Dyslexia And The New Science Of Reading

Susan Hall, now president of the Illinois branch of the International Dyslexia Association and coauthor (with Louisa Moats) of "Straight Talk About Reading," started on that path five years ago when her son Brandon was in first grade. She knew something was wrong because he wouldn't talk about school and seemed much too eager to get home when she picked him up at the end of the day. So she volunteered as a parent aide. What she saw was disturbing. "The children were supposed to read aloud," she recalls. "When I heard the first child, I knew she could read a lot better than my child could read. When his turn came, he was devastated. That enabled me to open the door and talk about what was bothering him."

Hall asked to have Brandon tested at school, but, she says, "they said they couldn't possibly do it because he wasn't a year behind yet"--a requirement in many districts that costs kids valuable time. Finding a good diagnostician proved difficult. After two tutors didn't work out, Hall decided to study on her own. A Harvard M.B.A., she quit working and made fixing Brandon's problems her cause. "The first year, I took three graduate courses in reading at our local teachers college, flew around the country to attend 10 conferences and read 25 books on the subject." She was impressed with the speakers at an International Dyslexia Association conference and took Brandon to a tutor who used their approach. It helped, but Brandon still had problems. Finally, "at a huge cost to my family," Hall took Brandon to a Lindamood clinic in California, where he finally made a breakthrough. Brandon, now in sixth grade, is a pretty good reader, his mother says, "but his troubles continue in writing, spelling, French and oh, yes--we still have algebra ahead."

Hall gave Brandon what dyslexic kids need most--the emotional support to stay positive about school. But her experiences have left her frustrated and angry--feelings shared by many other parents who were left to find an answer on their own. "This is just way too difficult," she says. "You do what you think is best and hope that research doesn't come out later showing you should have done something else. We have got to make this process a whole lot easier." That's a goal shared by everyone involved in unraveling the mysteries of dyslexia--researchers, teachers, parents and most of all, the kids themselves.

Photo:
Jean Urban sees her own brain as it appears in functional MRI images.
Then: School administrators told Jean Urban's mother not to worry when the child couldn't grasp phonics in first grade. She was clearly smart, as her math grades showed. Finally, in second grade, her mom insisted on testing her for learning disabilities.
Now: With special training Urban, now 10 and in fifth grade, is making progress and says she's "pretty good at reading." She is part of a study at yale that will see whether the special training is actually changing how her brain works.
Photo:
Matthew Schafir finally got help thanks to his mother, Peggy.
Then: From kindergarten on, reading was a struggle, even after years of tutoring and testing. Desperate, Schafir's mom took him to a clinic seven hours from their home. To save money, mother and son lived in a tent for part of the time Matthew got intensive intervention.
Now: His reading level went from second to fifth grade in six weeks. At 14, Matthew reads at grade level, but still needs help with spelling and writing. His mom, meanwhile, is now working to bring the latest reading research to schools in Richmond, Ind.
Photo:
Charles Schwab at the Schwab Foundation for Learning
Then: Discount broker Charles Schwab struggled in school with reading. At Stanford, he flunked English "once or twice" and failed French. He never knew his problem was dyslexia, though, until his son was diagnosed with it. He established the foundation in San Mateo, calif., in 1987 to provide informatoin on learning disabilities. (800-230-0988).
Now: "Out of the closet" as a dyslexic, he reads three or four newspapers a day, "but only the front page and business section," he says. "I read the same subject matter all the time so I'm good at it.
Photo: Early intervention: Teachers at Seaton Elementary, a public school inWashington, D.C., use an innovative curriculum to give an extra boost to kindergartners at risk for reading problems
Photo:
John Corcoran is proud that at last he can read to his grandchildren.
Then: By sixth grade, John Corcoran, a severe dyslexic, still couldn't spell "cat" and could tell MEN from WOMEN on restroom doors only because one was longer. Still illiterate as an adult, he taught social studies in high school - by using movies for lessons, inviting guest speakers and having students grade papers.
Now: At 48, he registered for a public-library literacy program. That was a start, but the real improvement came when he began treating the dyxlexia explicitly. Now 60, he published "The Teacher Who Couldn't Read" in 1994.

The Anatomy of a Reading Disability