The Community School of Bergen County For the child tvhose potential exceeds perfonrumce PROFESSIONAL MONOGRAPH SERIES THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL OF BERGEN COUNTY ■ MONOGRAPH NUMBER NINE ■ APRiL1996 Language Training at Community High School: It's Never Too Late by Toby Braunstein, Director of Education, Community High School million children, or approximately one child in School has specialized in working with stu five. According to G. Reid Lyon, neuropsychol Sincedentsits inception, whoseCommunity disabilities affectHigh the reading ogist at the National Institute of Child Health and writing process (dyslexia), as well as the and Human Development, longitudinal studies acquisition of effective study and organizational show that, of the children who are reading dis skills. Over the years, students who experience abled in the third grade, seventy-four percent attentional problems (ADHD & ADD) have remain disabled in the ninth grade. Fortunately, also achieved success within our program. Our current in-depth research and updating of goals are the development and refinement of the methodologies have led to a clearer understand basic skills necessary for success in post- sec ing of the needs of the student with dyslexia. In ondary placements. Therefore, the educational our own backyard the New Jersey Branch of the program for each student is planned to meet his Orton Dyslexia Society has worked ciuite hard in or her unique abilities, needs and interests. Our the development of the most operational defini students can learn—high school is not too late! tion of dyslexia, which was included in the Governor's proclamation at their October 1995 In the last decade, we have seen an annual conference: increase in the number of students coming to us with severe deficits in reading. In fact, it is esti Dyslexia is a specific language based dis mated that reading disabilities affect at least ten order of constitutional origin character- ized by difficulties in single word decod Together they joined the neuro-scientific infor ing, usually reflecting insufficient mation and educational practices upon which phonological processing abilities. And, their philosophy is based. Their principles state whereas, in spite of average or above clearly the need for a multi-sensory approach to average intelligence, some people with reading based on building a network of sound- this disability cannot learn to read, write symbol associations of vowels and consonants. or spell by conventional methods. When As these skills develop, students will begin to a proper program is put into place, such read and write words, sentences and eventually as a highly structured multisensory pho paragraphs. netic approach pioneered by Dr. Samuel T. Orton, dyslexia can be overcome. Nancy Esterman, faculty member, thera pist and dyslexia specialist has been instrumental Within our High School, students with in the development of Community High dyslexia present quite a challenge. They are the School's language training curriculum. She has intelligent disabled readers who work hard and effectively worked with many of our disabled require special teaching techniques. The word readers—ultimately enabling them to "break the dyslexia is derived from the Greek — dys (diffi code" and move into reading independence. culty with) and lexis (words). It is characterized During daily structured sessions, she guides stu by problems in language—both expressive and dents through a multi-sensory, phonetic reading receptive. We have found over the years that program that includes instruction in word identi many students with dyslexia come to us with fication, spelling and writing. The Orton- vastly different learning abilities. Often gifted Gillingham method integrates reading and writ and creative, they have suffered greatly from ing for the student with dyslexia. For some of their language processing problems. Though try these students, it will be the first time they are as they may to break the code and to translate able to read and spell words as simple as cat or as language, they continue to demonstrate a major advanced as illustrate. As they progress, com gap between their learning aptitude and overall prehension strategies are offered and continually achievement in school. strengthened . The profiles of our students with dyslexia Each of our students is unique, each com may include deficits in the following areas: ing to us with his/her own strengths and weak phonological awareness, word identification nesses. Each must work his way through the (decoding), spelling (encoding), reading compre language training curriculum at his or her own hension, written expression, oral expression, pace. Consequently, we have found that most directionality, sequencing and handwriting. As students who participate in language training one can see, any area of language processing can will do so throughout their high school experi be affected. It was with this group in mind that ence. They all share a common goal—the our language training program was developed. development and refinement of their skills for Our language training curriculum has its roots in use within a post secondary placement and ulti the early works of Dr. Samuel Orton, a neuro- mately in a career. Successful outcomes are usu psychiatrist and pathologist, who along with ally seen when basic skills of literacy are brought Anna Gillingham, noted educator and psycholo up to at least a minimal level and can be coupled gist, developed the Orton-Gillingham approach. with compensatory skills. 2 One young man who comes to mind by the end of the year he was testing at an early demonstrates a successful progression through 5th grade level in decoding, with stronger com the CLitricuium and into college life. Andy was prehension potential beginning to surface. As a an attractive, athletic young man of 14 when he junior, he continued to mature and he began to entered Community High School. His reading pursue and broaden his interests. He was elected comprehension was at 3rd grade and his spelling to student council, became a key member of our level was approximately 2.0. He had just com varsity basketball team and earned his life guard pleted 8th grade at a small private elementary certification. With self-esteem now intact, he school that specialized in educating learning dis embarked on a more deliberate course of action. abled students. He demonstrated solid intellec Homework quality improved, as did daily class tual abilities with many strengths noted. Oral room production. He was recommended for expression was in the high average range, as was more advanced courses such as chemistry and comprehension. Testing, as well as his intake psychology. These subjects are offered at our interview, revealed good social reasoning ability. High School with accommodations such as taped Attention problems were described in all reports. textbooks, homework support and tutorial with Weaknesses were noted in auditory memory and our learning consultant. At the beginning of his processing, and in the visual motor areas. senior year, Andy was astonished by his accep Initially, Andy needed plenty of time and sup tance into a major university which would be port for his adjustment into our departmentalized able to provide a comprehensive support pro program. In fact, Andy did not know where to gram. Andy's high school training, motivation begin to incorporate the written word into his and social ability so impressed the university that daily routine. Out language training program he was accepted on the day of his interview! would prove to he his salvation. Early sessions Andy is now in the homestretch. We recently with Nancy Esterman focused primarily on estab saw his mother at a conference where she related lishing a rapport, the bonding so necessary for that she cannot believe "how hard he's working." the personal commitment of the adolescent with He is a determined young adult with a goal. The dyslexia. Diagnostic testing indicated Andy's big difference now is that Andy believes he can need to start from the beginning, as he lacked achieve his goals. even the most basic phonemic awareness. Andy Andy typifies in so many ways the profile had no understanding of language structure at of adolescents with dyslexia. Out students have all. He could not order or organize letters and shown us that intervention can never come too sounds and, because of a history of reading fail late. Through sequential, multisensoty training ure he was unwilling to risk, instead demonstrat we have seen that we can lead a teenager to ing avoidance behaviors so commonly seen in reading independence. adolescents who fear reading. Though Andy had sensitive teachers and highly supportive parents, In an effort to expand our language train it took a solid year of mostly individualized ing program we have trained additional faculty instruction before he realized his progress and members in the Orton method and currently truly vested himself in the program. Andy's lan include 25 students in the program. Also, Mrs. guage training was on its way. Throughout Esterman has been instrumental in the integra Andy's second year his interest was inconsistent, tion of multisensoty techniques across the cur however, he was encouraged to be persistent and riculum. Ever mindful of Community School's 3 mission and the many "Andys" in our future, we believe that it is through the development of continue to seek the hest and most innovative indepeiadeiat reading skills that out students caia techniques for teaching students to read. We realize their educatioiaal and vocational poteiatial. The Professional Monograph Series The Community School of Bergen County L o w e r S c h o o l 11 West Forest Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666 (201) 837-8070 High School 1135 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666 (201) 862-1796 4.