Below is an article written by widely-known columnist, Ruben Navarrette. He also happens to be married to a fabulous therapist (and a good friend of mine!).
Ruben Navarrette: Helping children cope with dyslexia
0 Comments | San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Mar 12, 2008
HOW'S this for a brainteaser?
President Bush's top domestic policy achievement is an education reform law that demands no child be left behind by emphasizing early reading. And yet, public school students with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia - disabilities that make it difficult to learn to read - are still being left behind.
I first came to the subject about seven years ago, when I met my future wife - a language therapist who helps children with dyslexia. My first lesson was humility. Reading had come easily for me, and so I was impatient with classmates who struggled to read
Yet over the years, I've had the chance to interact with elementary school students who have dyslexia, and I've always come away impressed. It takes courage to get up in the morning and go to school even though you know you're going to struggle. Yet you go. And tomorrow, you'll go again.
Let's get straight what dyslexia is and what it isn't. It isn't where some people magically see words written backward. That's a misconception. Dyslexics see letters and words, but they have trouble associating those letters and words with the sounds they represent.
Dyslexia is not a disease; it's more accurately described as a learning difference. It has nothing to do with low intelligence. On the contrary, dyslexics are often high-aptitude thinkers with a knack for solving problems and thinking outside the box. And the condition is not as rare as you might think; it affects up to one in five school-age children in the United States, of all races and income levels.
It's a glitch in the brain's wiring that makes any language- based task seem like climbing Mount Everest. If caught early - researchers advise testing students as early as kindergarten - it can be treated by emphasizing phonetic learning, building vocabulary and increasing comprehension through repetition.
The good news: Dyslexics can be extraordinarily bright and possess a wide range of gifts - including leadership characteristics, communication skills, and artistic ability. Their ranks include such notables as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, actor Tom Cruise, investment leader Charles Schwab, Kinko's founder Paul Orfalea, comedian George Lopez and other high-achievers.
The bad news: Dyslexics can also be rebellious, socially withdrawn and prone to behavioral problems. According to research, children with dyslexia are - because of the frustration they feel over not being able to fit in like everyone else - more likely than non-dyslexics to drop out of school, withdraw from friends, and even attempt suicide. Their ranks include a high percentage of high school dropouts and those in prison.
Which way individuals go depends a lot on themselves, their family, and how the educational system responds to the challenge of reaching them and teaching them.
The results are mixed. Different states have different learning curves when it comes to dyslexia. There are federal laws that require school districts to accommodate those with disabilities. But many districts are reluctant to test students or even use the "d" word.
You see, if you test, you might find that a student has dyslexia, and then you'd have to do something about it. Many school districts don't have the foggiest idea what to do. In fact, parents sometimes have to sue to get their children the help they need. Even then, the institutional response is often simply to put these kids in special education courses. According to a Time magazine article in 2003, it is estimated that there are almost 3 million students in special education classes for no other reason than because they can't read.
It can be maddening to people like Kelli Sandman-Hurley, president of the San Diego Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. (My wife is a member of the group.) As someone who has helped train teachers, Sandman-Hurley said there is a disconnect between education professionals - who teach in graduate schools or run school districts - who have little enthusiasm for the science surrounding dyslexia and teachers on the front lines who are hungry for information about how to deal with it.
"Children are not being offered the best instruction because the educators are not trained in this instruction," she told me. "The change needs to occur with the administrators who can then have the power to change teacher-training programs. When that happens, I believe we will have some progress in the area of dyslexia."
So let's get with it. There are millions of children fighting a brave and lonely battle every day, and they could use reinforcements.
Ruben Navarrette is a syndicated columnist with The San Diego Union-Tribune.
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