Adult Student and Recipes for Reading

For slightly over a year, I've been using Recipes for Reading (an Orton-Gillingham type of comprehensive reading instruction) on an adult student who is severely disabled. To be honest, he has improved from a first grade reading level to a second grade reading level. Right now I think he's at least a 2.7 reading level. He's just finished blends and some two-syllable words. It takes a lot of time just to get him to learn certain sounds. However, he still struggles with short vowel sounds. Does anyone have any suggestions to help a older student of about 62 years of age with short vowel sounds?

I really appreciate any comments!!

Any Advice?

I've been tutoring students by using Orton Gillingham method for almost a year. Unfortunately, I run into snags here and there. For example, one of my students is having a difficult time with decoding two-syllable words. I'm still in the early stages of teaching him but sometimes it seems as if he remembers certain similiar words and tries to say what he remembers and not exactly what's in front of him. And when I work on reading comprehension, a few of my students struggle with sequencing of events, remembering what happened and vocabulary. It is a very difficult process but does anyone have any suggestions?

Awesome Experience with my Student

Today I had the awesome opportunity to see one of my students make substantial progress. Before I begin my Orton-Gillingham lesson, I do a phoneme awareness drill of rhymes and onsets and phoneme identification. Then I have my student sound-out words. Thankfully, I found out that by placing tactile letters one at a time in front of my student while he touched and sounded-out each letter of a word, he learned such words as cog, cad, cod, gag and dog. My student had an extremely difficult time sounding out-words, but now he can do them easily with the help of tactile cues.

There are wonderful resources to help train individuals with learning disabilities. Check out www.espbooks.com.

Explore Great Training Possibilities

Teaching reading to students with learning disabilities can be done through simple self-training. Anyone can purchase materials in order to teach students with reading disabilities. For example, the Recipe for Reading book along with the Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read can be easily followed in a step-by-step fashion. Please go to http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/pop-ups/rtu_pop-up.asp?series=491M&seriesdescription=Recipe%20for%20.

For educators that would like hands-on training, there are workshops or conferences given on-line or in-person. Workshops and webinars are great ways to experience an effective teaching approach by a qualified trainer. Please go to http://www.ncld.org/other-ncld-sites

Whatever evidence-based method that you choose to pursue, I’m sure it will definitely have a positive impact on the lives of your struggling readers!

Great evidence-based possibilities!

1. Orton-Gillingham
2. Wilson Reading System
3. Corrective Reading

Strategies and Resources for Learning Disabilities

Strategies and Techniques

1. Keep it simple. Never use to many words or complex instructions. Rephrase word (s) if necessary.
2. Use many visual images. Sometimes I may use pictures, cut-out words, maps to help my students learn, or “charade” a word by providing hand/body or visual clues of a word.
3. The use of kinesthetics: have students tap-out sounds and trace words on paper, in the air or in sand.

Resources

1. My favorite resources are Wilson Readers, which offer tap-out techniques and reading comprehension practice.
2. Recipe for Reading workbooks provide good reading strategies.
3. And leveled nonfiction books of student interest. Nonfiction books help my students learn because they are easier to relate to and comprehend.

Helping People with Learning Disabilities

Everyday is a challenge to help my students with learning disabilities in a small library setting. I run a reading program that’s based on an evidence-based program named the Orton-Gillingham approach. I make sure that I use various Orton-Gillingham components such as phoneme awareness drills. I often use many rhymes since “tuning into rhymes sensitizes very young children to the fact that words come apart” (Shaywitz, 2003, p 178).

My students that are struggling readers seem to be steadily improving. Teaching a phonologically based reading method to struggling readers is at times quite difficult but very rewarding. Everyday I stick with an Orton-Gillingham based lesson plan and resources such as Recipes for Reading and Wilson Readers. I use techniques that include a combination of sound, letter and word recognition drills and dictatation. When my students are having a tough time learning a word, I will use multisensory techniques such as having them tap-out or clap-out sounds or finger trace letters of a word in the air until they eventually learn a particular word. The Orton-Gillingham approach seems to be working for my students but, of course, the type of techniques to use and the pace of the program vary from student to student.

Reference

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at any Level. New York: NY. Vintage books, A Division of Random House, Inc. Reference

Learning Disabilties and Rural Libraries

What are Learning Disabilties?

Everyone is familiar with various stereotypical words or phrases directed at people who have learning challenges. Common words such as “stupid”, “dummy” or “idiot” are often heard by people who may have difficulties in achieving academic success. In certain educational facilities, people with learning disabilities may be placed in special classes, made specifically for people with “low-intelligence”. What does this mean for a people who have difficulties learning? Well, it perhaps means that a person may suffer from negative opinions of his or her self. According to Veritcy Learning, “An LLD is not a reflection of low intelligence but it can negatively impact your child's self-esteem and confidence” (Verticy Learning, n.d.). A learning disability does not reflect a person’s intellect; however the perceptions of a leaning disability are very skewed, as they reflect grave misunderstandings on how people with a reading disability learn.

Learning disabilities can be language based. Language-based learning disabilities are not cognitive-based (cognitive-based meaning that a person may suffer from an extremely low intelligence score). However, language-based learning disabilities reflect an intrinsic inability to grasp certain language concepts, which are not due to a cognitive deficit. According to Verticy Learning, a language learning disability “affects the way the brain processes information and can impact how a child learns to read, write, hear, speak, or calculate. Children have different learning styles, but some students experience a greater disconnection between their academic aptitude and their ability to read or write” (Verticy Learning, n.d.).

Unfortunately, there are many people that suffer from some type of language-based learning disability. It is reported that at least 20 percent of the United States population has some form of language-based learning disability. The International Dyslexia Association reported that “A: 15-20% of the population have a language-based learning disability. Of the students with specific learning disabilities receiving special education services, 70-80% have deficits in reading” (2007). In other words, many people have a learning disability but more people suffer from a reading disability.

What is the prominent type of language-based disabilities? Dyslexia is the most common form of learning disability, as previously stated more than 70% of the population has a reading disability. And dyslexia is a type of reading disability. Dyslexia is as an inability to read as they may recognize various letters such as misinterpreting the letter 'a' for an 'o' or a 'd' for a 'b' (The Dyslexia Tutoring Program, 2004) . The International Dyslexia Association defines it as “It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities” (2007). And Dyslexia affects males and females equally and does not matter the person’s race or socioeconomic background (The International Dyslexia Association, 2007).

Fortunately, the purpose of this blog is to address the need for rural library services and resources to enhance the quality of life for people who are struggling readers. Does anyone know of any struggling readers in their rural libraries? How do you effectively service them?

References

The Dyslexia Tutoring Program (2004). Retrieved on September 26, 2009 from http://www.dyslexiatutoringprogram.org/

International Dyslexia Association (2007). IDA Facts on Dyslexia and Related Language-Based Learning Differences. Retrieved on September 27, 2009 from www.interdys.org

Verticy Learning. (n.d.) LLD Facts and Resources. Retrieved on September 27, 2009 from www.verticylearning.org