Intervention & Prevention

Featured FAQs

Question 1: What remedial reading methods work best for students with learning disabilities?

Question 2: I have a number of students with severe disabilities in my classroom that are performing at a level far below their classmates. Should they be in my class? How can I help them?

Question 3: How long should an intervention be tried with little or no progress? Also, should two interventions be tried at the same time if both are beneficial and the student is progressing? Isn't the whole point progress?

Question 4: Does early remediation reduce the need for accommodations? And if so, how much?

Question 5: What’s the best plan for a preschooler with dyslexia entering kindergarten? What should I ask the school to do right from the start?

Question 6: What can we all do to make sure that students with dyslexia get the accommodations they need to demonstrate what they know and to continue their learning?

Question:

What remedial reading methods work best for students with learning disabilities?

Answer:

There are many reading programs available to help struggling readers. Reading programs should address the individual needs of each child. Effective programs target the learning areas needing attention, and also present information in a way that is the most beneficial to the childs learning preference.

There is no perfect method for teaching reading, and no one method works for everyone. However, there are several research-based programs that can help struggling readers. The following articles highlight some of these programs:

On Reading Rockets, there are several articles that address reading programs and their benefits for young children:

Question:

I have a number of students with severe disabilities in my classroom that are performing at a level far below their classmates. Should they be in my class? How can I help them?

Answer:

Students with varying disabilities, representing a wide range of age levels, can be taught very successfully when grouped together, provided the teacher has significant training and assistance. This practice is called inclusion. Since each child's IEP governs his or her schooling, such students need individualized programs but can easily be grouped with others for many lessons. More and more, teachers are expected to meet each child's unique needs regardless of their educational "labels" of special, gifted or general.

Check to see what academic goals exist for each student. Some may need to be with non-handicapped students in order to develop social skills, with limited expectations for academic achievement. Meet with the special educators to determine how you can support these children. Usually, some degree of differentiated instruction (DI) is required.

LD OnLine has sections devoted to Inclusion and Differentiating Instruction. Reading Rockets also has information on Differentiated Instruction:

Also check the following sources:

National Professional Resources, Inc. has a good inventory of videos and books on differentiation

Question:

How long should an intervention be tried with little or no progress? Also, should two interventions be tried at the same time if both are beneficial and the student is progressing? Isn't the whole point progress?

Answer:

Based on our research and others' research, we recommend 10-20 weeks of a validated tutoring program. We don't generally recommend two programs at the same time because (a) due to costs, reduces the number of students who can be tutored successfully and (b) it's possible that the two tutoring programs use different sequences/methods, which may be counterproductive.

Question:

Does early remediation reduce the need for accommodations? And if so, how much?

Answer:

There is some early indications that a highly effective intervention provided early on can result in the ability to read not only accurately but fluently (rapidly) as well. There are no follow-up data on these children, nor are there, to my knowledge, data indicating that later remediations are producing fluent readers.

So, while the hope is there that early remediation will produce fluent readers, the evidence is still coming in. At this time, children who are dyslexic will generally require extra time and other accommodations as they go through school, including postsecondary. Accommodations such as extra time are vital to allowing a bright dyslexic child demonstrate their knowledge and not be penalized by slow reading.

In the future, children who are receiving new, scientifically-based effective, reading interventions, may become fluent readers and not require additional time and other accommodations. That is the hope —but we are still gathering the evidence.

— Dr. Sally Shaywitz

Question:

What’s the best plan for a preschooler with dyslexia entering kindergarten? What should I ask the school to do right from the start?

Answer:

Beginning kindergarten is an important to ensure that an at-risk child receives the right help. The critical areas are: assessment, instruction and monitoring. The child's language and phonological and readiness skills should be assessed. Next, there are now available several evidence-based, developmentally appropriate reading readiness programs available; they generally stress teaching child about the sounds of spoken language, how letters represent these sounds and introduce a child to early reading skills.

Vocabulary and listening to stories as well as early writing are introduced. The elements should be provided in a systematic and explicit fashion; dyslexic children do not learn by osmosis. Simply surrounding a child with books is insufficient, he or she must be taught explicitly.

Finally, they should be continuously monitored; there are instruments now available that all up-to-the-minute frequent monitoring of reading progress. And you, as a parent, should continuously ask to ensure that the reading instruction is based on evidence of efficacy and that your child's progress is being carefully monitored and that if she or he is not making progress, modifications are quickly made. Catching a reading problem early and doing the right things can ensure a bright future for your child. Good luck!

— Dr. Sally Shaywitz

Question:

What can we all do to make sure that students with dyslexia get the accommodations they need to demonstrate what they know and to continue their learning?

Answer:

Accommodations are essential for a dyslexic reader. Brain imaging studies demonstrate that the fast pathways for fluent reading do not develop in dyslexic readers. As a result, such a reader must rely on slower pathways that allow him or her to read accurately, but not rapidly.

Unfortunately, accommodations are greatly misunderstood. We must all work to ensure that the nature and rationale and the necessity for accommodations are understand. We should not accept the flawed logic that if a person is doing relatively well in school he does not require accommodations. Dyslexics may do very well in school as a result of accommodations and this should not be used as an excuse to deny accommodations.

In Chapter 2 of Overcoming Dyslexia, you'll find information about and answers to the most common questions asked about accommodations. We should all work hard to ensure that this critical information is disseminated and that schools and testing agencies decisions reflect scientific knowledge about dyslexia and not outdated myths.

I cannot emphasize how important accommodations are virtually a life line for dyslexics. Now that we understand the scientific necessity for accommodations, we must ensure that each student receives the accommodations he or she needs.

— Dr. Sally Shaywitz