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Showing posts with label hearing problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hearing problems. Show all posts

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

2e STORY. As an 11-year-old, broadcaster and author Nelson Lauver was evaluated by the family doctor, who concluded that Lauver "had limited intelligence and lacked serious motivation," according to an article at PennLive.com. Social promotions kept him going from grade to grade until he graduated at the bottom of his class. At age 29, Lauver discovered that he had dyslexia. He has authored a memoir, Most Unlikely to Succeed, The Trials, Travels and Ultimate Triumphs of a ‘Throwaway’ Kid. Find out more. 
HEARING AND ACADEMICS. An article in THE Journal states, "a growing body of research indicates hearing loss--even a minimal amount--can have a dramatic effect on everything from attention and behavior to academic performance." According to the article, about 20 percent of K-12 students might have some type of hearing difficulties. Read the article.
UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED. Still sharing her experiences from Edufest, Tamara Fisher related four "epiphanies" shared with her by teachers at the conference. One started out this way:
  • Fisher: What did you used to think and believe about gifted students and gifted education? 
  • Teacher: I used to believe that gifted ed starts in 3rd grade and that students who are gifted always do well academically unless they are lazy.
Can you guess where that leads? Find Fisher's blog and the rest of the teacher's insight.  
BRAINWORKS. Carla Crutsinger continues on the topic of handwriting and dysgraphia in a Q&A titled "Is It Laziness or Is It a Handwriting Problem." Got a kid with bad handwriting? Check out the newsletter. (And be sure to read the introductory "dialog" between teacher and pupil.)
FISH OIL AND BRAIN POWER. Thinking about using fish oil (DHA) supplements to improve focus in that 2e kid you know? Check out an article in the Los Angeles Times that covers the claims and the evidence for the effectiveness of the supplement.
AUTISM AND PRONOUNS. Children with autism may refer to themselves as "you," an error reflecting "a disordered neural representation of the self," according to a new study. Brain imaging showed "diminished synchronization" in two brain areas during pronoun use. The error may also be connected with an inability to shift viewpoints. Read about the study.
WISC-IV DISCREPANCIES. A thread at the "Gifted Issues Discussion Forum" at the Davidson Institute website concerns big gaps between processing speed and working memory scores, on the one hand, and perceptual reasoning and verbal comprehension on the other. You might know that such gaps can be markers of twice exceptionality. Find the thread.
AND FINALLY, THIS. A University of Essex study of video gamers indicates that rather than running away from something during play, the gamers are actually trying on new traits or characteristics -- in effect, according to the researchers, "running towards their ideals. They are not escaping to nowhere, they are escaping to somewhere." Read more to understand that gamer in your household.

Reading, Hearing, Educational Videos, and a School for 2e Children

READING AND THE MIND. On the Scientific American website, you can read an interesting interview with neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene on how the mind makes sense of written language. In his research, Dehaene wondered how the brain and culture interact, and he's come to the conclusion that "the brain did not evolve for culture, but culture evolved to be learnable by the brain." He hypothesizes that the elements of written language stem from shapes that the brain was already "wired" to see in primates. He contends, for example, that monkey brains already contain neurons that preferentially respond to shapes in nature such as T, L, and Y, and that we with our human culture have recycled these shapes for use in language. He describes his findings about the left-hemisphere region of the brain that activates when we read, which he calls the "letterbox." He also suggests that dyslexia is a failure to properly interconnect letter with speech sounds. (He does acknowledge, however, that dyslexia is a very heterogeneous condition.) Read the interview.

EDUCATION VIDEOS, ORGANIZED. According to Education Week, one of the founders of Wikipedia has launched a website to provide free access to over 10,000 educational videos for students up to 18 years old. In the article, the organizer describes his site as "YouTube meets Wikipedia." Find the article. Find the site.

CAN'T HEAR, CAN'T LEARN. Education Week also pointed us to a podcast on the topic of hearing screenings for students. According to the article, The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association says that 2.5 million U.S. students have mild hearing loss, which can cause them to miss much of what transpires in the classroom. The Association's podcast is about 22 minutes long and explains how parents can ensure their children are screened. Find it. Other podcasts on the site deal with care tips for young athletes with concussions; protecting the hearing of the young; language delay; and aphasia (discussed by the creator of the comic strip For Better or For Worse).

2e SCHOOL IN SCOTTSDALE. In a recent issue of 2e Newsletter, we wrote about a soon-to-be opened school for young, twice-exceptional students in Scottsdale, Arizona. We hear from co-founder Kelly Rostan that the opening of the Open Doors Learning Center has been moved to January, 2010. Rostan says that the school is still accepting applications from families looking for alternative education for their 2e children. For more information, visit http://www.opendoorscenter.org/.