Smart Kids With LD

Summer has only just begun and your child is already bored. You’re bored too with the late nights that lead to late mornings, the endless hours playing video games, and the incessant pleas to hang out at the mall.

While your child may have missed the spring hiring period, it’s not too late to turn a jobless summer into a productive, working one.

In 7 Steps to Help Kids with LD Jump-Start the Summer Job Search, educational consultant Marcia Rubinstien, MA, CEP, offers concrete tips for helping your child get a job even at this late date.

Reading with children and helping them practice the specific components of reading can dramatically improve their ability to read. Use the more leisurely summer months to help your child improve in the key areas below:

1. Recognizing and using individual sounds to create words or phonemic awareness. Children need to be taught to hear sounds in words and that words are made up of the smallest parts of sound, or phonemes.
2. Understanding the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds, or phonics. Knowing the relationships between letters and sounds helps children to recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and “decode” new words.
3. Developing the ability to read a text accurately and quickly, or reading fluency. Children must learn to read words rapidly and accurately in order to understand what is read. Readers who are weak in fluency read slowly, word by word, focusing on decoding words instead of comprehending meaning.
4. Learning the meaning and pronunciation of words, or vocabulary development. Children need to actively build and expand their knowledge of written and spoken words, what they mean, and how they are used.
5. Acquiring strategies to understand, remember, and communicate what is read, or reading comprehension strategies. Children need to be taught comprehension strategies, or the steps good readers use to make sure they understand text. Students who are in control of their own reading comprehension become purposeful, active readers.

This material is reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs, Educational Partnerships and Family Involvement Unit, Reading Tips for Parents, Washington, D.C. 2003.

Related Smart Kids Links

• Treating Dyslexia
• Help for An Older Child with Reading Problems
• Comprehension Skills for Kids with LD
• Developing Literacy Skills in Young Readers
• 12 Ways to Help Preschoolers Develop Literacy Skills

For years scientists have warned that premature birth is a risk factor for behavioral and emotional problems, but now researchers are suggesting that overdue births may present similar challenges.

Results from a recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology found that children born more than two weeks past their due date were twice as likely as term children to develop problem behaviors—especially ADHD—in early childhood.

While researchers were quick to note that further study is needed to understand the causal relationship between gestational age and ADHD, they were able to exclude certain variables such as mother’s height and weight, income, education level, ethnicity, alcohol and cigarette use, and mental health during pregnancy.

Instead they hypothesize several possibilities to explain their findings: larger babies have increased risk for birth-related problems; post-term placenta provides less nutrients and oxygen; and late-term births are more complicated than term births.

This particular study is one component of a large population-based study in the Netherlands that is following a cohort from fetal life to young adulthood. For this effort, researchers surveyed the parents of 5,145 babies born from 2002 to 2006. Participants were sent standardized, validated questionnaires when their babies were 18 and 36 months old. Results at both questionnaire intervals showed a U-shaped pattern with preterm and post-term babies at greater risk for behavioral and emotional problems.

The ever-widening reach of digital media is proving to be a challenge for school systems trying to manage the information that students have access to. However, some districts have gone too far, and are in fact flouting students’ First Amendment rights by thwarting the free flow of information.

According to a recent article in Education Week, “Schools cannot block access to information on the Internet any more than they can engage in viewpoint-based discrimination toward the books on the [library] shelves.” Joshua Block, a lawyer with the ACLU, and author of the Education Week article The Legal Cost of Improper Internet Censorship, explains that student access to viewpoint-based information became a matter of settled law when the “U.S. Supreme Court ruled 30 years ago that public schools cannot engage in viewpoint-based censorship of library books.” Block notes that simply because technology has evolved, does not mean that the law has changed.

The issue came to the attention of the ACLU when the organization received what Block describes as a “disturbing number of reports from students who were blocked from accessing websites about college scholarships for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teenagers; anti-bullying resources; and activities for student-led gay-straight alliances.” The schools were—sometimes inadvertently—using filtering software configured to block the websites.

Earlier this year a federal district court upheld students’ rights in the landmark case, PFLAG v. Camdenton R-III School District, ruling that students do not forego their First Amendment rights when using a school computer. As Block explains:

The federal court made clear that when a school district intentionally uses a discriminatory filter, it is engaging in viewpoint discrimination.

The federal district court’s groundbreaking decision in the Camdenton case should be a warning to school districts. As technology changes, schools must be aware that all outposts in the marketplace of ideas should be open to students, whether on the bookshelves or the Internet. They must adhere to the same standards of viewpoint neutrality that apply anywhere else in a school library.

The debate on how best to treat children with ADHD is about to heat up again. The results of a new study, published in Scientific American, suggest that cognitive and behavior therapies may be the most effective options for the long haul.

class=”quote”>“Whereas stimulant medications may help young patients focus and behave in the classroom, research now suggests that behaviorally based changes make more of a difference in the long-term.”

If the advice seems retro, that’s because it is. As suggested in the article, Not-So-Quick Fix: ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run, researchers are taking a closer look at nonpharmaceutical interventions due to concerns over increasing dosages of stimulant medications that are being prescribed over longer periods of time. A synthesis of the latest research was presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in April, where ADHD experts met to present their work:

Their findings suggest that behavioral and cognitive therapies focused on reducing impulsivity and reinforcing positive long-term habits may be able to replace current high doses of stimulant treatment in children and young adults….As of 2007, 2.7 million U.S. children and adolescents with ADHD were being treated with stimulant drugs. But new research reveals that these drugs are not necessarily the panacea they have been thought to be.

Researchers acknowledge that medications often work faster and are less costly than behavioral interventions, but the experts participating in the April meeting agreed that behavioral interventions are worthy of renewed attention, particularly if further studies show the same long-term benefits.

To learn more about the science behind the renewed interest in non-medical interventions for ADHD, access the full article in the May 15, 2012 online edition of Scientific American at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=adhd-behavioral-therapy-more-effective-drugs-long-term

Related Smart Kids Links

• Straight Talk About Medications for ADHD
• Beyond Medication: Evidence-Based ADHD Care
• Treating ADHD: A Comprehensive Strategy

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities is pleased to announce that Clinton Berry of Owensboro, KY has been named Smart Kids’ 2012 Fred J. Epstein Youth Achievement Award winner. The award recognizes outstanding accomplishments of a student with learning disabilities or ADHD. Berry, a senior at Owensboro High School, was selected from over 150 entrants from 42 states and Europe.

Eighteen-year-old Berry credits his reading and writing disabilities, identified in first grade, with motivating him to set high goals for himself, which have resulted in both academic and public service awards. In addition, Berry holds a Black Belt in Karate, and is a member of his high school golf team, concert band, and Owensboro’s Emergency First Responders. For his 2010 Eagle Scout project, he designed and built a 2,500 square foot rehabilitation center for bald eagles in Owensboro’s Yellow Creek Park. After high school, this accomplished teen plans to study engineering at Murray State University.

Berry will receive his $1,000 award at Smart Kids’12^th Anniversary Benefit on June 8^th at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, CT. At that time, Smart Kids will also recognize the following students with LD for their accomplishments:

Special Recognition Award:

Elliott Sabbagh, 18, Ann Arbor, MI. Despite struggles with ADHD, Sabbagh is an accomplished violinist, who knew at the age of 11 that music would be his life’s work. In addition to playing classical and bluegrass violin, he has frequently co-hosted an Ann Arbor/Detroit hip-hop radio show since the age of 14, and performs as a DJ, MC and host at concerts with nationally known artists.

YAA Honorable Mention Winners:

Lauren Birbarie, 17, Branford CT. Birbarie overcame significant difficulties with reading comprehension and math at Ben Bronz Academy in West Hartford, CT, to earn the school’s highest award. Her legacy at Branford High School, from which she graduates this spring, is the founding of the alpine ski racing team, and her work in coaching younger children to love the sport as she does.

Izer Tuohey Martinez, 16, Oak Park, IL. After struggling at a number of schools that did not address his dyslexia, Martinez finally hit his stride at the Gow School in South Wales, NY. Starting there in 7^th grade, he quickly became a school leader who has been on the honor roll every term. He is the first American to compete at the Canadian National Youth Poetry Slam Competition, and as a junior, he is captain of Gow’s varsity soccer and basketball teams.

Brian Meersma, 15, Princeton Junction, NJ. Meersma has mastered the use of assistive technology to deal with his disabilities in reading and writing—and has inspired others to do so as well, through his blog and presentations. He has been invited to join the National Advisory Board of Bookshare, a global leader in providing digital accessible books to people with print disabilities.

Alexandra Siegele, 18, Berwyn, PA. Adopted from Russia at age 4, Siegele has struggled with dyslexia throughout her schooling. She has relied on her love for art and jewelry design, and her strength as captain of her high school rowing team—as well as her indomitable spirit—to earn high honors despite her difficulties, and will enter Tufts University next fall.

Junior Achievement Award:

Maxence Mouries, 9, Falls Church, VA. Already an accomplished violinist, Mouries is the first elementary-school student ever accepted in the Student Symphonic Orchestra of Fairfax, becoming assistant concertmaster at the age of 8.

Junior Special Recognition Award:

Daniel De Chucho Estruch-Gonzalez, 11, Vienna, Austria. Rejected by major choir schools in England because of his severe dyslexia, he was the first English boy accepted at the Vienna Boys Choir Junior School, and joined the world-famous Vienna Boys Choir in the fall of 2011.

Junior Achievement Award Honorable Mention:

Cameron Shockley-Okeke, 11, Norwalk, CT. A gifted sixth grader at the United Nations International School in New York City, Cameron struggles with ADHD. He plays AAU basketball in addition to travel soccer and baseball for Norwalk teams, and assists the Youth Leader at Norwalk’s Mt. Calvary Baptist Church.

Congratulations to all the 2012 Smart Kids Youth Achievement Award winners and honorees. They’re an inspiration to all parents and professionals who know that children with LD and ADHD can achieve great things!

Two congressmen, both with children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia, are using their bully pulpit to shine a light on the most common language learning disability. Representative Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), and Pete Stark (D-CA) have crossed the aisle to propose a bipartisan congressional caucus to raise awareness of dyslexia and educate others about the challenges, opportunities, and issues that must be addressed to ensure success for students with dyslexia.

In a joint letter, the two representatives invited their congressional colleagues to join their efforts to increase awareness and make policy changes to “create opportunity for all dyslexics and remove barriers to success.” The letter further stated what many parents of children with LD already know:

All too often dyslexics are either misdiagnosed or misunderstood, and as a result their true skills and abilities go ignored…As an example, in December 2011, the GAO released a report (GAO-12-40) showing that many students with learning and other disabilities, including dyslexia, are not receiving accommodations, such as extended testing time, required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when they take high stakes examinations such as the SAT, GRE, LSAT, or U.S. Medical Licensing Examination and others. Further, GAO found that the Department of Justice is not adequately enforcing the ADA and protecting the rights of students. The result is that highly qualified individuals are being locked out of professions and are not able to achieve their career goals.

We all have an interest in ensuring that each member of our society is fully contributing to our nation and our economy. We cannot afford to ignore those who are challenged with dyslexia. Dyslexia robs individuals of their ability to read quickly and automatically but it does not dampen their creativity and ingenuity – skills important for America to prosper.

Smart Kids with LD welcomes this federal bipartisan effort to elevate the national understanding of dyslexia and to spearhead policy changes that will help children with dyslexia achieve their potential.