How the Brain Learns to Read
Page 19
Use the following checklist to determine whether a child may be displaying problems. Circle the appropriate response to the right of each indicator. Those indicators marked “often” should be discussed among parents, teachers, and specialists in speech and language pathologies.
Preschool
Kindergarten and First Grade
Second to Fourth Grade
Fifth to Eighth Grade
These lists can be useful tools in assessing whether a child (or an adult) displays the symptoms common to those diagnosed with reading problems, including dyslexia. The symptoms must be persistent and not the occasional error. Persistence over a prolonged period of time is the key to determining the likelihood of dyslexia or any other physical condition that is interfering with the child’s ability to read.
It is not unusual for struggling readers and dyslexic students to be depressed by their reading failures and self-conscious about their difficulties in the classroom. They often find the classroom a very stressful environment and are likely to exhibit behavior problems if they do not receive the special consideration that they need. Because dyslexia is a spectrum disorder ranging from mild to severe, children who are only mildly affected may exhibit one or a few of the problems mentioned in the checklists.
Remember the Strengths of Struggling Readers
Remember that struggling readers frequently have strengths in other areas, such as higher-order cognitive thinking that can help them manage or overcome their difficulties with reading. Many students with dyslexia are able to go on to higher education and be successful. But their reading deficits do not go away. One study looked at more than 100 college students with and without dyslexia and compared their reading ability (Kirby, Silvestri, Allingham, Parrila, & La Fave, 2008). Not surprisingly, the students with dyslexia reported that they continued to experience reading difficulties, especially in word reading, despite their average mental ability. They scored lower than the students without dyslexia on tests of selecting the main idea and on test-taking strategies. Students with dyslexia also reported using more study aids and time management strategies, and they were more likely to use a deep approach to learning than students without dyslexia. But the differences between the two groups were weaker in other reading measures, suggesting that those with dyslexia were able to compensate for their persistent word reading difficulties and become sufficiently competent readers to survive successfully in a university.
Growing scientific evidence continues to support the notion that most dyslexia is caused by deficits in phonological processing. It is important to recognize that dyslexia does not reflect an overall impairment in language, intelligence, or thinking skills. Many smart people are dyslexic. Rather, for most people it reflects an overall problem with the ability of a specific brain system, referred to earlier as the visual word form area, to put together the sounds of language to form words and to break words down into their basic sounds. This focus allows research to more closely examine the nature of these deficits and to explore methods for remediation. Other research evidence suggests that dyslexia may have multiple causes that require different forms of intervention. No doubt, some individuals display dyslexic symptoms because of visual and auditory problems not directly associated with phonological processing, but their numbers are small.
Famous people with dyslexia include:
Hans Christian Andersen (Author)
Winston Churchill (Statesman)
Tom Cruise (Actor)
Leonardo da Vinci (Painter)
Walt Disney (Producer)
Albert Einstein (Physicist)
Jay Leno (Comedian)
Auguste Rodin (Sculptor)
Steven Spielberg (Director)
W. B. Yeats (Poet)
Because reading does not come naturally to the human brain, children learning to read have to put much effort into associating their spoken language with the alphabet and with word recognition. To do this successfully, phonemic awareness is essential. In light of recent research, educators should have second thoughts about reading programs that delay phonemic awareness or that treat it as an ancillary skill to be learned in context with general reading.
Educators should also become more aware of the scientific research into dyslexia and be able to recognize when students are having persistent reading problems. Early identification of struggling readers leads to early intervention. Researchers agree that a systematic, intensive, and comprehensive approach to early intervention can significantly reduce the number of students reading below the Basic level of proficiency.
A Note About “Cures” for Dyslexia
From time to time we read about a newly discovered scientific “cure” for dyslexia. Remember that dyslexia is mainly the result of persistent difficulties with phonological processing. It is a language-based disorder. Any treatments that focus on other causes should be viewed with caution. For example, one claim from Britain was that dyslexia was caused by an underdeveloped cerebellum—the part of the brain responsible for motor coordination. Treatment involves stimulating the cerebellum by repeated physical activities and balancing exercises. According to the proponents, dyslexic students using this intervention showed improvement in reading and writing.
Another claim is that dyslexia is caused mainly by vision problems. One “cure” involves “vision therapy” including eye exercises, while another suggests that colored lenses are the answer. Here, too, proponents claim that dyslexic children have improved their reading skills.
None of the above claims is supported or explained by current scientific knowledge or research. The scientific community is generally skeptical of any claims of curing developmental dyslexia. It is a lifelong spectral disorder that can be overcome best through early and appropriate interventions that are systematic, sequential, and focused on developing phonological awareness.
Answer to Test Question #7
Question: Dyslexic students often have problems in other cognitive areas.
Answer: False. Dyslexic students have had to construct extensive neural pathways and enhance specific neural regions when struggling to read. As a result, they often have strong capabilities in problem solving, reasoning, critical thinking, and concept formation.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION/REFLECTION
• What are the most common causes of reading problems?
• What have brain imaging scans revealed about struggling and dyslexic readers?
• What are some methods for detecting reading problems?
What’s Coming?
After recognizing that certain students are having reading problems, the next step is to select interventions that have been shown to be successful in helping struggling readers. All teachers are teachers of reading, and thus should have the training to strengthen the reading skills of students at every grade level. How to teach students with difficulties in reading is the focus of the next chapter.
6
Overcoming Reading Problems
Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.
—Joseph Addison (1672–1719)
Many teachers work hard every day trying to help students with reading problems overcome their difficulties. Just how successful are these teachers? Are they using the evidence-based practices required by federal regulations, especially in special education classes designed to help students with reading difficulties? We observed in Chapter 5 that the NAEP reading scores of fourth-grade students have not significantly improved in the last decade (Figure 5.1). Clearly, we need to do better.
The key to helping children overcome reading problems is early diagnosis. Chapter 5 dealt with the various clues that can alert parents and teachers to potential difficulties in learning to read. When there is sufficient evidence that a child is at risk for developing reading problems, quick and early intervention is essential. Several reading programs that are based on the more recent research have proven successful with struggling readers. The programs adhere to the notion that for children to beco
me literate, they must break the reading code. Children with dyslexia may use different neural pathways and may have to work harder, but they still must master the skills of decoding printed text into recognizable sounds.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR TEACHING STUDENTS WITH READING PROBLEMS
The regular classroom teacher typically works the most with struggling readers and helps them learn to read. When teachers suspect that a student has reading problems, it is generally useful to assess that student’s skill level. Commercially available tests include the Lindamood Auditory Conceptualization Test, the Phonological Awareness Test, and the Gray Oral Reading Test. These and other tests assess specific skills, ranging from phonemic awareness to processing speed as well as auditory and verbal comprehension. Results from these assessments help teachers to design the instructional strategies and interventions that are most likely to succeed with a particular student. The following points might make the instructional process somewhat easier and more successful (DITT, 2001; Wawryk-Epp, Harrison, & Prentice, 2004).
General Considerations
• Make your classroom expectations clear in age-appropriate language.
• Ensure that classroom procedures are orderly, structured, and predictable.
• Remember that many struggling readers can learn to read. They just need different kinds of instructional strategies and intense practice.
• Be constructive and positive. Labeling the child rather than the behavior can be disabling. Avoid labels and sarcasm that undermine the instructional environment and adversely affect the child’s self-concept and performance.
• Recognize that struggling readers may take up to three times longer to complete work and will tire quickly.
• Avoid appeals to “try harder.” Scanning studies show that the brains of struggling readers are already expending extra effort while decoding print, and these appeals will not improve performance. What is needed is slower speed with clearer comprehension.
• Determine and then complement these children’s abilities, and teach through their strengths. Plan lessons so the students experience a sense of accomplishment rather than failure.
• Use formative assessments frequently to measure students’ progress and level of skill acquisition.
In the Elementary Classroom
• Get a complete explanation of the child’s history of problems encountered when learning to read.
• Select scientifically researched reading strategies and use a multisensory approach.
• Recognize the frustration that these students feel as they struggle to read.
• Show concern and understanding.
• Recognize that performance may be well below the child’s potential.
• Remember that this child learns in different ways, but can learn.
• Realize that the child may have behavioral and self-esteem problems.
• Develop good student-teacher rapport.
• Maintain contact with the child’s parents and give them periodic progress reports. Make suggestions of what they can do with the child at home to complement your classroom strategies.
• Ensure that other classmates understand the nature of dyslexia so that the child is not bullied or mocked.
• Assign a buddy to help the struggling reader in the class and school.
• Encourage the child to point out talents and strengths.
In the Secondary Classroom
• Get a complete explanation of the student’s history of reading problems.
• Use a multisensory approach in classroom instruction.
• Recognize the compounded frustrations of an adolescent with dyslexia.
• Remember that students with dyslexia learn in different ways, but they can learn.
• Realize that these teenagers may have problems with their self-esteem.
• Recognize that these students may also have behavior or truancy problems.
• Realize that these students often have a significant gap between their performance and their potential.
• Show concern and understanding.
• Use diagrams and graphic organizers when teaching. Advanced organizers that contain important notes about the lesson are also very helpful and can help prevent failure.
• Develop good student-teacher rapport.
• Maintain contact with the student’s parents and give them periodic progress reports. Make suggestions of what they can do with the student at home to complement your classroom strategies.
• Ensure that these students’ legal rights are adhered to when taking tests.
• Children with mild dyslexia often develop coping strategies in elementary school. Be aware that these strategies may be inadequate for the complex and multifaceted secondary curriculum.
• Ensure that any remedial materials are relevant to the maturity and not the academic level of the student.
• Be aware that struggling readers can have great difficulty reading an unseen text aloud in class. Asking them to do this can adversely affect their self-esteem.
BASIC INGREDIENTS OF EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS
The National Reading Panel (NRP, 2000) and the National Early Literacy Panel (NELP, 2008) have strongly recommended that beginning reading programs focus on systematic and explicit instruction in helping children master the alphabetic principle, especially for children at risk for reading difficulties. Dozens of reading programs flood the market every year. Deciding which program can best meet the needs of struggling readers is now easier thanks to our greater understanding of how the brain learns to read. Based on this understanding, a reading program is likely to be successful in helping children with reading difficulties if it includes explicit instruction in phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle, as well as word identification skills that lead to accurate, fluent reading and comprehension. Multiple research studies demonstrate the success of this approach, especially for English language learners and children from low-income urban areas (e.g., Menzies, Mahdavi, & Lewis, 2008; O’Connor, Bocian, Beebe-Frankenberger, & Linklater, 2010; Yurick, Cartledge, Kourea, & Keyes, 2012).
Response to Intervention
When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, it included an assistance model known as response to intervention (RTI). This model is a three-tier approach to the early identification and support for students with learning and behavior needs. RTI’s Tier 1 starts with high-quality, scientifically based instruction in the general education classrooms. Ongoing screen and assessment provide information about each student’s rate of learning and level of achievement, both as an individual and in comparison with the peer group.
Students who do not make adequate progress in Tier 1 move on to Tier 2 where they get increasingly intensive instruction, depending on their needs and rates of progress. This instruction is in small groups and is in addition to the general curriculum. Students who continue to have difficulties and show little progress in achievement are considered for Tier 3. Instruction at this level is intensive and individualized to target the student’s specific deficits. If the student’s level of achievement is still not adequate, then that student is referred for a comprehensive evaluation and eligibility for special education services.
There are a number of successful variations of the RTI model that schools are using to assist students with reading difficulties (e.g., Jenkins, Schiller, Blackorby, Thayer, & Tilly, 2013). Research studies show that, when appropriately implemented, RTI is an effective approach for helping students improve their reading skills (e.g., Callender, 2007; Vaughn, Wanzek, Linan-Thompson, & Murray, 2007; Vellutino, Scanlon, Zhang, & Schatschneider, 2008).
How Do I Develop Phonemic Awareness in Struggling Readers?
Training in phonemic awareness needs to be more intense for children with reading disabilities. Reading programs are filled with activities for separating words into phonemes, synthesizing phonemes into words, and deleting and substituting pho
nemes. Research studies (e.g., Harn, Linan-Thompson, & Roberts, 2008; Menzies et al., 2008) suggest that the development of phonemic awareness is more likely to be successful if it contains three important components. First, there should be a monitoring system that assesses the students’ progress and the rate at which they acquire reading skills. Too often, student assessments in the primary grades are random and too widely spaced in time. As a result, students who are not making adequate progress can be overlooked, while others may not receive instruction appropriate to their advanced skill level.
Second, instruction is intense by placing students in small groups. Having a low student-teacher ratio allows teachers to individualize and differentiate instruction, approaches that have been shown to be effective in numerous studies. Third, instruction is explicitly aimed at improving phonemic awareness and the understanding of the alphabetic principle. For example, one instructional component can focus on phonemic awareness, another on decoding and fluency, and a third one on guided reading techniques.
Teachers are likely to be successful in developing phonemic awareness with struggling readers if they consider these general principles when planning instruction (Chard & Osborn, 1998; Phillips & Torgesen, 2006):
• Continuous sounds before stop sounds. Start with continuous sounds such as /s/, /m/, and /f/ that are easier to pronounce. As students become more successful with these sounds, move to the stop sounds of /b/, /k/, and /p/.
• Modeling. Be sure to model carefully and accurately each activity when it is first introduced.
• Easy to complex tasks. Move from easier tasks, such as rhyming, to more complex tasks, such as blending and segmenting. Monitor progress along the way.