History, Dyslexia and Instruction Flashcards
History of the Field of Learning Disabilities
Term first introduced in 1963 to link concerned parent groups into an organization
Term invented to create an umbrella under which different types of disabilities and impairments could fall
Learning Disabilities Association of America was born
From 1800-1930, brain research was performed by physicians (mostly on adults)
Linked the loss of functions to specific damaged areas of the brain
Became the foundation of the field of learning disabilities in children (1930-1960)
Psychologists and educators developed instruments for assessment and for methods of teaching students with learning disabilities
History of the Field of Learning Disabilities (cont’d)
Term brain-injured children used by Strauss and Lehtinen (1947)
These pioneers determined that brain injury could occur:
Before birth (prenatal stage)
During birth process
After birth (postnatal stage)
Organic impairments impede the natural learning process
Perceptual disorder is a characteristic of brain injured child (1950s)
Disturbance in the ability to perceive objects, relations or qualities
Difficulty with sensory stimulation
Minimal brain dysfunction (1966)
Mild or minimal neurological abnormality that causes learning disabilities
Child may have near average intelligence with learning and behavior disorders related to central nervous system dysfunction
History of the Field of Learning Disabilities (cont’d)
Programs established
One of the first public school programs for learning disabilities was established in Syracuse in early 1960s
By the 1960s and 1970s programs were established throughout the country
State laws requiring services
Widespread training programs for educators
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142) established in 1975; amended to IDEA in 1990
Programs initially mandated learning disabled students to be taught in separate classrooms before resource room was developed
History of Dyslexia Discovery
1861 - Paul Broca, French surgeon, isolates speech area during autopsy of an individual who lost his speech, but retained other skills
Became known as Broca’s area (located on frontal lobe on left side of brain)
1874 - Neurologist Carl Wernicke isolates brain area of individual who could speak but lost comprehension skills
Now known as Wernicke’s area (located on temporal lobe of back/left side of brain)
1877 – German physician Adolph Kussmaul observes “word blindness” but believes it is visually based
1896 – Dr. W. Pringle Morgan is first to recognize, describe and label dyslexia
1917- Ophthalmologist James Hinshelwood advocates a specific systematic teaching tactic that involves linking multiple brain regions and modalities
1925- Psychiatrist and neuropathologist Samuel Orton begins work on dyslexia and notes five types of learning disorders
Orton’s 5 Types of Learning Disorders
Developmental alexia (without word reading) or word blindness - inability to read in a way that is consistent with mental age or other academic skills not due to a visual or motor disturbance in seeing or copying letters
What does this sound like?
Developmental word deafness–the inability to identify sounds correctly and understand spoken language
What does this sound like?
Special disability in writing
What does this sound like?
Motor speech delay
Stuttering
Orton recognized that dyslexia was neurologically based and proposed multisensory instructional approach
History of Dyslexia Study
1932 - Teacher Anna Gillingham joins Orton in the Language Research Project of the New York Neurological Institute
Develops the still used Orton-Gillingham method emphasizing the structure of language and understanding of its principles
Explicitly teaches phonology, phonics, syllables, morphology, syntax, semantics and reading comprehension while also weaving them together
Includes diagnostic, structured, sequential, systematic, and cumulative techniques
1936 - Psychologist and educator Marion Monroe develops Reading Aptitude Tests
1943 - Grace M. Fernald pioneers multisensory teaching approaches (visual, auditory, kinesthetic/tactile) for teaching sight words and publishes Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects
Students trace with finger as they say word aloud
1962 - Sally Childs develops systematic phonics teaching for classroom to reach more students
History of Dyslexia Study (cont’d)
Beth Slingerland develops preventative measures and teaches graduate level class
Her adapted Orton-Gillingham approach spread to public school districts throughout the country
Aylett Cox trained large groups of teachers
Published textbooks, materials, and evaluations
Alphabetic Phonics training program is still in use
1963 - Samuel Kirk proposes “learning disabilities” label
Parents spur movement and demand multidisciplinary team approach to meet their children’s educational needs
Led to Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 which guarantees Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all students with educationally disabling conditions
Becomes Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990 and revised over the years
Eligibility varies from state to state
Understanding Dyslexia
What do we know or have we heard about dyslexia?
International Dyslexia Association (IDA)/National Institution of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) definition
Neurobiological in origin
Difficulties with accurate or fluid word recognition
Poor spelling and decoding
Results from a deficit in the phonological component of language
Unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and proper classroom instruction
Secondary consequences
Reading comprehension problems
Limited vocabulary and background knowledge
Dyslexia
What type of deficit, what it affect and statistics
A deficit of the phonological system
Impacts word reading, decoding and spelling
Affects 80% of those identified with learning disabilities
One of the most common learning problems in children and adults
Estimated to occur in up to 20% of the population in USA
Found in every social class, race, and ethnic group
Occurs across the lifespan – no “growing out of it”
Most At Risk of Dyslexia
Most at-risk
Little understanding of phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, print awareness, reading purpose, and lack oral language and vocabulary skills
Children from low SES households
May not have health care
Children with speech and hearing impairments
Children whose parents and caregivers have low reading levels
Common Early Signs of Dyslexia
Difficulty learning to speak
Problems organizing written and spoken language
Difficulty learning the sounds and names of letters
Inaccurate decoding
Slow, laborious, dysfluent reading
Spelling and writing problems
Difficulty learning foreign language
Struggles in memorizing number facts
Difficulty with math operations
Not caused by: lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instruction, a lack of environmental opportunities or low intelligence
Relevant Brain Function and the genetic component of dyslexia and the goal
Broca’s Area (frontal lobe)
Articulation of words and ideas
Wernicke’s Area (parieto-temporal lobes)
Word analysis (comprehension)
Occipito-temporal lobes
Word form (morphology)
*Dyslexia has a genetic component (runs in families)
*Goal is to build brain circuitry and pathways that connect and interact in students with dyslexia that is like the pathways that are present in students whose reading development is typical
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Dyslexia
Many studies have looked at the overlaps and differences
Catts’ “Distinct Disorders Hypothesis” has won out
Children with DLD show a wide range of reading abilities and children with dyslexia show a wide range of language skills (high co-occurrence)
Universally agreed upon
Both are language based with underlying phonological component
Average intelligence
Differences
Dyslexia = primacy deficit in word reading
DLD = primary deficit in comprehension
Important Terms for Structured Literacy and Its Components
Structured Literacy
Teaching literacy in a planned, systematic manner
Phonology
The study of the sound structure of spoken words within a single language
Phonics
Mapping out of phonemes to their spellings and spellings to their pronunciations
Morphology
Study of the sequence and structure of meaningful elements in words
Syntax
The set of principles that dictate the sequence and functions of words, phrases, and clauses in sentences to convey meaning
Important Terms for Structured Literacy and Its Components
Fluency
Reading with speed, accuracy, and prosody
Semantics
Meaning of words, phrases, sentences, and connected texts and their relationships
Systematic
Following a planned path based on evidence
Multisensory
Tapping into multiple senses, also known as “modalities” (Visual, Auditory, Tactile/Kinesthetic)
