The good news is that we have had a scientific breakthrough in our knowledge about the development of literacy. We know a great deal about how to address reading problems even before they begin…The tragedy is that we are not exploiting what we know about reducing the incidence of reading failure. Specifically, the instruction currently being provided to our children does not reflect what we know from research.
Screening, diagnosing, and progress monitoring are essential to making sure that all students become fluent readers — and the words-correct per-minute (WCPM) procedure can work for all three. Here’s how teachers can use it to make well-informed and timely decisions about the instructional needs of their students.
Dyslexia is not an emotional disorder, but the frustrating nature of this learning disability can lead to feelings of anxiety, anger, low self–esteem and depression. Read scenarios in the dyslexic child’s life that can give rise to social and emotional difficulties. Discover how to help children deal successfully with these challenges.
Socioeconomic differences are conventionally indexed by such demographic variables as household income and parents’ education and occupation, alone or in some weighted combination.
In 1964, Dr. Frostig began promoting theories and findings that were truly “cutting edge” for her time. She proposed the belief that “perceptual development precedes conceptual development” and identified the strong correlation between learning and visual/perceptual abilities. Her theories and her assessment tools were used extensively for over a decade to identify and remediate children’s learning problems. Her pioneering work spawned hundreds of research projects … and some of those studies debunked and contradicted her early theories.
Every state defines who is eligible to receive special education and related services. Some states, such as Maryland, choose to define special education students using the same disability criteria as the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. However, not all states choose to follow this formula and many make their own “student with disabilities” definition. The state definition serves as a guide, along with specific disability definitions, for determining eligibility criteria when evaluating a child for inclusion in special education programs.
Here are a dozen simple strategies to help your children keep the academic skills they learned during the school year. Support them as they read. Give them material that is motivating — and some of it should be easy. Help them enjoy books and feel pleasure — not pressure — from reading. The summer should be a relaxed time where their love of learning can flower.