The 'dyslexia debate' is resilient. In the media, a key component of the debate is the notion that dyslexia does not exist, popularised by a series of vociferous commentators. For them, dyslexia is an invention of overly-concerned parents, supported by a clique of private educational psychologists willing to offer a diagnosis -- for a fee -- even…

In "The Absorbent Mind," Montessori (1967) described the early development of children between birth and 3 years of age as proceeding along different tracks. For example, coordination might be developing typically, while language and speech may show delays of disorder and attention and perception may be below average for typical…

Neuroscience has the potential to make some very exciting contributions to education and pedagogy. However, it is important to ask whether the insights from neuroscience studies can provide "usable knowledge" for educators. With respect to literacy, for example, current neuroimaging methods allow us to ask research questions about how the brain…

Though the term dyslexia is familiar to the American public and is frequently seen in the media, it often is misunderstood, even in the educational setting. The International Dyslexia Association established the following definition of dyslexia: Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by…

In this short piece Stephanie Klein, a final-year teacher trainee at a college in the USA, talks about dyslexia as seen through the context of her family experience. She provides a highly personal and uplifting account, which accentuates that there is a range of straightforward strategies which students can invoke to address their learning…

A major reason why dyslexia is likely to be missed or mislabeled in an intellectually gifted child is the lack of a specific, clearly recognized definition to enable diagnosis of dyslexia. It's crucial that adults working with gifted students understand that average or even above reading comprehension does not by itself guarantee that a gifted…

There are several social actors involved in the process of constructing the social meaning of dyslexia--namely, parents, teachers, educational authorities and organisations representing dyslectics. Some of these actors emphasise the constructive social powers related to the dyslexia label, while others perceive dyslexia as diagnostic reasoning…

A word-learning task was used to investigate variation among developmental dyslexics classified as phonological and surface dyslexics. Dyslexic children and chronological age (CA)- and reading level (RL)-matched normal readers were taught to pronounce novel nonsense words such as "veep." Words were assigned either a regular (e.g., ''veep'') or an…

Includes "Old Dilemmas and New Policies" (Herrington); "Dyslexia and Adult Basic Education" (Lankshear); "Specific Learning Difficulties" (Walker); "Moving Forward in Further Education (FE)" (Chappell); "An FE Student's Experience of Assessment" (Waterhouse); "Out of the Frying Pan..."…

Examines previous hypotheses of the causes of dyslexia. Proposes that dyslexia results from a subtle language deficiency rather than from defects in the visual system. Discusses current theories and assesses instructional strategies for dyslexics. (ML)

This article discusses how children with oral and written language disorders can benefit from the Montessori method, especially if the Montessorian is trained to use a Multisensory Structured Language approach. Questions are answered regarding the number of children with learning disabilities, considerations in training the classroom assistant,…

Describes a writing instruction project called the "landmark method" that fosters writing skills in students with learning disabilities. Outlines specific strategies that have proven effective in teaching writing to students with dyslexia or other learning disabilities. (HB)

Recent advances in neuroimaging and genetics technologies have enhanced our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders in adults. The authors in this volume not only discuss such advances as they apply to adults with learning disorders, but also address their translation into clinical practice. One cluster of chapters addresses developmental…

Comparing the analyses based on the data of 1,235 Chinese children referred for government services and subsequently diagnosed as children with dyslexia in Hong Kong and those of 690 Chinese children in the sample for the normative study of the Hong Kong Test of Specific Learning Difficulties in Reading and Writing, we explored the reading-writing…