If you’re thinking of hiring a private specialist to test your child for a learning disability, here are some key questions to ask yourself and the prospective evaluator.
Learning to read is a challenge for many kids, but most can become good readers if they get the right help. Here are some signs to look for and things to do if you suspect your child is having trouble reading.
This article discusses current research-supported instructional practices in reading and writing. It also reviews alternatives to ability-achievement discrepancy in identifying students for special education services, as well as introduces the idea that ability-achievement discrepancies should be based on specific cognitive factors that are relevant to specific kinds of learning disabilities rather than Full Scale IQ.
The purpose of this National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD) report is to examine the concepts, potential benefits, practical issues, and unanswered questions associated with responsiveness to intervention (RTI) and learning disabilities (LD). A brief overview of the approach is provided, including attributes, characteristics, and promising features, as well as issues, concerns, unanswered questions, and research needs.
Learn how schools use screening and progress monitoring tools to identify dyslexia characteristics, and then implement reading interventions for students who need dyslexia-specific instruction. You’ll also find out about classroom accommodations and modifications that can help your child learn, as well as information about referrals for special education.
Children come to our classrooms from so many different ability levels and backgrounds. As a teacher, it’s important to recognize and know what to do to help a struggling reader.
This article explains how to consider your child’s present levels of academic performance and use baseline data to develop goals and objectives for a individualized education program.
When a doctor develops a treatment plan for a sick child, the doctor uses objective data from diagnostic tests. Your child’s individualized education program is similar to a medical treatment plan, and you need objective tests to know that your child is acquiring reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.
Individualized education program (IEP) goals cannot be broad statements about what a child will accomplish. Goals that cannot be measured are non-goals. Learn how to help the IEP team devise specific, measurable, realistic goals.
This is a cautionary tale, not just for people who have no real idea of what a learning disability is and probably suspect the whole thing is an overindulgent scam, but also for any parent of a child struggling mightily through school.
Your child may be eligible for special services that will help him or her succeed as a reader. Find out basic information about special education and which children are eligible for receiving special education services.
Spelling is a challenge for people with dyslexia. The International Dyslexia Association provides a fact sheet explaining why people with dyslexia have trouble spelling, how to find out the reasons a particular child has this difficulty, and how to help children with dyslexia spell better.
Spelling difficulties can be enduring in individuals with reading disabilities, sometimes even after reading has been successfully remediated. Addressing spelling difficulties is important, because poor spelling can hamper writing and can convey a negative impression even when the content of the writing is excellent.
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.
Parents and teachers can sympathize with struggling readers to a point, but they are usually far removed from the challenge of learning to read themselves. However, this reading specialist suffered a head injury and tells her story of what it was like to know how to decode but not to comprehend what she read.
For young children who have struggled socially or academically during preschool, transition to kindergarten needs careful planning and attention. See four suggestions for parents of children who may need extra help making a successful move to kindergarten.
First and foremost, struggling readers need excellent reading instruction from their classroom teachers in order to overcome their difficulties. Many schools are also equipped to provide extra help to the children who need it.
A psychologist specializing in language-based learning disabilities explains how to talk to children about their LD: All the parts you need to be smart are in your brain. Nothing is missing or broken. The difference between your brain and one that doesn’t have an LD is that your brain gets “traffic jams” on certain highways.
Text-to-speech (TTS) is a type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud. It’s sometimes called “read aloud” technology. TTS can take words on a computer or other digital device and convert them into audio. TTS is very helpful for kids who struggle with reading, but it can also help kids with writing and editing, and even focusing.
Learn the basics about text-to-speech, what the research says about how well it supports comprehension, tips on how to get the most out of the technology, and a short list of recommended text-to-speech tools.
Learn the answers to 10 commonly asked questions that families and educators of students with disabilities have about charter schools. You’ll also find links to state-specific resources that can help you better understand how charter schools work in your individual state.
Parents and teachers as well as other professionals are required by law to be involved in writing a student’s IEP. Find out about the members of an IEP team and the roles they play.
