and impairments: user profiles. https://www.gov. uk/government/publications/ understanding-disabilities- learning difficulties and-impairments-user-profiles (Accessed:8October 2019). • Gov.UK (nodate) Accessibility in government:how users change coloursonwebsites People with dyslexia may have other conditions, including https://accessibility.blog.gov. difficulties with numeracy, dyspraxia, attention deficit uk/2017/03/27/how-users- change-colours-on-websites/ disorder (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Accessed:7October 2019). (ADHD). Learning disabilities are neurologically-based • Understoodfor learning& attentionissues(2019)School processing problems, that can often interfere with higher Learning:For educators level skills such as organisation, time management, https://www.understood.org/en/ school-learning/for-educators abstract reasoning, and long or short-term memory. (Accessed 8October 2019). • AbilityNet (nodate) My Computer My Way https:// What can we do to help? visualclues to theeye about whereto mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk/ When writingfor printoronline, writein startand finish. (Accessed 8October 2019). • Dyspraxia Foundation (2019) plainEnglishand break up content with When designingonline forms, allow Information Sheets fromthe headings andlists,putting themost Save and Return optionsand ensure ‘time Dyspraxia Foundation https:// important information at thetop. out’ is reasonable,atleast 20 seconds. dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/ Allowusers to change thecontrast about-dyspraxia/information- sheets/(Accessed 8October Howcan employersoreducation betweenbackground andtexton 2019). websites as they canmakethe best providershelp? • Centre forMentalHealth choicefor themselves. They canmake‘reasonable (2014) The lifetime costsof Avoid brightcolours or colour adjustments’such as: attentiondeficit hyperactivity https://www. combinationsand fast-movingbanners •Introducingsome changestowork disorder (ADHD) centreformentalhealth.org.uk/ as this isdistracting. organisation and/or deadlines sites/default/files/2018-09/adhd. Avoid usingjustifiedtextand italics •Providingpersonaltraining andsupport pdf(Accessed 8October 2019) –all those straightedges do notgive •Makinguse of assistivetechnologies.

Around 3% of the adult population are thought to have 6 dyspraxia but a third of adults seeking years an assessment for dyspraxia were told their GP could not help

1 in 6 ADHD in children aged 5-16 is adults has the reading level of an 11-year-old 1.5% in the UK, and more common 12 among boys 2.6%, than girls 0.5% years 2.6%

Dyspraxia in children 6.3 (around 20% of the UK is usually diagnosed million people population have dyslexia) between ages 6 and 12

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 23 BOOK REVIEW

Language at the Speed of Sight: How we read, why so many can’t, and what can be done about it (2017) Mark Seidenberg: NewYork,NY: Basic Books.

Reviewed by Dr CatherineMarshallMDG,PostgraduateTutor,DyslexiaActionTraining

he keymessage of Seidenberg’s book is to allchildren whoare poor readers, regardless T that it is crucialtoaddress the‘profound of thecause.Hediscussesthe thorny issues disconnection between thescienceofreadingand surrounding definitionsofdyslexiathoughtfully, educational practice’. Teachers mustbegiven a concluding that theaim should always be to identify better understandingofthe theory andresearch andsupportchildren whohave reading difficulties. behind howchildren learntoread. Delving into this Thecomplexityofunderlying interacting factors fascinating andinformative book is agood place to andco-occurring conditionsare addressedinan start. It pullstogether evidence from contemporary accessibleway. research anddiscussesthis within acontext of currenteducational practices(albeit from alargely What canbedone aboutit North Americanperspective). This section of thebook emphasises the importance of considering evidence over Howweread opinion.Itisclear that therehave been Reading is ahighlycomplex greatadvancesinour understanding skill drawingonmultiple of reading in last30years,but that cognitive processes. thereisagulfbetween thereading However, forskilled readers scientistsand educational theseprocesses arelargely practitioners whichneeds to be subconscious, so it is easily bridged so that strugglingreaders takenfor granted. Seidenberg can benefit.This fitswellwith reminds us that reading theaims of Dyslexia Action;we andwriting areveryrecent emphasiseevidence-basedpractice inventions, indeed‘one of the andbelieve that robust links between greatest achievements in human theory andpractice arecrucial to developing history’.Variousapproaches,models and andimplementing effective supportfor individuals theories of howchildren learntoreadare discussed with literacy difficulties. in aclear andintegrative way, withaconsistent Language at theSpeed of Sightpulls emphasis on thelinksbetween writtenand spoken together contemporary perspectives on reading language.Acurrent area of interest in thefieldis development anddyslexia. Arguably, it would have theroleofmorphological awareness in reading benefited from moreconsideration of children acquisition which is touchedupon;hopefully learningtoreadinlanguagesother than Englishfor future modelswill be able to addressthe role of abroader cultural view.However, it is passionately morphology moredirectlyasour understanding writtenand will certainlycontribute to bridging the advances (see Castles, Rastleand Nation,2018). gapbetween reading researchers andpractitioners.

Whysomanycan’t References Seidenberg is clearthatthere arelikelytobe Castles, A.,Rastle, K. andNation,K.Ending theReading Wars:Reading Acquisition from Novice to Expert. myriad reasonswhy some individuals struggle Psychological Science in thePublic Interest.Vol.19(1), withreading,and that we should give attention pp.5-51. 24 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review BOOK REVIEW

Why the Brain Matters: Ateacher explores neuroscience (2019) Jon Tibke, London: Corwin/Sage READER OFFER: Reviewed by Jan Beechey MCILIP, Dyslexia Guild Librarian Orderonline and get20% off!Toclaim your 20% discountsimply visit sagepub. hether youare ateacher, parent knowledge forchildren andhow co.uk, addyourbooktothe W or just someone interested in youmight introduce them to it. basket,and thediscount codeSAGE20DAatthe neuroscienceand thebrain,thisisareally Chapter 4looksatneuromyths checkout. This offer is valid well-thought-out book.Jon Tibkeexplores andChapter 5builds upon this until31/12/2020and cannot what scientific research is trulyrelevantfor andexplores howtokeep up with be usedinconjunction theclassroom, andlooks into some of the theconstantlyexpandingknowledge, withanother offer. grandclaims that aresometimesmade examining aselection of reliable and in thepress.InChapter 1, he considers accuratesources of information.Areally thecurrent knowledge of thebrain that useful skillinthis ageoffakenews. There is of potentialvalue to teachers,usefully is some information abouthow schools drawingattention to thestrengths of some canbecomeinvolved in andinfluence information neuroscience has been able resourcessuch as online programmes, research andalsosomepersonal to shed on these areas. Skills covered websites andbookswhilstnot overlooking historiesoffamous people like Mary arereading, numeracy and mathematics, theirshortcomings.There is aglossary at TempleGrandin (autism) andBarbara neuroscience of creativity, habit formation, the end of each chapter so you caneasily Arrowsmith-Young (learningdifficulties). andattention. As well as investigating how recap onsome of the technicalterms Those withan interest in autismor these five skills are developed and can such as hippocampus or Broca’s area. neuroplasticity (the capacity of the brain be enhanced, Tibke also explores what The following two chapters offer reasons to continually make new connections and neuroscience can reveal when these skills why you, as an educator, can benefit from reorganise existing connections) will find are not developing as expected. The final being aware of knowledge about the brain, this particularly fascinating. chapter explores predictions about the consider resources to support teaching The chapter which will probably be future of educational neuroscience and about the brain, suggest most relevant to all teachers is Chapter examines research that may lead to new what aspects of current 9: Skills, Learning Needs and the Brain. possibilities. information might Here the author selects areas of interest This is a really well-balanced book be health relating to the development of that will help you to understandthe skills and learning difficulties brain and the neuroscientific field so and explores what new that you can think critically aboutitand why it should figure in your professional updates, discussion and development. You can also use it to understand and employ some relevant study skills in finding reliable sources, think critically about research and look for corroboration from related studies, all skills which enhance your own professional development. I highly recommend it.

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 25 BOOK REVIEW

Exploring Children’s Literature: Reading for Knowledge, Understanding and Pleasure (2019) Nikki Gamble: London: Sage

Reviewed by Jan Beechey MCILIP, Dyslexia Guild Librarian

he best waytodevelop young readers is knowledgeable aboutbooksand understand T to ensure they getaccess to materialsthat howtheycan use that knowledge throughtheir engage andinspire them.Thisbook explores how teaching. Theauthorgives some really interesting children’s literature canbeusedinteaching,and insights into howthe National ReadingStrategy is supported by arange of extraonline resources, hadthiseffectonteaching using extracts,rather including furtherbook recommendations. Aimedat than providinganexperience of readingfull text, teachers basedinprimary education,thisresource whenshe first produced this titlein2002. She will be very useful forteachers within secondary says shehas ‘a conviction that deep subject education,aswell, as it covers materialssuitable knowledge of languageand literature provides forolder readers. afoundation foreffective teaching andlearning, WrittenbyNikki Gamble, Director of Just andthe teaching withextractsmilitatedagainst Imagine,anorganisation that subjectknowledge.’ Readingfor that promotesliteracy pleasure hasbecomeahot topicin using high quality education recently forits importance children’s literature,the forbothpersonal fulfilment 4thedition of this book READER OFFER: andacademicachievement. has been arranged in Theauthorgives avery Orderonline and get20% threeparts. comprehensive historyof off!Toclaim your 20% Thefirstpartfocuses discountsimply visit sagepub. children’s literature andthis on thearguments co.uk, addyourbooktothe is especiallyinteresting in fordeveloping your basket,and thediscount thecontext of children’s personal knowledge codeSAGE20DAatthe classicsand picturebooks. checkout. This offer is valid aboutchildren’s Each chapterhas bullet until31/12/2020and cannot literature,and also be usedinconjunction with pointsatthe beginning that children’s reading another offer. outlinewhatisconsidered practices; thesecondpart andabrief recapofthe looksatdifferentaspectsof previouschapter coveredsoyou theliterature such as fantasy, candip in andout to chapters that are realism,classicchildren’s books, relevant to you. picturebooks, comics andgraphic novels, Thereare activities throughoutthatare non-fiction, poetryand humour;the thirdpart designedeithertoallow youtoreflectonyour own considers application in theclassroomand reading journey or your teaching practice butalso developing areadingculture. activities that youcan useinthe classroom. Thereare accounts from expert contributors Thereisawhole chapterdedicated to humour throughout thebooktogivefurther contextto andsomeinsightful uses of humourinthe some of thethemes anddiscussions that are classroom to alleviatestress,anxietyand boredom explored andtohelpteachers use this knowledge butalsotoenhancestudent-teacherrelationships. in theclassroom. Iwould recommendthisbook to anyone Although this is notabook aboutthe teaching engagedinchildren’s literacybut alsothose of reading,itisabout howchildren aresupported teachingteenagers. Thesectionsonpicture to become readers.Teachers need to be books,illustrated fiction,comicsand graphic

26 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review novels is highly relevant to anyone whowants to latest qualitychildren’s literature andillustration, supportstruggling readers. Theauthordraws look out forThe CILIPCarnegie&KateGreenaway on research to arguethatrather than limiting Children’s Book Awards announcements.These interpretation,illustration opens up thetext arebookschosenbylibrarians andare sureto forother possibleinterpretations, stimulating embracemodern themes: imagination andreading comprehension. https://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2019- Graphicnovelsprovide areadingexperience for winners-announced.php both printand visual literacyskillstobedeveloped Schoolscan also getinvolved in the in theclassroom. Thevalue of comicsbothin Shadowers’ChoiceAwardsand ‘shadow’ the termsofhelping readersachieve thetraditional judging process,read, discuss and reviewthe goals of literacy, of offering varying levels of books on each shortlistselectedbythe panelof sophistication andofdevelopingadvanced librarian judgesbetween Marchand June each reading skillsare allexplored in this book. year:https://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/ As part of thethird section,the last two what-is-shadowing.php chapters lookatthe reading school andthe Dyke House School,Hartlepool Shadowing reading classroom.There aresomeinteresting Group leader Angela Bailey describesthe insights into readability andtextlevel.Asmost Carnegie shadowing scheme as “excellent”, as it gradedreadingbookswill have been categorised really encourages students to read.Assomeone by software,there is stillaneed forthe teacheror basedataschool withalarge numberofstudents librariantomakeprofessional judgementsabout whohavealow readingage,she finds that the what mightbesuitabletexts forthe children they scheme really boosts literacylevels. teachregardidinnggmmeeaanniingng andcontextual knowledge.There is also exploration aboutthe imimpporortanceofreading aloud to children andshe proposes some ways to do this effectively.The thirdsection of thebook also looksat developing areadingculture in schoschoolol, effective waysofworking in partnership witwithhppaarreennttss,,aannddtthheebbeenneefifittssooff working withexternalorganisations. In my opiopinniioonn,,iiffyyoouuaarreeiinntteerreesstteeddiinnaa ququiickck wayofkeeping up to date with the

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 27 BOOK REVIEW

FindingYour Voice with Dyslexia/SpLD (2019) Ginny Stacey and Sally Fowler, Oxford: Routledge

Reviewed by David Bailey ADG, CPD tutor, Dyslexia Action Training

hapter 4looksatneuromythsand an optional extra. Forthe book to CFinding Your Voice withDyslexia/ work youmustdownloadafolder SpLD is thefirstinthe series Living of PDFs andWorddocuments. I READER OFFER: ConfidentlywithSpecificLearning followedthe instructionsand read 20%discountfrom Difficulties. It is atransformativetoolthat theprefacecarefully, making notes www.routledge.com canguide those withDyslexia/SpLD and as instructed. From this Iwas able with code A037 until allthose whocarefor,teach,livewithand to identify my readingstyle andto 31/12/2019. love thesepeople. Ibegan my readingas work out my areasofinterest. visualisea an interested andinformedpractitioner Armedwithmyhandily hahappppyey evveentnt. working withindividualswithdyslexia. structured bookmark,downloaded Unfortunately,I’ve SoonhoweverIbecame aparticipant from thecompanion website, Ifocused triedthisbeforeand it observer.Asadyspraxic adultIwishIhad on Chapter 5, Thinking Clearly.Often neverworks forme. My hadthisbook 30 or 40 years ago, whenI with acomplextextlikethis, my mind particular memoryismoreacollection wasstill growing up andmoving through wouldmeander along many interesting of single sentences. Ican’t seem to go those complexstagesoflearning to study, but time-consumingpaths.Having the backand re-build past experiencesthat work andliveindependently. bookmarkgavemeanchor. Istuck to well.However, thereisasecondexercise Thebook is attractive andinteresting to thepurpose of thereading. whichismuchmoreupmystreet. This pick up,packedwithcolourfuldiagrams, Thebeautyofthe book is that oneinvolves sitting andthinking carefully bullet pointed listsand text boxes. Written thereissomething foreveryone.There aboutbuildingahouse,gardenor by someonewithdyslexiaand backed up is throughoutthe book an explicit landscape forvarious family andfriends. by another, it is striking forthe contrasting recognitionthatthere is notasingle This workswonderfullyfor me andI styles of thinking that arecatered for. The ‘dyslexic’ wayofthinking. It encourages have useditonthe train, lying awake or purpose is to empowerthe person with thereadertotry atask butnot be afraid simply as alittlebreak from working on a aspecificlearning difficultytoexpress to lookfor anothertechnique. This part complex issue. It worksevery time. themselves.Ittakes them through of my review thereforehas become Thereissomuch morepackedinto developing awareness of thebestway more personal.Irememberthings well this book that Iamhard-pressed to to organise theirthoughts.Itdoesnot throughstories andanecdotes. Thereis stop.The section on reframingthoughts stop there. It is aboutdeveloping the always an example to illustrate aphrase. through changesinmodalitiesisworth the confidencetosay something to others.It Forexample, thereisaclear textual purchaseprice alone,for teachers trying is designed to show what aperson with description of ‘emotional hi-jacking’ to developagrowthmindset in theirpupils dyslexia can do to improve theirworking, involving theneocortex being bypassed andindeed themselves.One moresimple socialand personal life. by astimulus andgoing through to the buteffective example is theimportance of It is ademandingread. TheLiving amygdala.WhatIwill remembermoreis modalities in our thinking.Whenwesay we Confidentlyseries is something that you theexample–the author could notfind can’t, can,could,wish to,need to or shall have to work hard at.Itisatooltohelp. herdebit card. Untilshe hadtaken steps eatbreakfast,gotothe ball or writethis It is something that requires amature to slow down andreprocess thesituation, assignment it changeshow we feel about approach.Thisisnot abook that most she wasunabletotakesteps to resolveit. abreakfast,the ball or theassignment. people will read from covertocover. Ilikethe wayinwhich theauthors Ithoroughly recommendthisbookfor Unlike withmostbooksyou have to arealwaysthinking of alternatives. those whoare determinedtoimprove read theprefacecarefully, then studya Forexample, one of thestress relief theirmetacognitionand theirthinking chapter. Thecompanion websiteisnot techniques recommended is to andtoanyone whowants to help them.

28 Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review BOOK REVIEW Coping with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and ADHD: AGlobal Perspective (2019) Catherine McBride: Oxford, Routledge

Reviewed by Patricia Fletcher MDG

he author of this book is aProfessor diagnosismadeafter ateacherobserved •Comorbidities: where dyslexia, T of DevelopmentalPsychologyatThe adiscrepancy betweenher conceptual dysgraphia, ADHDoverlap –eithertwo ChineseUniversityofHongKongand is skillsand heractualschoolmarks. combined or allthree together an expert on readingdevelopment across Theauthorstresses theimportanceof •Specificlearning disorder: Dyscalculia; languages,scripts andcultures. Thebook earlyintervention that promises abetter difficulty withmathematical concepts is intended to promote furtherknowledge outcome. Remarkable strategiesfrom andoperations. Additional psychological andenablegreater understandingand interviewees aredescribedsuch as in the disorder of anxiety/depression insightintothe fundamental nature following case studyofcomorbidity.Amy, •Multiplelanguages andliteracy:foreign of thesethree learning difficulties, who hasaMaster’sdegreeinFrench, language andscriptwithin different dyslexia, dysgraphia andattention deficit copeswithspelling difficultwords as she cultures, culturalattitudes aboutlearning hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), uniquely practisestyping them overand overagain andresources seen from aworldwide perspective. on thekeyboardusingmusclememory, •Remediation practices for dyslexia, Thetextmakes interesting reading memorising what it feelslikeinher fingers. dysgraphia andADHD. andhighlights current research as well as At work sheworries that herlearning Chapter 10 considers reading informative storiesofreal-lifeexperiences difficulties will be picked up by others,as comprehension andwriting composition from interviewees andmulticultural she hasdyscalculiaand dyslexia,aswell difficulties,withmanyhelpful suggestions researchers. Thesehelpthe reader gain as ADHD anddysgraphia. Thereader of tackling common strugglessuch as knowledge of thesespecific disabilities discovers hertenacityfor self-help. selecting suitable text that is manageable andspecialneedsaswellasother Chapters 2, 3and 4cover each of forthe reader. commondisabilities andmentaldisorders thecorecharacteristicsofthe three Thebook haseightuseful that areshown to be global difficulties. highlightedspecificlearning difficulties appendices which hold information and The first chapter,‘Understanding with causal factors,whether genetic, advice with practicaltips on dyslexia Learning Disabilities Around the World’, environmentalor both. The reader gains andrelated learning disabilities along focuses on the effects associated with further understanding with reading withworldwidelists of organisations dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD. There citations and many references to follow andwebsites;alistofthe questionnaire are stories from genuine respondents up. In the case of ADHD, a large set of respondents;computer games and such as Danna, one of the 32 real-life studies throughout the world hashelped apps to aidreading development and interviewees, who as an adolescent had a towards understanding the helpfulness aselection of usefulmoviesand video of medication used responsibly and in clipsrelated to dyslexia,dysgraphia, close consultation with professionals. ADHD andother learningdisabilities Chapters 5 to 9 consider different from various countries. Appendix issues relating to: Hgives alistofphonological and morphological awareness exercises to help with reading whichcan also be adaptedtoother languages. Overallthe book leavesyou READER OFFER: feelingthatall things arepossible 20%discountfrom in learning, whatever thedifficulty, www.routledge.com providedthe opportunityisthere with code A037 until to managethe learningprocess. 31/12/2019.

Autumn 2019 | Dyslexia Review 29 Tech Tips

Useful technology shortcuts and apps

KeyboardShortcuts in Adobe WIN – PDFReader arrow keys Ctrl - + / - Zoom in /out Changesize Moreshortcuts canbefound on the of Window Adobewebsite:https://helpx.adobe.com/ Change uk/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html thesizeofyourrmmoouseuse pointer in Windows, SeS ttttiings,DDeviices,MMouse, SpS eechnh ottes – affreeapp speech EnlargingTextinWord RelatedSettings:Adjustmouse and recognition text editor fordictation Ctrl - ] Increasesfontsizeby1pt cursorsize Coggle – afreeapp forWindows Ctrl – [ Decreasesfontsizeby1pt collaborative mind maps Free apps KeyboardShortcuts forWindows Office Lens – free appthatallowsyou Feerequired TheWindowskey (iconof4squares)can to take aphoto of anytextand hear it Read and Write Texthelp – be usedasacontrol key. read aloud appthatsupportslearners’ reading WIN – U OpensAccessibilityUtilities Grammarly – free appthatcan be used andproofreading with speechtotext. WIN – E OpensFileExplorer with theGoogle platformtocheck spelling Learnerscan listen back on theirwork WIN – D Shows your Desktop andgrammar andhearerrors. 30 dayfreetrial available.

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Review! nk you! 50 years of Dyslexia Tha