A Resource Guide About Dyslexia for People in Hawai'i
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A Resource Guide About Dyslexia for People in Hawai‘i Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kathy E. Ferguson, Ph.D. Hawai‘i Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (HIDA) Office: 913 Alewa Drive, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96817 Mailing: P.O. Box 893670, Mililani, Hawai‘i 96789-0670 Phone: (808) 538-7007 Email: [email protected] Website: HI.DyslexiaIDA.org 66749 ResourceGuide_Txt_cc18.indd 1 5/31/18 2:29 PM Copyright © 2018, 2009, 2008 by the Hawai‘i Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (HIDA) All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includ- ing photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without prior written permis- sion from HIDA. Book design by Upspring Media Printed and bound in USA First Edition Printing, February 2008 and March 2009 Second Edition Printing, June 2018 2 3 66749 ResourceGuide_Txt_cc18.indd 2 6/18/18 1:19 PM HIDA — Hawai‘i Branch of the International Dyslexia Association Welcome If you or someone you know has a difficult time with reading, writing, or spelling, this person may well be dyslexic. Dyslexia, sometimes called a specific learning disability (SLD), may pose a major life challenge. One dyslexic child described school as “trying to run through mud. You strug- 1 gle so hard, but you never seem to get anywhere.” Without proper teach- ing, dyslexic learners face a life-long struggle with language. People with dyslexia are often creative thinkers who excel at multidimensional, “big picture” thinking. Yet, the talents that often accompany dyslexia may be masked by the demands of learning to read, write, and spell. There are services and resources available in Hawai‘i to help meet these demands. Recent breakthroughs in scientific research help educators un- derstand how dyslexic brains work. Proven methods of teaching are suc- cessful in opening up the world of the written word. Legal accommoda- tions and technological innovations provide needed support. A network of knowledgeable and committed people and organizations in Hawai‘i can help dyslexic learners and their families meet their needs. This Resource Guide is written to introduce dyslexic learners, their parents, teachers, and other relevant professionals to our community’s resources and to help them take action to meet the needs of the dyslexic persons in their lives. Please visit our website at HI.DyslexiaIDA.org/ for the latest information on workshops, conferences, teacher training, parent support groups, and other events and resources in Hawai‘i. Facing your fears Readers of this Resource Guide may approach the subject with trepida- tion. For the dyslexic learner, the document may be very hard to read. If you are having trouble, go to the HIDA website and use the browsealoud® function to hear this document read aloud. For the parents of a dyslexic child, concern for your child’s future is prob- ably a daily companion. Rick Lavoie, a long-time special education teacher and administrator, reports that parents are often more traumatized by the news that their child is dyslexic than they are by reports of other, far more 1 Katherine Kerston, “The Start of a New School Year,” What Not-So-Famous People with Dyslexia Remember in Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, Inc. (nd) http://www.dys- add.com/backiss.html#notfamous (accessed 10/3/17). 2 3 66749 ResourceGuide_Txt_cc18.indd 3 5/31/18 2:29 PM A Resource Guide about Dyslexia for People in Hawai‘i 2 serious, even life threatening, conditions. Perhaps because dyslexia is a hidden disability, parents may feel confused that a problem they cannot see threatens their child. Perhaps because dyslexia may be hereditary, concern for a child’s wellbeing could trigger difficult memories of the par- ents’ own struggles with language. If you are a teacher, you may be puzzled and frustrated by the challenges of teaching students who, despite your best efforts, just don’t “get it.” If you are a principal or other educator, you may be worried about stretching scarce resources to meet the needs of multiple populations. Don’t be afraid. Instead, be determined. The world of dyslexia offers sig- nificant rewards as well as challenges. This Resource Guide provides use- ful information for everyone in Hawai‘i who is dyslexic, or knows someone who is dyslexic. The knowledge you need in order to take effective action is here. The second edition of this book: a few words on science, politics, language, and money The second edition of this Resource Guide has been revised, updated, and expanded to reflect recent changes and current debates on several topics related to learning disabilities. Science: The scientific study of dyslexia crosses numerous fields, is packed with divergent views, and changes over time. This is, overall, a good thing: science would not be doing its work without thorough investi- gation of competing explanations. The information herein is based on the author’s best efforts to summarize existing scientific research, as well as educational policies and practices, and also to learn from the experiences of qualified educators and from dyslexic individuals and their families. Politics: In the field of education, as in any field, organizations emerge that accumulate resources and make claims to knowledge. These insti- tutions, agencies, and professions can develop vested interests, leading them to advocate or reject interventions based on what they want to be true, not what we know to be true. This makes it difficult for students, parents and educators to get the information and assistance they need. Do not give up: get help, find allies, arm yourself with the best available information, and keep in mind the life-changing benefits that can come from helping everyone learn to read and write. Language: Since this is a document about reading, writing, and spelling, it 2 Rick Lavoie made this comment at a HIDA symposium, “On the Waterbed: The Impact of Learning Disabilities,” Kapi‘olani Community College (September 13, 2003). 4 5 66749 ResourceGuide_Txt_cc18.indd 4 5/31/18 2:29 PM HIDA — Hawai‘i Branch of the International Dyslexia Association is important that it be written and spelled correctly. Yet rules of language change over time. In accordance with emergent changes in language use, this text often uses the pronoun they for the third person, singular, rather than the more cumbersome he or she. A second relevant language debate concerns the best way to speak of persons with disabilities. Some disability activists and scholars consider it more respectful to employ “person-first” language, that is, to talk about people with dyslexia rather than dyslexic people in order to avoid reducing individuals to their disabilities. Others find “person-first” language overly apologetic; they reject the idea that disabilities are something negative and question the possibility of actually separating persons from the cir- 3 cumstances of their disability. These are fruitful debates. This Resource Guide employs both ways of speaking and intends no disrespect. This book insists that dyslexia itself is not a problem; educational systems hostile to dyslexic ways of learning are the problem. Money: Many of the options discussed in this book cost money. Assess- ments, private schools, tutors, and technologies may put a financial bur- den on struggling families. Beware of anyone who promises a “quick fix,” “guaranteed outcome,” or “cure” for learning disabilities. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The only valid intervention for significant learning disabilities lies in the right kind of teaching, delivered by qualified educators in an effective manner. Acknowledgements The second edition of this Resource Guide builds on the first. For both editions, HIDA is indebted to the Donald C. Brace Foundation for major underwriting of the project and to Margaret Higa, now HIDA’s executive di- rector, for her work on behalf of this publication and all of HIDA’s projects. For the second edition, we thank HIDA volunteer Heather Morgan for up- dating local resources; Charles Bering, Rhonda Black, Cindy Carson, Sandy French, Margaret Higa, Andrew Hoffman, Susan Kowen, Donna Sherlock, and Sue Voit for carefully reading and commenting on the manuscript; Katharina Heyer for sharing her expansive knowledge of disability politics; Elizabeth Ishii for steering the important work of HIDA’s Public Awareness Committee; and Cindy Carson for many conversations exploring the excit- ing world of Orton-Gillingham instruction. 3 See Cara Liebowitz, “I am Disabled: On Identity-First versus People-First Lan- guage,” The Body is Not an Apology (March 20, 2015) https://thebodyisnotanapology. com/magazine/i-am-disabled-on-identity-first-versus-people-first-language/ (ac- cessed 1/5/18). My thanks to Katharina Heyer for informed conversations on this and other topics related to disability politics. 4 5 66749 ResourceGuide_Txt_cc18.indd 5 5/31/18 2:29 PM A Resource Guide about Dyslexia for People in Hawai‘i For the first edition, much of which has been incorporated here, HIDA remains indebted to the following individuals and organizations: the Of- fice of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) for financial support; the International Dys- lexia Association (IDA) for a Branch Council mini-grant; Sally Lambert, Dorothy Laughlin-Whitaker, Sandi Tadaki, Sue Voit, Jana Wolff, and Ron Yoshimoto, former board members of HIDA, for creating outlines, doing research, conducting interviews, and reading drafts; Katharina Heyer from the Department of Political Science, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and Ann Ito from the Kokua Program, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, for shar- ing their knowledge of learning disabilities; and Cindy Carson, Peggy Cox, Sandy French, and Rosemary Woodruff for giving their feedback on the manuscript. While all these individuals have contributed to the accuracy and utility of this Resource Guide, any remaining errors are solely the responsibility of the author.