Category: Videos

Homophones and Spelling

1/31/2016

Have any of you seen this picture floating around? I have many times and it bothers me every time I see it.

It's not the picture itself, I understand the point the teacher is trying to make. What bothers me is the line that says "Eye cannot tale you enough how unintelligent you look win you use the wrong word."

Those of you reading this blog know that homophones are difficult for our dyslexic students and you know why. But again, because of a lack of teacher training on dyslexia, most teachers don't understand why and calling a child unintelligent is unacceptable to me.

Why are homophones difficult for dyslexics? Well, spelling in general is difficult. Most people think dyslexia is switching letters in a word, but we know that is not what dyslexia is. I was recently on WBIR and I spoke about what dyslexia is and what to look for as teachers and then how to help. You can watch the video here.

Of course the International Dyslexia Association does a wonderful job talking about spelling and dyslexia and you can find info on the Reading Rockets website. Dyslexia isn't just reading issues, it is a difficulty with language and that includes spelling AND writing.

Comments

Dyslexia Training

10/29/2015

Comments

Last week I did a training on dyslexia and dysgraphia for parents and teachers of Knox County. The Knox County Council PTA and the Knox County Education Association sponsored the event and Knox County Schools approved the PowerPoint which allowed teachers the option to use it as part of their inservice hours. For those of you that were not able to attend KCS also sent someone to video tape the training and I will attach it here.

https://vimeo.com/144021331

Comments

Slipping through the cracks

8/17/2015

Comments

People don't slip through the cracks. They sink. Slowly. While screaming for help to a world that pretends to be deaf.
@SSparklesDaily
I read that on Twitter yesterday and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. I am not sure what the person was referring to when she posted it but it certainly does fit our dyslexic children pretty accurately doesn't it?

Dyslexia can be accurately diagnosed as early as Kindergarten, if we know what to look for, this is why teacher training is so important. Children with dyslexia do tend to slip through the cracks until the earliest 3rd or 4th grade most times, and by that point kids self esteem is already tanking and kids that don't get caught till even later suffer from even more than just self esteem issues. Kids can really begin to hate school, and anything associated with school, and is that really what we want?

There are so many simple things teachers can do for children in the general education classroom that would make a world of difference for a student who struggles. Catching kids with dyslexia before they "slip through the cracks" would make a world of difference and prevent kids from even entering Special Education which a lot of times might not always be the best place for them. This would be a good transition to RTI which I have discussed at length but there is always more to discuss, and I will...soon.

So, how can we help our kids from slipping though the cracks? Teacher training is key. Talk to your child's teacher about what dyslexia is. There are a lot of misconceptions about dyslexia but there are also a lot of great places to go to get the correct information. My favorite video is one from Kelli Sandman-Hurley and it less than 5 minutes long. Share it with your child's teacher and be prepared to answer questions because you will be asked.

Comments

RTI

4/25/2015

Comments

Once again I feel the need to bring up RTI because it is so important for parents to understand this process. Some questions have been brought to my attention that have me really concerned and I would like for all of you to understand your rights under RTI.

Let me state again, I do think RTI is a good starting point for our young students in grades K, 1 and beginning of 2 if necessary. The proper universal screener is finding the students who are struggling and who may have a learning disability and these students are being put into a tier. One would hope the tier has the proper intervention that will address students needs but since the districts are having to pay for these interventions that is not always the case.

Back in January the Knox County School Board was given a presentation on RTI and I wanted you all to hear some key points that were made at the end. This video is only 4 minutes long but please pay attention when it is said that the RTI manual is a guideline. ONLY a guideline. RTI teams make decisions based on each individual child.

(To see the whole discussion, go here and click on the video dated 1/20/15. It begins about an hour in.)

I am getting concerned because schools are keeping students in a tier for a full year with very little intervention change and parents don't know they can request an evaluation to determine if their child qualifies for services. It is important to state that a school is NOT allowed to wait for a parent to request an SLD (specific learning disabilities) evaluation request. This could be a possible violation of child find and you can read about child find in the IDEA regulations subpart B §300.111.

Reading through the federal regulations I came across a comment that was made which I find important...

The child find requirements in §300.111 and section 612(a)(3)(A) of the Act require that all children with disabilities in the State who are in need of special education and related services be identified, located, and evaluated. Therefore, it would generally not be acceptable for an LEA to wait several months to conduct an evaluation or to seek parental consent for an initial evaluation if the public agency suspects the child to be a child with a disability.

If you suspect that your child is struggling and RTI isn't helping, you at any time may request an evaluation for an SLD. Please remember, schools do not diagnose they determine if services are needed and when it comes to dyslexia you will need to do your homework or find an advocate who can help you.

Comments

RTI

1/27/2015

Comments

I recently spoke at my local school board meeting about RTI. The school board was going to be hearing from the district about RTI and how it has been implemented in our district. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I am pretty sure almost every district in Tennessee has implemented RTI2 the way the state has "suggested" in the RTI2 manual. (I do know of one county that is writing their own.)

I want to stress here that the state RTI2 manual is a guideline. Exceptions can be made. Exceptions need to be made. Not every child fits into the box and making a child wait a full year to show very little progress is not fair to that student. I recently sat in a class about RTI2 and the presenter stated, we can see if a child isn't going to make progress after 4 data points. 4! We don't need to wait 32 weeks. We just don't.

Here is my speech. It starts 20 seconds in.

Knox County School Board RTI reality

Comments

What's with the red bridge?

11/29/2014

Comments

The picture we have on our website is of the Henley Street bridge in Knoxville TN. On October 15th, which was Dyslexia Day (1 in 5...October 15th) One of our County Commissioners, Jeff Ownby, asked our City Mayor Madeline Rogero if it could be lit up red for dyslexia awareness day. After a few days of working on this, we got a yes and that is what the picture is. I want to also point out that this was the first time the bridge was ever lit up for a cause.

I went on local news station WATE and spoke about dyslexia, the bridge lighting and why the color red. You can see it here:

WATE Henley Street Bridge Lighting.

Comments

Homophones and Spelling

Dyslexia Training

Slipping through the cracks

RTI

RTI

What's with the red bridge?

Archives

Categories