The last time I checked in with you I had mentioned that I had run into two wild and crazy twins, named Tweedledee & Tweedledum. These two rollie pollie guys was so much fun and it turns out that I have a little in common with them. It was hard for me to believe that I would ever run into someone in Wonderland that I would have something in common with. First off I had met these two guys on a path that was leading me to, what seemed like, nowhere. I had turned a corner, by this huge tree, and saw these two guy having a argument with one another. As I got closer and closer I was able to hear what they were arguing about. It was one of the silliest arguments that I had ever heard. The were arguing about how to read a book. As I got closer to them I realized that one of them, I could not tell which as they were twins, was dyslexic. I knew this for two reasons first I myself am dyslexic. Second I have done a little research over the years, to find out about dyslexia and I have come across a few signs that point to dyslexia. The twins were misreading and sometimes leaving out short words. And when I saw short I mean short words, words like on, on, saw, and was (http://www.k12reader.com/dyslexia-symptoms/). They were also stumbling and just plain skipped some big words in the story they were reading.
When I got closer I really wanted to help them and I felt great about helping because I had a little knowledge about dyslexia. When I had reached the twins They welcomed me and asked If I would like to read with them. I was so happy to say yea. But, before we even got started I asked the twins if they have ever heard of assistive technology. By the looks on their face I guessed the answer was no. So I went on and explained that assistive technology was technology that is used by a variety of people who have disabilities that makes preforming tasks difficult or impossible, like dyslexia (http://www.washington.edu/accessit/articles?109). Their eyes lit up like two kids finding they were getting a puppy. So now I need to find a great assistive technology that can help out Tweedledee and Tweedledum. There are a lot of different assistive technologies, that will help with dyslexia some are: electronic dictionaries, audio books, reading pens/handheld scanners, voice recognition software and text to speech software. The coolest one, for the twins was, the reading pen. This thing is so cool, all the twins had to do was take the pen and highlight to word and the pen reads it out loud. So with a reading pen in hand I sat and read the book, Charlottes Web, with the twins.
Now before I left Tweedledee and Tweedledum I wanted to give them some advice on dyslexia and what they can do to keep up on the information about dyslexia. The easiest way for them to stay on top of it is to keep traveling through Wonderland/the internet. There is always new information popping up here and there that is always helpful. New techniques and technologies are coming out of the woodworks that people are saying is the new best thing for battling dyslexia. The best way to know if these things, or tricks, will work is to travel through Wonderland. No matter where you go you there is a good chance that you will meet or help someone, like Tweedledee and Tweedledum, that have dyslexia. As I was saying goodbye to the twins they thanked me profusely. They were telling me that they had delays in their speech, a lot of ear infections, had a hard time mastering tying their shoes, they were rambunctious, had a hard time sitting still, and the list went on and on. They were so happy to hear that these are signs of being dyslexic. It is important when a chid has these symptoms, they are not a troubled child, they just might be dyslexic and have trouble reading. So, as I told Tweedledee and Tweedledum, it is important to look past someones behavior and look deeply at them and it just might be a simple answer. This is a great thing to do when you meet people in Wonderland/students in your classroom
I did a presentation on dyslexia a couple semesters ago, and I found it to be pretty fascinating. I found similar information, but I did not really do anything on assistive technology for dyslexia, so thanks for sharing! The best way I could come up with to explain dyslexia was this: It is like two people who are racing up two flights of stairs. One has a normal staircase, and one has steps far apart and unevenly spaced. They are equally fit, but one has a more difficult time in getting to the top. Maybe some of these assistive technologies you have discussed, such as the scanning pen, are the tools to even out the race!
ReplyDeleteThat was a really informative (and, as always, entertaining) post. I remember a presentation someone did on dyslexia in my EDSE class; there were examples of how a dyslexic person sees print on pages. I can't imagine having to deal with that; it is no wonder dyslexic kids get rambunctious. The signs of dyslexia do not seem to be related to READING, so it is good to know what they are so that we can help our students who might have this problem. My brother-in-law and nephew were both diagnosed as dyslexic (my brother-in-law was an adult before he learned that is what his "problem" was.) They really liked "Hooked on Phonics" and said that helped them a lot, but this was probably close to 20 years ago. Newer assistive technologies might have even helped more. The reading pen reminds me of how words are highlighted in Google Translate. I try to communicate in Portuguese with some of my Brazilian Facebook friends, and the "highlight" feature helps me make sure I am saying what I really want to say (since I don't actually speak Portuguese!) It is interesting how hearing the word helps dyslexics, especially since ear infections have something to do with dyslexia. I wonder what the correlation is between hearing problems and vision problems??
ReplyDeleteI like the assistive technology tool- the reading pen. I have never heard of a pen that works with all books before. I have only heard about pens that read with only a certain book for young children’s stories. I think that pen would be helpful when the student needs to read homework reading. I think the student would appreciate the ability to do the reading independently from adults help, allowing them to gain confidence in their abilities.
ReplyDeleteKevin- Once again I really enjoy the direction that you have taken your blog. There are some really neat tools out there to help children with dyslexia. I am glad that there are so many tools to help because I can imagine that it is frustrating learning to read with dyslexia.
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