Child Pyschology Archives - Reading Success Plus

February 28, 2017 By Kristin Clark

Labeling and Learning Disabilities

Fear of Labeling

Do you struggle with the idea of labeling your child with a learning disability? If so, you’re not alone. Often parents are concerned that labeling will be harmful and will stigmatize their child. Some parents fear that their child will become the target of other students, possibly face bullying, or exclusion. Other parents worry that a label will limit their child’s opportunities for the future. We believe believe labeling does just the opposite. Labeling provides you, and especially your child, with an explanation for their reading and learning struggles, freeing them of the stigmas, opening a world of possibilities.

Relief for Students

You can be sure that your otherwise bright child, even at young age, understands and recognizes that they aren’t learning to read like their peers. One family told us that their kindergarten aged son told them “I think my brain is broken”. Another family explained that upon seeing a commercial for a tutoring center on T.V., their third grader insisted they call immediately so that he could learn to read. Children know they can’t read or don’t learn like their peers, and often think it is their fault. Providing a label explains to your child the reason they struggle. They need to understand that their brain is not broken, it is just wired differently than the other students, and different can be good.

Dyslexia Facts

Research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that dyslexics are bright, and often have higher than average intelligence. They are not lazy or unmotivated, instead they are exhausted from trying so hard. Dyslexics expend from 5 – 20 times as much energy reading, and comprehending than traditional learners. They struggle with each new word until it becomes hard-wired in their brain. Because their brains are literally wired differently, they struggle extracting words from their long-term memory. Dyslexic students are often thought to be daydreaming and not paying attention, drawing or doodling. Instead, they are occupying one part of their brain, while the other is listening intently (just ask them). Additionally, dyslexics tend to have other conditions along with dyslexia, including anxiety, depression and Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder. Understanding your child through labeling helps children and adults understand that there is an explanation for their difficulties, and there is help.

A Learning Difference

Dyslexia varies from mild to moderate, to severe to profound and may include difficulty with reading and spelling, poor handwriting, trouble with comprehension and fluency, and difficulty with math. What is important, when you learn through formal or informal diagnosis, is to share this information with your child, even at a young age. Teaching a child about dyslexia is like teaching them that they have a heart condition. If a child suffers from a medical condition, surely you would share with them the reason for their exhaustion, and struggle. You would also provide them the accommodations they need to lead a healthy and normal life. The same applies to learning your child has a learning difference, or dyslexia.

Learning that your child is dyslexic provides parents an opportunity to understand their student and their needs. Naming the condition, you provide an explanation and can learn to focus on the gifts, and “sea of strengths” that come with being dyslexic.

Labeling Gives it a Name

We say label and learn. Free your child (and yourself) from the myths and misconceptions about dyslexia, and embrace the strengths and gifts your child has been given.

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Kristin Clark is a contributing author to Reading Success Plus, and is a member of Decoding Dyslexia – Michigan. Kristin is the parent of a high schooler who is dyslexic. Please contact us or subscribe to learn more at: www.readingsuccessplus.com.

January 2, 2017 By Lawrence Kloth

The Gift of Dyslexia; A Student’s Perspective

Dyslexia as a Child –

Do you remember round robin reading? You know, the kind where the teacher elects one student to start reading, and then that student gets to pick the next student to continue reading. I was such a poor reader I would struggle to sound out every word. It would take me at least twice as long as my peers. It was just painful. To make matters worse, as children would do, my peers would pick me, over and over again – with no one to rescue me. At the time, I didn’t consider dyslexia a gift.

Finding my Strengths

I am the typical dyslexic who has gone through the struggles. When I was young, I struggled mightily doing simple tasks, such as spelling words, learning my math facts and reading fluently. When other kids were doing tremendously well, it made me feel like something was wrong with me. I felt this way for many years. Everyone was moving ahead of me, and I was still stuck at the same level. Even in 7^th and 8^th grade, I was having a brutal time reading. I was made to read out loud and worse yet, had to participate in the spelling bee. The teacher read the word “lemon” for me to spell, but I thought the word “lime”. I even spelled lime correctly. Then, everyone laughed at me because the word was “lemon”. When I sat down, I felt like an idiot. I also remember sitting in Spanish class not having a clue about what was going on. I had enough trouble learning English, never mind learning Spanish. This was a long and painful time for me, but through my struggles, I eventually found my gifts.

Gift of Dyslexia

While dyslexia certainly made school difficult, the gift of dyslexia has allowed me to see the world in a different light. The gifts of dyslexia are as varied as being a great athlete, poet, philosopher, musician, scientist, politician, artist or entrepreneur. Dyslexia causes individuals to learn what it takes to become great at their craft, including perseverance, hard work, determination, empathy for others, charisma, outside-the-box thinking, ability to hyper-focus and a great imagination. These traits are generally not graded, let alone appreciated, in school. However, if dyslexics can survive the frustration, shaming, and bullying so common in their school years, the gift of dyslexia can help them become stars later in life.

Dyslexia and My Future

It has taken me a long time to realize, that despite my struggles with dyslexia, I have great strengths. These strengths have propelled me to work harder than all of my peers – in the classroom, on the athletic field and in life itself. I am very grateful that I possess the gift of dyslexia, because it has given me a tremendous competitive advantage as an entrepreneur, in the real world.

Lawrence G. Kloth Jr. is co-founder of Reading Success Plus, offering specialized tutoring programs for struggling readers and dyslexic students. Lawrence is dyslexic and happily reports he is now a college graduate. Learn more at: www.readingsuccessplus.com.

July 5, 2016 By Anne Kloth

Dyslexia: A Student’s Struggle with Reading

My Struggle with Reading –

Growing up is hard. From grade school to adulthood, the 21st century brings with it new challenges for all of us, especially students with dyslexia.

Dyslexia impacts more than just reading and spelling.
Dyslexia impacts many other areas of life as well.
Dyslexia can impact self-esteem.
Dyslexia makes short-term memory difficult.
Dyslexia can cause anxiety, depression and anger.

School Frustration

Take Michael Warner for example, as an elementary student, Michael bounced from school to school. Michael hated school, he acted out, and got bullied. He was frustrated and angry. Eventually, he was expelled from school for fighting. On the surface, Michael appeared to be a problem child with no desire to learn. In reality, he was not a problem child, but never learned to read. It wasn’t that Michael was unintelligent or lacked motivation, he was dyslexic. He was having a hard time in school and no one knew why. Can you blame him for being frustrated?

Dyslexia Diagnosis and Proper Remediation

Eventually, Michael was diagnosed with dyslexia. He was tutored in the Barton Reading and Spelling System, and has since flourished as a fluent reader. Once the root cause of Michael’s feelings and behavior was identified as dyslexia (and not anger issues) the Barton System was able to get him back on track to a happy and successful life. There are many people like Michael, and with the right reading and spelling program, dyslexics can learn to read and spell (Michael’s story).

We hope Michael will inspire struggling students to realize that they are not alone, that they are intelligent, and that the sky’s the limit! If you are concerned that your child struggles with reading, or may be dyslexic, and you want more information on how to make their journey a little less bumpy, contact us.

Anne Kloth is co-founder of Reading Success Plus, a tutoring center for struggling readers and dyslexic students. She is also a founding member of Decoding Dyslexia – Michigan, and is a Board member of the Michigan International Dyslexia Association.

July 5, 2016 By Anne Kloth

Dyslexia: the Brain is Wired Differently

Reading and Dyslexia –

Students who struggle with reading and spelling, or have been diagnosed as dyslexic, put a lot of effort into learning. In addition to reading, they may also struggle with learning their math facts, telling time, or following multiple step instructions. Research being done at the University of Texas at Houston, as well as Yale and Georgetown Universities, confirms that brains of people with dyslexia are “wired” differently.

Brain “Wiring”

In this video, Rewiring The Brain, Dr. Papanicolaou, from the University of Texas at Houston, describes what he has discovered about the brain through magnetoencephalography (MEG). In studying which side of the brain is involved in speech, he learned that while someone is listening and reading, the left side of the brain is activated. He notes that while the entire brain is activated when a dyslexic person is reading, a high-level of the right side of the brain is being activated as well, which he calls the “cerebral signature” (of dyslexia). When using the right side of the brain to read, a dyslexic is expending much more energy than someone who is not dyslexic. The good news is, the brain can be “trained” to use the left side, with the proper reading remediation, improving their ability to read.

Brain Plasticity

Today, it is understood that the brain is “plastic”, meaning it can grow and change. Dr. Dennis Molfese of the University of Louisville explains that when someone is learning, the neurons – or cells in the brain – are actually physically changing structurally. Dr. George Hynd, at Purdue University goes on to say, if dyslexics receive the appropriate, researched, intensive reading intervention, these neuro-patterns in the brain actually change, and in effect rewires the brain to read more efficiently.

Dr. Papanicolaou states that fancy testing such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) or functional MRI’s, which are being used at Yale and Georgetown University, are not necessary to determine if someone is dyslexic. This technology only helps us understand dyslexia better, and in fact has shown that the proper remediation actually rewires the dyslexic brain to read using the left side of the brain.

If your child is a struggling reader, or you think they may be dyslexic, contact us to learn more about the research and evidence based reading intervention programs we offer.