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Dyslexia & Mindfulness Practices

4/27/2014

4 Comments

 
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This story begins about a year and a half ago, when a friend introduced me to a parent volunteer in her classroom.  This parent was a working mom who had sought out a personal journey which led her to Mindfulness practices.  Mindfulness is a state of being, a peaceful, calm, positive approach to daily life.  Trice felt so strongly about the benefits of Mindfulness that she spent her single-day-off in the work week volunteering in her daughters' & others' classrooms to show kids how they could learn to focus better, attend lessons and support each other by becoming more mindful of one another.  Trice didn't have any kids in my classroom, but after talking with her about my own son's low emotional threshold due to executive functioning issues and dyslexia, and that there were similar issues with other kids in his group, she felt the desire to help him and found the extra time to devote to these kids.  As life goes, after a few lessons, unfortunate circumstances occured in her life and her family's needs became greater; she had to step down from volunteering for a while.  After several months, she worked hard to make extra time to come in near the end of the school year again.  This is when I saw a huge shift in my students.....they realized HOW MUCH they had missed those lessons. They began to gel even better as a group, the tiny issues that followed them in from the playground melted away, they focused better on the lessons and were happier on a daily basis. We had always worked well together but this brought the group to a whole new level. 
     By noticing opportunities and being open to changes, Trice found a way to change careers by the time my son's class moved to the middle school.  She began teaching Mindfulness full time through the Crim Foundation and is now reaching hundreds of students.
     As a parent, I wanted to see these lessons continue for my son desperately but I also realized the benefits it could bring to his classmates and the trickle down effect it could have on his & their whole school experience; if more kids could learn these lessons, then maybe they'd experience better journeys thru the middle years together.  So I wrote a letter to the principals outlining the benefits my small group of Resource Room kids experienced in such a short time through Mindfulness.  This program was not expensive, in fact for our school it would be free thru the Foundation she was working with...how can anyone turn down free and beneficial?!  It worked, they were signed up and ready to go!  Since his class started their lessons in March, his daily frustrations have decreased tremendously. He doesn't bring home papers to re-do that are filled with answers like, "I don't know; or my friends are so much smarter than me."  Now, he is more focused, bringing home less unfinished work and trying to think more mindfully about his path in life.  
     Mindfulness doesn't take away every struggle, he still has issues with really stressful situations and his executive functioning deficits are not miraculously fixed; but the effect that those have had on him are decreased and the turn around is quicker.  But most importantly, his self-reflection is improved, he thinks about his reactions and how a different reaction could have altered the outcome.  He plans for the next time, execution is still down the road a bit but he's on that higher path.  
     Let me give you an example:  The experience he recently had being on a panel of experts for Michigan Collaborative for Mindfulness in Education (MC4ME.org) is a great example of how he functions & dysfunctions sometimes.  Knowing his strengths and weaknesses helps me as his parent to prepare him for moments like these.  Initially, when invited, he nonchalantly said, "Sure, I'll do it." which indicated to me that he didn't know what he'd just agreed to.  So over the course of the next month and a half we discussed what this might look like.  A couple of weeks prior to the event I realized his issues with word retrieval and his disjointed way of explaining things could likely cause him to shut-down in the middle of the crowd and forever embarass him, I panicked, thinking, this could be detrimental to his self-esteem, but, I also couldn't shake the thought that if maybe we prepared well, it could lead to one of the greatest experiences of his young life.  So, when I tried asking him some questions that I thought an audience might ask him, he hit the wall--he said, "What?!  What do you mean people will be asking me questions?! I can't answer anything like that!  I don't know why I like Mindfulness, I just do and I know it helps me but I can't explain it!  Tell her I can't do it."  Imagine my surprise when after all the times we talked about this, he really still had no concrete idea of what this event was about. So I set out to build the foundation of his thinking with him.  I simply asked him to start noticing what Mindfulness does for him or how it makes him feel after practicing. We practiced together a few times a week and he did so on his own.  We talked several more times and after a Mindful moment, we would reflect.  Each time was, in my opinion, so-so.  His answers never reached anything in-depth, just skimmed the surface but he was happy to try to be on the panel and felt he could answer.  On the 45 minute car ride down the morning of the event, his in-depth self-reflection surfaced and he astounded me.  In this reflection he talked for the first time about his strengths and did not let his dyslexia define him.  He talked about the fact that although he has difficulty getting his words on paper and that it is frustrating to him, he has so many good stories in his mind, ready to come out.  He recognized that some of his friends who he always felt were so much smarter than him have some weaknesses too and that realization made him accept himself more.  He also recognized that he can challenge himself to do more sometimes and isn't letting his challenges with reading, thinking style or writing stop him from getting to his goals (he has goals now --yeah!).  I am having a hard time describing the amazing feeling I had listening to him -- awe, pride, thankfulness, admiration that he at such a young age has come so far---relief that maybe he won't have to wait until he's an adult to finally find some successes as a person with dyslexia, like so many people do.   
     My son has had wonderful teachers all of his schooling and parents who have spent countless hours teaching accountability and self-reflection, in "good-times", although during "bad-times" we often told him to find that calmness and reflect the way he's been taught, none of all that good teaching has been as effective as Mindfulness, which gave him a tool to use, showed him how to make his mind calmer, more able to self-reflect. I'm not discounting any of the lessons he's had from me or any of his teachers, I just think we had to work really hard to get half the results of what Mindfulness has been able to do for him in a short period of time.  Executive functioning deficits can't be remediated thru telling one to focus better or calm down, but they can be helped with learning good solid ways to focus, attend to your thoughts, organize, relieve stress, reduce or eliminate racing or wandering thoughts, gain perspectives, and seek the positive in others and yourself. 
     Aside from my son's experiences, I've seen others......one of the students I work with who has a teacher that does Mindfulness daily stopped shutting-down within the first month of school, a new record for this child.  Previously he brought a negative aspect to a classroom, but that ceased by October and has continued to benefit him (&the rest of the class) all school year.  The other day, while trying to help a student re-do a Science Study guide, I noticed that his attention was so off that he was unable to keep his eyes on the paper, they were darting everwhere. I attempted to read it to him while using a tracking tool but he was still unable to maintain his attention.  I asked if he'd ever heard of Mindfulness, he brightened up, said his 3rd grade teacher did it with them everyday ( he's in 4th now).  After a brief discussion of how he could use it to focus on the task at hand, we spent 1.5 minutes in Mindful practice.  He listened to the rest of the 2-page paper on the phases of the moon, helped highlight the important parts and answered all 15-20 questions with some assistance within a reasonable amount of time.  Without that mindful minute, I believe we would have been at that task well into my next group's session and therefore would not have finished, he would have been on his own and at the rate he was going prior to that, it would have been homework, adding another stressor to the day.
     Personally, my experience has been greatly beneficial.  Since I began practicing Mindfulness on a daily basis a couple of months ago, I've created this website on dyslexia, written several blogs, learned how to create Facebook, Pintrest and Google pages, helped my children make videos that revolve around dyslexia and learned how to make and post these to my YouTube channel, been asked to present on dyslexia with my Decoding Dyslexia group and made a business plan for the near future.  All of these ideas have been mulling around in my head, sort of spinning like a tornado for a few years. The focus that Mindfulness gave me allowed my inner drive to surface. My ideas no longer spin, they are filed away and pulled to the surface when needed.  Some escape that and pester for a bit but I am much more aware of when that happens now and either chose to make time to locate and file them, or let them go because I know they will come back or new ones will replace them and it will all be fine.  There is peace in knowing that I don't have to tackle every idea. There is peace in being able to focus on something well.  There is peace in relieving daily stresses, but more importantly, there is peace in knowing that my overwhelmed son has a tool he can use to help propel himself toward his future. 


To see a 3 minute video clip of his MC4ME panel experience, see the Resources tab on my website, www.seethebeautyindyslexia.com









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book list on dyslexia

4/23/2014

1 Comment

 
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Short and sweet today folks!  I updated my webpage this evening with loads of great books for children, teens and adults on the subject .....check it out!  Link quickly by clicking on the image.  If you have other suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment, I'm always looking for great resources

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finding the beauty: Strengths in dyslexia

4/19/2014

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Some people love to hunt for treasure, real items they can hold in their hand, keep in their collections or sell to another collector.  I like treasure hunting in a whole different way....mental treasure hunting.   Seeking the positive side of any challenge is essential to moving forward.  My dad taught me many great lessons in life, one of the MOST IMPORTANT, is the idea that finding even one small ounce of good among the bad can propel you to keep moving ahead.  Initially, when it really sank in that my son was going to struggle so heavily with school, I went through a grieving period.  Feeling overwhelmed with dispair for him and the long road ahead of me to support the next 11+ years of his schooling.  After a bit though, my dad's voice would creep into my head reminding me that I could choose to either wallow this way or begin digging out of the hole, one small shovel load at a time.  I didn't even need a big shovel, I could use a beach pail shovel, just START, shovel a bit at a time until my little shovel magically grows into a garden size shovel.  
     When I made the mental shift to look for the good things, my research started turning up some pretty amazing information and statistics!  It allowed me to help my son in a much more productive way.  I began gathering all I could, I put it altogether and gave a presentation to my fellow teachers (which were his teachers too).  It felt quite rewarding to hear so many of them say how important this information was and that they had learned so much about looking for the strengths in their students.  It's been about a year and a half, and teachers still talk about that presentation, they tell me how they are reaching more students and continuing to help them find successes and build on those.  

So.... What is the beauty in dyslexia?  Beauty is the good stuff....the benefits of thinking differently.....eeking out an individual's strengths. Sure, dyslexics have difficulty reading, spelling, writing, math, organizing, recalling names, etc., but what about the good stuff?  What are the benefits of being dyslexic?  

There are plenty of benefits!!  , Here's a list of several, not all by any means, but many....

out-of-the-box thinkers--see patterns & connections that others don't see
intuitive
problem-solvers

bright, intelligent
creative
talents in music, arts, sports
mechanical aptitude
see the bigger picture, not lost in the details
visual-spatial relations

social skills
persistent
excellent long-term memory

risk-takers
make great entreprenuers
engineers
actors
comedians
novelists
scientists
inventors
business leaders
lawyers
movie directors
senators
artists
athletes
 
My dad is a very wise man who taught me every good thing I know.  In raising my own 4 children, I've tried hard to incorporate his wisdom in their lives.  The reason the title of my webpage is Seeing the Beauty in Dyslexia is because my children "get it" and while we were discussing the possible names for the website and the reasons I wanted to create it, my oldest offered up the name, it encompasses my life philospophy as well as my passion for dyslexia...perfection!

     

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Amazing audio books

3/30/2014

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     25 years ago when I was driving 2 hours a day to go to the university, my dad introduced me to audio books.....I'd put a cassette in my car radio and listen to Brad Pitt's smooth voice as he read Texas or Peter Coyote 's voice as he read The Horse Whisperer, leading my imagination on a ride thru the wilderness, breaking the monotony of 60 miles of highway.  I enjoyed listening to their voices and more importantly, enjoyed one of my most favorite things in the world: books, stories and more books...I can't get enough and I can't imagine life without them or life with a struggle to get to something so amazing that I would avoid it.  When my mother-in-law lost her eyesight to diabetes she lost some of her spark.  She was an avid reader.  When we signed her up for audiobooks thru the Recordings for the Blind she regained some of that spark, she could finally have access to romance novels and murder mysteries--her favorite types of stories.  Long gone are the bulky tape players, now audio books are accessible thru Kindle, iTunes, local libraries, restaurants, book stores, friends and companies like Bookshare and Learning Ally.  Some are read by real people or actors while others are digital versions which can be accessed thru various dialects, the voice is at first a bit mechanical, but within a few minutes, it becomes addicting, the voice lulls your imagination into the story.       
     Over the years, I've seen many students 'fake-it' by carrying around a book they cannot read but they want to look like their peers, so they do.  When someone asks about the book or attempts to carry on a conversation, the whily dyslexic tries to skillfully avert the details, sometimes they make it through unscathed, other times it is painfully obvious they don't know what they are talking about and someone gains more information about him than he/she wishes.  Having access to audio versions of books gives a life-gift to kids with reading challenges.  This passed March, for March is Reading Month, I got together with our librarian and PTO organization to purchase 12 audio books, 12 portable CD players with headphones, rechargable batteries and a charging station.  The kids are chomping at the bit to check them out!! The CD players allow kids to take the book to their classroom or even home so they can listen at their leisure.  It doesn't do much good if they check out a book without a way to listen to it.  Although it may be an expensive risk to let the CD players go home, a $50 bill if the book and player don't come back, it is more important to the kids to feel like they are a step closer to their peers.  This is worth the cost of replacing a few a year. 
     Bookshare is available thru schools and is free for those with a reading disabiltity.  You can't beat FREE!!!!  With an iPad, we can download the Daisy version which shows the text on the screen and highlights the words as they are being read.  My son uses this system, he can see and hear the text which keeps him more focused.  He enjoys seeing the words and reading along with the story.  The exhaustive nature of reading is markedly diminished allowing him to plow thru novels and keep up in conversations with his friends about the latest greatest books.  
       The company, Learning Ally is an amazing resource for parents, teachers and those with reading challenges.  They not only offer digital books, but also audio books, read by a person AND textbooks in audio format which is huge for high school and college kids!  They are a non-profit company that is growing in leaps and bounds! They offer high-quality webinars, teacher training, parent resources and more!  Their annual fees are doable for most.   Imagine the possibilities for kids who have a high interest in a higher-level subject area---they could essentially learn engineering or marine biology or a host of other subject matters auditorily & independently!   If you are of the means and wish to make a substantial difference in your local community, consider sponsoring a school or entire district's access to Learning Ally, especially for the textbook access to so many kids with IEP's and 504 plans can level the playing field by Ear Reading. 




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Mindfulness & dyslexia

3/28/2014

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MC4ME, Michigan Collaborative For Mindfulness in Education, is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Mindfulness education to schools.  Learning simple and meaningful ways to focus for our kids with learning differences is powerful, especially when faced with challenges throughout the day.  Mindful practices teach more than just calming techniques, it teaches how to let go of the negative and celebrate the good in situations, in others and in oneself. The Crim Foundation has been an integral part of bringing Mindfulness to several Genesee County schools.  My classroom was fortunate enough to have Trice Berlinski come in to teach several, 15 minute lessons last year.  She has been in several classrooms in our school and has moved on with my son's class to the Middle School where many teachers have been trained and students are benefiting.  Trice's group, MC4ME is having an event in April.  Please click on the link below to find out more about the event and Mindfulness.  



http://www.MC4ME.org/                              
                          See the Film Room To BreatheJoin us for a community showing of the powerful documentary film, Room         to Breathe, a story of transformation as struggling kids in a San Francisco public middle school are introduced to the practice of mindfulness.  Discussion to follow.
Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 2 pm, Rackham Amphitheater, 4th floor, Ann Arbor 
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Vision Therapy Debunked

3/24/2014

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The American Academy of Ophthalmology created a Policy Statement in the year 2009 (which floors me that its been around that long) in which they performed extensive research into Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia and Vision and determined that vision problems are not the cause of primary dyslexia or learning disabilities.  "Scientific evidence does not support the efficacy of eye exercises, behavioral vision therapy, or special tinted filters or lenses for improving the long-term educational performance in these complex pediatric neurocognitive conditions.....are not endorsed and should not be recommended."  For more information or to read a full copy of this Policy Statement, read the full article which AAO shared recently at an IDA 2013 Conference http://bit.ly/19OcOim (the O's are letters) or directly thru              http://www.aao.org/about/policy/upload/Learning-Disabilities-Dyslexia-Vision-2009.pdf

Thank you to Decoding Dyslexia MI for sharing this information via Dyslexia Training Institute from Nov. 10, 2013


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About Dyslexia

3/23/2014

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          Dyslexia is a learning disability that makes learning to read and spell challenging.  People with dyslexia are of average to above average intelligence, it’s just that their brains are wired differently.  This difference in wiring means that they do not process the sounds the same way as people who are not dyslexic.  There are varying degrees that people are affected by this learning difference.  Some people have trouble with all types of language such as coming up with words when speaking, often resorting to using words that generalize rather than are descriptive (for example:  saying “stuff or things” often) or mixing up sounds in words or omitting them (for example:  saying basgetti for spaghetti or sit’er for sister).  

          Some dyslexics have trouble with organization of directions, instructions, etc. due to language processing issues.  They can have difficulty with memorizing math facts and other rote memorization and they can have difficulty organizing their thoughts and ideas clearly when speaking and in writing.  

          Because dyslexic people have trouble expressing their ideas clearly, have difficulty reading and have poor spelling they often feel like they are not as smart as their classmates and friends even if they are intelligent.  School is often frought with negative experiences, stress and anxiety.  Children with dyslexia do not have nearly as many positive experiences or opportunities as kids without dyslexia in school, where they spend 6-7 hours a day for 12 years.  School days are filled with limitless opportunities for them to fail; they fail at sounding out words or they read slowly so they only get part of an assignment done or they raise their hand to be called on only to forget their idea or have trouble saying what they mean.  Other kids notice and begin to ask them about it or point it out, sometimes with malice intent, other times just because they noticed.  Eventually, many kids give up trying so hard, it becomes easier for them to take themselves out of the lesson than knowing they failed again.  Some kids act out because it is easier to be noticed for being a joker than having others see them fail again .  Teachers have so many children to attend to that they often only see the behavior as laziness, lack of intelligence or withdrawal or nuisance--the distracting behaviors can wreak havoc in a classroom.  Dyslexic kids get really good at never falling victim to being put on the spot to read in front of the class or demonstrate their failures for the teacher or classmates to see.  They learn to do these things as self-preservation of their own self-confidence.  Education often feeds into this deception because teachers failed to learn more about dyslexia and colleges and states failed to educate teachers better on how the brain can be wired differently and the best ways to reach and teach kids with dyslexia.  Empathy and being able to see from the child's perspective is an essential element of reaching these children to help nurture their potential.  

            Dyslexia is a global issue, people in every country are affected by dyslexia.  Some countries notice dyslexia less because their language is easier to learn, they may have fewer varying patterns or rules to apply.  English is one of the hardest languages to learn but so is Chinese due to the intricate combination of strokes in each Chinese character which relies on rote memorization.  Dyslexics in other countries go through the same negative feelings as kids in America do, they struggle with the same stereo-typing which tends to lower expectations and outcomes.  There are many statistics that show how high the percentage is of people in jail that cannot read or write well.  

          There is so much wasted talent in society…those with special gifts who missed out on someone recognizing and developing their talent end up being in low paying jobs, they could have been engineers, business owners, designers, etc.  All around the world though, societies are beginning to recognize that dyslexics are not the lazy, dumb folks they thought they were, that they are surprisingly intelligent.  More and more successful or famous people are speaking out about their own struggles with dyslexia and sharing their successes with the world, giving hope and encouragement to children and parents.  The work of Sally Shaywitz, her husband and the staff at the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity have devoted themselves to doing amazing research, publishing their findings and paving the way for a better understaning of yet another subgroup in society, allowing us to learn more, accept more and alter the course of the future.  



                          The children of today are the leaders of tomorrow. 




             

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Ear Reading vs. Eye Reading

3/22/2014

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Eye Reading is what we commonly call, READING; but what if reading with your eyes is challenging?  EAR Reading is the next best thing and is the only way some people access text.  Ear Reading happens with your ears, allowing the reader to gain access to a host of wonderful research, information, entertainment and enjoyment. 

     Audio books are amazing, especially when the human voice that reads the stories is filled with character and charm.  Digitally read stories take a little getting used to but are super accessible on many eReaders, tablets, computers, phones and through software.  This is the most inexpensive way to listen to books since it is already installed on many devices or on websites.  It takes a little getting used to and at times the digital version reads punctuation or has other tiny flaws but it does not hinder its overall usefulness. 

     Being flexible with audio text is an option as well.  Following along with the book while listening is a great way to build fluency.  Switch-it-up and listen to part of the story, for other parts just read the book, then listen some more or listen to a chapter you already read.  Some people like to listen to a chapter in advance so when the teacher presents that lesson, they are familiar with story/information; there are so many ways to use audio text.

     Ear Reading levels the playing field for those who need to gain information but are slower readers or unable to read text.  Listening to text digitally has many advantages.  One of the advantages is being able to increase the speed at which the text is read aloud.  Amazingly, you can train yourself to listen faster just like some can train themselves to read at a faster pace. 

     Audiobooks can be enjoyed by any and all, whether reading is challenging or you just enjoy listening to stories.  Ear Reading allows us to open our minds' imagination pathways and really get-into a story.  Audiobooks are available through a variety of formats and locations, below are many resources.  Pick up an audiobook, listen to it with your kids, enjoy a great story or do some research on a high-interest subject with your child.

 
     Genesee District Library  www.thegdl.org

     Zillions of Digital Books (free for those with disability):   www.bookshare.org

     Zillions of Digital & Audio Books (annual fee, open to anyone):   

                                                                                                               www.learningally.org

     Reading Rockets:   www.readingrockets.org

     Raz-kids:   www.raz-kids.com

     DK Eyewitness eBook Collection 

*Author, Ben Foss, introduced these phrases in his book, The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan--an excellent resource for anyone with reading and/or writing challenges.  

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Navigating the Web of Information

3/22/2014

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Welcome to my new Blog!  I am excited to begin a new journey of helping others navigate the sea of information available on the web and in text on dyslexia.  I began my journey a few years ago while trying to learn all I could about dyslexia so I could help my family and my students.  I have weeded thru so many sites and books and wanted to create a place to house the best of the best so I decided to start a webpage and share my knoweldge with others.  I hope you find this resource useful and informative.  It is a work-in-progress right now so please check back often for additional posts, resource links and information.




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