Overcoming Dyslexia For Dummies

Tracey Wood, MEd, is a children's reading specialist and the author of several books, including Teaching Kids to Read For Dummies and Teaching Kids to Spell For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You’re Not to Read 3

Foolish Assumptions 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part I: Figuring Out What Dyslexia Is All About 4

Part II: Determining When to Get a Diagnosis 4

Part III: Exploring Your Options for Schools and Programs 4

Part IV: Taking Part in Your Child’s Treatment 5

Part V: Moving beyond the Childhood Years 5

Part VI: The Part of Tens 5

Part VII: Appendixes 5

Icons Used in This Book 5

Where to Go from Here 6

Part I: Figuring Out What Dyslexia Is All About 7

Chapter 1: Understanding the Basics of Dyslexia 9

Defining Dyslexia in Plain Terms 10

Zeroing In on the Symptoms of Dyslexia 11

Deciding When to Have Your Child Tested 12

Exploring Different Schools and Programs for Your Child 13

Helping Your Child with Activities at Home 14

Watching Your Dyslexic Child Grow 16

Chapter 2: Pinpointing What Dyslexia Is (And Isn’t) 17

Understanding the Real Meaning of “Dyslexia” 17

Looking at the straight facts 17

Moving away from common misconceptions 18

Classifying dyslexia as a “learning disability” 19

Investigating the Causes of Dyslexia 20

Weighing up brain research 20

Getting into genetics 22

Breaking Down Dyslexia into Different Types 23

Looking at Other “Dys” Conditions Related to Dyslexia 24

Dysgraphia: Difficulty with writing 24

Dyscalculia: Difficulty with math 25

Dyspraxia: Difficulty with motor skills 25

Comparing Dyslexia to ADD and ADHD 26

Examining ADD 27

Checking out ADHD 28

Chapter 3: Being Alert to Symptoms of Dyslexia at Any Age 29

Understanding Why It’s Important to Look for Signs 30

Appreciating that dyslexia is unexpected 30

Being savvy about screening tests and what one teacher can do 31

Avoiding the “wait awhile” trap 32

Noticing Your Preschooler’s Late Development 32

Watching Your School-Age Child Fade 33

Recognizing Signs of Dyslexia at Older Ages 35

Seeking out signs in teenagers 35

Acknowledging adult symptoms 36

Referring to Your Family’s History 37

Part II: Determining When to Get a Diagnosis 39

Chapter 4: Watching Your Child Carefully at a Young Age 41

Keeping a Close Eye on Early Skills 41

Talking late and unclearly 42

Battling ear infections 43

Seeing a range of vision problems 44

Having trouble with playing and dressing 46

Displaying weak pre-reading skills 47

Engaging in Pre-Reading Activities at Home 48

Developing print awareness 48

Zeroing in on phonemic and phonics skills 48

Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten 51

Stirring up good feelings about school 51

Helping your child with language skills 52

Nurturing other academic skills 52

Encouraging fine motor skills 53

Showing your child what’s sociable 54

Putting your child in charge of his personal information 54

Chapter 5: Acting Quickly with Your School-Age Child 55

Understanding Why a Quick Response to Reading Problems Is Critical 55

Noticing Dyslexic-like Behaviors at Home 57

Struggling with written words 57

Feeling unhappy 58

Being disorganized 58

Asking Your Child’s Teacher to Look for Dyslexic-like Behaviors in Class 59

Laboring with reading 60

Writing with difficulty 61

Making predictable spelling errors 62

Coping with other classroom tasks and issues 63

Behaving unusually 63

Chapter 6: Testing Your Child for Dyslexia 65

Deciding When to Get a Diagnosis 66

Examining Different Kinds of Tests 67

Looking at language tests for preschoolers 67

Making sense of vision and hearing tests 68

Surveying early screening tests 69

Understanding IQ tests 70

Picking out performance tests 71

Charging up for a test battery 73

Choosing Your Test Administrator Wisely 74

Selecting a specialist within your child’s school district 74

Investigating independent testers outside your child’s school district 75

Preparing Your Child (And Yourself) for Testing 77

Receiving Test Results and Putting Them to Work 78

Breaking down terminology in test results 79

Finding out that your child has an LD 80

Discovering that your child won’t be recognized as having an LD 81

Looking at Your Options When You Decide Not to Test 85

Part III: Exploring Your Options for Schools and Programs 87

Chapter 7: Choosing the Best School for Your Child 89

Questioning the Kind of School Your Child Needs 90

Looking at What a Traditional Public School Offers 92

Supplying assessment services 92

Homing in on school programs 92

Giving help above and beyond the classroom 96

Providing sensitivity to your child’s needs 97

Meeting the Staff in a Traditional Public School 99

Familiarizing yourself with the classroom teacher 99

Acquainting yourself with the resource teacher 101

Checking out school specialists 102

Paying special attention to the support staff 103

Taking note of the principal 103

Getting the Scoop on Alternative Schooling 104

Finding out about charter schools 104

Feeling the pull of magnet schools 105

Choosing a private school 105

Examining Montessori schools 106

Walking the Waldorf (or Steiner) path 106

Deciding on a school for dyslexics 107

Thinking about home schooling 108

Chapter 8: Investigating the Individualized Education Program 113

Probing into the Basics of an IEP 113

The nuts and bolts of an IEP meeting 114

The fine print of an IEP document 115

Ensuring a Successful IEP Meeting 117

Preparing yourself 117

Making the meeting work for you 119

Surveying the Services That Your Child Receives with an IEP 120

Looking at the Legal Nitty-Gritty of IEPs 121

Examining the acts governing IEPs 121

Knowing your rights — and your child’s 123

Chapter 9: Securing Help without an Individualized Education Program 125

Making the Most of Choices in School 125

Looking for Help Outside School 126

Scoping out specialized dyslexia therapies 126

Considering dyslexia clinics 127

Paying an individual tutor 128

Opting for a general learning center 130

Giving Academic Support at Home 134

Letting your child take the lead with homework 134

Setting up homework management methods 135

Using technology 137

Steering clear of a math meltdown 141

Chapter 10: Working Productively with Your Child’s Teacher 143

Requesting and Preparing for a Conference 144

Asking the teacher to meet 144

Assembling important info 145

Determining whether to bring your child 145

Keeping a Conference on Track and Following Up Smartly 146

Creating a positive mood 146

Emphasizing your child’s needs 147

Pushing your points firmly 148

Adhering to the teacher’s goals 149

Taking action after a conference 149

Coming Up with Cool Accommodations 150

Understanding oral instructions clearly 151

Reading large amounts of text 151

Comprehending text 152

Writing large amounts of text 152

Copying from the board with ease 153

Spelling successfully 153

Finishing classroom work and homework on time 154

Avoiding Dyslexic Land Mines with a Teacher’s Help 154

Being graded, tested, and (worst) retained 154

Learning in parrot fashion 158

Part IV: Taking Part in Your Child’s Treatment 159

Chapter 11: Putting Memorizing, Visualizing, and Rhyming to Good Use 161

One by One: Starting with Single Letters 161

Drawing pictures into vowels 162

Knocking b and d into shape 163

Putting P in its place 165

Letters Joining Forces: Getting on Top of a Few Good Spelling Rules 165

Blatantly Bossy e 166

Extroverted and introverted vowels 168

An old favorite: “i before e except after c” 169

I Know You! Having Fun with Sight Words 171

Ten at a time 172

Picture this 173

Bang! 174

Word roll 174

Five up 175

Bingo 175

Do You See the Sea? Distinguishing between Sound-Alike Words 176

The Hard Stuff: Remembering Especially Tricky Words 178

Chapter 12: Playing with Phonics 179

Emphasizing Single Letters 179

Cozying up with consonants 180

Taking a long look at short vowels 181

Introducing letters by name 182

Building Three-Letter Words in Word Families 182

Putting together “at” 183

Moving on up with “bat,” “cat,” “fat,” and more 183

Running through additional word families 184

Mixing It Up with Blended Consonants 184

Blends at the beginning 185

Blends at the end 185

Delving into Digraphs 187

Mastering Tricky Vowel Sounds 189

Opening up to long vowels 190

Hearing “y” sound like a vowel 190

Surveying schwa vowels 192

Singling out sound-alike chunks featuring vowels 193

Partnering vowels with “r” 196

Lopping vowels off the ends of words 197

Bringing Consonants under Control 198

Unmasking consonants in disguise 198

Sounding out the softies 199

Spotting the silent types 202

Doubling up 203

Chapter 13: Sprinting Ahead with Reading Basics and Practice 205

See Jane Read: Looking at Reading Fundamentals 205

Being quick to recognize sight words 206

Feeling good about phonics 207

Understanding about comprehension 207

In the Habit: Establishing a Happy Reading Routine 209

Page after Page: Using Special Strategies for Reading Success 211

Choosing the right books 212

Reading to your child first 215

Pairing up to read 216

Running through multiple readings 217

Nice and Gentle: Handling Your Child’s Difficulties with Kindness 219

Knowing when to give a quick answer 219

Having your child figure a word out when the time is right 220

Helping your child find contextual cues 220

Chapter 14: Taking Advantage of Multisensory Methods 223

Bringing the Term “Multisensory” Down to Earth 223

Distinguishing multisensory teaching from traditional methods 224

Fitting together “multisensory” and “structured and sequential” teaching 225

Setting the Stage for Multisensory Success 226

Making Homework Multisensory 227

Setting up a happier homework environment 227

Helping your child understand new information 228

Having Practical Stuff for Playing at Your Fingertips 229

Modeling clay 229

Gummy mixtures 229

Sandpaper 230

Laminate 230

Scissors 231

Flashcards 231

Board games 233

Computer games 234

Other great tools to have on hand 234

Working Physical Activity into Your Child’s Routine 235

Experimenting with Alternative Multisensory Treatments 236

Coloring pages of text 236

Reading a new font 237

Listening to different messages in each ear 237

Eating fish 238

Chapter 15: Handling Everyday Activities and Difficulties 239

Talking Your Child into Feeling Good 240

Understanding your child’s feelings 240

Listening carefully 241

Empowering your child 243

Responding calmly to your child’s mistakes 244

Helping Your Child with Space, Time, and Sequence 245

Spacing out 246

Timing is everything 250

Following a sequence 252

Maintaining Harmony in the Home 254

Sharing the load 254

Toeing the line 254

Strengthening bonds between siblings 255

Part V: Moving beyond the Childhood Years 257

Chapter 16: Assisting Dyslexic Teens 259

Instilling New Life Skills 259

Aiming for high self-esteem 260

Fostering more independence at home 261

Making time for rest and play 262

Getting behind the driver’s wheel 262

Facing School Challenges Head-On 263

Moving toward self-reliance with schoolwork 263

Enforcing order on those files 264

Staying on top of all the reading and writing 264

Taking notes 266

Studying the right foreign language 268

Giving great speeches 270

Planning for college and jobs 270

Encouraging the Development of Work Skills 271

Keeping up with extracurricular activities 271

Doing some good with community service 272

Finding a part-time job 272

Chapter 17: Heading Off to College 275

Keeping a Well-Stocked Portfolio 275

Providing proof of dyslexia 276

Gathering academic results 277

Giving evidence of school and community involvement 281

Researching Majors and Schools 282

Deciding on potential fields of interest 282

Examining different types of colleges 282

Focusing on Target Schools 284

Touring campuses 284

Asking about disability programs 285

Handling the Application and Interview Process 285

Completing applications with ease 286

Impressing interviewers 287

Picking the Winning School 288

Finding Help with Financing 289

Successfully Keeping Up with Grades 291

Chapter 18: Succeeding with Dyslexia in Adulthood 293

Benefiting from a Late Diagnosis 293

Looking at Helpful Programs and Treatments for Adults 295

Heading to the classroom 296

Improving your reading skills at home 296

Knowing Your Workplace Rights as a Dyslexic Adult 297

Making small accommodations for big results 298

Receiving reliable advice 299

Keeping Family and Friends in the Frame 299

Part VI: The Part of Tens 301

Chapter 19: Ten Tools for Making a Dyslexic’s Life Easier 303

A Pencil Grip 303

Pens with Erasable Ink 303

Colored Files and Other Handy Items 304

A Wristwatch 304

A Pocket Spell Checker 304

A Cell Phone and a Personal Organizer 305

Books on Tape (Or CD) 305

A Photocopier 305

A Word Processor and the Internet 306

Speech-to-Text Software 306

Chapter 20: Ten Well-Known Dyslexia Programs and Treatments 307

Orton-Gillingham and Other Phonics-Based Reading Programs 307

Treatments That Tune into Sounds 308

Berard Auditory Integration Training (AIT) 308

Fast ForWord Language 309

Earobics 310

Tomatis 310

Treatments That Focus on Vision 311

Davis Dyslexia Correction 311

The Irlen Method 311

Treatments That Get Physical 312

Balametrics 312

Brain Gym 312

The DORE Program 313

Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes 313

Audiblox 314

PACE 314

All Kinds of Minds 315

The Feingold Program 315

Levinson Medical Centers 316

Part VII: Appendixes 317

Appendix A: An Informal Assessment of Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Skills 319

Picking Out Pre-Reading Skills 320

Visual discrimination 320

Auditory discrimination 321

Phonemic awareness 323

Examining Early Reading Skills 324

Knowing single letters 325

Trying three-letter words with short vowels 325

Blending letters 326

Diving into digraphs 327

Testing for Independent Reading Skills 327

Looking at long and short vowels 328

Getting the hang of y endings 328

Sorting out vowel combinations 329

Spotting soft and hard letters 330

Watching out for silent letters 330

Placing vowels before r 331

Appendix B: Contacts and Resources 333

Getting General Information Online or by Voice Mail 333

Five general Web sites to start you off 333

Five big organizations 334

Talking to Someone Directly 335

Checking Your Child’s Eyes, Ears, and Mouth 336

Surveying Self-Tests 336

Focusing on Alternative Schooling and School Reading Programs 337

Schools 337

School reading programs 338

Laying Down the Law 339

Finding Independent Programs, Therapists, and Learning Centers 339

Dyslexia treatments 339

Therapists and tutors 340

Dyslexia clinics 341

General learning centers 341

Trying Technology 342

Lending a Hand to Teens, College Students, and Adults 343

College entrance exams and other tests 343

College and general education information 343

Financial aid and scholarships 344

Jobs and other life skills 345

At-home dyslexia programs 345

Index 347