News for the Special Education Community
by Sally Bouwman – The one thing my postgraduate teacher training course had simply not prepared me for was that more than a third of my first class of seven and eight year-olds might not be reading and writing with any degree of confidence. Granted, it was a school in special measures, and many of [...]
If you or someone you care about is among the one in five people affected by dyslexia-a disability that makes reading difficult-there may be good news for you. Those struggling to manage the condition can now find hope in the 1in5 Initiative, a new campaign to drive greater public awareness of dyslexia through online PSAs [...]
by Trevor Keiser – “Never give up, never, never, never give up” was the famous quote by British Prime Minster Winston Churchill that helped give determination to Oxford High School Senior Ross Chapman to overcome his learning disability (LD). After being held back in kindergarten a second time, teachers couldn’t understand why Chapman wasn’t reading [...]
by Paula J. Owen – Saturday morning’s sprinkles did little to deter the 360 celebrating graduates at the Nichols College commencement ceremony, which championed those with learning disabilities. Valedictorian Stephen W. Mack and Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the commencement speaker, share something in common that has done nothing to stop the two men from [...]
by Karen Price – The words “classical music” usually conjure up thoughts of late great composers, like Beethoven and Strauss, who were brought to life during school history lessons. But for the last two decades, contemporary pieces have been the firm focus of the Vale of Glamorgan Festival of Music, which celebrates living composers. And [...]
by Carla Rivera – As part of a settlement with Disability Rights Advocates, UC Berkeley will provide disabled students with more timely access to printed materials in alternative formats such as Braille, large print and audio. UC Berkeley is making its vast library collections and course textbooks more readily available to students with visual and [...]
WHY is dyslexia such a hard word to spell? As I nervously waited in an uncomfortable, blue, plastic chair biting the skin around my nails I wondered what an earth the word “dyslexic” actually meant and what impact it would have on my life. Did this now mean I was officially stupid? Would it stop [...]
Using MRI, neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups, suggesting that the disorder may have a different brain-based manifestation based on sex. Their study, investigating dyslexia in both males and females, is the first to directly compare brain [...]
by Mike Bush – The biggest acts of courage can sometimes come from the smallest individuals. Nine year old Lillian Harris is reading to her third grade class at Niedringhaus school in Granite City. “I think it’s very brave of Lillian, ” says her teacher Mary Voss. Until recently, if Lillian had to speak in [...]
by Gary KartonAuthor – When I was in third grade, a teacher I didn’t know walked into my reading class, called my name, and then led me down the hall and into her office. “Do you know why you’re here?” she asked, offering me a seat at a table next to her desk. I shook [...]
