Government & Education Best Posts in Thread: TUTORIAL FOR NON-READERS

Almost correct Philpots...it’s more a neurodevelopmental disorder. More correctly known as a Specific Reading Disorder the suggestion is that this can ‘mature’ out or at least improve under training approaches/tech aids. It’s a spectrum disorder so you can have anything from a little to a lot. Generally the definition of severe disability begins on the 5th centile and below. Like many of the developmental disorders (think ADHD/Autism/Dyspraxia etc) it can persist across the lifespan.

Assessment should consist of psychometric profiling via the Wechsler or for the younger the WIPSY - subscales should pinpoint the specific problem - but necessarily this should be undertaken by a properly qualified Educational Psychologist.

I liked the bit about language. Schools are language based competency environments and so for those with severe language based skills deficits in their makeup schools sometimes become incredibly stressful for kids. The trick here is to spot it early, not fall into the trap of calling kids lazy or unmotivated, provide adequate support and if the disorder is particularly severe not get hung up on performance/achievement. People generally compensate with another skill instead - usually something practical and not language based. Praise ‘em up there n things should go swimmingly.

 

Miscommunication often happens due to language barriers. Even if Glenda is an English teacher, English still isn’t her first language. There are nuances to every language and often, the wrong use of words pave the way for these “misunderstandings.” While she does make sweeping statements at times, I do not think she does it out of malice. On the contrary, I find her exceedingly helpful. Too helpful that she sometimes phrases conjectures or certain theories as facts. It’s up to each person to think for themselves and go for it if you believe in it, or do away with it if you don’t. I find rubbish in here all the time, but there is no need to get all fired up about it. Just bin them accordingly and carry on. Life is too short and COVID just made it shorter.

 

Like it or not it exists. It’s not a label, it’s a neurodevelopmental brain dysfunction that has been treated since the 1960s. At least. Think about it, our brains haven’t developed much over the last 100,000 years or so. Back in those days you would have chosen a mate that was always on the go, it would have been useful...the fire’s nearly gone out, fetch wood, the kids haven’t got any mammoth to chew, go slay one, that tribe over there wants to take me into servitude go defend me. Evolutionary, adaptable, perfectly functional. The problem is we don’t have many sabre toothed tigers to contend with or marauding tribes to worry about. Unless you count that lot from Bacong.

Now the real issue here is how low/high you set the bar for diagnosis. That’s another kettle of fish.

 

One thing I admire about her is that her English puts many natural English-speakers to shame. If I could use Filipino 0.0001% as well as Glenda uses English then I would be delighted.

 

The term Dyslexia has been used since the late 19th century to describe the difficulties certain people have with reading and/or writing. There's nothing new or recent about it. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, it is not an illness that can be treated with medication.
But most importantly, and that's where we agree, sustained tutoring / teaching can help a person to overcome these difficulties to a degree, depending on the seriousness of the condition.

 

Loads to pick apart the friend. We are different, we are unique and in an increasingly complex world our unique brains are uniquely at increasing disadvantage. Uniquely. For some kids asking them to perform at a reading age of 8 (hey, that’s enough to get by in life) just isn’t possible.

True, longitudinal studies have yet to demonstrate the adverse effects of methylamphetamine’s paradoxical effects on cognitive function and imho it should be used as a last, sparing resort. But I’ve seen kids lives transformed by such decisions. And yes, the drug reps gleefully smack their lips. Small price.

I used to knock about with a nameless resort owner on Siquijor. An absolute victim of an educational process that didn’t understand specific learning problems in the 50s n 60s. Fundamentally, this guy hated any teacher or shrink. Labelled as retarded, lazy and maladjusted the poor fellow was in n out of reform schools, punished and beaten. Nightmare of a story. An incredibly sad tale. It just wasnt understood in his neck of the woods. Credit to him that he managed to achieve. All the cards were stacked against him. But a nicer, successful chap you could not meet. Let’s not go down that unhappy road again huh?

 

Omg—I didn’t mean to do that—I mean give that sort of symbol. I must have accidentally pressed that button—so sorry, Dutchie. I never use that symbol—definitely, an accidental thing....really sorry.

 

I did not, as you put it, describe the reading behavior as exhibiting dyslexia. To the contrary, I described her reading behavior as avid.
What I did is explain that my ex-wife's dyslexia showed in her writing.
The lady you're defending mowed down the writing problems as "sloppiness or negligence", in other words, nothing to do with dyslexia.
And that my friend, could not be further from the truth. My ex was tested as a child in the 1960's, was confirmed to be a dyslexia sufferer, got private tutoring, and pretty much overcame her reading problems with much effort, but never her spelling issues.
Believe me, in the time before spelling correction was built into software, your career options were very limited if you were unable to produce a written report without too many spelling mistakes.
As a result my ex, who was fairly intelligent, gave up on having a career of her own. Not because of sloppiness or negligence.

 

An Internet search supports you @Dutchie

From the links below:
Reading’s very important but it won’t improve your spelling.

Spelling won’t happen because we read. A word must be consciously and deliberately learnt.

Most Children Learn to Read More Quickly than They Learn to Spell

https://howtospell.co.uk/spelling-tip-number-one

https://blog.allaboutlearningpress.com/why-we-teach-reading-and-spelling-separately/