80 results for: "dysgraphia"
Is dysgraphia the same thing as disorder of written expression?
Is dysgraphia the same thing as disorder of written expression?Experts actually disagree on the answer to this question. Both dysgraphia and disorder of written expression describe challenges related to writing. Many people use the terms interchangeably. But they might also use the terms to describe slightly different things.How can you be sure what they mean? Ask the speaker to clarify. And don’t stop asking until you fully understand the explanation.Here’s some background on the two terms and how they might be used by professionals.Dysgraphia is generally considered the broader of the two terms. It’s sometimes used to describe a wide range of writing challenges. But dysgraphia is often used to refer to handwriting issues such as letter or word formation and other technical aspects of writing.In contrast, many experts use the phrase “disorder of written expression” to describe students who struggle with the more conceptual aspects of writing. They may freeze up or have other difficulties that make it hard to organize their thoughts and express them effectively.If you’re working with a psychologist or teacher who mentions one or both of these terms, be sure to ask them exactly what they mean. This will help you understand what they’re observing in your child. It can also point you to more effective ways to help your child.For example, low-tech tools such as pencil grips and paper with raised lines may be useful to kids who struggle with handwriting. A keyboard or dictation software can also help.For kids who have difficulty expressing their thoughts, there are simple tools such as mind maps and other kinds of graphic organizers.But understanding your child’s issues is an important first step. So don’t hesitate to ask for clarification. If you’re not sure why someone is using the terms dysgraphia or disorder of written expression, remember that your question is one that even experts could easily debate among themselves!
How’d You Get THAT Job?!How dysgraphia and written expression challenges inspired a film festival
Isaac Zablocki has always had trouble expressing himself in writing. Now, he uses films to share stories. Isaac Zablocki always had messy handwriting and trouble getting his thoughts down on paper. When he was growing up, teachers in both Israel and the United States assumed his challenges had to do with switching between languages. It wasn’t until college that he was diagnosed with dysgraphia, dyslexia, and ADHD.Because it was hard for Isaac to express himself through writing, he found himself drawn to film. Now, he’s the director of film programming at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) Manhattan. He’s also the co-founder of the ReelAbilities Film Festival, the largest U.S. film festival dedicated to showcasing films by or about people with disabilities. Learn how Isaac’s work in the disability film world highlights differences and promotes stories of those who are often unheard.Related resourcesReelAbilities Film Festival New YorkWhat is dysgraphia?Signs of written expression disorderEpisode transcriptIsaac: I look for films about outsiders. I look for films about learning disabilities, specifically learning differences. That's kind of — when I see those, I'm like, oh, why is this my favorite film?Eleni: From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "How'd You Get THAT Job?!," a podcast that explores the unique and often unexpected career paths of people with learning and thinking differences. My name is Eleni Matheou, and I'm a user researcher here at Understood. That means I spend a lot of time thinking about how we find jobs we love that reflect how we learn and who we are. I'll be your host.Isaac Zablocki watches movies for a living. He's the director of film programming at JCC Manhattan. He's also the co-founder of ReelAbilities New York Disabilities Film Festival. Understood's mission is to help shape the world for difference, something that Isaac is doing through cinema and storytelling. He also has dysgraphia, dyslexia, and ADHD. We talked about all of this when he came into the Understood studio. Welcome to the show, Isaac. Also, thank you for coming in in person. We don't always have people able to make it into the studio. So this is very fun.Isaac: I appreciate the in-person experience.Eleni: So, you have made a career out of film. I would love to hear what you enjoy about film and why you are attracted to that field.Isaac: I feel like film is like ice cream. Like almost everybody likes it, right? I am often told, wow, you have the best job. I get to watch movies for a living. I don't even have to make movies. That's the hard part. I actually just watch movies and choose them and select which films are going to be shown and use that as a way to really amplify messages and try to get messages out there for films that otherwise wouldn't be seen and wouldn't be heard.Eleni: Do you think your love for film relates to your learning differences at all?Isaac: I didn't put that together until later in life, but there's no question that film and my learning disabilities and differences have a deep connection.Eleni: Well, we haven't actually talked about what your differences are. So perhaps it would help if you talked about that and how it might relate to being a visual learner or how your differences might lead to you being a visual learner.Isaac: So, I have dysgraphia. It impacts, of course, mostly my writing. There's a touch of dyslexia there too, that's according to my diagnosis, and ADHD. But the most clear one was dysgraphia. And that meant that my whole life, really, writing has been a real struggle for me. Spelling, letters — all of that is just a very foreign idea for me.Eleni: Yeah. So when did you get diagnosed with dysgraphia?Isaac: So I actually got diagnosed later in life. I know that from a very young age, from when I first started writing, I was getting support and going to all these meetings that I didn't know what they were and why I was going to a different room during some classes. I don't know if dysgraphia didn't really exist back then or the terminology wasn't there. But both myself and all my male siblings all have dysgraphia, as do our children who are male.Eleni: Wow.Isaac: It seems to be passed along in our family. And so it was actually my brothers who were diagnosed first when I was older, and I wasn't diagnosed till — officially — till college. But it was something that was always there.I was born in New York. And then my family moved to Israel, and they always thought that I was possibly stuck in between the two languages and that's what was going on. And I'd score really high on the nonverbal sides of tests and then score low on the verbal side. And they said, this is not balanced out, and maybe do the tests in English. And the same thing would happen.And suddenly, I mean, now I realize, oh, well, of course the same thing's going to happen. It's not a question of the language. It's a question of the disability. So I, you know, got diagnosed for college and it was really a way for me to get all the aids I needed through college. And it was extremely helpful to have that diagnosis officially, even though it's always been there.Eleni: So just to clarify: With dysgraphia, is that literally the act of writing, like handwriting? Is it also about expressing thoughts onto paper?Isaac: I mean, it's a really strange one. And yeah, it comes to like trying to express myself on paper. What would happen with every teacher my entire life is I would be understanding, following. And then when it came time to write things down on the paper, it was not only that my handwriting was illegible, but also actually putting my thoughts down in a way that I could really express myself. So there was such a disparity between that and my verbal expression.Eleni: Yeah, yeah. I think it's really interesting. And I think it's important to note, because we haven't had that many people on the show with dysgraphia. So a lot of people might not know what it is. That's why I asked. Yeah.Isaac: And yay, yay for dysgraphia. I mean, the more I come out about it, the more I hear other people have it. And recently my son was diagnosed with dysgraphia, and that allowed me to really experience it once again and just see. I totally understand what he's going through.Eleni: Yeah.So how did you end up organizing and curating film festivals? How did that come about?Isaac: Well, I run the film center at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, and I was hired for that job about 18 years ago. I've been there for a while. I did not know I had such commitment issues that I actually commit to a job. I think that's considered an issue these days. And it was a dream job. It really was. It was a perfect match for me as far as the work I wanted to do in film.Before that, I had been working for Miramax. And for those who are familiar with Miramax, that's Harvey Weinstein. That was Harvey Weinstein's company back in Miramax days. I'm right here in New York. And it was it was a horrible place to work and not what I wanted to do with film. I wanted to do something meaningful. And believe me, there was nothing meaningful going on there. So I decided that I'm not going to spend another moment of my life. You know, life is short and precious. And to be on this planet and to spend it doing something in such a terrible environment — and I didn't even know about the big things that were going on, the big, bad things that were going on.But I made this decision: I want to do things that are only meaningful. After I left Miramax, I was working as a film educator, and I'd go to schools in the Bronx and all over New York. I remember once in the Bronx, all the way to Coney Island, across the whole city, teaching film as a way — and that's how I would learn. So I was teaching Civil War through a filmmaking class, which kind of made it fun for the students and was a great way to kind of experience what they were studying.And I realized that that really was my passion, that combination of education and film. And then I had this opportunity at the JCC. It was really a perfect match. And my goal there was to bring films that had impact — that would change people's perspectives. And I started developing different film festivals that relate to those themes. And our largest and I'd say — not to choose between my children — but our most important film festival is the ReelAbilities Film Festival, which is a disability-focused film festival. I promise I went into it thinking that this is about serving an underserved community and not really thinking about how connected I am to that community and to the realities of disability film world.Eleni: Yeah, I was actually — that was, that was going to be one of my questions, because you talked about how, you know, representation is really important to you and like education through film. But if you hadn't yet made the connection of where you fit in the disability world, what was it that initially drew you to that topic?Isaac: Yeah, I saw an underserved community. And I saw great films being made that weren't being shown. I saw a topic that was being shied away from — a topic that had so many stigmas related to it. And bringing these films to the forefront — as I said when I met my co-founder, I said, "This is the most important thing I can do." And it really has turned into that and has allowed me to go through my own journey as far as embracing my own disability and understanding that connection between my disability and what I do.Eleni: 100%. Yeah, it's interesting that you related to it, but you hadn't made the connection yet of like why? So it was like very subconscious for you at the beginning.Isaac: Yeah, I was a little slow with that. Yeah, the connections, the connection, all the evidence was there. I didn't completely put it together. It took me time. I myself had my own stigmas about myself. It was — talking about dysgraphia was something that you don't necessarily want to put out there as something that you're going to say the second you sit down for an interview. It's not always the most common thing. Today — I think it is more common today. It's something that I'm personally proud of and know that that's what makes me who I am and somebody who, because of that, thinks outside the box and does things a little bit differently. That actually is possibly why I succeed at what I do. If I succeed at what I do.Eleni: Well, yeah, it's interesting that you say that, because I think from my research, we hear about people not wanting to bring up specifically, like mentioning a diagnosis or a label. And that's partly because, like I said, a lot of people don't know what dysgraphia is. And they might not know what it means. They might make assumptions about what that means. And that takes a lot of work from the individual to then like explain that, right?And a lot of the people I talk to in my research talk more so about how they can ask for ways to be supported without specifically saying why. You know, it's like, yeah, hey, I would prefer that you — that I submit things verbally rather than in writing or whatever it might be. Yeah.Isaac: Yeah. I definitely have had to dance around it. And I spend my life, you know, avoiding paper and pencil. Like, that's like, you know, oh, there's I need a hand in some notes to write something, you know, when you have like a group activity and you have to write something, I will find my way to avoid it. I mean, it's like that classic case of a kid in school who would be like, "Oh, suddenly I have to go to the bathroom." Suddenly I need to, you know, you know, my pencil breaks, whatever I can do to avoid it.I do remember that at my interview 18 years ago for my job, I did mention it. I had the — I got that annoying question of kind of what your weakness is, which is, you know, you're supposed to say that I'm a perfectionist or something like that. That's the old "Trainspotting" joke. But I actually said, "Well, I can't write." I possibly didn't get into dysgraphia specifically. Maybe I did. And just said that, you know, "I have to type everything." And got the job anyway. So they understood.Eleni: Yeah. I want to touch on one more thing that you said about stigma. I think the other tough thing is, with invisible disabilities, is that it's not like immediately evident when you meet someone that something might be going on. And, you know, we hear about that a lot, like also in terms of like the hierarchy of disabilities, you know, like physical. Well, I'm not that disabled. I'm not as disabled as. And that comparison. Am I deserving of help, like, or whatever it might be, right?So I'm curious, like in your films, like if that comes up at all and like if you see yourself represented in the films. Or if you see invisible disabilities represented in films.Isaac: It's a really interesting question because it comes up all the time. In general with ReelAbilities, I look for films about outsiders. I look for films about learning disabilities, specifically learning differences. That's kind of — when I see those, I'm like, oh, why is this my favorite film? Why? We have a committee that selects the films, but I push those kinds of films.I remember there was one movie about a young girl. They're pumpkin picking, everybody's picking their pumpkins, and she picks a — like a different colored pumpkin, like a green pumpkin. And the teacher looks at her and says, "What are you — what are you doing? That's not — here. Let me take this one. Let me give you a normal pumpkin." And gave her a normal pumpkin. And she then secretly takes her green pumpkin because that's the one that she wanted. That was a pumpkin to her, and sneaks that one onto the bus as they as they travel back to school. Everybody on the committee said, "What's the disability here? I don't see it." And I was like, this is the best movie I've ever seen. This is — this is about neurodiversity. This is about seeing things differently. And, yeah, you know, I can't diagnose her specifically, the girl in the movie, but I could tell you that this is the experience.Eleni: It also sounds like it's about pride in being different or like noticing difference and still wanting it, still being like, attracted to it.Isaac: Yeah. I mean, I believe there's — there needs to be room for everyone in the sandbox. You know, some people fear difference, some people exclude difference. I try to stand up for difference and applaud difference. And that's a part of me, you know, I'm really defending myself here. If we're going to psychoanalyze my story, that's what we're here for.Eleni: I'm a big fan of film festivals, definitely been a hobby of mine. I must say I've been a little bit more out of the loop than I normally would be since the pandemic. And coming back and being like, oh, we're doing cinema in person again? Amazing. But I have noticed since the pandemic that a lot of film festivals have made screenings available online, which is really interesting from an accessibility perspective, because it definitely means more people, you know, from outside those cities can attend. And also, I'm sure people that like, you know, wouldn't be able to attend for any reason. I'm curious to hear like what you've seen has changed since the pandemic, like both for the film industry, the film fest — the film festival industry, but also just like in general for like the disability community.Isaac: It's amazing. We are witnessing a revolution. And I mean I've been a part of — ReelAbilities has been around for about 15 years. And I've seen how far and how fast this is changing. And we try to make, for instance, for ReelAbilities, all of our films as accessible as possible. We create audio description for films. I don't know if you've ever clicked on the AD link on Netflix, but you can listen to audio description. Sometimes it's done well, sometimes not so well. Captions is something that we do for all our films. Open captions. We show our films with the captions there on the screen, so everybody experiences that. And that's something that's — and we find, of course, other ways to kind of maximize accommodations for people.But what's happening now, first of all, topic-wise — and this also relates to disability in my workplace — topic-wise, people are less afraid of the theme of disability. We saw CODA win the Academy Award last year and that was definitely a statement of inclusion. And saying the word — "disability" isn't a bad word. And that's something that I think is getting out there more and more. And recently, somebody laughed at me when I had a spelling mistake. And I said, "I have a disability." And they understood. They were like, oh, this is not something — disability is not something that I laugh at. Disability is something that I accommodate for.Eleni: Totally. I wanted to go back to something you said earlier that I forgot to follow up on. I know we were talking about invisible disability. I wondered if you include mental health in that. So, you know, when you talk about disability and when you talk about the kind of films that are included in ReelAbilities, is that also covered?Isaac: We try to cast as wide of a net as possible, and it might — some disabilities might not be considered by all. And we'll say yes to those and try to find ways to include, you know, a young girl choosing the wrong pumpkin, as the teacher might have thought. That's part of it for me. And we look for that kind of diversity.We try to make the actual connection. We try to be as responsible as possible towards the approach to disability and making sure that there's an authentic connection within all of our films. And this is not just like, you know, people kind of using disability as a way to bring up emotions, but rather to really tell a story that includes disability. Those are my favorites: when it's not about a disability, but actually just includes a disability where — however it might manifest itself.Eleni: Totally. Yeah. I mean, and that's — I think that's a conversation that, well, how do I say this? Like we've definitely seen a shift over the years in terms of representation, like in all forms. And you know, we talk about that a lot with like, you know, racial representation, gender, sexuality. Like, it's not necessarily about this being like the token gay character or the token Black character. It just like happens to be a character that is in the film that is gay or Black. So it's not necessarily about that. It's just like yeah, this is just another character.Isaac: Yeah. And for me, it's sometimes also not just about, of course, authentic acting, I think, is very important for representation at the moment. But it's also about the way the story is told. So also behind the scenes. Having people with disabilities who actually have lived experiences being a part of telling the story, and some — and in key roles. I mean, I think, for instance, like a person with a disability, writing the script is even more important than the actors. I think that's really where, you know, you have to have a real understanding of whatever disability you're putting out there. And I think we'll feel it when it's fake.Eleni: Yeah.Isaac: And we'll feel it when it's forced. And that's why some of my favorite films are actually at ReelAbilities every year. I see films not only about disabilities, I see films from all around the world. And it's those authentic representations that really are the ones that stay with me.Eleni: Well, thank you so much for being here.Isaac: A pleasure. Thanks for having me.Eleni: You've been listening to "How'd You Get THAT Job?!" from the Understood Podcast Network. The show is for you. So we want to make sure you're getting what you need. Email us at thatjob@understood.org with your thoughts about the show. Or maybe you'd like to tell us how you got THAT job. I'd love to hear from you.If you want to learn more about the topics we covered today, check out our show notes for this episode. We include more resources as well as links to anything we mentioned in the episode. Also, one of our goals at Understood is to help change the workplace so everyone can thrive. Check out what we're up to at u.org/workplace. That's the letter U dot O R G slash workplace.Understood.org is a resource dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently discover their potential and thrive. Learn more at understood.org/mission."How'd You Get THAT Job?!" is produced by Grace Tatter. Briana Berry is a production director. Our theme music was written by Justin D. Wright, who also mixes the show. Margie DeSantis provides editorial support. For the Understood Podcast Network, Laura Key is our editorial director, Scott Cocchiere is our creative director, and Seth Melnick is our executive producer. And I'm your host, Eleni Matheou. Thanks again for listening.
What is dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a term that refers to trouble with writing. Many experts view dysgraphia as challenges with a set of skills known as transcription. These skills — handwriting, typing, and spelling — allow us to produce writing.Trouble expressing your thoughts in writing isn’t formally recognized as part of dysgraphia. That’s a learning disability known as written expression disorder. But when people struggle with transcription, it can get in the way of thinking about ideas and how to convey them. For example, people with dysgraphia may write more slowly than others. That can affect how well they express themselves in writing. Plus, they tend to have trouble with spelling because it’s hard for them to form letters when they write. Dysgraphia isn’t a matter of intelligence. The challenges are often caused by trouble with motor skills. Those skills can improve with help. And people with dysgraphia may also be eligible to use accommodations at work or at school.
Understood Explains Season 1Your rights during the special education evaluation process
What rights do families have in a school evaluation? Learn how special education law protects your rights during the evaluation process. rights families school evaluation? episode Understood Explains highlights five key ways special education law protects rights evaluation process. Host Dr. Andy Kahn psychologist spent nearly 20 years evaluating kids public private schools. Andy’s first guest episode lawyer Andrew M.I. Lee. They’ll cover key areas:What rights evaluation processWhy helps polite assertive partnering child’s schoolWhat think school isn’t following rulesAndy’s second guest parenting expert Amanda Morin. She’ll give tips avoid saying child disputes school.Related resourcesEvaluation rights: need knowYou disagree school’s evaluation results. what?Independent educational evaluations: need know10 smart responses school cuts denies servicesDownloadable letter templates talking pointsSample letters requesting evaluations reportsSample letters dispute resolutionSample scripts dispute resolutionEpisode transcriptLisa: Hi! name Lisa, son first public school evaluation sixth grade. looking back, wish, one, known rights push school demand tested, despite fact shouldn't demanding shouldn't aggressive school get need. wish known right that.Andy: Understood Podcast Network, "Understood Explains." You're listening Season 1, explain evaluations special education. 10 episodes, cover ins outs process school districts use evaluate children special education services. name Andy Kahn, I'm licensed psychologist in-house expert Understood.org. I've spent nearly 20 years evaluating kids public private schools. I'll host.Today's episode focuses legal rights. We're going cover three key things: rights evaluation process, advocate think school isn't following rules, say say child disputes school. first, let's hear another parent.Jennifer: I'm Jennifer, Atlanta. son Nathan 11, dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD. requested evaluation, knew time could request evaluation report five days prior. that, thankfully. knew ask that. know time could ask draft eligibility report beforehand, game-changer.Andy: evaluation process feel complicated overwhelming students families. lot rights protect families along way. starters, school can't evaluate child unless give permission. disagree evaluation results, right ask independent evaluator another evaluation public expense, means cost you. help explain evaluation rights, want bring first guest today. Andrew Lee editor Understood. He's also lawyer expertise disability law, including federal state special education laws. Andrew also key player Understood's Podcast Network, including helping launch first season "Understood Explains." Andrew, welcome show.Andrew: Thanks me. Super excited here.Andy: Andrew, let's start talking hugely important federal law families need know about. Give us quick overview IDEA.Andrew: Yeah, IDEA Individuals Disabilities Education Act. That's quite mouthful. IDEA nation's special education law. law grants students disabilities one important rights, that's right free appropriate public education. includes basically supports services student might need make progress school. Along special education, determine who's entitled rights. covers evaluations, you're going ask here. that's IDEA important law child disability, including learning thinking difference school.Andy: talking evaluation rights, know, one things that's awesome that, Andrew, wrote really great article Understood called "Evaluation Rights: Need Know." folks, access show notes. Now, article includes 11 evaluation rights — specific rights. know, we're going cover today, hoping maybe could pick top five, maybe talk top five important rights want share audience today.Andrew: Yeah, pick five evaluation rights think impactful, I'd start right number one: right ask evaluation. think parents lot times think wait school start process off. that's correct. right ask evaluation time.Right number two top five evaluation rights would right comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation. That's lot words, basically means evaluation can't use one test measure determine child qualifies special education. involve variety tests data. goal really get full picture what's going on.Right number three right involved. Again, think schools sort always come us parents anything happens. within context special education evaluations, right parent attend meetings, see evaluation reports. right things explained you, part process. that's important.Right number four, would say, right prompt evaluation. means evaluation doesn't go forever. federal law, IDEA, mentioned, timeline 60 calendar days. Now, states specific rules sometimes change number days account vacations, etc., important thing date. know end, can't go limitless amount time.And right number five, would say, that's among top five evaluation rights, right disagree challenge evaluation process itself. Even you're involved evaluation meetings, right say, "Hey, know what? don't think best way things." Or, "I think testing reading also focus. think looking this." That's really important right know about. formal processes involved that, like independent educational evaluation, ask someone outside school evaluation school's expense. due process, involved — it's kind like mini trial school really get kind loggerheads happen. top five evaluation rights. many more, think ones want remember.Andy: Perfect. let circle back second. used term talked comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation. think talked "comprehensive" terms of, know, variety different kinds tests, use words "tests" "measures," talking specific activities child would evaluated. When talk "multidisciplinary," think it's important parents know might mean someone's academic evaluation, look specific skills. psychological, we're looking mental health behavioral questions. speech language, occupational therapy. considered discipline, speak. idea get best image child across useful areas school. So, Andrew, think steps learning rights, families think school district isn't following rules? suggestions point even start conversation?Andrew: rules schools sometimes don't follow, though think schools always try best, teams best. I've seen number ways parents react, two ways want highlight aren't helpful really important know. first one parents kind go flow don't like conflict. I'll see sometimes parent part evaluation process. They'll — may think themselves, know, "This doesn't seem right, but, uh, I'm gonna, seem like know they're doing. know, this, I'm really comfortable this, don't want raise it, don't want make waves." And think issue type reaction that's best way advocate child. doesn't help team either. doesn't help evaluation process you're — need to, think there's something wrong, think know something important child what's happening, expert shouldn't go flow. raise voice say, "Hey, know, don't think right." And, that's really important
Language delays, dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD — and now thriving
When my son Henry was 18 months old, I took him to our pediatrician for a regular checkup. She asked if he was speaking yet. He wasn’t, so she recommended I take him to a specialist.This referral led to that referral, and before I knew it, my son was sitting through a screening for early intervention services. He also sat through testing by a speech-language pathologist. These would turn out to be the first of many evaluations he’d have over the years.The results were heartbreaking to me. Henry had both expressive and receptive language delays. He also had delayed fine motor skills and a host of other issues.So I followed the recommendations of experts and began treatment. Twice a week he went to an occupational therapist. And once a week, he went for speech therapy.The treatment seemed to work. A year later, my son was talking up a storm and hitting most of his developmental milestones.So when he was almost 3, I decided to have him reevaluated by the same speech-language pathologist to ease my mind. Now that my son knew more than 200 words and was stringing together simple sentences, I hoped an evaluation would show that he was now on a “normal” developmental curve.But that didn’t happen.This time, the evaluation found that Henry talked excessively and had trouble with transitions (read: he pitched a fit when it was time to move from one activity to the next). He also wasn’t making eye contact. And in the evaluation report, there was a statement I’ll never forget: “It may be prudent to consider whether Henry will be capable of participating in a ‘regular’ preschool program.”I cried myself to sleep that night. I couldn’t come to terms with the report. My once cantankerous toddler had, in my eyes, blossomed into a joyful and adventurous 3-year-old.Despite what felt to me like a gloom-and-doom report, I chose to enroll him in a “regular” preschool. As his very first parent-teacher conference approached, I braced myself for the worst.But to his teachers, who knew nothing about his history, he was just a typical 3-year-old. All of the things that were flagged as issues — difficulty with transitions, excessive talking, and lack of eye contact — didn’t seem to register any warning signs for his teachers.I wish I could tell you that that was the end of my worrying. But it wasn’t. Years later, through a private evaluation, my son was eventually diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD.And since starting kindergarten, Henry has had three school-based evaluations. (He needs to sit for them every three years to keep his IEP.)Each evaluation has been hard for me as a mother, but I’m glad we’ve done them. Without them, my son wouldn’t qualify for accommodations such as extended time. Nor would he get curriculum adjustments like not being marked down for spelling errors in his assignments. The evaluations also allow him access to a keyboard to help with writing and basic computation.Today, Henry is thriving. Nearly every teacher who has ever taught Henry has made a point of telling me just how bright he is.“He’s extremely articulate,” they’d say to me. “He often grasps concepts that are way above the other students’ heads.” What’s more, he finished the seventh grade with the reading comprehension of an 11th grader.Yes, he has deficits. His spelling and writing are atrocious, and the ADHD makes it difficult for him to stay on task.I left his most recent school evaluation feeling very calm. Not much had changed.Afterward, I called my husband and we laughed: “I guess we just have to accept that Henry is never going to win the spelling bee.”But to me, the fact that Henry is doing well is a sign of how far he’s come and how powerful his mind truly is.
Understood Explains Season 1Bonus episode: What I wish I’d known sooner about evaluations for special education
Get evaluation tips from parents who have been through the process at least once — and experts who have been through it hundreds of times. Parents, teachers, and psychologists all have something they wish they’d known sooner about how kids are evaluated for special education. This bonus episode of Understood Explains offers tips from parents who have been through the evaluation process at least once — and experts who have been through it hundreds of times. Related resourcesHow to talk to your child about getting evaluatedEvaluation rights: What you need to knowEpisode transcriptLeslie: My name is Leslie and I'm from Little Rock. My eldest daughter was diagnosed at age 7 with dyslexia and unspecified learning disorders. This is what I wish I knew the most before an evaluation. I wish I knew what the heck was evaluation!Andy: From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "Understood Explains." I'm your host, Andy Kahn, here with a bonus episode. Our first season covered every part of the process that school districts use to evaluate children for special education services. In those first 10 episodes, I talked with parents who've been through the evaluation process at least once — and experts who have been through it hundreds of times. But at one point, each of those people were brand-new to this process — like I imagine many of you listening are now. Something you didn't hear in the other episodes was this: At the end of our conversations, we asked our guests what they wish they would've known sooner about the evaluation process. We got a bunch of different answers from parents and experts alike. And I found each of their perspectives to be helpful, enlightening, or just encouraging for those at the beginning of their evaluation journeys. My hope is that by sharing some of these answers, it'll leave you feeling better prepared to take on school evaluations with your child. First, let's hear from some parents.Jennifer: Hi, my name is Jennifer from Atlanta. I have a son, Nathan, who's 11. He has dyslexia, dysgraphia, and ADHD. So I wish I would have known when I started this process with my son, when I first requested that first evaluation, I was just suspecting that there was reading — unexpected reading problems. And so because my concerns were about reading, that's really what the school focused on when they evaluated him. And we kind of missed that bigger picture. To me, at the time in my head, I was like, OK, if it's dyslexia, we can remediate dyslexia, and then he's going to be fine. But we did that. We found out it was dyslexia, we remediated the dyslexia, and then he wasn't fine. There was more. I wish that I would have been more open to the fact that maybe there's other challenges as well that we need to address. But in my mind, it was just like, if I can just get this one thing, and we can fix this one thing, everything will be OK. And I feel like it might have been a little easier on me emotionally if I would have not been so certain that that one thing was going to solve all our problems. Keith: My name is Keith and I live in Columbus, Georgia. And my son's name is Elijah. He's 11 years old and he's been diagnosed with ADHD. If I had to state or describe something I wish I would have known earlier about ADHD and the diagnosis, I will just say, knowing more about it. I didn't understand what the parameters or what the symptoms of it was. Had I known about it probably earlier, I would have been able to take a more proactive role in assisting him in managing it.Andy: One theme that came up often in these conversations with our guests was the focus of our third episode: Your rights in the evaluation process.Michele: My name is Michele, and I live in the Bronx, New York. What I wish I had known sooner about the evaluation process is the rights of the parents, the rights of definitely of the student, and how the process is supposed to go. A lot of times the focus is taken away from the process and what's best for the child and just being right. Well, I'm, you know, we've made a determination. This is what's best for the child. It's right. But if the parent feels differently, then the parent needs to go with their gut instinct, because sometimes it's not right. And never, ever stop advocating and finding the best possible solution for your child. Andy: Let’s move to some of the experts who were guests on our show. One of them had some advice I think all parents and caregivers should take to heart.Christina: My name is Christina. I was a special educator for 10 years and I now currently work at a private clinic that offers neuropsychological evaluations for parents who are concerned that their student's academic needs might require special education services. Thinking about my experience as an educator, and all the years that I spent on school evaluation teams, whenever we arrived at the place where we were discussing recommendations for students' plans, because they had been evaluated, and we were going to determine what their program was going to look like, I wish I had known that there were recommendations that I could make that even if our school didn't offer it, students might still receive that service. An example of that might be a specialized classroom setting like a 12:1, where there are 12 students and one teacher. And that smaller class setting sometimes allowed students to really get a handle on the academic content that is being instructed. Sometimes, though, I didn't always recommend that because it wasn't necessarily what the school offered that I was working in. And it was important to remember that it wasn't necessarily about what the school offered as much as what the child needed that needed to be recommended. And that's something that moving forward I've kept in mind.Andy: Another expert guest had some insight on parents interacting with schools — and why being seen as a kind, helpful collaborator is more than just a nice thing to do.Andrew: Hi, I'm Andrew Lee. I'm an Understood editor. And I'm also a lawyer who has authored studies on disability and education rights in schools. One thing I wish parents learned sooner about the evaluation process is that the notion of collaborating with the school is not just something that's nice or friendly or sweet. It actually has some huge benefits for you.First of all, it makes sure that you get the best result for your child, because you're working in the best manner with a school. Second, down the road, if there's ever any serious conflict or dispute with the school, oftentimes, someone new like a mediator or a hearing officer will come in and look at what's happened. And if they see that you've been a real partner with the school, and you've tried your best to work with the school to get to a solution, they're more likely to side with you in whatever that dispute is.Now, when I'm talking about collaboration, I'm not just saying go along with the flow and do whatever the school wants. I'm saying that you can be assertive about what your child needs, but at the same time, be polite and respectful and be a good partner in the process.Andy: Let’s hear from one more expert.Ellen: Hi, I'm Ellen Braaten. I'm a child psychologist who specializes in evaluating kids with learning and attention differences. I'm also the mother of two children, one who also has attention differences.What I wish I knew when I was first starting out as a psychologist is something that's kind of obvious. And it's that kids grow up — that most of the kids I see, regardless of how much they are struggling now, grow up to be successful, competent adults. And I don't think I could have really understood that until I saw kids grow into adulthood. Until I saw kids who I evaluated who seemed to have significant issues with things like reading, or social skills, or attention differences grow up to find the area in adulthood that was right just for them. And so it's been wonderful to see that. It also helps me, as a psychologist, realize that my goal right now is to reassure parents, to let them know that every child finds his or her own way, or their own way. And that what we need to do in the present is to figure out how to get them there. Andy: Before we wrap up, I want to share one thing I wish I would have known sooner. I've been evaluating kids for nearly 20 years. And at some point, I started telling parents that it's a lot harder to break your kids than you think. You see, kids are resilient. And even though the evaluation process may be nerve-racking for families, it's worth it for your kid's sake.So don't wait. Talk with your child. Help your child buy in to the evaluation process. Help them see what's in it for them. And don't be afraid to partner with the school, and ask lots of questions. Together, you, your child, and the school can plan a better, more comprehensive, and maybe even more efficient assessment that offers the most insights into what's going on, and leads to the right supports that can help your child thrive.You've been listening to Season 1 of "Understood Explains," from the Understood Podcast Network. If you want to learn more about the topics we covered in this series, check out the show notes for each episode and visit understood.org.And now as one last reminder of who we're doing all this for, I'm going to turn it over to Nina to read our credits. Take it away, Nina! Nina: "Understood Explains" is produced by Julie Rawe and Cody Nelson, who also did the sound design for the show. Briana Berry is our production director. Andrew Lee is our editorial lead. Our theme music was written by Justin D. Wright, who also mixes the show. For the Understood Podcast Network, Laura Key is our editorial director, Scott Cocchiere is our creative director, and Seth Melnick is our executive producer. A very special thanks to Amanda Morin and all the other parents and experts who helped us make the show. Thanks for listening, and see you next time.Andy: Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently discover their potential and thrive. Learn more at understood.org/mission.
The difference between dysgraphia and dyslexia
Dyslexia and dysgraphia are both learning differences. Dyslexia primarily affects reading. Dysgraphia mainly affects writing. While they’re different, the two are easy to confuse. They share symptoms and often occur together. This table can help you tell them apart.When kids struggle with reading or writing, it can be hard to know exactly what’s going on. A full evaluation can help pinpoint what’s causing challenges, and understand kids' strengths. And families and teachers should talk about what they’re each seeing and develop a plan together.
Understood Explains Season 3IEPs: The 13 disability categories
Your child will need to fit into at least one disability category to qualify for an IEP. In this episode, we’ll explain how it all works. There are 13 disability categories listed in a federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. And to get an IEP, or Individualized Education Program, your child will need to fit into at least one of them.These categories can have some hard-to-understand names, like “specific learning disabilities” or “other health impairments.” But on this episode of Understood Explains, host Juliana Urtubey will share what these categories mean and why they relate to IEPs. She’ll also share what to do if your child doesn’t qualify for any disability category, or if they qualify for more than one. For more resources, including a transcript formatted for easy skimming, visit the episode page on Understood.org.Timestamps[00:43] Why do IEPs have disability categories?[02:42] What are the 13 disability categories in IDEA?[07:21] Are disability categories the same in every state?[09:28] Can my child’s IEP include more than one disability?[10:32] What if my child doesn’t qualify for any disability category?[11:43] Key takeawaysRelated resources13 disability categories (explainer article with infographic)Parent training centers: A free resource in your stateTemplate to request an independent educational evaluation at public expense6 options for resolving an IEP dispute Episode transcriptJuliana: To get an IEP, kids need to meet the criteria for at least one disability category. But what if your child fits into more than one or doesn't fit into any? From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "Understood Explains IEPs." In this episode, we're going over the disability categories that schools use when deciding if a child qualifies for special education. My name is Juliana Urtubey and I'm the 2021 National Teacher of the Year. I'm also an expert in special education for multilingual learners, and I'm your host for this season of "Understood Explains," which is available in English y en español. OK, let's get started. [00:43] Why do IEPs have disability categories?Why do IEPs have disability categories? So, before we look at the specific categories, I want to explain why schools use them. The key word here is eligibility. Your child can't get an IEP, an Individualized Education Program, unless they meet the criteria for at least one disability category. This requirement comes from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. This law has 13 disability categories, and as a parent, you'll encounter these categories when you go to your child's eligibility determination meeting. The team will run through the categories and say if your child qualifies for any of them. You may hear the term Disability Classification. And for many families, this is a very emotional part of the meeting. It can be hard to hear that your child has a disability, but you can always ask for a short break to collect your thoughts. We're going to go over each of the categories in a minute, but before we do that, there are a few big-picture things I want you to know about them. First, IDEA has 13 disability categories, but that doesn't mean it only covers 13 disabilities. The categories cover such a broad range that even the rarest condition could fit in somewhere. Second, having these categories helps weed out kids who are struggling for reasons other than a disability, like missing a lot of school or having trouble learning English as an additional language. There are other ways to support these students but to get an IEP, kids need to have a disability. The next big thing I want to mention is that some disability categories may come with more funding than other categories, but your child's disability category cannot be used to limit your child's services. Disability categories are gateways to special education, and your child just needs to fit through one of these gates to get access to whatever kind of specially designed instruction or services that they need. [02:42] What are the 13 disability categories in IDEA?So, what are the 13 disability categories in IDEA? I'm going to start with the four most common categories. And to help you understand how common they are, I want you to picture a pie that represents the millions of school-age kids with IEPs. And by far, the biggest slice of this pie is kids who have specific learning disabilities or SLDs. About a third of kids with IEPs qualify for special education because they have a learning disability. And some common examples include dyslexia, which some schools may call a reading disorder or a specific learning disability in reading. Dyscalculia is a math disability or math disorder. There's also dysgraphia and written expression disorder, where kids may have a lot of trouble getting their ideas down on paper. OK, so kids with learning disabilities make up about one-third of the special education pie. The second biggest slice is for speech or language impairments. Nearly one-fifth of kids with IEPs are in this category. This group includes a lot of kids who need speech therapy. This group also covers language disorders, which can make it hard to do things like learn new words or grammar rules or understand what people say. But I want to mention that language disorders can also fall under the learning disabilities category. So, if your child has a language disorder, choosing the category can be a bit of a toss-up. OK, so the special education pie that we're slicing up, it's already half full. And that's just with kids in two of the 13 categories, specific learning disabilities and speech or language impairments. Now, the third biggest slice is called other health impairments or OHI. And it covers about 1 in 6 kids with IEPs. And this is a really important category for neurodivergent families because it includes a lot of kids who struggle with attention. IDEA lists a bunch of examples that fit in the OHI category, including ADD and ADHD. It also mentions asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, lead poisoning, and sickle cell anemia. And these are just some of the examples that are mentioned in the law. So OHI is a really broad category. OK, moving on to the fourth biggest slice of the pie, and it's autism, which covers about 12% of kids with IEPs. This means about one in 8 or 9 kids with IEPs qualify for special education because they're autistic. Now, I want to pause here for a moment and point out that these four disability categories — learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, OHI, and autism — they make up about 80% of the pie. So what about the rest of the 13 categories? Well, there's intellectual disabilities, which is a pretty small slice, at 6% of the pie. So that's about 1 in 16 kids with IEPs. And some examples that might fit in this category are Down syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome. Then, there's emotional disturbance, which is a bit smaller of a slice at 5% of the pie — or 1 in 20 kids with IEPs — and it covers things like anxiety and depression. And then there are seven other categories that are all tiny little slivers of the pie. There's orthopedic impairment. There's visual impairment, which includes blindness. There's hearing impairment, which includes deafness. And then there's deafblindness, which gets its own category. There's also traumatic brain injury. And there's multiple disabilities, which by the way isn't a category you'd use if you have, say, ADHD and dyslexia. Multiple disabilities is more likely to be used for something like intellectual disability and blindness, or any other combination that's likely to require a highly specialized approach. And last but not least, is developmental delays, which is the only category in IDEA that comes with an age limit. And I'm going to say more about this in a minute. But for now, I want to remind you that not everyone with a disability qualifies for an IEP. The disability needs to impact your education enough to require specially designed instruction. So here's an example. Let's say you have ADHD. Do you need specially designed instruction on things like how to get organized and stay on task? Or do you just need some classroom accommodations, like sitting near the teacher and away from distracting windows or hallways? If you don't need specialized instruction, the school will say you don't qualify for an IEP, but you can get a 504 plan. If you want to learn more about how kids qualify for IEPs. Check out the previous episode. And if you want to learn about the difference between IEPs and 504s, go back and listen to episode 2. [07:21] Are disability categories the same in every state?Are disability categories the same in every state? The short answer is no. Disability classification can happen a bit differently from state to state. Some of these differences are pretty minor.For example, some states use the phrase "disability category" and other states use the term "exceptionality." And some states have more than 13 categories because they do things like split speech or language impairment into two categories. Another difference is in how states handle developmental delays. States are not allowed to use this category after age nine, but some states have earlier cutoff dates. So, for example, I used to live in Nevada, where kids could be classified as having a developmental delay up through age five. And after they turned six, it was my team's job to determine if any other disability categories would fit their needs. Most often, these students would switch to specific learning disabilities. But in Arizona, which is where I live now, kids can keep receiving services under the category of developmental delay up until their 10th birthday.There's another big difference I want to mention, and it involves the way states classify kids with specific learning disabilities. Some states still evaluate kids for learning disabilities using what's called a discrepancy model. This is where you compare a child's IQ, or intellectual ability, to their academic achievement. So an example of a discrepancy would be a fifth grader whose IQ falls in the average range but is only reading at a second-grade level. But some states don't let schools use a discrepancy model. And that's because there can be cultural biases and other problems with IQ testing, including testing kids who speak a language other than English at home. So these are some of the ways eligibility criteria can differ from state to state. If you want to find out what your state's eligibility requirements are, ask your school's parent liaison or you can contact a Parent Training and Information center. These centers are free resources for families, and every state has at least one of them. I'll put a link in the show notes to help you find one that's closest to you. [09:28] Can my child’s IEP include more than one disability?Can my child's IEP include more than one disability? Yes. If your child has more than one disability, it's a good idea to list each one of them in the IEP. This can make it easier for the IEP to include all of the services and supports your child needs. The IEP team may need to rank the disabilities in terms of which one affects your child's education the most. But labels like "primary" and "secondary" cannot be used to limit what services your child gets. It's mainly a data collection tool, so states can get a broad idea of who's getting services for what. And if you're not sure which disability category should be listed as a primary one, think about what would be the most helpful reminder for teachers about your child's needs. The other thing I want to mention is that your child's primary disability category can change as they get older. One example is young kids who get an IEP for speech or language impairment, and then they shift to a specific learning disability, as are challenges with reading and spelling become clear over time. [10:32] What if my child doesn’t qualify for any disability category?What if my child doesn't qualify for any disability category? So, you might hear this after your child's initial evaluation. Or if your child already has an IEP, there needs to be a reevaluation at least once every three years. And part of the reason is to see if your child doesn't need specialized instruction anymore. If the school says your child doesn't meet the criteria for any of the disability categories, there are few things you can do. The first thing is you can go back and look at the evaluation report. Was the school looking at the right trouble spots? Maybe the team needs to do more testing in more areas. You can also request something called an Independent Educational Evaluation or IEE. This is done by someone who doesn't work for the school. You'll most likely have to pay for it, but in some cases the school may be required to cover the cost. Understood has a good template to help you write this kind of request. I'll include a link in the show notes. The other thing you can do is learn about dispute resolution options. We have a whole episode on this later this season, but we'll link to an article here to help you get started. [11:43] Key takeawaysOk, so we've covered a lot of territory in this episode. So before we go, let's sum up what we've learned with a few key takeaways. IDEA has 13 disability categories, but that doesn't mean it only covers 13 disabilities. Your child's disability category is a gateway to special education. It doesn't limit what kind of services your child can receive. Your child's IEP can include more than one disability and the primary category can change over time. All right, that's it for this episode of "Understood Explains." Next time, we're talking about key terms in legal rights that every parent should know if their child qualifies for an IEP. You've been listening to "Understood Explains IEPs." This season was developed in partnership with UnidosUS, which is the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Gracias, Unidos! If you want to learn more about the topics we covered today, check out the show notes for this episode. We include more resources as well as links to anything we've mentioned in the episode. Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently discover their potential and thrive. Learn more at understood.org/mission.CreditsUnderstood Explains IEPs was produced by Julie Rawe and Cody Nelson, with editing support by Daniella Tello-Garzon. Video was produced by Calvin Knie and Christoph Manuel, with support from Denver Milord.Mixing and music by Justin D. Wright.Ilana Millner was our production director. Margie DeSantis provided editorial support, and Whitney Reynolds was our web producer. For the Understood Podcast Network, Laura Key is our editorial director, Scott Cocchiere is our creative director, and Seth Melnick is our executive producer.Special thanks to the team of expert advisors who helped shape this season: Shivohn Garcia, Claudia Rinaldi, and Julian Saavedra.
Understanding my son’s dysgraphia helped me advocate for him
Few people recognize dysgraphia for what it is — an enormous stumbling block to academic success. Microsoft Word certainly doesn’t get it. I type “dysgraphic,” and my word processor flags it as a spelling error.My son has dysgraphia, but there was a time when I didn’t get it either. Doctors are notorious for their illegible handwriting. If they can sail through school with a chicken scratch scrawl, well then, why worry?What I didn’t realize is that for kids with dysgraphia, bad handwriting is just the tip of the iceberg.The bigger issue for my son is the way dysgraphia weakens his ability to think clearly when writing. How it makes him struggle to put his thoughts down on paper.Early on I didn’t see it that way. So I went with the advice of his teacher at the time and pushed him to improve his penmanship. But practice didn’t make perfect for my son.We tried everything from pencil huggers to alternative grip pens, and special paper with raised lines to keep his writing more uniform. Nothing worked.In fact, I noticed that as he got older and the complexity of his assignments grew, his handwriting got worse not better. So I tried a different approach.Henry was in the fourth grade and we were practicing for an upcoming spelling test. On his first practice test, he wrote out the answers longhand and only spelled six of the 15 words correctly. That wasn’t going to cut it. So, for the next go-round, I suggested he try typing in his answers on my laptop. The result: His score immediately jumped to 12 out of 15 words correct.It was then I began to understand what it means to be dysgraphic. It was a rude awakening but it opened my eyes to how this learning difference affects almost every task in my son’s school day.Another realization evolved gradually. Dysgraphia was having a huge effect on my son’s self-esteem. The changes in his personality were subtle, so I didn’t notice over a day, a week or even a month.As he got older, other children’s writing improved. His did not. And, unknown to me, he would hear about it from the other kids. Classmates would comment on his poor penmanship. He would laugh it off and pretend he didn’t care. However, the constant commentary was slowly chipping away at his soul.Of course, his teachers had the best intentions by assigning art-heavy projects to keep students engaged. Most kids love to show what they know using poster boards, glitter glue and colored markers. But for my son, whose best efforts wouldn’t even impress a preschool teacher, these assignments were discouraging.Once I was able to better understand how dysgraphia affects my son, I made it my mission to help level the playing field for him.I talked to his teachers about how art projects were causing him so much agony. Thankfully, when I brought this to their attention, they agreed to offer other ways for him to complete projects.Sometimes, my son makes videos. Other times, he creates a PowerPoint presentation. Also, I make sure he always has the option of taking tests and notes with a keyboard. His grades, by the way, have improved greatly.I’ve been trying to meet the challenges of my son’s dysgraphia for nearly a decade. I know I can’t “fix” his handwriting. But by understanding his struggles, I am able to be his advocate.This can mean anything from educating friends, family, and teachers to researching the latest assistive technologies. In fact, when my husband and I couldn’t find an app to help our son with math, we developed our own. It’s called ModMath and allows kids to work on math problems without writing their answers out longhand.The role of advocate is time consuming, and it can be frustrating. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I will get him through this and ensure he thrives. It’s what we moms do.Any opinions, views, information, and other content contained in blogs on Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions, or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by, Understood.
ADHD Aha!ADHD and dyslexia, and the reading anxiety that comes with both (Carol’s story)
Carol Blumenstein was called an unteachable student. Now, she knows she has ADHD and dyslexia, and supports her five kids who learn differently, too. Growing up, Carol Blumenstein was labeled an unteachable student. She was terrified to read during class, and school only brought huge anxiety. Luckily, her mom believed in her in a way teachers didn’t. She put Carol in community college courses and pushed her to turn her frustration into motivation.Carol didn’t know she had ADHD and dyslexia until she saw her own children — all five of them — struggle with the same things she did when she was little. But this time the issues were addressed and they were understood by their teachers.Now, Carol’s kids have founded their own organization, KidsRead2Kids, which provides free video audiobooks read by kids for kids and other helpful resources.Related resourcesVideo: Why do ADHD and dyslexia co-occur so often?Dyslexia and anxiety in kidsADHD and anxietyCarol’s family’s organization, KidsRead2KidsEpisode transcriptCarol: I remember I had a math teacher who was convinced that math was my worst subject. And my mother thought about it, and she's like, "That's ridiculous!" And so, she actually put me in computer programming when I was about 12 years old. And lo and behold, I was the best in the class. And I was a little kid and I was with college students. Laura: From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "ADHD Aha!," a podcast where people share the moment when it finally clicked that they or someone they know has ADHD. My name is Laura Key. I'm the editorial director here at Understood, and as someone who's had my own ADHD "aha" moment, I'll be your host. I am here today with Carol Blumenstein. Carol is the executive director of KidsRead2Kids. KidsRead2Kids is an organization that provides free video audiobooks read by kids for kids, along with lesson plans and other helpful resources. You can find more information at KidsRead2Kids.com. I also need to mention that Carol is the mother of five kids. Five kids who have learning differences — like dyslexia and ADHD — and her kids are the founders of the organization, which is so cool. Carol, welcome. Thank you for being here with me today. Carol: Laura, thank you. I am so happy and honored to be here with you. Laura: I'm amazed that you even have time to talk to me today, Carol. Carol: You know what? Very good time management. Laura: Carol. So, like your kids, you also have learning and thinking differences. You yourself have ADHD and dyslexia. And I have to say that, this is actually the first time on our show that we're going to specifically talk about ADHD and dyslexia, that co-occurrence, which really surprises me because it's so common for the two to co-occur. Carol: Right.Laura: I know you love to talk about your kids, Carol — which I think is so gorgeous — I'm first going to ask you about you, and what's it like for you to have both ADHD and dyslexia. Maybe through a specific example of how it impacts your daily life. Carol: OK so, you have to remember stepping back when I was growing up, there really wasn't testing for any learning differences. So, growing up I did not have a formal diagnosis. It just simply wasn't done. You are pretty much branded as somebody that was too slow, was distracted, didn't seem to care in school. I was considered a poor student, unteachable. All of these sort of labels that are never helpful and most likely are usually very wrong. Fortunately, I had a mother that understood my strengths, my gifts, and she was really able to help me become the person that I am today. School was very difficult for me. I couldn't read. I remember being the kid where — I don't know if they still do this today — but you would sit in a circle and the teacher would pull out a section that we were going to read in class. And paragraph by paragraph, you'd go around the room and each person would read the next paragraph. So, what would happen is, I would count up frantically, "OK, I am the ninth paragraph." And I would frantically look and all I would do is focus on the ninth paragraph. I didn't hear a word that anyone ever said. I was so terrified and so afraid of humiliating myself when it would come to my turn, that all I could do was focus that whole time on my paragraph, and then pray that nobody would get up to go to the bathroom. Laura: Oh my gosh, that sounds really stressful, and there's so much anxiety for such a young person. Carol: So much anxiety. Laura: I've heard a lot from our listeners who talk about having ADHD, and as far as I know — well they may or may not have also had dyslexia. It wasn't a topic of specific discussion for us for those interviews — but what comes up a lot in relation to ADHD is difficulty focusing on the reading. So, I can only imagine when you have both dyslexia and ADHD, how doubly difficult and the immense reading anxiety that can come with that. Carol: It's not only is it anxiety, but the reality is there is no fun. It is exhausting. It is challenging. It is stressful. When you're reading that slowly, oftentimes it's actually really hard to even comprehend what you're reading, because by the time you've got to the end of that page, you've completely forgot what you read at the beginning. And so, listening comprehension, reading comprehension is really important to help children with dyslexia and ADHD. And one of the ways that really helped me is — when I was growing up, I did not like to read at all — but my mother used to read to me all the time. And what she did was something absolutely brilliant, and back then there was not a lot of resources. But instead of picking a book she thought I should hear, she would pick books that I wanted to hear. She understood that learning should always come from within, and she knew that if she could motivate me and get excited about learning, I would want to learn. And if I wanted to learn, nobody was going to stop me. But if I didn't — if I felt discouraged, if I felt frustrated — if I felt like where I was to where I wanted to be so far that it was "What was the point? I'm not even going to try." My mother knew. No, she had to turn my frustration into motivation. Laura: Your mom is, she just sounds so incredible. And of course, not all kids have that same kind of — what's the word I'm looking for? — like parents who understand how to cope. But often by no fault of their own, don't know how to cope with their kids' challenges.Carol: Right, and my two older sisters, they just flew through school. They were straight-A students. They were incredibly smart. And my teachers would look at me and say, "What is wrong with you?" And I remember I had a math teacher who was convinced that math was my worst subject, because I couldn't regurgitate the multiplications, divisions really fast. I just couldn't spit them up fast enough. And my mother thought about it and she's like, "That's ridiculous!" And so, she actually put me in computer programming because she said, "You know, you really think like a computer. You're very logical. And I think that math and physics is actually going to be your best subjects." So, I enrolled in at a community college and I started studying, and lo and behold, I was the best in the class. And I was a little kid and I was with college students. Laura: How old were you in these classes with college students? Carol: I was 12. Laura: Oh my gosh. Carol: Yes, it's shocking. But the thing is, that's how my mind works. I'm a very logical person and I also am an extremely creative person. And what my mother realized is that oftentimes you're like one or the other, but I always actually both. I was just as comfortable in the art classes and the dance classes as I was in science, physics, math. And she started putting me in these classes. She started reading to me books that I was so fascinated with, and she started showing me careers that I had never thought about, that I never dreamed I could do. And all of a sudden I was like, "Oh my gosh, I want to do that." And then when I came back to classes, I was more motivated. I understood what I learned, what I did well in, and where I needed help. Laura: So, you didn't have a name for what you knew what you were strong at. You knew what was harder for you. Carol: Right. Laura: When did you...? I guess what I'm asking about is... Carol: My "aha" moment for me? Laura: What was your "ADHD Aha" moment, right? When did you — and we can talk about dyslexia too — when and how did you learn what was the root of your amazing brain? Carol: It wasn't until, full circle, I had five children and it started all over again with them. The same thing. Getting those notes back from the teachers. "Your child is a disaster. They don't pay attention. They don't care. They're not trying." And meanwhile, I knew they were running a marathon every day. They were working their hearts off, and everything took every ounce of energy for them. And I couldn't understand. And they were so smart and so intelligent. But then they would get, like, zeros on a math test, and I'm like, "How did you get a zero on a math test? I know you know this." But they were timed. And so, by the time my son would literally write his name, he would get a zero and then the teacher would be like, "You're bad at math." And I was like, "Oh my God, that's what happened to me!" And it turns out math is one of his best subjects. But again, they were using the wrong parameters to judge my children's strengths and weaknesses. And I didn't know much, but I fortunately had this wonderful teacher who said to me, she's like, "You know, Carol. I think your children should be tested." And I'm like, "Tested for what?" Because back then again, I didn't know. Laura: Right, right. Carol: I didn't have a support system. I didn't have moms coming to me and saying, "Oh, hey, here's all these resources. Let me help you." I didn't have anyone help me. I had moved to a new city to get married. I wasn't from the area. I wasn't, you know, in with everybody. And I was very much alone trying to figure this out on my own. My mom was sick. She had Parkinson's. So, I was taking care of her. And I had five kids to try to take care of and take care of my mom, which, thank God, I loved every second with my mom, believe me. But, when my kids started getting tested and we started realizing — because I would get dyslexic, ADHD, borderline autism, a selective mutism, anxiety, dysgraphia — all of these things have flooding in. And I was like, "Oh my gosh." And you start reading the reports and you're like, "Oh, that's me. Oh that's that, oh that's me. Oh, that's really me." Laura: What did you do when you discovered there might be a name for what your experience was? Carol: I was actually really excited about it. Believe it or not, I think that when I realized what it was, it wasn't so scary anymore. Because at first, I just thought something was wrong with me. I was always like, "Why is it so easy for my sisters? Why was everything so hard?" But after I was diagnosed and I realized that I was like, "Wow, I'm actually really grateful." Because, see there's one thing that I have that a lot of very intelligent people who do not have learning challenges don't have, is that I have this ability to keep working and not expecting everything to just go smoothly. I expect It's going to be hard. I expect it's going to take a long time. I expect I'm going to have to go through many, many, many iterations before I get it right. And so, I'm not as frustrated anymore. Because I kind of realize, for me to get from here to here, it's going to be a bumpy road with a lot of potholes. And I'm going to go slow. And I don't care what race car I'm driving, I got to go slow. And so, and I'm OK with that. In fact, my kids and everyone calls me "the turtle." And I say proudly, "I am a turtle." I go slow and steady and I love to learn. Laura: I do want to ask. You have five kids. Which of your kids' symptomology, challenges, strengths, do you feel like spoke to you the most in terms of like, what you are strong at and what you struggle with? Carol: So Alana, my second older, had selective mutism as a child. So, selective mutism is basically a fear of even speaking in public. In other words, you just hide. Your anxiety is so great, that the head is down and you just pray "Please don't talk to me. Please, just don't even notice that I exist." It's just such an unbelievable fear. I was very much the same way. I did not speak. So many of my parents' friends really didn't think I did speak. And yet at home, I never stopped speaking because I felt very safe and very secure at home. But it was just such a fear. And I remember my mother put me specifically in Russian ballet. She put me in theater because she realized that when I got out of thinking about myself and just got a part of a repertoire, a part of a group, I could become one. My confidence would build. And we did the same thing for Alana, and the same thing was so powerful. Because when you think about a theater troupe, it's very warm, it's very open and it's very family-like, it's a very safe environment. And so, what you're trying to recreate that sort of home life in other environments out of the home to help your child step up, to become comfortable in being themselves. And maybe for a child, it's a soccer team. It could be many things. And then my son Jacob was very much like me growing up. Severely dyslexic, very slow to read. His teachers would tell him math was his worst subject. You know, "Why are you even going for that?" You know. And yet, his brain was literally just like mine. You know, I put him in a computer program, which he just soars. His math is outstanding. You know, he uses all electronics now, you know, audiobooks, all of those sorts of things that are available to help him. And he went from a kid where they thought that he was never going to amount to anything. He's now in his final year at Ross, at the University of Michigan, and he's doing exceptionally well. Laura: Tell me about KidsRead2Kids and the inspiration and what you do at KidsRead2Kids. Carol: So, KidsRead2Kids is a 501(c)(3), Parents' Choice Award-winning nonprofit that my kids started back in 2016 because we saw that there was like this cycle that keeps continuing. Where I grew up and felt like there was something wrong with me, that I was broken, that I wasn't smart, that I was never going to account to anything based on what school was. And had I not had my mother, I don't know what I would be. Instead of having an MBA from Wharton, an electrical engineering degree, I could be who knows where. But I am who I am because I had somebody in my corner who really believed in me and understood that I had amazing strengths, and also realized that the weaknesses that I had, we could figure out how to work around them so that I could learn and be an independent learner for life. And then my kids came along and I felt like it was like deja vu. It was happening all over again. And my kids one day I said, "You know, we've got to do something, because there are kids around the world, there are parents around the world that don't have a resource to help. What can we do to help these kids so that they can become independent learners? They don't need to have a credit card. They don't need to have money. We need to teach kids that they can be independent, that they are in control of their learning, and we're going to teach them how." And so my kids decided they were going to start KidsRead2Kids, and they started by taking some of the greatest classic books that most children with learning challenges don't even read. They took abridged versions, which were less scary and easier to understand, but very important characters. These were all young characters that had struggles that they had to overcome. And they got their friends from theater and choir — many of which who had learning challenges themselves — and they filmed these books as a video-audiobook, chapter by chapter. Laura: So fun.Carol: Which took, each book, is months and months. You have no idea. Laura: I can't, I can't imagine, actually. I mean, that's incredible. Carol: You know? And then my kids would edit it and get it all set. And we wanted it so that a child could go on to our website or go on to our KidsRead2Kids YouTube channel. They could listen to these books completely free. They didn't have to ask for permission. They didn't have to ask for money. And they're listening to other kids just like them. And all of a sudden, kids in over 60 countries started using it. It was amazing. And then Covid hit, and teachers were like, "Ahhh! what do we do?" You know, "How do we teach kids online?" And so my kids created two complete free lesson plans to "Anne of Green Gables," that my daughter Alana Read and "Peter Pan" that her friend Steven reads. And this has creative writing prompts, active listening questions, vocabulary games to really help kids learn how to actively listen. You know, we were born hearing, but we have to learn how to actively listen. Laura: Well, it's just such an amazing organization, Carol. I mean, the fact that your kids founded it, and just the entrepreneurship, the scrappiness, the creativity, the empathy that it takes to do something like that. I really commend you and your kids. Your story is just phenomenal. The website for everyone who's listening again is kidsread2kids.com. That two is the number two, not the word two. So, kidsread2kids.com. So Carol, thank you so much for being here today. It's just been a pleasure. I really appreciate it. Carol: Oh, it is an honor. And on our website, there's always a way of contacting us if you have a question or a concern. When I was raising my kids, I didn't have anyone to help me, and it's a really scary process to try to figure out what to do. And I don't want any parent to ever feel that way. So, same thing for kids. We are here as a resource. This is our passion. We love it, we believe in it, and we really, really want to make sure that no child, no adult feels like they're broken or something is wrong with them. You are perfect the way that you are. Find your strengths, and then let us help you to improve the areas that are hard for you. And it will make life so much easier and way more fun. Laura: You've been listening to "ADHD Aha!" from the Understood Podcast Network. If you want to share your own "aha" moment, email us at ADHDAha@understood.org. I'd love to hear from you. If you want to learn more about the topics we covered today, check out the show notes for this episode. We include more resources as well as links to anything we mentioned in the episode. Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently, discover their potential and thrive. We have no affiliation with pharmaceutical companies. Learn more at understood.org/mission. "ADHD Aha!" is produced by Jessamine Molli. Say hi, Jessamine! Jessamine: Hi everyone. Laura: Briana Berry is our production director. Our theme music was written by Justin D. Wright, who also mixes the show. For the Understood Podcast Network, Scott Cocchiere is our creative director, Seth Melnick is our executive producer, and I'm your host, Laura Key. Thanks so much for listening.
Classroom accommodations for dysgraphia
Students with dysgraphia can have trouble with handwriting, typing, and spelling. What classroom accommodations can help? Here are some ways teachers can make all aspects of writing easier.Classroom materials and routinesProvide pencil grips or different types of pens or pencils to see what works best for the student.Provide handouts so there’s less to copy from the board.Provide typed copies of classroom notes or lesson outlines to help the student take notes.Provide extra time to take notes and copy material.Allow the student to use an audio recorder or a laptop in class. Provide paper with different-colored or raised lines to help form letters in the right space.Provide graph paper (or lined paper to be used sideways) to help line up math problems.Giving instructions Provide paper assignments with name, date, title, etc., already filled in.Provide information needed to start writing assignments early.Help the student break writing assignments into steps.Provide a rubric and explain how each step is graded.Give examples of finished assignments.Offer alternatives to written responses, like giving an oral report.Completing tests and assignmentsAdapt test formats to cut down on handwriting. For example, use “circle the answer” or “fill in the blank” questions.Grade based on what the student knows, not on handwriting or spelling.Use a scribe or speech-to-text so the student can dictate test answers and writing assignments.Let the student choose to either print or use cursive for handwritten responses.Allow a “proofreader” to look for errors. Provide extended time on tests.Provide a quiet room for tests if needed.What’s nextDo you have a student who struggles with writing? Find out how dysgraphia and disorder of written expression differ from each other.Does your child struggle with handwriting? Explore fun, effective expert tips to practice at home.
In ItBusting myths about learning differences and ADHD
There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about learning differences. Let’s get the facts to debunk them. There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about learning differences. Is ADHD just about hyperactivity? Is dyslexia a vision problem? And do kids outgrow learning differences? In this episode, host Gretchen Vierstra shares common myths about learning and thinking differences for co-host Amanda Morin to bust. Listen to Amanda debunk these myths with the facts. Learn why these myths persist and how you can help fight against them. Plus, hear the misconceptions that Amanda, Gretchen, and their producer believed before they learned the truth about learning differences.Related resources6 common myths about learning and thinking differencesWhat are learning and thinking differences?When gifted kids need accommodations, tooEpisode transcriptAmanda: From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "In It." On this podcast, we offer perspectives, stories, and advice for and from people who have challenges with reading, math, focus, and other types of learning differences. We talk to parents, caregivers, teachers, experts, and sometimes even kids. I'm Amanda Morin. I'm the director of thought leadership for Understood. And I'm a parent to kids who learn differently.Gretchen: And I'm Gretchen Vierstra, a former classroom teacher and an editor here at Understood. And today, we want to do some myth busting. There's lots of misconceptions out there about learning and thinking differences.Amanda: And it's totally understandable that there are misconceptions, because a lot of what we've learned over the years about these differences is complicated. It's counterintuitive, and we are still learning, too.Gretchen: Exactly. I don't know about you, Amanda, but I can still remember some of the ideas I had way back when, when I started teaching at a mere 23 years old, that I now know were totally not true.Amanda: Me, too, Gretchen. I think I started teaching when I was 21, and I don't know about you. Do you have, like, examples that stick in your mind of your misconceptions?Gretchen: Yes, totally. You know, as a general education teacher, one of the things I thought I knew about ADHD was that I would be looking for kids and probably mostly boys who were hyperactive. I wasn't thinking about the fact that it could be a student who was quietly not able to focus, right? Couldn't finish the book, perhaps couldn't get through a whole test. I really wasn't thinking about that. I only thought about hyperactivity.Amanda: I think me too. And I wonder how much of that is about when we started teaching and how much of that is about just sort of that expectation that, you know, you see it, you see ADHD in that — that it's like the boys who are running around and bouncing off the walls and jumping off the top of the playground and all of those kinds of things. But we now know that's not true. ADHD, the "H" is hyperactive, but there's also attention deficit in that, right? So that inattention matters as well. There are kids in classrooms, there are kids all over who maybe don't show those hyperactive or impulsivity kinds of things. That's a common one, right?Gretchen: It is. And also, what about the fact that I, going into teaching, thought it would mostly be boys and that the boys would definitely be the hyper ones? I mean, I will admit that is what I thought. And I know that's not true.Amanda: Yeah. And I think, like, I can take that as an early intervention specialist, we often saw boys first, you know, because boys tend to have hyperactive-type ADHD a little bit more often than girls. And that's the first thing people notice. But the truth of the matter is inattentive-type ADHD, that distraction, that daydreaming, that kind of thing, it's also really common. And it's not just girls who have that. So you see it in girls and boys, but it's not the kind of thing, like in a classroom, it's not the kind of thing that like jumps out at you. Because when you're trying to manage all of these kids, the things that are like literally popping up are the things that you're paying attention to more.Gretchen: That's right. What about you, Amanda? Is there any particular idea you had about learning differences that tripped you up as a teacher or maybe as a parent?Amanda: Oh, my gosh. Yes. So as our listeners know, I have kids who have learning differences, too. When I first started this with my own kids, you'd think because I had experience in the classroom that I'd notice it and I'd not have these myths. But I remember thinking with one of my children. I remember thinking like, "Why doesn't he just try harder? He can do all of these amazing things." And it's like what teachers would say to me: "He's just not trying hard enough."I didn't do a real good job at first of pushing back on that and saying, you know, this stuff he needs to learn and has trouble with. I think I may have accepted it more than I should have. And I — that's a whole other thing. But as a teacher — gosh, you know, you have that one kid you remember, you know? I remember from maybe my fifth year of teaching, right? So more years ago than I'm willing to say. But I will say that this child is now probably has her own family, let's just say, right? Had a really hard time learning how to read and do letter sounds and stuff like that, but was also kind of like balky about it. Wouldn't do it and was sort of tuned out a lot of the time. And and I kind of chalked it up to she was being stubborn. And as I look back at it, I realize like she was telling me with her behavior that she was having trouble. And I think that now I would definitely have a conversation with that child's parents and say, "I think we're seeing some signs of reading issues. I think we're seeing some signs of inattentive, maybe ADHD, maybe...." You know, I wish I'd had that conversation and like, I still think about that. And I wonder, you know, how is she doing? What did her rest of her school career look like?Gretchen: I know. It's hard not to focus and blame ourselves for things that we may have missed. The word "blame," though, right? Also reminds me of something else that I think comes up, which is hearing people blame parents for their kids' behaviors. Actually, not just behaviors, but the learning differences themselves. I've heard things like, "Hmm, maybe you just didn't read enough to your child," for a student who has dyslexia. Or "Hmm, are you setting boundaries? Maybe that's why your child has ADHD." I've even heard things about like, "Maybe you're feeding your kids too much sugar." These are all myths, right? This blame that we're placing? These are all myths, aren't they?Amanda: They totally are. And the sugar one, I don't know how many times I've heard that. You know, "If you change his diet a little bit, you know, he'd be calmer." And I kind of have this like maybe if I change his diet, I'd be calmer, but I don't know if he would be calm, right? But I think you're right. Like, I think a lot of times people are looking for a place to put blame and they don't do it deliberately. I think they do it weirdly. They're trying to be helpful. They're trying to say, like, well, if you just tried this, probably it would get better. But what it comes out to, like parents like me, what it is, is like you're not doing it right. And that's really hard. I am going to do the thing where I put our producer Julie on the spot and ask her to chime in. Because Julie, you've worked with us for a few years now, and I'm wondering, what didn't you understand at first or maybe still don't understand about learning differences?Julie: Yeah, I think there's a lot of things that I didn't understand and that I'm still learning. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you this one, but it is true that a lot of times when people ask me when I'm working on it, I'm telling them about this podcast, I'll say it's, you know, for families who have kids with learning and thinking differences. And then I say, like, you know, ADHD or dyslexia, and then I sort of trail off.Gretchen: You mumble and....Julie: I feel like I know there are others and some of them we have actually done episodes on. But I wonder, can you spell out for me, what do we mean when we say learning and thinking differences? Amanda: I can do that. OK. So at Understood in particular, we have sort of what we call core issues, right? Issues that we specifically focus on. And the word "learning differences" encompasses a lot of things. But when we talk about some of our core issues, they're actually learning disabilities. And so dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. So that's one of them. There's written expression disorder, which is sometimes known as dysgraphia as well, another learning disability. And then dys-cal-cu-luh — or dyscalculia or however people say it — is a third learning disability that we also focus on. And then we also focus on ADHD, which is not a learning disability, but it can get in the way of learning. And that's another myth. A lot of people think ADHD itself is a learning disability. And then the last thing that we focus on as a core issue and Understood is language disorder. So receptive language, the ability to make sense of what other people are saying to you. And expressive language disorder is the ability to take your thoughts and put them out verbally and have other people understand you. There are other differences. Those are just the ones that we particularly focus on. So now you can go answer that question differently or have people listen to this podcast.Julie: Exactly.Gretchen: No more trailing off.All right, so we've just learned a lot and we're ready to learn more. Because there are actually quite a few misconceptions that we've come across. And I'm so happy that Amanda is here to help us sort through some more of them. So, Amanda, are you ready to tackle another one?Amanda: Indeed.Gretchen: So here's one we hear a lot. It's the belief that a child who is diagnosed with a learning disability will grow out of it. Does that actually happen?Amanda: Oh, that's a really common one, right? It doesn't happen. If you have a learning disability, you have a learning disability because your brain is just processing information differently. What may happen is kids, as they grow older, have more strategies. So they've learned how to accommodate for themselves. So it looks like they maybe they've outgrown some of the things you saw when they were younger. But it's not that they're outgrowing a learning disability. I think that does a disservice to all of the adults out there who have learning disabilities. Because at 18, you're not like, oh, no learning disability anymore. It may change what it looks like and how it shows up, but it's not that it doesn't exist anymore.Gretchen: And what about ADHD, though? I've heard different things about this.Amanda: There is a very small percentage of people, and this is not my expertise, so I want to be really cautious in saying. There's a very small percentage of people who do sort of outgrow the symptomology of ADHD, but it's a very small percentage.Gretchen: All right. Well, here's another one. And I think this is something I held on to for a while when I was a kid. When I first heard about dyslexia, I thought dyslexia was either a vision problem or I thought it was just seeing letters backward and that's it. But we know that's not the case, so please explain, Amanda.Amanda: I think we think that because you see it a lot like in TV and stuff like that, when somebody has dyslexia, you see like the words are swimming on the page or in front of them or that kind of a thing. It's not. I think we're just going to say that. It's not just that. It's not a vision problem. You know, people with dyslexia may have vision problems, but I'm sitting here with my glasses on. I also have vision problems and no dyslexia. I think one of the best things I heard is somebody that we work with who has dyslexia. She said to me, "It's not that I can't read, it's that I had trouble learning how to read, right? I had trouble with the sounds and putting the sounds together in the language." So that was really helpful to me to realize what dyslexia is, is more about that language learning and the being able to decode the sounds and being able to get the vocabulary and get all of that put together. And people who have dyslexia may often have difficulty with sort of their spoken language as well, like retrieving language when they're talking. So that's why it's called a language-based learning disability.Gretchen: Got it. All right. Well, here's another point of confusion, I think, that has to do with kids who are what we call twice exceptional, or 2e. Can you explain what 2e means and how does it throw people off?Amanda: I'll do a quick one and then I will also put a plug in for the fact that we did an episode on twice exceptionality that people can go back to and listen more about. 2e or twice exceptional means that you have a child or adult who is intellectually gifted and also has a disability. It doesn't have to be a learning disability, and I think that's important to note, too. But when we talk about it, we're often talking about kids who have learning disabilities and are also intellectually gifted. And what throws people off there is this myth that, like, you know what, you can't be gifted and also have a learning disability. And it's just not true. One of the things that I think people — and I probably held this misconception as a teacher when I first started, too — is that it sort of cancels each other out, right? But you can have a learning disability and also be in like AP classes. And you can have accommodations in all of those gifted classes. And we all have things that are difficult for us and are not difficult for us. So I think it's just a magnitude thing to think about it that way, too.Gretchen: That's a good way to explain it. All right. Here's the one that people have trouble pronouncing: dys-cal-cu-li-a or dys-cal-cu-luh? I know, I think I say dyscalculia. In any case, this is often described as just math dyslexia. But that's not really how we should be describing it, is it?Amanda: No, no. I've heard people say it's also just like significant math anxiety, which it is also not. Again, I'm going to go back to the brain part of this. It's the way your brain is wired and the way it processes information around math. I actually like the word "dyscalculia" because I can remember it sounds like calculator, so it makes me remember that it's math, right?But you know, it impacts sort of the ability to learn numeracy, which is kind of a fancy way of saying like all of those underlying concepts about numbers — you know, counting, one-to-one correspondence, knowing that a numeral matches a group of numbers, knowing patterns and shapes, estimating, proportionality, all of those kinds of things that are math concepts that we actually use in everyday life. So it's not just about being anxious about math. It's about those everyday skills. You know, people may also have trouble with, like, calculating the tip, you know?Gretchen: Yeah. I never thought how helpful those tip calculators on the end of a receipt. I always thought they were just trying to push me to give more money. But really, maybe it's an accommodation. I should think about it that way.So speaking of accommodations and things like calculators, a lot of people have confusion around this. They see some of the tools that some people might use as accommodations as cheating. So, for example, I'm thinking of assistive technology, things like dictation apps, or audiobooks, or even the calculator. Are those things cheating? Are we stopping people from learning or doing things in the way that they should? I'm using air quotes right now. Or are those things just accommodations? What's the what's the deal here, Amanda?Amanda: It's not cheating. Like, I'm just going to say that flat out. It's not cheating. I've heard that, you know, with kids with a written expression disorder, people say, like, my kid refuses to write, and I think they just want to use the computer. Or, you know, this kid will only read comic books and that's not really reading. And like, those things just aren't actually true, right? These adaptations, these accommodations are actually helping us learn. And what's really interesting is that everybody uses accommodations in their daily life, right? The example I often talk about is way back when, when you used to go to crowded restaurants or whatever, right? And there was a lot of noise going on, and if there was a game on the TV or whatever, oftentimes you have the closed captions on because you can't hear over the crowds, right? My Mr. 12 — we talk about Mr. 12 sometimes, right? He uses closed captions all the time on the TV, not because he needs the closed captions, but because it helps him process the language. He uses the closed captions as an accommodation. But you know what? It helps everybody. Those kinds of things help everybody.Gretchen: Yeah, exactly. And as a former English teacher who filled my classroom with books, I would like to just point out that graphic novels, comics, magazines, all those things counted as reading is my classroom.Amanda: Reading is reading.Gretchen: Reading is reading. Exactly.Amanda: Well, and I would add to that audiobooks, right?Gretchen: Yes. Audiobooks, too. Exactly. Yep. All right. I think one last thing here. A pet peeve, Amanda, that we were talking about just the other day. We were saying how we are not fans of hearing things like, "Oh, I'm so ADHD today," or "You'll have to excuse me, I'm a little OCD." Explain. Why don't we like that so much?Amanda: Gretchen is watching my face do a whole thing right now. I actually have OCD, so that one is very personal to me. It's just like I get frustrated when people use it as a shorthand for explaining what they're having trouble with, right? I have OCD, and I will always have OCD. And so I don't get to put it to the side. "I'm OCD today and I'm not OCD tomorrow and I'm not," you know, like — and so when people use those phrases like, "Oh, I just, you know, I'm so ADHD today" or, you know, "I'm a little OCD," it feels like it sort of diminishes the experience that people have on a daily basis. You know, you don't get to put it away. You don't get to have days when you're not ADHD. It doesn't acknowledge that there are people that this is their whole experience all the time.Gretchen: Yeah, exactly. All right. I think we've covered a lot. Is there anything else, Amanda, that you think we should address?Amanda: I think maybe just that these are just a few of the myths that are right there, right? There are tons of myths and misconceptions which are — that's very hard to say. So the more we bust them, the less we have to say "myths and misconceptions." So just, you know, take a moment to think through. And if you don't know, ask. And if you don't have someone to ask....Gretchen: Write in or ask us.Amanda: Right? I know!Gretchen: Write in or ask us, or go to Understood.org, where we have a ton of articles on many of these myths. We've got articles that are called like "7 Myths About ADHD," for example. I don't know if it's seven, but you know what I mean. We've got lists. And so if you go to a Understood.org, you can find some of these lists and they can explain things. And, you know, if you have someone in your family who maybe is questioning some of the things that perhaps like your child is is learning, they have a diagnosis and a family member saying "that's not true" or "that's not real," send them these facts. We've got fact sheets and we've got myth-busting sheets. And you can send those along to people to help, you know, better educate them and give them the tools so that they can talk about it.Amanda: Send the tools. And I think that what that does is take some pressure off you for having to be the one who feels like you're always educating other people. And we will put links to — I wouldn't — probably not all of them, because we have so many of them. But we'll put links to a lot of them along with other resources in our show notes for this episode, so that you out there can start educating other people and be a myth buster on your own.Gretchen: That's right.Amanda: You've been listening to "In It" from the Understood Podcast Network.Gretchen: This show is for you. So we want to make sure you're getting what you need. Email us at init@understood.org to share your thoughts. We love hearing from you.Amanda: And if you liked today's episode, please share it with the folks around you — other parents, your child's teacher, or other people who may want to know more about learning differences and debunk some myths of their own.Gretchen: Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently discover their potential and thrive. Learn more at understood.org/mission.Amanda: "In It" is produced by Julie Subrin. Briana Berry is our production director. Andrew Lee is our editorial lead. Justin D. Wright mixes the show, and Mike Errico wrote our theme music. For the Understood Podcast Network, Laura Key is our editorial director. Scott Cocchiere is our creative director. And Seth Melnick is our executive producer. Gretchen: Thanks for listening and for always being in it with us.
5 common myths about dysgraphia
Are you unsure if what you’re hearing about dysgraphia is accurate? Here, we set the facts straight by debunking five common myths about dysgraphia and writing difficulties.Myth #1: Messy handwriting is a sure sign of dysgraphia.Fact: Although many people with dysgraphia have poor, hard-to-read handwriting, not all do. In fact, some can write neatly — even though it might take them a lot of time and effort. There are other signs of dysgraphia besides sloppy handwriting. They include slow, labored writing and inappropriately sized and spaced letters.Myth #2: Kids with dysgraphia have below-average intelligence.Fact: It’s a myth that people with learning and thinking differences have poor intelligence, and children with dysgraphia are no exception. In fact, kids with dysgraphia have the same range of intelligence as other kids. They just struggle with writing down on paper what they know.Myth #3: Students with dysgraphia are just being lazy.Fact: Dysgraphia can make the act of writing a slow and taxing process. Some kids may avoid writing assignments in school simply because writing is so frustrating for them. This might look like laziness, but there are underlying factors you might not see. Watching peers who don’t struggle with writing doesn’t help, either. It can make kids with dysgraphia feel discouraged. The good news is there are ways to help kids with dysgraphia in school.Myth #4: Dysgraphia is the same thing as dyslexia.Fact: It’s true that both dysgraphia and dyslexia can affect kids’ ability to spell. The two, however, are distinct conditions. Dyslexia makes it more difficult for a child to learn to read. On its own, dysgraphia doesn’t affect a child’s ability to read. Learn more about how dyslexia and dysgraphia are different.Myth #5: Most kids outgrow dysgraphia, so it’s not necessary to spend time helping them.Fact: Dysgraphia is a lifelong condition — there’s no cure to make it go away. That doesn’t mean, though, that people with dysgraphia can’t succeed at writing and other language-based activities. There are a lot of ways to get help for dysgraphia, including assistive technology and accommodations.
In ItMath anxiety, dyscalculia, and other reasons math can be hard for kids
Why is math so hard for some kids? And what can we do about it? Find out from a special education and math teacher. Why is math so hard for so many kids? And what can we do about it? In this episode, hosts Rachel Bozek and Gretchen Vierstra take a deep dive into math with special education and math teacher Brendan Hodnett. Tune in to learn about dyscalculia, a learning disability in math. Find out how other learning and thinking differences can impact math, too. Hear Brendan describe math anxiety, and what strategies can help. You’ll even learn an easy breathing strategy for calming math nerves. Plus, get tips for fun ways to practice math at home. Related resources Understanding why kids struggle with mathWhat is math anxiety?Signs of dyscalculia at different agesHow games can help kids get better at math Episode transcriptGretchen: From the Understood Podcast Network, this is "In It," a podcast about the ins and outs...Rachel: ...the ups and downs... Gretchen: ...of supporting kids who learn and think differently. I'm Gretchen Vierstra, a former classroom teacher and an editor here at Understood. Rachel: And I'm Rachel Bozek, a writer and editor raising two kids with ADHD. Today, we're talking about math. Gretchen: Did your heart just sink a little when you heard the word "math"? Rachel: A little bit. Gretchen: If so, you're not alone. So many of us get stressed out thinking about math. And even if we don't ourselves, many of us are raising kids who do. Rachel: Maybe you have a kid who has math anxiety, which, yes, is a real thing. Or maybe they have a way of learning or thinking that makes math especially challenging. Gretchen: Whatever it is that's making math hard for your kid at home or at school, there are tools and strategies that can help. And we are very lucky to have special education and math teacher Brendan Hodnett with us today to talk about some of them. Rachel: Besides teaching middle school kids, Brendan is also an adjunct professor at Hunter College in New York City, where he offers courses on inclusive ways to teach math. Gretchen: Brendan, welcome to "In It." Brendan: Hi. Thank you for having me. Gretchen: We're so happy to have you here today. So we are going to be getting into some of the learning and thinking differences that might make math challenging. But before we do that, we just kind of want to talk about math and ask more broadly: Why do you think so many people think they are bad at math? Including maybe myself? Brendan: Yeah, so I see this a lot. I'm currently teaching middle school, and I think by the time students get to middle school, I can attest that most students think they are bad at math or dislike it. And I think that comes from a couple of things. One, math is very different than the other core subjects that they're learning about. Primarily, students are focused in math on either getting it right or getting it wrong. And when you have that fail rate that's a little higher in one class than the other, you might sort of feel like, "I'm not good at this." You know, even if we're talking about 70% accuracy, that feels like, oh, I'm not good at this when I'm getting, you know, I'm doing so much better in my other classes. Whereas being right 70% of the time, like this is a conversation we have, you know, in middle school pretty regularly. That's actually pretty accurate. So I think this notion of I've got too many wrong today makes me feel like I'm bad at this, right? Also, where's the in-between? Like was I close to right? Like is that even a conversation that we get to have with our students and our parents with their children? Like, well, were you close? Were you on the right track? Are you making progress? Those kinds of things tend to not happen. So I think that's where we start right now. Rachel: So here's a question. If you have a kid who is really struggling with math, it might be because of some of the reasons that we've just talked about. But it could be that they're struggling because of a learning or thinking difference. Can you give us a couple of examples of what we should be on the lookout for to figure out if that's what's going on? Brendan: Sure. Yeah. And I think that happens a lot. I think that's hard to determine. Is this an issue where, you know, a child just has some negative feelings about the subject and they're resistant to it, versus a child who continues to struggle with the same concepts over and over again, right? So if we're thinking about at an early age, you know, we're thinking about how kids are asked to grab a certain number of objects and they bring back the wrong number of objects, right? Or if we're asking them to sort by shape and color and put three here and four there and you know which one has more — questions like that that are you know, we start very early on even in preschool. If we see students continue to make the same mistakes with those types of questions, all right, that might be a red flag. Maybe there's something we should pay attention to, right? So now we're getting into elementary school. And as the students around them are progressing through, let's say, you know, memorizing their multiplication facts or using addition and subtraction without having to count on their fingers. And we have a child who's still counting on their fingers — two, three grade levels pass when they learned it. If we're stuck in those early, you know, like I say, early elementary techniques and strategies that we use to problem-solve, that can be a red flag. Like, OK, there might be a bigger issue here. It's not just that ah, I don't like math so I wasn't paying attention that much today. Gretchen: What would you call that — that understanding you were just describing where you know, you know how to group things, you know how to add on and what like a group of things might mean. What's that called in the math world? Brendan: Well, so there's, you know, depending on which skill we're talking about, you know, there's your ability to perform math calculations, right? And your number sense. So your true understanding of, you know, the value of numbers. You know, as students progress through elementary school and we build on these skills, that sort of become second nature for those students who might not have a disconnect with math numbers and math symbols. But for someone who does, that's where we might see something where we would consider a math learning disability. You know, for lack of a better term, we use the term "dyscalculia" in special education. But oftentimes in schools we just refer to them as a math learning disability. It's also a mouthful to say "dyscalculia." Gretchen: It is. And what exactly is it? Can you explain it for us? Brendan: Sure. So if we think about, like students who are resistant to math or get nervous about math, that tends to show up more in like high-stakes situations, right? So, like, their working memory shuts down. Their fact recall. They can't remember procedures or the math facts that they just practiced the day before. When that happens, when they sort of blank out on a test, that's not really an indication that there's a math learning disability there. What we would be concerned about is if they're never able to remember the math facts. If they're never able to get past that point of, OK, you told it to me. I practiced it. A couple minutes later, I'm still getting it wrong. That's where, you know, a teacher would have a red flag and say, OK, I need to talk to the parents. What is it that maybe they're seeing at home? And then once the larger group starts to have this conversation around, you know, the child who might be struggling a little bit in school, and then we hear from the parents and we say, yeah, you know, we still are working on like left and right shoe. Or we're still working on like, you know, following directions, like, oh, you want to go to the house three doors down to the right and they went in the wrong direction. Those are some things that would be red flags for parents to say, OK, maybe there's a bigger issue. Now that's not specific to just dyscalculia. But now when you pair that with some of the things we're seeing in school, all right, then that might be an area where we have to start doing an evaluation to see if there's a math learning disability there. Rachel: So are there other learning and thinking differences besides dyscalculia that can make math learning challenging? I'm thinking — so for my own kids, both of whom have ADHD. And this has been more of an issue for my son, who's in eighth grade, and he's really good at math. So he is actually a kid who's like, "This is my thing," right? But he struggles with the "show your work" requirement. Brendan: Sure. Rachel: And that added step, I feel like for him, it's a lot to unpack, right? It's like his brain is moving so fast that he can get the right answer. But if he needs to slow down enough to fully explain how he got to it, that's where he gets tripped up. So can you talk a little bit about whether that is kind of really part of this conversation or any other learning and thinking differences that kind of reveal themselves, you know, through math. Brendan: So I'm glad you brought up showing work, right? So I think a lot of families might be seeing students at home doing homework and they're not showing any work and they're getting many questions wrong. I have to be honest. That's kind of the nature of students right now who do so much work online. They want to write less and less and less. So how do we start to separate is this an issue because you're having trouble writing, or is it an issue because you're sort of resistant to it, because you're not used to having to write as much and you think it's easier if you don't have to? That being said, if you have a child, let's say, who has dysgraphia or dyspraxia, both of which can really affect handwriting, and there's so much handwriting involved in showing your work for, you know, a multi-step math calculation. Well, there can be a lot of miscalculations there because of a handwriting issue. And if once we're able to identify which one is causing the miscalculation, then we can identify how to support it and better support that child. Gretchen: Couldn't it also be a reading challenge sometimes, right? Like, I think about all of the math as you get up into the upper grades that has reading involved, like reading a story of a problem. And then having to not only get the reading right, but then maybe to have to get the writing right when you have to explain your answer. Brendan: Right. So one of the learning disabilities that a lot of children have, you know, two in one, right? So we call them co-morbid. What we're saying there is that if a child has dyscalculia, they also may have another learning disability, and dyslexia is one of them. And what happens is some of those characteristics overlap and one in particular is difficulty with working memory, right? So it's — yes, it's in our short-term memory, but then we have to then apply it. And that is something that both students with dyslexia, students with dyscalculia, students with ADHD struggle with. So think about how much working memory we need to solve math problems. It's not only fact recall, but then holding that fact that we just calculated to then apply it to the next step of the problem. There's so many missteps along the way when we struggle with working memory. And you alluded to reading and writing as well. And just understanding the symbols of mathematics, understanding the vocabulary of math, especially as it gets more and more challenging in the later grades. And they're supposed to pick that up and apply it to the next problem that they're solving. That can be really challenging. I mean, as I say this, I feel like, yeah, it sounds hard for anybody, you know. But now imagine having one or two learning disabilities and you're struggling through class. You can understand why — back to the first part of our conversation — why many kids would be resistant to this subject to begin with. Rachel: So I'm curious what drew you to math? Like, did you like it as a kid? Did something click for you at some point where you were like, oh, I get why this works or why this is fun? Brendan: Yeah, you know, math was something I was always, you know, fairly good at — feeling — I felt pretty confident in the subject. And I think that stems all the way back to my middle school years. I started to realize not only was I confident in my math ability, but I was I was really comfortable in thinking of how to solve problems in a variety of ways. And I think that's probably my strongest suit as a special education math teacher is that I don't expect things to be done one way only. Everything can't be the same. That's the opposite of what we're trying to do. We want that flexibility. We want all of our students to shine. And we have to, you know, differentiate what it is that we do enough for everyone to feel like they have some success. And I — you know, I think having those opportunities as a young kid to really take those risks and to help out some of the people around me who just hated the subject, who just hated it. They had to power through it. And I said, "Oh, let me show you something different." I remember doing that at a pretty early age and I felt like, yeah, I kind of ended up here for a reason. Gretchen: I remember those students when I was in math and struggling who I'd be like, they know how to answer this differently. I'm going to ask them how they're doing it. Brendan: I do joke with my students now. I said, oh, I got in a lot of trouble in seventh grade. And they said, for what? I said, I was talking all the time in class. And they said, you were talking? I'm like, yeah, but I was helping kids. And they're like, what do you mean? And I was like, yeah, they would come to me for the answer, but I wouldn't give them the answer. I would say, well, show me what you're doing. It's like exactly what I do now. And they just laugh at me like, you wouldn't do that. I swear, that's exactly what I was doing in seventh grade math. Gretchen: Well, that's awesome. Rachel: So, Brendan, we sometimes hear about math anxiety, which I think is more than just the average nervousness that some of us feel when it comes to doing math or just doing calculations. Can you talk a little bit about math anxiety — what it is and how to help kids who have it or how to address it? Brendan: Yeah, this is something I think over the last decade has really gotten a lot of attention, and I think for really good reason. One, I think students were being not necessarily misdiagnosed with, let's say, learning disabilities or just, you know, being put into math interventions because of a non-math issue, right? The issue is we're feeling anxious. We're nervous. We're so afraid we're going to get something wrong that it it blocks us from doing the things we do know how to do, right? And that's real. When you feel that kind of anxiety, it sort of takes over a portion of your brain that's separate from where the mathematical calculations and reasoning would take place. And then what happens is it actually throws up a blocker within your working memory. So suddenly yesterday you were getting every question right, and then today it's like you can't even remember what was taught. And you're taking the test and you're nervous, or somebody is working with you and you get nervous. And that blocker goes up and now you're stuck. And I think there are some things that we can do as both parents and teachers to kind of sort of let's bring that wall down, let's get past that nervousness. So a couple of strategies that I've been utilizing specifically over the last couple of years: When we are working towards something that's a little more high-stakes, I like to build confidence with something really low-stakes. All right? So I was giving a test today, and the test was not an easy one. Some difficult concepts in there. But one of the foundational concepts was just multiplying with positive and negative numbers, or adding with positive and negative numbers — things that I know my students have mastered. So I gave them three minutes, 10 quick questions. Every kid got, you know, walked away from those three minutes with eight or nine or ten correct. And I said, "Doesn't that feel good? Like you really know this stuff? Like you really are confident, let's keep that ball rolling and move into something a little more challenging."That can be done at any age level. When you step into a challenging situation with a little more confidence, you're willing to take the risk. You're willing to kind of power through some of that problem-solving you might need to do. So that would be my first recommendation. My second one, you know, this one's a little bit more new age, I guess, is the best way to describe it. Just doing some breathwork to try to relieve some of that anxiety. There's one that I really love, and this one is called a physiological sigh. You know, the physiological sigh is? You ever heard that before? Rachel: No, but I think I'm about to do one. Brendan: Yeah, we're all going to do one. This one is great. So when you're starting to feel really anxious — and this would work, you know, in any particular situation. But I have my students do this when I can tell the anxiety level is high and I need them to just kind of calm down. Sometimes the energy's just really high and I need the room to just settle. And what we do is you want to take an inhale in almost to the point of a full capacity. Pause for a second, and then a second inhale, like a quicker one. And then once you've done that, then you let it out slowly. All right? So it's like a full, you know, almost a full inhale, and then a little bit more, and then let it out. And really just two of those. You automatically just feel your body just go ahhh. So my students like that one, too. It's nice and calming and then, OK, we're ready to... Rachel: I'm going to do that later. Gretchen: I feel like I must have had math anxiety now. Like you just described this, and I feel like that's what would happen to me sometimes on tests, as I would be so — you're right. My working memory was blocked by the fear and the anxiety that I had that I would just blank out, even though I knew how to do something the day before. I would just completely blank out. And I would feel my body tingle and I'd get all sweaty. And if I had done that breathing, I might have been better off. Rachel: Well, and I think that happens for a lot of kids too, is like they decide they're not good at something. And then it's just like, over. Brendan: And that can be a major concern if you write it off by third or fourth grade, which the research shows many people decide they are good or bad at math by third or fourth grade. And that's — I think that's also why I teach middle school, because I'm like, all right, it's my job to convince you you're not bad at math, that there's you know, there's things you're really great at and you can be confident in. And we're going to lean on those strengths. And everything else? There's strategies to get around it. Rachel: So what can parents and caregivers do at home, like from a fun stuff perspective? Like what kinds of games or like things they can do at home so it feels a little different from a classroom lesson. But that will still help a child who's struggling with or is just like, I hate math.Brendan: The first thing we want to do is be careful with the language that we use, right? If we're negative about math, our kids are going to be negative about math. Right? Unless they're totally resistant to what we're saying. Rachel: So not like, I hate it, right? Brendan: I started — you know, it doesn't mean we can't say, you know, I struggled with it, too. That's OK. Rachel: Right. Brendan: Because if you follow "I struggled with it, too" with "But I found ways to get good at it. And I felt really confident in this particular area. Maybe that'll be something you're going to be good at too." Having those kind of positive conversations around math. More of a — you know, we talk about a growth mindset a lot, but having that notion of it's really about your progress. It's not about mastery. I'm not expecting to be perfect at this, but I want to see that you're getting better because I know, you know, if I worked on something really hard, I could get better at it. I think you can to, you know, those positive reinforcement opportunities should be around progress, not mastery. So I think that's step one. You referenced playing some games at home. I think that's the easiest way to work in math skills. I think a lot of people look for the perfect game to practice the skill that their kids might be struggling with. We don't need to do that, right? We want to find games that are engaging and fun and having our kids work through, you know, problem-solving, mathematical reasoning. So just things like Connect Four. To this day, I still have middle-schoolers playing Connect Four and they love it. Not because they love Connect Four. They love the competition of it, right? There's so much embedded in something like Connect Four, where they're looking at patterns, where they're trying to see, like strategize, like, OK, if I go, what are my three steps ahead of me? Right? It's like playing chess, but a little bit easier. And they love it. And that's a really good skill to then carry with them into the math class. So other games that parents might be comfortable playing with are Uno, or card games, you know, using a traditional deck of cards to play games. So games like like 21. They can work in specific math skills without, you know, kids feeling like, hey, I'm sitting here doing math. So if your goal is to get to 21 and you have, you know, eight in front of you, what are you hoping comes out next? If it's low, should we take, you know, take another card? Should we not? Having those conversations back and forth. You're talking about like really good math skills because you're making predictions based on your ability to add, subtract, find the difference, make number comparisons. But you're not doing math. You're not sitting down solving math problems on a worksheet or on a computer, which kids seem to be so resistant to. Rachel: Those are really great. And another thing that I do at home, that's not really a game, but it's just like I try to sneak the math into, you know, when we're cooking. Or if I see that there's something coming up with a lot of fractions, I'm just like, come here, help me with this. Brendan: Cooking is such a good example of where math is utilized all the time. And we're not necessarily thinking like, OK, I'm sitting down solving math problems, I'm just measuring some things out. Rachel: And they don't feel like they're doing math. Brendan: Right? I need to triple this recipe so how many do I need altogether? Another really good one is just measuring things out. Right? So you're hanging curtains or you're building something in the garage. That constant use of the measuring tape is one of the best things you can do to help students understand numbers between whole numbers, right? All these fractional parts in between can be so challenging for many of our students. And just having that knowledge — that visual representation of where it falls in between. And are we talking about halves? Are we talking about fourths? Things like that. It's really — it can be really powerful. Gretchen: OK. We have one last question for you, Brendan. You know, let's say our kid is just saying "I'm bad at math" and we're just letting them throw in the towel on it. Or maybe I threw in my own towel on math. So if we're doing that, if we're kind of giving up on math, what are we missing out on in life if we don't appreciate and love math? Brendan: All right. That's a great question. I think math provides you with a level of confidence in your ability to take on really challenging tasks. And, you know, I try to explain as — especially as math gets so much more difficult through grade levels — I try to explain, like, you may never graph a linear function in real life. You may not stop to do that. But if you can do this, what does that mean you're able to do in your own personal life? And I think that's, in a way, what we're getting to do mathematically. They're able to then apply in various problem-solving situations and analyze different situations. And you don't have to become an engineer or a finance major just to need to know math. I think that's the message that I would pass on, is that just because it's hard doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. Gretchen: I appreciate that. Thank you so much for all of your math wisdom and your breathing techniques. And I really appreciated all of it. Rachel: Thank you for those. Brendan: I'm glad you guys enjoyed them. Gretchen: You've been listening to "In It" from the Understood Podcast Network. Rachel: This show is for you. So we want to make sure you're getting what you need. Email us at init@understood.org to share your thoughts. We love hearing from you. Gretchen: If you want to learn more about the topics we covered today, check out the show notes for this episode. We include more resources as well as links to anything we mentioned in the episode. Rachel: Understood.org is a resource dedicated to helping people who learn and think differently discover their potential and thrive. Learn more at Understood.org/mission. Gretchen: "In It" is produced by Julie Subrin. Briana Berry is our production director. Justin D. Wright mixes the show. Mike Errico wrote our theme music. Rachel: For the Understood Podcast Network, Laura Key is our editorial director, Scott Cocchiere is our creative director, and Seth Melnick is our executive producer. Thanks for listening. Gretchen: And thanks for always being in it with us.
Treatment for kids with dysgraphia
If your child has dysgraphia, or if you think your child may have dysgraphia, you may be wondering what can help.There are no medications for dysgraphia. But there are therapies and teaching strategies that can address your child’s difficulties with writing. Assistive technology (AT) can also help. And there are many things you can do at home to improve writing-related skills and encourage your child to write.Learn about the strategies and supports that can help kids with dysgraphia.Instruction and support for dysgraphiaWriting is a complicated process that involves many skills. There are no specific teaching approaches or programs just for dysgraphia. That doesn’t mean teachers can’t help kids with writing issues, however.There are specific teaching techniques to help kids with dysgraphia. (They can help other struggling writers, too.) Teachers will choose the strategies they use based on a student’s specific challenges.Writing challenges are often related to reading issues. Many kids with dysgraphia also have dyslexia. They may need to work on basic reading skills like decoding in order to write well.Decoding is especially important for spelling. So to help with this skill, teachers might focus on:Letter-sound relationshipsSyllable patternsRelations between meanings and letter groupingsKids with dysgraphia don’t naturally pick up on the rules of writing. Teachers use explicit instruction to help them learn these rules. They might teach kids where to put verbs and nouns in a sentence, for example, and how and where to use punctuation.They also might teach students a prompt or cue to help them recall the unique parts of a particular kind of writing, like a story. (This is called a mnemonic.) And teachers might give students a graphic organizer to help them plan a paper.One area kids with dysgraphia often struggle with is transcription. This broad skill covers handwriting, keyboarding, and spelling.Teachers may use multisensory techniques to help kids improve in this area. Assistive technology for writing can also help kids build skills and work around weak spots.There are also a number of classroom accommodations for dysgraphia. These include extended time, teacher-made outlines for taking notes, and being able to answer test questions orally instead of in writing.Therapies for dysgraphiaSome kids with dysgraphia struggle with the physical act of writing. Occupational therapy can often help with this. Therapists can work to improve the hand strength and fine motor coordination needed to type and write by hand. They might also help kids learn the correct arm position and body posture for writing.Educational therapy can help kids with other aspects of writing. Therapists can teach kids strategies to work around their weak spots.They might help kids use positive self-talk to manage writing challenges. Therapists may also help kids with setting reasonable and relevant goals for writing. And they might show them how to track goal progress with visual tools. These strategies help kids approach writing assignments in ways that reduce frustration.Treatment for co-occurring challengesKids with learning and thinking differences often have more than one condition at the same time. It’s common for kids with dysgraphia to also have ADHD, anxiety, and/or depression. Dyslexia also often co-occurs with dysgraphia.ADHD treatment like medication doesn’t directly help with dysgraphia. But treating the symptoms of ADHD, like inattention, can help to reduce some of the trouble kids have with writing. The same is true of anti-anxiety medication and antidepressants.Therapy for these conditions may also help. That includes cognitive behavioral therapy and behavior therapy.Dyslexia and dysgraphia are different. But there’s some overlap between them. Working on reading problems can also help with writing challenges. (Working on writing issues can do the same for reading problems.) There are a number of approaches and programs for teaching kids with dyslexia to read.Ways to help with dysgraphia at homeThere are many ways you can help your child build writing skills at home. Try out pencil grips and other tools that may make writing easier. Download tools to help with handwriting and graphic organizers to help with writing assignments.Have your child try strategies for self-regulation in writing. You can also look into apps, software, and Chrome tools that help with writing.
Types of tests for dysgraphia
If your child has trouble with writing, you might be concerned that they have dysgraphia. To know for sure, you’ll need to have your child tested for this common learning difference, which is diagnosed as “specific learning disorder,” with the areas of writing weakness listed.Testing for dysgraphia can reveal what’s causing your child’s difficulties with writing. But it should be done as part of a full evaluation that looks for other issues that might be at play. These might include issues with expressive language and with executive function.Tests for dysgraphia may assess various skills in the following areas:The mechanics of writing (includes things like grammar, spelling, and punctuation)Thematics (includes skills like word usage and the ability to organize a narrative)Fine motor skillsEvaluators will also assess handwriting (graphomotor) skills. They typically look at handwriting samples the child has already produced in other parts of the evaluation.Here are the types of tests used to evaluate for dysgraphia, and examples of each.Tests that assess the mechanics of writingExample: Test of Written Language–Fourth Edition (TOWL-4) subtests for vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, logical sentences, and sentence combining (ages 9 and up).Similar tests include: WJ IV and WIAT-III subtests assessing writing skills, such as the spelling subtest.What it measures: Your child’s ability to use common rules when writing a sentence, like the rules of punctuation.Why it’s important: When a child doesn’t automatically recall the rules of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, it can make the process of writing more difficult. It also makes it harder for the reader to understand what the child is trying to express.How it works: Here’s how various skills might be assessed.Vocabulary: When writing a sentence, your child has to incorporate a specific word the evaluator says. This is called a “stimulus word.”Spelling: Your child writes a series of sentences using stimulus words that the evaluator provides. The evaluator starts with a stimulus word that is easy for your child’s grade level. But with each new sentence, the stimulus word gets harder. The test ends when your child misspells three words in a row.Logical sentences: Your child edits various sentences that contain grammar mistakes. They may also have to complete a sentence so the evaluator can assess your child’s knowledge of grammar rules. For example, if the evaluator says, “The boy went…,” your child might say something correct like, “…to the store yesterday.” Or your child might say something incorrect like, “…yesterday the store.”Sentence combining: The evaluator asks your child to take two simple sentences and combine them into one complex sentence. For example, your child might have to combine “John drives slowly” and “John has a red car” to, say, “John drives a red car slowly.”Punctuation: The evaluator uses your child’s writing from other parts of the test to assess their use of capitalization and punctuation.Tests that assess thematicsExample: Test of Written Language–Fourth Edition (TOWL-4) subtests for story composition and contextual conventions (ages 9 and up).Similar tests include: Woodcock–Johnson IV Test of Achievement (WJ IV) Writing Sample subtest (school age through adult); Wechsler Individual Achievement Test–Third Edition (WIAT-III) Essay Composition (school age through adult).What it measures: The story composition subtest looks at the quality of plot, character development, sentence construction, vocabulary, and the flow of a composition your child writes. It also assesses word usage, sentence structure, and organization. The contextual conventions subtest looks at how your child uses grammar, punctuation, and spelling in more than just a single sentence.Why it’s important: Thematics, or higher-order writing skills, allow kids to express what they’re thinking in writing — and for readers to understand it.How it works: Your child is given a picture and is asked to write a story based on it, including as many details as possible. Five minutes of planning and making an outline is allowed, with 15 minutes to write.Tests that assess fine motor skillsExample: Grooved Pegboard (ages 5 to 18)Similar tests include: Purdue Pegboard (ages 5 to 18); NEPSY-II Visuomotor Precision subtests (ages 3 to 16)What it measures: Your child’s ability to manipulate the small muscles of the hand. It also measures hand-eye coordination.Why it’s important: Trouble with fine motor skills can make it hard to hold a pen or pencil properly. This can make the physical act of writing a slow and difficult process.How it works: Your child gets a board with 25 randomly positioned holes and a set of 25 pegs with grooves in them. They then have to put all the pegs into the holes as quickly as possible. (Your child has to rotate the pegs to fit them in the holes.) The score is based on how long it takes your child to complete the task and how many pegs they drop.What happens after dysgraphia testingThe evaluator will look at the results of all the testing together. They should also look at it along with other types of tests. These should include tests that measure expressive language skills like oral vocabulary.It may take a few weeks to get the results. The evaluator will put all the information together and write a report. If testing shows that your child has dysgraphia, find out what to do next. Learn about dysgraphia accommodations your child might be eligible for. And check out a simulation that shows what it’s like to struggle with writing.
The difference between dyspraxia and dysgraphia
Dyspraxia vs. dysgraphia: Both of these can affect fine motor skills and impact writing. But they’re two distinct conditions, even though they can co-occur in some kids. This chart can help you understand the areas where dyspraxia and dysgraphia overlap and where they differ.When kids have trouble with writing, a full evaluation can help you know what’s causing it. If they’re having difficulty with other aspects of writing, it could also be a learning difference known as written expression disorder. Families and teachers can talk to compare what happens at home with what happens in the classroom. Together, come up with a plan to help improve kids’ skills. That may include classroom accommodations for dyspraxia or dysgraphia.
8 tools for kids with dysgraphia
If your child has dysgraphia, these tools and apps can make writing easier. Your child may already use some of them at school, but it can help to have them at home, too. Most tools are sold in online catalogs for occupational therapists.Pencil gripA pencil grip fits over the pencil to position the thumb, index, and middle finger correctly. Grasping the pencil properly lets your child write more neatly and more quickly without their hand muscles getting so tired. There are many types of pencil grips, so it’s important to know what your child’s specific needs are. If your grade-schooler wraps their thumb around their index finger, for instance, there’s one with built-in guards. The guards may make it easier for your child’s fingers to remain in the correct position.You can find pencil grips at office supply stores, but they may not provide enough finger support for kids with dysgraphia. To find the right pencil grip for your child, you may need to look in online catalogs aimed at occupational therapists.Slant boardWriting on a slanted surface allows your child’s wrist to extend while the fingers flex and naturally fall into a better writing position. Instead of using a slant board, your child can use a three-inch three-ring binder turned sideways. A rubber band can keep papers from slipping off.Raised paperThis paper has a rough surface along the lines to provide tactile cues that can help your child stay within the lines. The physical “bump” gives sensory information on how big to make the letters.Highlighted paperThe lower half of the writing area (below the dotted line) is highlighted, indicating how high the lowercase letters should go. This can help kids learn how to form letters of the correct size. You can order the paper from a catalog in a variety of colors. Or you can make your own with a highlighter.Graphic organizerA graphic organizer is a visual way of breaking writing projects down into smaller steps. It lets your child note key details for almost any kind of writing assignment without worrying about paragraphs, topic sentences, or transitions. As kids brainstorm, they can jot down ideas in the visual framework. Then, when they go to write, they’ll have a starting point.Graphic organizers come in many types. They can look like a Venn diagram, a flow chart, or an ice cream cone (for younger kids). You can find many free templates online.Handwriting Without TearsThis writing program gives explicit instruction on how to form letters using multisensory strategies. Letters are grouped by similar strokes using top-to-bottom, left-to-right sequencing. For example, kids learn the six “magic c” letters (c, a, d, g, q, o) as a group. That way they get lots of practice doing the same beginning movement, which builds muscle memory.Wet-Dry-TryThis iPad app for beginning writers comes from Handwriting Without Tears. Kids use their fingers to practice forming letters and numbers on the screen. When your child is ready, your child can switch to using a stylus.With Wet-Dry-Try, your child can use a virtual slate chalkboard for writing capital and lowercase letters and numbers. The app also has personalized audio coaching. An Android version of the app is currently in development.Apps to make worksheets less tediousThere are a number of free iPad apps that let kids complete paper worksheets on a tablet. Two examples are PaperPort Notes and SnapType (developed by an occupational therapist).Here’s how these apps work: Kids take a photo of their worksheet. They tap on the screen where they want to add text and type in their answers. If the worksheet is multiple choice or fill-in-the blank, they can use their finger to write in words or circle the answer. When they’re finished, they can print out the photo of the worksheet.Android users can try Samsung Galaxy Note5, which allows you to do similar things. You can upload an image of a worksheet from your camera roll and then, using a text box, write on it with your finger or a stylus.Understood does not endorse or receive financial compensation for the sale of any of these products.
8 expert tips on helping your child with dysgraphia
Does your child struggle with handwriting? Has your child been diagnosed with dysgraphia? These exercises from handwriting specialists are fun, effective, and easy to practice at home.1. Feel the letters.Taking away one sense experience often heightens the others. Experts advise trying activities that help your child focus on feeling — not seeing — how a letter is made. Here are a few ways to accomplish that.Use your finger to trace a letter on your child’s back. Ask your child to give you an open palm and closed eyes. Trace a letter on their open palm. Then see if your child can reproduce that letter on your back or on a piece of paper.Make things more challenging. Write a capital letter and ask your child to write it as a lowercase one, or vice versa.2. Write big.Kids with dysgraphia usually have trouble remembering how to form letters correctly. One way therapists make the process more memorable is by having kids write in ways that use large motor movements. They also try to incorporate multisensory materials. There are a few ways to do this at home.At home, younger kids can spray big shaving cream letters on the tile wall at bath time. Or they can smooth out the cream on the tile and write letters in the foam. Sand is another great material for kids to work with. They can practice making letters in a plastic tub of damp sand. Adding sand to finger paint is another way to increase sensory input.3. Dig into clay.Clay is a wonderfully versatile medium. It’s dense and responsive. And mistakes can disappear with just a pinch.Roll clay into ropes and practice making letters with your child. It builds hand strength and boosts fine motor skills. And it reinforces the shapes of letters in your child’s mind, too.Another option: Smooth a layer of clay on a cookie sheet. Then invite your child to etch letters into the surface with a pencil. The clay provides sensory feedback, which gives more information to the brain about how the letters are formed.4. Practice pinching skills.Holding a pencil properly is a challenge for many kids with writing difficulties. Your child can improve finger strength as well as “pencil grip” using “pinching” tools found around the house. These include tweezers, children’s chopsticks (joined at one end), and ice tongs.Try this game: Toss pieces of cereal, balled-up scraps of paper, or small pencil erasers onto a tabletop. Then see how many you and your child can pick up with a pinching tool in a minute.Another option: Play board games and use pinching tools to move the playing pieces.5. Start cross-body training — both sides count.To develop proper writing skills, both sides of your child’s body need to work together: One arm holds the paper stable. The other does the actual pencil work.Any activity that results in coordinated movement on both sides of the body is helpful. This includes crafts that use scissors: One hand holds, while the other cuts.Physical exercises that require cross-body coordination help, too. These include windmills, jumping jacks, alternate-toe touches, and mountain climbers. See if your child will try a few before sitting down to write.6. Build strength and stability.Writing may not seem physically demanding. But for a kid, sitting properly and controlling pencil and paper can be a challenge. Both require muscle strength and stability in the shoulders and core.Activities that condition these areas can help. These include planks, push-ups, wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, shooting baskets, hanging from monkey bars, and rope climbing. Even reading while lying tummy-down on the floor builds strength.So set aside time for activities like these in your child’s day. They’re ideal to try at a local gym, at the playground, or right in your own backyard or playroom.7. Practice storytelling that includes a clear structure.Kids with dysgraphia often have trouble organizing their thoughts. You can help your child by practicing structured storytelling.At bedtime, ask your child, “How was your day?” Have him start with an introduction, like, “Today was Thursday and boy, was it a busy day for me and my friends.” Ask your child to describe something that happened in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening. Then ask for a wrap-up of how the day went overall.You can use this approach with just about any experience your child wants to share with you.8. Speak it first.Kids with dysgraphia may be brimming with great ideas. But putting those ideas into written words can be a frustrating hurdle for them.Smartphones, tablets, and other devices with recording functions are a great way for kids with dysgraphia to talk through their thoughts or the stories they’d like to tell. They can then play the recording back when they sit down to write. This can be a helpful and confidence-boosting tool.
Why I’m Not Glossing Over My Son’s Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and ADHD on School Applications
For the past five years, my son has attended a private school that specializes in teaching students with dyslexia. They’ve done an amazing job with him. And now he’s ready to transition to a mainstream high school.We want to send him to a public charter or a private high school. (We’re lucky—not everyone has this many options.) But these schools have what is to me a big drawback: They require filling out applications...and the applications are due soon.The reason I don’t like filling out these applications is that they all have a common question that’s hard for me to answer: Describe your child’s strengths and weaknesses.My son has many strengths, and those are easy to summarize. He’s brilliant, kind and eager to learn. His teachers tell me he’s ahead of his peers when it comes to critical thinking and knowledge about current events. He gets good grades and excels in sports. He also has a rare combination of compassion and swagger that makes him a born leader.As for his weaknesses, that’s more complicated to explain in an application.Henry has dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD, and they certainly create challenges for him—challenges that could qualify as “weaknesses.” But I’m concerned that using labels like dyslexia and dysgraphia on his application might lead the admissions team to think that my son is less intelligent than he is. In my experience, even the most well-meaning people sometimes just don’t get it.And unfortunately, we’ve experienced that. People have misunderstood and called him “lazy” and “disengaged.” Others have tried to compliment him, but it came out as an insult: “Wow, you would never know your son is dyslexic.” Or, “Your son has such good manners for a kid with ADHD.”I’ve heard it all. There are some scars that just haven’t healed. That’s why when it comes to his school applications, I worry that revealing too much about my son’s learning and thinking differences could lead people to once again misunderstand. Would that hurt his chance of admission at a private school?I suppose I could say that Henry has trouble with spelling and leave it at that. I doubt any admissions counselor would think twice about that. But if I went for full disclosure, I’d have to point out that dyslexia makes Henry’s spelling so bad that sometimes not even spellcheck knows what he’s trying to say.Likewise, saying that grammar isn’t Henry’s strong suit wouldn’t set off any alarm bells. But I what if I went on to explain that Henry rarely remembers to use punctuation at all?The truth is that Henry’s weaknesses have led to great strengths. His challenges have given him grit and perspective. They’ve helped him develop the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that sets him apart from other students.It’s true that he can’t write anything out longhand. Give him a keyboard, though, and he’ll pound out an essay full of depth. Yes, it will be light on punctuation and weak on spelling. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be great. Will the schools see that?As for his reading: Some people assume dyslexics can’t read. Reading, however, is one of Henry’s greatest strengths. Dyslexia causes him to have poor phonemic awareness, and he can’t sound out words at all. But his ability to read using language and context clues is nothing short of remarkable.We’ve narrowed our application list down to just a few high schools. Each says in their brochures that they recognize and honor that all children learn differently. If that’s the case, my son’s weaknesses shouldn’t rattle anyone.But what if they do?I guess there’s only one way to find out. I’m not going to gloss over my son’s learning differences. They’re a big part of who he is. If for some reason this scares off a school, then it’s their loss. He’ll be an asset for whatever school he attends.Explore ways to identify your child’s strengths. And get tips on how to talk to your child about strengths and challenges.Any opinions, views, information and other content contained in blogs on Understood.org are the sole responsibility of the writer of the blog, and do not necessarily reflect the views, values, opinions or beliefs of, and are not endorsed by, Understood.
5 things not to say to your child about dysgraphia
Of course you want your child with dysgraphia to do their best. But sometimes, even well-meant comments from parents can have a negative effect. Dr. Charles Sophy, medical director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, lists some common remarks that can hurt — and what you might say instead. (You may want to adjust these based on your child’s age.)1. “If you can’t read your own writing, you can bet your teacher can’t either.”This remark suggests that if a child had tried harder, their writing would be neater. In fact, giving it more effort or doing it again isn’t likely to improve the finished product.Instead, respond with a “strength-based” comment. You might say: “I know you did your best. It must be frustrating that the result doesn’t show how hard you worked. Would you rather type your answers on the computer? We can attach the printout to the worksheet. We can talk to your teacher, too, if you like.”2. “Is this writing assignment finished? It doesn’t look like you gave it much thought.”Kids with dysgraphia may have trouble getting ideas on paper. The effort of holding the pencil and forming letters can make them forget what they wanted to write. Organizing thoughts into sentences and paragraphs can also be tough.When your child’s written work lacks depth or is missing key details, you might say, “Tell me more about these ideas. I want to make sure you get everything down, so I’ll take notes.” Having a scribe can help your child focus on ideas and make the task more manageable.3. “If it makes you feel funny to use a keyboard at school, you don’t have to do it.”It’s understandable that kids don’t want to stand out. But it’s important that they use available tools. That’s especially true as they get older. Letting your child avoid an accommodation may reinforce anxiety about the issue.Using these tools can help your child succeed and likely get over feeling self-conscious. So if your child doesn’t want to use a keyboard at school, you might say, ”Let’s rehearse what you can say to kids who want to know why you get to use a computer and they don’t!”4. “Writing is such a struggle for you. I think you should focus on other areas that come more naturally.”Your intentions are good: You want to save your child frustration and help channel efforts into areas where success will come more easily. But what your child may hear is that you don’t think they’re that smart.Instead, your child needs you to be their champion. The fact that your child is willing to take a risk and go beyond their comfort zone is good. Assistive technology can make a huge difference and allow your child to flourish at the school newspaper or in a creative writing class.5. “If you keep coming home with unfinished schoolwork to do, you can’t hang out with your friends after school.”It’s likely that your child really can’t work any faster. This kind of remark may make kids feel like nothing they do is good enough. Kids who feel inadequate start avoiding tasks, don’t want to take risks, and may act out or rebel because they’re angry.If the completed work is correct, focus on the quality. You might say, “You did a good job. It looks like you ran out of time. I’ll call the teacher to ask about adjusting the workload.” Or, if your child is ready to self-advocate, suggest that you meet with the teacher together.