Fall 2011 Dyslexia E-Newsletter

from Bright Solutions for Dyslexia

www.BrightSolutions.US

New Website

Take a look at our updated website, which was just posted on August 27.

It has the same information, but in a new design and is organized differently. Hopefully, it will be much easier to find the information you need.

www.BrightSolutions.US

Then each time Susan Barton posts new research or articles or other important information about dyslexia, you will see it instantly in your Facebook Newsfeed.

Or instead, from within Facebook, search for Bright Solutions for Dyslexia and look through the new postings on our wall.

Homeschooling parents (or those thinking about homeschooling) need advice on how to incorporate the Barton Reading & Spelling System, what to do about math, how to teach the other subjects (and which curriculum to use), how their children can socialize and participate in sports, and many other things.

So Susan Barton created a free 30-minute presentations for Homeschooler Parents – and those who are thinking about it.

To watch it now, click here, and when asked, type in your first and last name.

To download the handout that goes along with that presentation, click here.

Dyslexia Makes Voices Hard to Discern

Excerpt from an article by Jennifer Carpenter
Published July 29, 2011
on www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment

Because people with dyslexia are known to struggle with phonemes when reading, a US-based team of scientists at MIT wondered if they would also struggle hearing them in people’s voices.

To investigate, the team grouped 30 people of similar age, education and IQ into two camps: those with and without dyslexia.

The subjects went through a training period to learn to associate 10 different voices – half speaking English and half speaking Chinese – with 10 computer-generated avatars.

Non-dyslexics outperformed people with dyslexia by 40% when listening to English. However, that advantage disappeared when the groups were listening to Chinese – because neither group had learned to hear Chinese phonemes.

“Our results are the first to explicitly link impairment in reading ability to impairment in ecologically processing spoken language,” said researcher Tyler Perrachione.

To read the entire article, click here.

Scanning for Early Signs of Reading Woes

Excerpt from an article in the journal Science
Published August 18, 2011
On www.sciencecareers.sciencemag.org

The average dyslexic child is not diagnosed – and so does not begin to receive intensive reading help – until she is in 2nd or 3rd grade. But intervening in kindergarten, or earlier, is known to be effective.

Studies in preschoolers have shown that glitches in certain prereading skills, such as rhyming or rapid object naming, are associated with later dyslexia. Nadine Gaab, a researcher at Children’s Hospital in Boston, hopes to pin down markers in younger children, perhaps even infants.

Using brain scans, Gaab and her colleagues have found less gray matter in brain areas involved in mapping sounds in preschoolers, and neural deficits that prevent them from properly processing fast-changing sounds.

To read the entire article, click here.

Dyslexia Gene Controls Cilia in Brain Neurons

Excerpt from an article from Karolinska Institutet
Published June 20, 2011
On www.news-medical.net

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that a gene linked to dyslexia has a surprising biological function: it controls cilia, the antenna-like projections that cells use to communicate.

Dyslelxia is largely hereditary and linked to a number of genes. One of these genes, DCDC2, is involved in regulating the signaling of cilia in brain neurons.

To read the entire article, click here.

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Classroom Accommodations

Until a child’s reading, spelling and writing skills reach grade level, the child will need some simple, free, no-training-required classroom accommodations.

With accommodations, the child can learn the same curriculum as everyone else and prove his knowledge – while a tutor is building the child's skills as rapidly as possible.

Even if your child does not have an IEP or a 504 Plan, it is worth asking the teacher to provide at least 5 of them for 30 days – so the teacher will see what a difference accommodations make.

To learn which ones a child with dyslexia needs, watch my free on-line video called Classroom Accommodations by clicking here.

To download the handout that goes along with that video, click here.

The Importance of Assistive Technology

Excerpt from an article by Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Published on August 23, 2011
on www.thechart.blogs.cnn.com

Ben Foss, who graduated from Stanford University with a law degree, shared:

“People like to say that I have overcome dyslexia. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

“What I have overcome is the mainstream world. A person in a wheelchair overcomes stairs with a ramp. I have overcome people who think dyslexia equals lazy.”

“In college, I used to fax my term papers home to my mom to get help finding my spelling mistakes. When I got to graduate school, it took 3 weeks to get my textbooks converted to digital text so I could listen to a computer read them aloud.”

“That led me to invent the Intel Reader. For me, it is a ramp into a book.”

Ben Foss, now the executive director of Disability Rights Advocates, also states:

“We are everywhere. If you work with 500 people, at least 50 have dyslexia. But if we do not stand up and talk about it, the kids coming up behind us will believe they are broken. They are not. Together we can overcome, or better yet, fix the world around us.”

To read the entire article, or watch a video clip, click here.

How to Advocate for Assistive Technology

Excerpt from an article by Dave Edyburn
Published in 2009
on www.advocacyinstitute.org

Fewer than 5% of students with disabilities a re assistive technology users. Yet federal law requires consideration of assistive technology when developing an IEP or a 504 Plan.

If a school official says “We’ve considered your child’s need for assistive technology and have determined that s/he will not benefit . . .”

You should say, “I would like to review the documentation that supports your decision. In particular, I would like to see the data regarding performance with assistive technology and performance without.”

To learn many other effective ways to advocate for assistive technology, read the entire article by clicking here.

To see Susan Barton’s favorite technology tools (which would count as assistive technology), click here.

Homework Accommodations

If your child has dyslexia, you dread those nightly “homework wars.” Homework takes hours longer than it should, and even with your help, that time is filled with tears, frustration, yelling and resistance.

But if you provide just 3 accommodations during homework time, your child can finish in a reasonable length of time – without the tears and frustration.

To get a list of those 3 homework accommodations, click here.

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Most of the accommodations mentioned above will only be needed until your child has received enough tutoring using the Barton Reading & Spelling System to bring their skills up to grade level.

Is that really possible? Yes – no matter what prior curriculum or tutoring has not worked, no matter how old the student, and no matter who does the tutoring: the parent, volunteer tutors, a reading specialist at school, or professional tutors.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of unsolicited emails Susan Barton has received lately.

From a Homeschool Parent

I would like to thank you for the wonderful program you have developed. I wish I would have found it sooner! I have worked on reading with my dyslexic daughter for years, and sometimes felt more frustrated than helped by our former curriculum.

I love how the Barton System is broken down so that the student is learning one thing at a time. Your spelling and syllable division rules, and any exceptions, are clear. I love knowing exactly how I'm supposed to be teaching the program.

I especially appreciate how available you make help for those using the Barton System. I've not needed it yet, but I'm thankful knowing it's just an e-mail or phone call away!

Kim Baar, Homeschool Parent
Jerome, ID

From a Barton Coordinator in an Early Intervention Program

I am the Barton Coordinator at a public school that uses parents as volunteer Barton tutors. Due to your in-depth training DVDs and scripted lesson plans, volunteers are as successful as professional tutors. In fact, I just received this great news from the teacher of two 5th graders who just started receiving Barton tutoring, twice a week, this year, from volunteer tutors.

"We took the SRI last week, and both Mark and Rose improved over 250 points since the beginning of the year. They had the largest amount of growth in the class! Since most students are expected to grow about 75-100 points a year, it was impressive to see these below grade level readers jump multiple grade levels in a year."

"Both have noticed how much more confident they are and how much easier it is for them to read chapter and higher level books, even reading aloud at times to the class. They are now just shy of grade level reading, and I think this new-found confidence will make a HUGE difference with their success in middle school."

Rachel Abramovitz, Certified Barton Tutor at the Advanced Level
and Barton Program Coordinator
at Discovery Charter School, San Jose, C A

From a Grandparent

In May of 2010, my grandson, Soren, had just completed 3rd grade having always been homeschooled by his mother. As a retired elementary school teacher, it was obvious Soren was struggling with reading. At that time, he was still uncertain about the sounds of several letters, and he had a very small number of sight words he had memorized. He struggled with small words, like it, is there and the.

I hired a wonderful Barton tutor, who worked with him 2 to 3 times a week for 50 minutes per session, with breaks for holidays and vacations.

It is now July of 2011, and Soren is near the end of Level 5 of your wonderful program. I estimate Soren is now reading at a 4th grade level – at least. More importantly, he never leaves home without a book, and his confidence is amazingly high.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Because of you, and his wonderful Certified Barton tutor, Karen Benson, my grandson can read. Whatever effort you put into your program was not wasted and has totally changed Soren’s life.

Prior to your program, he was talking about being a cook or working at the local feed store because those jobs did not need reading. Now, the sky is the limit and he is talking about going to college. All I can say is YAHOO!

Lolly Skinner, Grandparent and Retired Teacher
Prescott, AZ

From a Certified Barton Tutor

Preston just finished all 10 levels of the Barton System. When he started, his goal was to make Honor Role in his very competitive charter school. At that time, he was way behind.

I am pleased to report that during this past year, he made the Honor Role each semester. He is now a very solid student.

And this past semester, he received his school’s Excellence in Education award. Your program has made all of that possible.

Gay Green, Certified Barton Tutor
Parker, CO

From the Director of an Urban Community Center

Illiteracy is an issue in Lupe’s family, and Lupe is no exception. Despite years of Special Education classes, she had a pattern of continued failure in school and was reading at a mere 2nd grade level. She dropped out of high school after one semester. At age 17, Lupe became a teenage mother and realized, in despair, that she would never be able to help her beautiful four-month-old son in school someday. That’s when she called me, her former Community Center Director and mentor, asking if I would help her get back into high school in the Youn Mother’s program so she could learn to read. “I don’t want my little boy to grow up like I did, with a mother who can’t read,” she worried.

Two years later, despite the efforts of dedicated Special Education teachers, Lupe was still only reading at a 3rd grade level. It broke my heart when, at her IEP meeting, she asked the school psychologist, “Why can’t I learn to read?”

And then, a wonderful thing happened. Reading specialist Karen Isaacson came into Lupe’s life, using the Barton Reading & Spelling System. Karen’s enthusiasm and “can do” spirit is contagious, and within months, Lupe was learning to read beyond anyone’s expectations, especially hers.

It has been like watching a rose bud come into full bloom. Lupe can and is learning to read! This growth – not only in reading but in self-confidence – means so much to her.

Thanks to the brilliance of the Barton Reading & Spelling System and Karen’s enthusiastic tutoring, Lupe is on the way to success . . . not only in reading, but in life!

Betty Watson, Educator and Director
Urban Community Center
San Jose, CA

Become a Tutor

To learn how you can become a Barton tutor, click here.

Hire a Certified Barton Tutor

If you would rather hire a tutor than become one, click here.

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Dyslexia is the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me

Excerpt of an article by Donna Flagg
Posted August 25, 2011
on www.HuffingtonPost.com

My mother still agonizes over how I went through a living h*** in school as a result of being dyslexic and undiagnosed. It pains her to think that there was something my father and she could have done to spare me the grief, humiliation and shame of not being able to perform like my peers.

Today, I’m healthy and happy and highly engaged in my life, all things I consider more valuable than regrets over what had been.

Plus, in some weird ironic way, my success today is directly tied to my failures of the past – not because of the scars, but because of what I had to learn in order to survive in a system that did not recognize me as a legitimate member.

To read the rest of her article, click here.

10 Things I Wish I’d Known About Learning Disabilities

Excerpt from article by Jane Ross
Published August 2, 2011
on www.SmartKidsWithLD.org

1. Trust yourself
Although his teachers said my son was fine, I knew in my heart that something was wrong. He skipped words when reading, spelled words differently each time he wrote them, and couldn’t subtract to save his soul.

2. Trust your child
I knew my child was smart. But like many children with LD, he has strengths that are not necessarily valued in the classroom – visual, spatial and musical abilities, good interpersonal skills, and a terrific sense of humor.

3. Get your child tested
Even if school administrators discourage you, testing is critical if you suspect something is wrong. Neither you nor the school can help your child if you don’t know what the problem is.