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At Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills you need navigate the amazing, confusing world of special education.
Highlights:
Reading and research; double-dipping - kids with disabilities and Title
I reading programs; effective methods to teach reading; teaching adolescents
to read; teaching late bloomers; retention as an intervention; caselaw
about reading; Wrightslaw programs in VA & OK; find help in the Yellow
Pages for Kids.
Quote of the Week: "Difficulty
in learning to read crushes the excitement and love for learning which
most children have when they enter school." - G. Reid Lyon
Download
this issue of The Special Ed Advocate.
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1. From the Editor: Reading & Research
Most children with disabilities have significant deficits in reading. These children need research-based instruction that targets their reading problems. But most children do not receive research-based reading instruction so they do not learn to read proficiently.
In this issue, we look at reading and research based instruction. Research psychologist Reid Lyon is Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Lyon answers questions about reading research, myths, late bloomers, teaching adolescents, and retention.
In last week's issue of The Special Ed Advocate, Sue Heath answered a parent's questions, offered strategies for getting help, and recommended a plan in Teaching a Child to Read: Special Ed or Reading First? Sue's answers led a speech therapist to ask about "double-dipping" . . .
2. Double-Dipping? Are Kids with Disabilities Barred from Title I Reading Programs?
"I work as a speech therapist for a public school system. We have been told that students may not have Title I reading resource and special ed goals in reading because this is "double-dipping" into federal monies. Is this true?"
What do you
think? Are kids with disabilities barred from Title I Reading programs
to prevent them from "double dipping?" In Double-Dipping:
Are Kids with Disabilities Barred from Title I Programs, Pam Wright
and Sue Heath answer these questions - and suggest strategies to get information
from your school and school district.
Sue Heath writes Doing
Your Homework, a column about creative advocacy strategies. Read more
Doing Your Homework
articles.
More advocacy
strategies.
3. What Works in Teaching Children to Read?
"Whole language" is embraced by some, cursed by many. For whom is it appropriate and for whom is it inappropriate? (Is it possible to tell in advance for whom it will work or won't work?)
Dr. Lyon discusses instructional approaches, strategies & programs that are most beneficial for kids at different phases of reading development in What Works in Teaching Children to Read?
More about research based instruction.
"What
reading programs and/or strategies do you recommend for high school students
who are reading at 3rd grade level?"
In
Teaching
Adolescents to Read, Dr. Lyon writes, "You asked a critical question
that is on the minds of many teachers and parents. Learning to read at
age 6 or age 16 requires that students master all
fundamental building blocks vital to reading comprehension . . ."
Read
article.
Go
to the Reading
Library for reliable information about reading, reading disabilities,
research-based reading programs, law and caselaw, certified language therapists,
and more.
5. Late Bloomers: Are We Teaching Kids to Read Before They Are Ready?
"I
am concerned about beginning reading instruction at earlier ages. What
about the 'late bloomer' whose cognitive skills are set by nature and
will NOT be rushed, who is ready to read in the last half of Grade 1 ...
or not until Grade 2, or Grade 3? By that time, reading instruction may
be two years' beyond these kids, and they are 'left behind.'"
Dr. Lyon respond
to this teacher's concerns with research and facts about late bloomers
and "developmental lags" in Late
Bloomers: Are We Teaching Kids to Read Before They Are Ready?
Learn
more: Reading
at Wrightslaw
6. Is Retention an Appropriate Intervention?
"Retention is a commonly used reading intervention. Do you see retention as an appropriate intervention? Please explain the scientific evidence supporting retention as an intervention."
Read Is Retention an Appropriate Intervention? to find out why Dr. Lyon says "Retention is hard to study experimentally because this is not a condition you can do randomized trials with - NOR WOULD YOU WANT TO!!!"
Retention & Social Promotion has articles, resources, and flyers about retention and social promotion.
7. Coming Soon! Wrightslaw Programs in Virginia Beach & Oklahoma City
Wrightslaw
Special Education Law and Advocacy Training Programs focus on four
areas: special education laws, rights & responsibilities; how to
use the bell curve to measure progress & regression; SMART IEPs;
and tactics & strategies for effective advocacy.
Participants will receive two books, Wrightslaw:
Special Education Law and Wrightslaw:
From Emotions to Advocacy, with their registration (Value: $59.90).
Virginia
Beach, VA (Mini-Boot Camp) - November 12-13,
2004
Edmond,
OK - Advocacy Training - December 4, 2004
- FREE to Oklahoma Parents & Caregivers!
If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read FAQs about Seminars. (We are now scheduling programs for 2006.)
8. Caselaw: Reading
Are you an advocate for children with learning disabilities or reading problems? Reading at Wrightslaw includes cases about dyslexia, reading, and tuition reimbursement.
Carter
v. Florence County School District IV. Tuition reimbursement case;
focuses on an appropriate program and IEP for Shannon Carter, a child
with dyslexia.
Carter
v. Florence County, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit "Least
restrictive environment" or where child learns?
Caselaw about Reading
More Caselaw
9. Need Help? Visit the Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities
If you are looking for help - or a helper
- visit the Yellow Pages for
Kids with Disabilities. Your
state Yellow Pages has
many resources - evaluators, therapists, tutors, special Ed schools, advocates,
organizations, and support groups.
Strategies
to Find a Support or Study Group
What
to Expect from an Evaluation of Your Child
Working
with Independent Evaluators and Educational Consultants
Questions
for a Lay Advocate
Questions
for an Attorney
Flyers
Yellow
Pages Flyers are great to distribute at conferences, seminars, training
programs, and workshops. Forward flyers
to friends and family members who live in other states. Access all state
flyers.
The
Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about special education
legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics and strategies. Subscribers
receive "alerts" about new cases, events, and special offers
on Wrightslaw books.
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Contact Info
Pete and
Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com