Dyslexia and the Nonsense Word Conundrum ◯ DTI

Dyslexia and the Nonsense Word Conundrum

Dyslexia Training Institute: 3.31.2017 by Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley

The use of nonsense words in intervention programs for reading and spelling to struggling readers is ubiquitous. It is ubiquitous in assessments too. Publishers use the rationale that nonsense words help the teacher and assessor know whether or not the student is able to transfer what they have learned about decoding to new words and this signals progress. The problem with this is twofold. First, many of the nonsense words that are used are not possible letter strings in the English language. (For a detailed and well-support description of this, please read Gina Cooke’s article). Secondly, the English writing system is based on meaning before phonology, so when a student is reading a word with no meaning, it can be impossible to really determine what the correct pronunciation is. In teacher trainings, we always ask the group, how do you pronounce the letter string *? The answer we always get is /chom/ or [ʧɑm] in IPA. The problem with this answer, is that the correct answer is really, we can’t know what the correct pronunciation is until we know what the word is. In the case of a digraph like the meaning and etymology of the word will drive the pronunciation. Look at the following three common words: chip, machine and ache. Their histories drive their pronunciations, so how in the world can a student know which is correct?

Today I observed a very good teacher using letter tiles to teach spelling. She was dictating a list of real words and then veered into the nonsense word territory. What happened during this time is not inconsequential, it is downright confusing to students. Here is the list of words she dictated.  READ MORE >>

Dyslexia Virtual Conference

April 20 - May 8, 2020

Rewordify

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 8.7

Lexical Density: 55.8%

Total word count 278

Unique word count 155

21 hard words

Sentence count 17

Dyslexia Awareness Month :: LDawarenessMonth | Tweets | Twitter | Resources | Videos

Tweet – Tweeter – Tweetest

Superlatives from SCLLN

This is still my favorite explanation of "What Is Dyslexia?"

Dyslexia Awareness Month is a great time to share...

What is dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley

@ReadFocusCard Oct 21

October is #dyslexia, #ld, & #adhd awareness month.

@tamara_madore Oct 21

To end week 3 of Dyslexia Awareness Month

"Dyslexic Strengths"!

@Dyslexic_Kids Oct 21

October is #dyslexia awareness month.

Some facts that kids with dyslexia wish that everyone knew.

@ConnectDyslexia Oct 20

#Oct22 Inland Empire Disabilities EXPO

San Bernardino @dyslexiaSoCal

☛SCLLN Cal http://bit.ly/WNQxJs

@scllnliteracy Oct 19

Check out Red:A Crayon's Story!

#LearningDifferences #Labels

#LDAwarenessMonth #LDMonth

@psychbooks4kid Oct 14

Great resource from @LDAofAmerica

to understand types of learning disabilities

and how they affect language skills

https://ldaamerica.org/types-of-learning-disabilities/ …

@READSanDiego   Sep 22

Today's choice for #LDawarenessMonth:

Fish in a Tree by

@LynMullalyHunt http://bklynlib.org/1LXZDyZ 

more resources here http://ow.ly/TRK5t

@TheChildsPlace 26 Oct 2015

Prison Literacy :: Incarceration | Dyslexia | Inmates | Education | Reading | Library

Tweet – Tweeter – Tweetest

Superlatives from SCLLN

“Inmates enrolled in ed programs while incarcerated

were far less likely to return to prison.”

http://bit.ly/29R1BXm 

#projectliteracylab

@unreasonable Jul 16

New podcast!

We talk w/ founder of @asocialignition,

an org that helps people re-enter society after incarceration

http://ow.ly/aU1S3023s4O

@ALA_PLA Jul 8

Prison program lets inmate moms send their voices

http://buff.ly/1TQwVG3 

#literacy

#makingadifference

@readingtub Jun 2

Prison libraries and prison library programs

can build bridges to literacy, love of reading.

raamatuid May 19

Pop Culture Classroom is kicking off a new literacy program

at a CO prison using comics

http://pnsne.ws/1On60zd

@PNS_News May 13

Literacy can help fix America’s mass incarceration problem.

Here's how:

#ProjectLiteracy

@GOOD

@rewritinglives May 4

Pre-K To Prison Pipeline: A Case For Orton Gillingham!

#literacy #money #school2prison pipeline

#edchat #maedu #dyslexia #reading

#mapoli #maleg #massmillennials #educate

@1in5awareness Feb 29

Dyslexia Awareness Month – October

Dyslexia Awareness Month

Dyslexia Awareness Month – October

#SayDyslexia

Visit SCLLN’s Games – Exercises – Links

Learning Disabilities

Check SCLLN’s Dyslexia List on Twitter

Organizations

   California

Dyslexia Training Institute, San Diego

Los Angeles Branch of IDA

Northern California Branch of IDA

San Diego Branch of IDA

Southern California Tri-Counties Branch of IDA

L D Association of California

     Central Coast/Santa Clara Valley

     Los Angeles LDA

     Northern California/East Bay

     Orange County LDA

     Pomona Valley/Inland

   National

American Dyslexia Association

AVKO Dyslexia Research Foundation

Dyslexia Foundation

International Dyslexia Association

Learning Disabilities Association of America

L D Online

National Center for Learning Disabilities

National Institute for Learning Development

Learning Disabilities: Assistive Technology

Abilility Hub: info on adaptive equipment and alternative methods

ABLEDATA: products classified by function or special features

AccessSTEM: Alliance for Students w/ Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Closing the Gap: changing lives with assistive technology

Dyslexia HELP at the University of Michigan: Software & Assistive Technology

Intl Center for Disability Resources on the Internet: Resources Related to Dyslexia

Tools for Life: GA Assistive Technology Act Program

UW: Access Technology Center

UW: Assistive Technology used by DO-IT Scholars

Apps

There’s A Special App For That: for students with special needs

Glendora Library :: Parent and Teacher Phonics Workshop | Sep 26

Parent and Teacher Phonics Workshop

Glendora Public Library -- Bidwell Forum

September 26

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Have you or your child ever read a word and thought, "Well, English is just crazy, that is a word that just has to be memorized?” If you have, we have good news for you: English is not crazy and there is a way to investigate words along with your child or students (dyslexic and non-dyslexic) to learn the true underlying structure, and never utter those words again!

You are invited to attend a Community Literacy Program on Structure Word Inquiry featuring Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley and Tracy Block-Zaretsky.  Dr. Sandman-Hurley is a published author and researcher of dyslexia and received her doctorate in Literacy with a specialization in reading and dyslexia from San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. Ms. Block-Zaretsky is a trained Special Education Advocate assisting parents and children through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504Plan process and has tutored children and adults with learning disabilities for the past 18 years. Together, they formed the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego.

Presented jointly by the Glendora, Azusa, Covina and Monrovia Public Library Literacy programs, as well as Glendora Public Library Friends Foundation, this program is offered free to all community members, including teachers, parents, students and anyone interested in adult and family literacy.

•Learn to find the sense in English and “sight words”.

•Become a word detective by conducting word hypothesis and creating word sums.

•Learn about the interrelationship between morphology, etymology and phonology.

The Glendora Public Library is located at 140 S. Glendora Ave., Glendora CA 91741. To register for this program, please call the Library at 626-852-4891.

How Much Do You Know About Dyslexia?

NCLD Asks, ‘How Much Do You Know About Dyslexia?’
By NCLD Editorial Team: 11.19.2013

National Center for Learning Disabilities visited Madison Square Park in New York City to separate fact from fiction when it comes to dyslexia.

from Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley, Dyslexia Training Institute

Corona Library - National Dyslexia Awareness Month

EDUCATION: Know signs of dyslexia, get help
Press Enterprise: 10.01.2013 by Dayna Straehley

It’s October, which is also National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

The International Dyslexia Association says 1 in 10 people have symptoms dyslexia, a language-based learning disability, or learning difference as advocates say, that has nothing to do with intelligence or the desire to learn.

Children with dyslexia are bright, capable and able to go on to college and successful careers, the association says. Children with dyslexia simply learn differently. Many top CEOs, scientists, artists and entrepreneurs are dyslexic.

So is Corona-Norco school board member John Zickefoose, who says he struggled with learning disabilities from elementary through high school. He finally worked up the nerve to walk into the Corona Public Library at age 35 and ask for help to learn to read.

Zickefoose went on to a career at the library as outreach coordinator, a position on the board of an international literacy organization and election to the school board. He made his own struggles with literacy part of his campaign, going more public than most.  READ MORE !

.   .   . some local events

Dislecksia: The Movie
National Screenings  - October 17
Hazard Center 7, 7510 Hazard Center Dr, SD

will open theatrically in the US throughout October in conjunction with National Dyslexia Awareness Month.
 Oct. 21: F.A.T. City: How Difficult Can This Be? - Video @5:45pm

Rancho Cucamonga Resource Center, 9791 Arrow Route

Oct. 24: The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia @7 pm
AMC Fashion Valley 18, San Diego CA

Dyslexia Conference: May 18

Dyslexia: Enhancing Knowledge and Practice
Parent & Educator Conference
San Diego Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
May 18, 8am – 4:30pm

The Conference brings the latest research and practical tips on reading and learning, featuring renowned author and reading fluency specialist, Jan Hasbrouck, PhD, as keynote speaker. In addition, there are several informative workshops designed for parents and educators.

University of San Diego

Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110

Literacy . . . Info . . . News . . . Questions: Big Picture

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia
James Redford, Director
Oct 29 @ 7pm on HBO

By conservative estimates, one in five people are dyslexic. Although very bright and often highly creative, they have a difficult time making sense of written language. I know a little about this. My son, Dylan, is dyslexic.

Like many dyslexics, Dylan is intelligent, thoughtful and intellectually curious – a “big picture” thinker. But at the age of ten, he was barely able to read and write. To say that school was difficult for him is beyond understatement. Now that he is grown and thriving, there are many things that I wish I had known about dyslexia at that time – things that would have helped me understand that his struggle in lower and middle school was not the final verdict on his academic or intellectual ability or ambition. When I was given the extraordinary opportunity to make a film about understanding dyslexia, the mission was simple: make the movie I wish my family could have seen when Dylan was functionally illiterate in 4th grade.

The film also shares some of the more practical – and occasionally humorous – tips on how to deal with dyslexia on a daily basis. Hopefully, this film will help dyslexics and their families realize that the challenges of early education will be behind them one day, and that the future can – and should – be brighter for dyslexics.

Drs. Salley and Bennett Shaywitz, co-directors of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, discuss how scientific advances illuminate the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia. Dr. Bennett Shaywitz explains how advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging has made visible what previously was a hidden disability. Dr. Sally Shaywitz explains the "Sea of Strengths" model of dyslexia which emphasizes a sea of strengths of higher critical thinking and creativity surrounding the encapsulated weakness found in children and adults who are dyslexic.

Super-achieving dyslexics revered in their fields – from Sir Richard Branson and financier Charles Schwab to politician Gavin Newsom and attorney David Boies – confirm what the children, experts and families suggest: dyslexia carries with it as many rewards as frustrations. READ MORE !

Other HBO Dates:
Nov 4 @ 1:00 pm
Nov 8 @ 10:00 am
Nov 13 @ 3:30 pm
HBO2
Oct 31 @ 4:30 pm
Nov 7 @ 8:30 pm
Nov 11 @ 6:00 am

Journey Into Dyslexia: Alan and Susan Raymond

Journey Into Dyslexia: Alan and Susan Raymond

JOURNEY INTO DYSLEXIA
Alan and Susan Raymond
HBO Documentary (see schedule)

Academy-Award winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond examine the complexities of this differently structured brain and debunk the myths and misperceptions about dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a specific leaning disability that is neurobiological in origin and typically manifests through difficulty in reading, writing, spelling and math. It has nothing to do with intelligence, birth defects, or a mental illness of any kind, the home environment, level of education or economic status.

Dyslexia persists throughout one's lifetime and is prevalent in every culture in the world. In the U.S. it affects as much as 10% of the population.

Surprisingly, however, Journey into Dyslexia reveals that many adult professionals who once struggled to learn in school consider their dyslexia a unique gift and the defining reason behind their success.

Because of its hidden characteristics, dyslexia is often misunderstood and misidentified. To qualify for accommodations in school or the workplace, a person must be identified through psychological testing.

Alan and Susan Raymond visited schools throughout the U.S. that have programs specifically designed for different ways of learning. These schools focus on programs where students are effectively taught to read and learn compensatory skills to manage their deficits. They talk with students from elementary age to college, teachers, researchers and successful adults about the way dyslexia informs who they are, how they learn and the ways in which they develop a different set of skills with which to navigate a world where standardization is the norm. READ MORE @ Video Verite - featuring (with links):

Adult Dyslexics
Erin Brockovich
Benjamin Foss: Inventor of the Intel Reader
Tracy Johnson
Jonathan Mooney
Willard Wigan

Entrepreneurs
Carl Schramm
Steven J. Walker

Science
Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director Center for the Study of Learning,
Georgetown University Medical Center
Dr. Maryann Wolf – Proust & The Squid

Educational Resources
Dr. David J. Connor
The Kildonan School
Delaware Valley Friends School
Bridges Academy
Parents Education Network
SAFE Voices
Evergreen State College