Chapter 8 - Reading Deficits and the Interface with Special Education

Summary

Introduction

Learning takes place in the central nervous system, and brain architecture allows us to master a myriad of tasks over a lifetime. It is helpful for instructors to understand where skill mastery is in the brain. This is where the interface of special education techniques for teaching students with reading challenges comes into play. The brain organization in each student becomes an area of inquiry. Instructors must know what processing areas could be causing a problem and be familiar with approaches and techniques that address the specific problem. It is not a situation of instructors having a “pet” program they feel is the best for all cases of dyslexia. Rather instructors need to identify possible areas causing the problem and choose programs or parts of programs that have the potential to remediate reading difficulties. Some approaches explained in this chapter are controversial and are included because controversy can indicate that an approach may be successful for some individuals but not the majority. Teachers in the classroom are meeting the expectations of reading success for every student so we do not want to exclude approaches that bring success to an individual student.

Place of assessment

Kindergarten and primary-grade students usually only receive authentic assessments. Teacher observation and benchmarks for progress are the basis for determining a developmental lag. Because of the time windows for certain abilities to develop, it is difficult to make judgments. Given time, the student may mature out of a perceived deficit. Usually, formal assessment and labeling do not take place until third grade. This is where Response to Intervention (RTI) is helpful. Young students are exposed to other methods of teaching reading, which may be a better match for them and allow them to succeed. If no progress is observed, this becomes documentation for further study. Informal assessment may ascertain a perceptual problem. Often, tests such as the Slosson Intelligence Test, the Wepman Auditory Perception Assessment, and an informal writing test are given to test the child for average intelligence and performance level. Teachers administer these tests, not school psychologists. If developmental lags are observed one of two things may happen.