Richard Selznick, PhD, Director of the Cooper Learning Center, spoke at Reading Horizon\u2019s online dyslexia summit in Utah last fall. Parent advocacy group Decoding Dyslexia Utah sponsored the summit.<\/p>\n
The following article by Dr. Selznick is from Reading Horizons\u2019 blog post:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn October 2017, we hosted an online dyslexia summit which included three unique presentations ranging from an expert panel to expert advice on assistive technology to help students who have dyslexia. The third and final presentation of the day was made by Dr. Richard Selznick, who is a nationally certified school psychologist, an assistant professor of pediatrics, a school consultant, and a Wilson-certified reading instructor. He is also the author of three books: <\/em>\u201cThe Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child,\u201d\u00a0\u201cSchool Struggles: A Guide to Your Shut-Down Learner\u2019s Success,\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cDyslexia Screening: Essential Concepts for Schools & Parents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Dr. Selznick does give tips and guidelines for helping struggling students, he also stresses that each child is different and that there should be a customized approach to helping each student with dyslexia succeed. During his presentation, he lists 10+ essentials for supporting a child with dyslexia. These essentials are, as follows:<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #1 (For Parents): Turn Down the Heat. This essential is all about not yelling as much or being as hard on your child about homework or other schoolwork.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #2 (For Parents): The Goldilocks Factor. Keep checking on your \u201cPOQ,\u201d or Parent Over involvement Quotient. For any task, ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the zone of competence?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #3 (Parents and Teachers): Know the Stages. Stages provide a roadmap and guide next-step thinking. The Stages of Reading Development are: prereading, initial reading or decoding, confirmation, fluency, and ungluing of print, learning the new and multiple viewpoints.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #4: Understand That the Battery Dims Over Time \u2013 It\u2019s a Long Race. Don\u2019t be discouraged and deflated by degrees. Find ways to champion the child.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #5 (Parents and Teachers): Make Things Visual. Children with dyslexia are very visual learners, and when you make your thinking\/teaching visual, you will help them immensely. Encourage them to retell stories or what they have read in visual forms.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #6: Watch Over-Concern about Fairness. Classroom Essential: Remember, these kids are on a pretty steep incline.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #7: Open-Ended Writing Is Dyslexia \u201cKryptonite.\u201d Classroom: Writing is arguably the biggest problem for students with dyslexia. Focus on the sentence level to achieve mastery. Use the \u201cold school\u201d Language Experience Approach for longer writing.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #8 (Parents and Teachers): Preview the \u201cBig Words.\u201d The \u201cBig Words\u201d in text are extreme hurdles. Children with dyslexia find them incredibly challenging.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #9 (Classroom and Home): Text-to-Speech Technology and Other assistive technologies. Train kids on the top-recommended assistive technologies.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential #10 (School and Home): Be Mindful of Potentially Embarrassing and\/or Shameful Situations. Always be mindful of the potential for shame and embarrassment.<\/p>\n \u201cEssential of All Essentials: It\u2019s the quality of the relationship that matters above all.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, these are all suggestions to help students with dyslexia, and each student is an individual and each case should be treated differently.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"