Early signs of reading problems should never be ignored or passed off as a developmental lag.  It is never a good idea to “wait and see” if a child grows out it. The safest assumption is that early, direct teaching designed to help a struggling reader will minimize risks later on.  If a child is taught the sounds, letters, words, and language comprehension skills necessary by the end of first grade, most of these children will avoid failure.

Reading intervention in kindergarten and first grade is more effective than intervention in fourth grade and older.  This is because early intervention takes less time and resources to close the reading gap than using remediation strategies in reading later on.  According to The National Institute of Child Health and Human Department, 90% of poor readers can increase reading skills to average reading levels with prevention and early intervention programs that combine instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, reading fluency, and reading comprehension provided by highly qualified and well-trained teachers.  It takes four times as long to improve the skills of a struggling reader in fourth grade as it does to do so between mid-kindergarten and first grade.  In other words, it takes two hours a day in fourth grade to have the same impact as thirty minutes a day in first grade.  If intervention is not provided until nine years of age, approximately 75 to 88 % of these children will continue to have reading difficulties throughout high school and their adult lives.

Although there is a crucial window of opportunity (kindergarten to middle of first grade) parents need to know that it is never to late.  Older children can be taught to read but the instruction may be harder to arrange, it will take more time, and it will require an intensive effort from the teacher, the student, and the parent.

On the whole, delayed intervention is costlier to everyone, including the child.  These children will be more likely to develop confidence, enjoy reading, read more, and read better if they get off to the right start.

Karina Richland is the Founder of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist and speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences.  You can reach her by email at karina@pridelearningcenter.com or visit the Pride Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

I know many adults who truly believe that they cannot spell, saying “I can’t spell” in the same manner that they would say, “I can’t swim.” But spelling, like swimming, can be taught. However, while most teachers know how to test for spelling, very few know how to teach spelling.

There is a misconception that spelling is a form of dyslexia, a disorder where one is unable to recognize words or sound them out phonetically. The acts of reading and writing occur mainly in the left temporal lobe of your brain – the part of the brain near your left ear. The act of spelling, however, occurs mainly in the occipital lobe of your brain – the visual cortex in the back of your head responsible for forming and retrieving visual memories. So, to remember how to spell a word, you must first store the memory of that word, and then retrieve that “picture” when you are about to write it.

The Three Types of Memory

When I teach spelling to children and to adults, I first talk about the three types of memory. The first type of memory can be called “Blackboard” memory, which lasts from 1-30 seconds. The goal of your brain in Blackboard memory, surprisingly, is to forget what you’ve seen. For example, if you’re driving down the street and see various business signs, “Tom’s Bakery,” “Joe’s Key Shop”, “Chan’s Dry Cleaners,” etc., you certainly don’t want to keep remembering Joe’s Key Shop for the rest of the day. Rather, a “slide” of Joe’s Key Shop is stored in your visual memory, but you’ve made no pathway to consciously retrieve the memory. Occasionally there may be an accompanying smell (such as the bakery next to the key shop) which may remind you of the key shop, but you’ll most likely not remember that the key shop exists. So, when you actually need a key made, you’ll probably have to search the listings for one, and lo and behold, there’s Joe and his key shop right around the corner!

The second type of memory can be called Short-Term Memory, which lasts from 31 seconds to about 2-3 months. Most children rely on Short-Term Memory to recall information for tests, midterms, and final exams, but then forget the information the following year (which explains why kids have to be re-taught “mean, median, and mode” every year from elementary to high school). The third type of memory, Long-Term Memory, is the stored memories of experiences and information that we will always be able to recall, either from connection to an emotional event (e.g., World Trade Center) or from multiple uses (e.g., names, phone numbers, addresses, etc.).

The goal of all learning, then, is to place what needs to be remembered into the student’s Short-Term Memory, so that facts, dates, and the spelling of words can be recalled. Once this information is stored in Short-Term Memory, a pathway is established so that the student is able to consciously retrieve the information for up to 3 months. If there is repeated exposure to the information, this pathway becomes even more established, forming a Long-Term Memory.

Simple Technique for Perfect Spelling

Teaching spelling in school is usually done by having a student copy the words over and over again, which of course does not work at all. By copying the words, their spelling never leaves the student’s Blackboard Memory, so the brain does its job well and dutifully helps the student forget the spelling. The goal, then, is to place the spelling of the word in the student’s Short-Term Memory, so it’s “picture” can be retrieved.

Here is a simple technique that you can do at home to help your child succeed in spelling:

1.  Have your child write the spelling word on a piece of paper, then trace the letters with his or her index finger while saying the spelling word out loud. Have the child say the word normally while tracing it, not say or sound out individual letters or vowels.

2.  Take the paper away and wait a minimum of 30 seconds (e.g., sing the “Jeopardy!” theme or some other song).

3.  Give your child a blank paper, saying, “Now, write the word you traced.”

4.  If your child spells the word incorrectly – which is likely to occur at the beginning of this technique – go back and repeat steps 1-3.

Once your child has established a pathway to the Short-Term Memory of a word’s spelling, it’s THERE – the brain has no way of knowing if that pathway was established 31 seconds ago, one week ago, or one month ago. And since the pathway is there, your child WILL remember the spelling of the word.

I’ve used this technique with parents and children for many years, even students with mild traumatic brain injury, and I’ve never come across a student who did not suddenly go from the worst speller to the best speller in the class.

Good luck!………………..Dr. David.

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David Raffle, PhD, CBIS, is a credentialed special education teacher, educational specialist, and brain injury specialist who performs neuropsychological and psychoeducational testing for special education services, standardized testing accommodations, and modifications in the workplace for children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities, traumatic and acquired brain injuries, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorders.

Visit Dr. Raffle’s website at: http://www.DavidRafflePhD.com or email him at: davidrafflephd@gmail.com

Thursday February 16, 2012, 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Presenter: Karina Richland, M.A.

Taking PRIDE in Reading:

Understanding how we learn to read

This presentation will cover reading development, from phonemic awareness to comprehension.  Learn about the stages of reading, normal reading benchmarks and the difference between reading and understanding.  Parents and professionals will gain a better understanding on identifying reading difficulties and ways to support struggling readers.  Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from this dynamic presenter.

FREE of charge.  All workshops include materials, refreshments and a Q & A period for specific concerns.

Location: JFFS Library, Second Floor, 1 Federation Way on the Samueli Jewish Campus in Irvine.

Registration is requested, buy not required.

RSVP: Danielle Wiltchik, Coordinator of Special Needs: 949-435-3460 or danielle@jffs.org

Learning to read is a gradual and sequential process that is developed with explicit instruction and exposure.  In the late preschool years, children begin the reading process by listening to stories and chanting nursery rhymes so that they can hear the similarities and differences in the sounds of words.  Through this process, the children begin to manipulate and understand sounds in spoken language and proceed by taking the next step of making up rhymes and words on their own.  As the children get older, they begin to learn the names of the letters in the alphabet and the different sounds each letter represents.  Subsequently, they begin to write the letters and numbers that they already recognize by their shapes.  Finally, the children associate the letters of the alphabet with the sounds of the words they use when they speak.  At this point, they are on their way to learning to read!

The key to the entire reading process is phonological awareness.  This is where a child identifies the different sounds that make words and associates these sounds with written words.  A child cannot learn to read without this skill. In order to learn to read, children must be aware of phonemes.  A phoneme is the smallest functional unit of sound.  For example, the word ‘bench’ contains 4 different phonemes. They are ‘b’ ‘e’ ‘n’ and ‘ch.’

Some examples of phonological awareness tasks include:

1. Identifying rhymes -  “Tell me all of the words you know that rhyme with the word BAT.”

1. Segmenting words into smaller units, such as syllables and sounds, by counting them. “How many sounds do you hear in the word CAKE?”

1. Blending separated sounds into words – “What word would we have if we blended these sounds together: /h/ /a/ /t/?”

1. Manipulating sounds in words by adding, deleting or substituting – “In the word LAND, change the /L/ to /B/.”  “What word is left if you take the /H/ away from the word HAT?”

Through phonological awareness, children learn to associate sounds and create links to word recognition and decoding skills necessary for reading.  Research clearly shows that phoneme awareness performance is a strong predictor of long- term reading and spelling success.  In fact, according to the International Reading Association, phonemic awareness abilities in kindergarten (or in that age range) appear to be the best single predictor of successful reading acquisition.

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Karina Richland is the Founder and Director of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist.   Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications.  You can reach her by email at karina@pridelearningcenter.com or visit the Pride Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

Reading is a skill that needs to be practiced regularly. Without practice, young readers will not develop the vocabulary, the skills, and the fluency necessary to become strong readers. But many children, even those with strong reading skills, do not get enough practice and as a result become disinterested in reading, and can quickly become discouraged. Here are some practical tips for encouraging reluctant readers:

• Find books with cartoons or humor — which only a child would find amusing

Books that make children laugh are more engaging for young readers. Not everything needs to be a learning lesson. Letting children read books such as Captain Underpants or Diary of a Wimpy Kid will keep them engaged and entertained. Although adults might find the language and humor distasteful, children find it very funny and are therefore more motivated to read.

• Zero in on your child’s passions and choose books and magazines focused on areas of interest

Find books on specific topics to keep your child’s interest, such as science, baseball, American Girl dolls, etc. Children who already have the background knowledge, language and vocabulary before beginning a book will have an easier time getting through the reading. Order a magazine subscription to Sports Illustrated for Kids or Nickelodeon. Children love receiving mail and reading ‘their’ magazines.

• Get your child an email account and, together, check it regularly

Using the computer to read and write is a huge advantage for most students. By letting young children write and send email, they practice reading, writing and spelling. Teach your child how to use spell check before sending off messages. Be sure to monitor your child’s ‘pen pals’ – who is your child writing to and receiving mail from? Let your child pick out a few family members, including grandparents and maybe two or three friends. You will find that by using email regularly, your child becomes very strong in keyboarding and using the computer.

• Find an author that your child likes and stick with it

If your child loves reading Hank Zipzer by Henry Winkler or Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, then you have found a writing style which stimulates your child’s interest. Go through the entire series. Don’t worry if the reading is below grade level: your child is reading for pleasure and for practice. Also remember, just because you loved a certain author or series when you were a kid, this doesn’t mean your child will love the same books you did. Browse the bookstore or library and find the newest, most modern series. Usually these books contain language and themes to motivate the most reluctant reader. Kids need to relate to what they are reading, and modern language usage helps.

• Let your child talk to you about the book they are reading.

When we adults read books we enjoy, we like to talk about them. After reading a book, we don’t necessarily want to write a summary, book report or make a project of it. We just want to discuss it with someone else. Look interested in what your child is reading (yes, even if it is Captain Underpants) and ask questions and have your child tell you about it. Laugh with your child about the funny parts (even at the bathroom jokes) and help your child feel good about reading.

• Limit media.

Television, computer time, and video games can quickly take up all of your child’s free time. Limit the amount of media you allow your child and your family will have more time for reading.

Enjoy the New Year and keep reading!

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Karina Richland, M.A., E.T. is the Director and Founder of Pride Learning Centers. A former teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District, Ms. Richland has devoted her life to the field of reading and learning disabilities, working as an educational therapist and director of Pride Learning Centers. Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications. You can visit her website at: http://www.pridelearningcenter.com

Some children prefer and learn better auditorally, others visually, and others need to manipulate objects and are tactile/kinesthetic learners. Knowledge and understanding the types of learning style your child uses and prefers early on can be the most valuable information for parents and educators. This information can make homework easier and learning in general less stressful and a lot of fun.  It is also important to realize that the learning style a child uses in early elementary school might not lead to a successful approach later on. Learning to compensate and combine the different approaches and styles when your child is young can help prevent those possible struggles in the future.

The child that cannot subtract in second grade might become a PhD mathematician in the future if they understand they are not “stupid”, but that they might just need to approach the task differently and learn a different style.  Just as important to understand is that the child who is the best reader in first grade, might not be able to comprehend what they read by the third grade.

Luckily, today professionals, parents and pupils have access to tools to evaluate, diagnose and then remediate teaching techniques to work with the variety of learning styles that students have, by administering comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations. When differences and glitches are observed they can be examined, diagnosed, and new strategies can be implemented to make learning a more successful and pleasant experience for the struggling student.

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Dr. Abbe Barron, DMD, PhD is a clinical psychologist licensed in California.  Dr. Barron (PSY21730) holds a number of professional degrees and has worked with children, adolescents and adults in a variety of settings throughout her private and professional life. She is a parent of exceptional children, a dentist and educator, and a clinical psychologist who conducts neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessments. Dr. Barron provides comprehensive psychological, educational and neuropsychological diagnostic services to children, adolescents, and young adults.   Her specializations include testing for ADHD, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, memory problems and psychological disorders.  In addition, she provides school consultation (for both private and public schools), parent education, and classroom observations in order to improve classroom functioning.  She attends IEP and school meetings providing diagnosis intervention, treatment planning and accommodations for school and standardized testing.  Dr. Barron can be reached by email:  abbebarron@gmail.com, Office: 310 476-7810, Fax:  310 476-7322.

Here are some strategies for teachers and other professionals that work with children diagnosed with an Auditory Discrimination Problem in the classroom:

1. Sit the child as close to the teacher as possible.  Most children with auditory discrimination problems will have difficulties hearing among other noises.  If the child is sitting towards the back of the class he will only hear the sounds surrounding him – not the teacher’s voice.  Therefore, just by moving the child nearer to the sound, at the front of the class will make a huge difference.

1. Have the child look at the speaker.  The child with Auditory Discrimination Problems needs to see the face and mouth of the speaker.  Give the child as much eye contact as possible.

1. Encourage all participants in the classroom to project their voices clearly.  So many children have soft voices.  When the teacher is asking questions and calling on students, the teacher can repeat the answer of the quieter voiced children so that everyone is able to hear and understand the answer.  Not being able to hear is a lost opportunity for learning!

1. Implement lots of visual images. Using visual stimuli when explaining will give the child with auditory discrimination problems lots of clues.  These can include charts, pictures or illustrations.   Teachers can use their own body language to serve as a visual.  This could be hand movements or facial expressions.  Think of ESL teachers and how they utilize TPR (total physical response).

1. Praise the child often for being a good listener!

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Karina Richland is the Founder and Director of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist.   Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications.  You can reach her by email at karina@pridelearningcenter.com or visit the Pride Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

What is a Reading Disability?

A reading disability is an inherited condition that makes it extremely difficult to read, write, and spell despite at least an average intelligence.

Learning to read is a sequential process.  Each new skill a child learns builds on the mastery of previously learned skills.  First, a child learns to break down words into their most basic sounds, which we call decoding.  Later on, the child begins to comprehend the meaning of words and sentences, which we call reading comprehension.   Decoding is an essential step in the reading process since it forms the foundation of reading.  For a child with a reading disability, decoding does NOT come naturally and is NOT an automatic process.  Most reading experts will agree that decoding problems is the basis of most reading disabilities.

Does my child have a reading disability?

Some signs of a reading disability:

• Child has difficulties sounding out words
• Slow laborious reading
• Reads without expression
• Ignores punctuation while reading out loud
• Guesses based on first letter of word
• Puts extra sounds into a word
• Drops syllables
• Reverses sounds
• Struggles with spelling
• Substitutes small common words

If your child is struggling in reading and showing the above symptoms, there may be good reason for you to request an immediate assessment.  As a parent you want to be certain that you are providing what is needed for your child to succeed in school.  To know what is necessary, an assessment is the first thing to do in order to identify the issues to remedy.

What is an assessment?

An assessment is simply a standardized test performed by someone trained and licensed to understand how to give the test and how to interpret the results.  Specialists trained to do psychological testing and result interpretation are:

• Clinical psychologist
• School psychologist
• Educational psychologist
• Developmental psychologist
• Neuropsychologist
• Speech and language therapist

How do I get help?

A child with a reading disability will take in and process information differently and needs to be taught by specialists.  Students with a reading disability will need to work with a specially trained teacher, tutor, or reading specialist to learn how to read and spell.  Students who have been assessed and diagnosed through the school district might qualify for Special Education Services.  Children with a reading disability progress best with a sequential, repetitive, systematic and cumulative structured reading program.  Fortunately, with the proper assistance and help, most students with a reading disability are able to learn to read and develop strategies to become successful readers.

When is the best time to get help?

Effective early intervention is the key to helping a struggling reader learn to read.  This training needs to begin sooner rather than later for the bet results.  According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 95% of children who have trouble learning to read can reach grade level if they receive specialized help early on.  Kindergarten to the middle of first grade are the “window of opportunity” to prevent long term reading problems.  Without early intervention, the “reading gap” might never close.

There is no reason why a child with a reading disability cannot learn to read and comprehend well.  It is important that we never lower the expectations of a child with a reading disability.   Children need to feel that even though they are struggling, they are loved and not being judged.  So be encouraging and patient and praise often.

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Karina Richland, M.A. is the Founder and Director of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist.   Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications.  You can reach her by email at karina@pridelearningcenter.com or visit the Pride Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

Over the last several years countless families have come to our offices seeking assistance for their children who are struggling academically. The majority of our school-aged clients present with some form of language learning disabilities. These language learning disabilities can directly impair a child’s reading ability. Research supports that one of the best predictors of a child’s success in reading is an individual’s oral language abilities. So you ask, “What’s the connection?”
As infants we begin to learn language. We respond to pleasant voices by smiling, we turn our heads when we hear sound, and we begin to babble. These emergent language skills continue to grow and develop over the first few years of life to more complex unconscious abilities such as storytelling, developing and understanding humor, making judgments as to the appropriateness of content for certain listeners, editing for errors, learning metaphors, similes, antonyms, synonyms, etc. Although many children acquire the most basic and fundamental components of language such as vocabulary, generating a sentence, and grammar, they fail to learn the more complex language skills. Reading requires the ability to unconsciously define words, recognize synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms, identify parts of speech, recognize grammatical errors, recognize multiple meanings, etc. Therefore, reading is a language-based skill as it utilizes all of the same processes of an individual’s complex oral language skills. If an individual is unable to develop complex oral language skills, they are unable to develop the skills necessary to be a successful reader.
Speech and language intervention is an essential component to the achievement of a successful reader for those who are challenged academically! Intensive treatment supports the development of advanced language skills, which in turn support the skills necessary for reading. Jackson Jade Speech & Occupational Therapy customizes treatment programs that are designed to innervate the areas of the brain responsible for language development, which target the fundamental building blocks for reading including phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension. Research indicates that stand alone school-based programs are not intensive enough to meet the needs of struggling readers. Children who are enrolled in intensive programs and those who receive early intervention tend to score higher on cognitive and academic achievement measures than those who do not receive intervention or rely on school-age treatment alone.
If your child is struggling with reading there are several things you can do to support their development. In addition to seeking school-based services, enroll them in a reading-based program that uses a multisensory approach and seek a comprehensive language program through a speech language pathologist that specializes in brain based development.

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Renée Firby, MS CCC-SLP is a speech language pathologist and executive director of Jackson Jade Speech & Occupational Therapy. Ms. Firby has extensive experience working with medically, educationally, and cognitively challenged individuals. She has provided speech language pathology services to infants through the geriatric populations ranging from the mildest to most severe impairments.
If you have any questions or would like information about scheduling an appointment at Jackson Jade Speech & Occupational Therapy call 888-808-7838 or visit www.jacksonjadesp.com for more information.

For some reason, the discussion of fish oil supplementation conjures up images of a mountebank peddling a potion at an old-style country fair. Indeed, the idea of fish oil supplementation to treat a variety of ailments has been around for many decades. Recently, fish oil has received a great deal of attention in the lay media and professional medical literature for the treatment of behavioral disorders such as ADHD.

After diagnosing a child with ADHD and transitioning to talking about treatments, I often start to feel a bit of tension in the room as parents start to think “I know he’s going to recommend medications and as a family we are not prepared for that”. However, before launching into a discussion of different pharmacotherapies for ADHD, it is important to consider nonmedical management. For example, behavior modification strategies have been adequately studied and proven to be beneficial for many children with ADHD. Three less frequently discussed ADHD treatments which I touch upon during my consultations are essential fatty acid (such as contained in fish oil) supplementation, sleep habits and basic dietary changes.

From scientific studies of essential fatty acids (EFAs) and ADHD we know that (1) individuals who have ADHD may have low levels of EFAs and (2) essential fatty acid supplementation may normalize EFA levels in children with ADHD. The clinical significance of this is somewhat less clear; however, most studies provide evidence of lessening ADHD symptoms. As with most scientific studies, there are concerns with study design and confounding factors but the current body of medical literature generally supports the use of essential fatty acid supplementation in children with ADHD.