JUNE 2005

Writing, drawing help dyslexic kids read

Schoolchildren should engage in more writing and picture drawing to enhance their reading acquisition skills in Chinese language, a group of Hong Kong University (HKU) language experts recommended yesterday.

The university experts said dyslexic children can engage in writing by simply copying Chinese characters to alleviate specific learning difficulties in reading.

An HKU survey revealed that children's writing and drawing skills are strongly associated with their ability to read Chinese. This is contrary to prominent Western theories that reading acquisition abilities are built on people's phonological sensitivities.

With the help of 131 Beijing schoolchildren, aged seven to 10, the university conducted a variety of reading, writing, picture drawing and sound awareness tests in recent months. In the tests, children were required to read some Chinese characters accurately and copy samples of Chinese characters as well as line-drawing pictures.

Siok Wai-tang, the university's assistant research professor in linguistics, said the survey's results have showed children's writing skills are closely associated with their reading abilities.

Siok said: "Throughout the writing process, children can learn to deconstruct Chinese characters, which are composed of strokes and subcharacter components, thereby fostering their awareness of the characters' internal structures and forming long-term memory of Chinese characters. This helps boost students' reading acquisition and writing abilities."

She said engaging in more line-drawing pictures can enhance students' reading skills.

Meanwhile, the survey found that people's phonological sensitivities have played a minor role in reading abilities.

This is because spoken Chinese is highly homophonic. While many characters share the same syllables, they are based on meaning rather than sound, Siok explained.

She suggested students with dyslexia can do more writing to cope with difficulties in reading.

Dyslexia is the most common type of specific learning difficulty. Dyslexic students often fail to read accurately and fluently. They are slow in word retrieval, or may demonstrate difficulties in visual-perceptual skills, orthographic awareness, phonological awareness or memory.

According to government figures, the Education and Manpower Bureau has handled more than 2,800 students' cases with specific learning difficulties in reading and writing over the past three years.

At present, the bureau provides assessment to identify students with dyslexia at primary and secondary schools and offers support services.

Eddie Luk
HK Edition 06/08/2005
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/08/content_449563.htm

Modern Life Can Be Tough for ADHD Parents

-- Barbara Eddy is used to swiftly "spinning" from task to task, from tending to her twins, to her work, to her husband. It's in her nature as someone diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder.

So she feels right at home in this fast and fragmented age of cell phones, Googling, and hand-held e-mail.

"Society is finally coming up to fitting me," said Eddy, from Pasadena, Calif. "The world is coming up to be perfect for me."

Any parent can be challenged by the pace of modern family life _ the blur of dropping the kids off at tae kwon do, picking up dinner and doing catch-up work on the laptop. But it can present particular possibilities and challenges for adults with attention disorders. Some, like Eddy, can take to it.

But others, like her husband, she notes, lack a consistent way to maintain focus when jumping from task to task.

"It's getting worse all the time," said Melissa Thomasson, a psychologist who runs a support group. "Sometimes we see folks who could handle it through school perhaps, and through young adulthood," she said. "And as they marry and they have children and they're working and they're handling so many things, they're not able to hold it all together."

Hallmarks of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can include a lack of focus and impulsiveness. It's also known as attention deficit disorder (ADD), a term many adults use because they are not hyperactive. Adults with attention disorders describe having great stores of energy and creativity, but trouble focusing it.

Attention disorders are usually associated with children; many people assume they just "grow out of it." But researchers say the conditions can persist into adulthood. Preliminary figures from a survey by Dr. Ronald Kessler of Harvard Medical School indicate adult ADHD affects about 4 percent of the population.

There's no evidence our faster, more fragmented lifestyle results in more cases of attention disorders. But Dr. Arthur Robin, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State University, said ADHD symptoms may create greater impairment in a technology-oriented, fast-paced society.

"People with ADHD, while they're hyperactive, the high-energy component is there so they can cope with a fast-paced situation, but they can't always multitask without dropping some of the balls," he said.

Adults with attention disorders typically find coping strategies to get through the days, things like keeping reminder lists or detailed planners. They often have a spouse handle the bills and keep track of birthdays. At work, they'll have an office assistant mind the books.

New York City resident Anita Gold, who was diagnosed with the disorder, said she relied on a housekeeper and secretaries to cope when she was raising her children and working as a publishing executive. Eddy keeps color-coded notebooks keeping track of her family and professional lives.

But those strategies become harder in a dual-income family where both spouses are stretched for time. Thomasson notes that the proliferation of e-mail and hand-held communications devices has led to many workers essentially acting as their own secretaries.

Dr. Edward Hallowell, who has written books about ADHD, said a rapid-fire lifestyle can actually be a good thing for maybe half the people with attention disorders _ such as Eddy _ because they can easily shift from task to task.

"When they get stimulation they get adrenaline and adrenaline is nature's own stimulant medication. Chemically, it's very similar to Ritalin," he said.

But everyone is different, and that same combination of one thing after another, day after day can overwhelm anyone, whether or not they have an attention disorder. Hallowell said time management, priority-setting and organization are more important than ever.

"If you're not careful," he said, "you can get lost in the thicket."

By MICHAEL HILL
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 9, 2005; 5:18 AM
Taken from The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060900310_pf.html

Social worker describes her approach to special education

One day as a school social worker

The government wants more schools in England to provide a range of services as well as education, and a debate is going on over the best way to educate children with special needs.

Ann Barlock offers a perspective from Michigan in the US, where she is a school social worker.

It is 7.30am and I am on my way to one of the elementary schools where I work. Normally I start at 8.15, but today I have a meeting with a mother who has to be at work by 8.30.

We are having a meeting with Michael's teacher to discuss his progress and what we can do about his unusual behaviour.

Michael displays characteristics of high functioning autism, which makes it difficult to handle him in the classroom. However, there are strategies that can help him socially and academically.

Fortunately, Michael's mother is co-operative and his teacher believes in inclusion.

In addition to reasonable allowances being made for him in the classroom, Michael will join our friendship group once a week where students like him practise appropriate social skills.

Team effort

In Michigan, students with disabilities must be educated with their peers without disabilities, to the extent appropriate to meet their educational needs.

A multi-disciplinary therapeutic support team assists the teachers to accommodate students while providing therapy to help their progress in the general curriculum. School social workers are a part of this therapeutic team.

The title of social worker often conjures up images of child protection and social welfare, but school social workers are Masters-level therapists who evaluate students and make educational recommendations.

School social workers are an integral part of the evaluation team when considering emotional and autistic impairments.

We provide individual and small group therapeutic services as well as crisis intervention.

School social workers also provide the link between the school and outside mental health services to meet the complex needs of struggling children and families.

Concerns

After catching up with some paperwork, I collect Annabel from a fifth grade classroom.

Annabel is a pretty, intelligent 11-year-old, but her performance in school is very poor and she has no friends.

Her mother is an alcoholic and I suspect she has been sexually abused by one of her mother's boyfriends.

She often prepares her own evening meal and no-one helps with her homework.

We talk about how she can stay organised at school and I offer strategies to fend off unwanted advances.

Unfortunately, our meeting is interrupted by a call from the school secretary. I apologise to Annabel, promise to see her next week, and take her back to her class on my way to the school office.

Fostered

Matthew is a new boy at the school and crying uncontrollably outside the principal's office.

He was recently removed from his home and placed with a foster family. This is his second new home in three months and things are already off to a bad start.

Matthew is preoccupied with the loss of his mother and worried he might never return home.

Meanwhile, he fears a one-way trip to a residential treatment facility if his behaviour does not improve.

He is attempting to ease his pain by taking things from other children in the classroom.

Matthew needs one-to-one support to calm down, accept responsibility for his behaviour, and rehearse an apology before returning the stolen book.

He is embarrassed and struggling to make friends during this time of distress.

I make a note to call his foster mother as Matthew said he hadn't taken his medication for two days.

Close support

The highlight of my day is meeting with a resilient boy named Bradley.

At age six, Bradley was verbally and physically aggressive with staff if they asked him to capitalise the first letter of a sentence.

He was placed full-time in a classroom for students with emotional or behavioural impairments, where he received reading and maths instruction.

I worked closely with the teacher to develop a behavioural plan designed to reinforce desired behaviour and establish appropriate consequences for undesirable behaviour.

Since Bradley's mother was unwilling to help and his father was in prison, the responsibility fell solely on the school.

Bradley also met me on a weekly basis to identify his emotions, express them appropriately, and develop strategies for resolving conflicts.

Bradley gradually improved in all areas and now, four years later, is fully back in mainstream classes with regular education peers.

He still drops by my office to share stories or regroup after an unpleasant visit with his father.

Bright but 'odd'

After lunch, I am due to have a meeting with our diagnostic team, the school principal, and a classroom teacher.

This is to discuss Edward, who meets criteria as emotionally impaired (EI) and who is also well above average in all academic areas without special education support.

Everyone agrees he is very odd, and occasionally disruptive, but the medical community cannot agree on a diagnosis, and his parents cannot agree on methods to raise their son.

Edward's teachers are frustrated and want him placed in an EI classroom. I do not agree and decide to advocate for Edward.

Although an EI placement will result in immediate relief for the teacher and his parents it might also result in academic underachievement for this bright boy.

His parents are a bit timid, both high school dropouts, but willing to do anything necessary to help their son.

They agree to attend parenting classes on a weekly basis and I agree to find financial support for the services.

In the meantime, the teachers will implement a behaviour plan and I will link the family with a psychiatrist outside of school.

Dying

In the month before our next meeting Edward will have individual sessions with a school social worker to learn appropriate social behaviour.

The remainder of my day is spent doing classroom observations and consulting with teachers on behavioural issues.

Before leaving I give a teacher information about grief since the father of one of his students is dying from cancer.

I make a note to call the mother, to schedule a meeting with her son, and to attend the fundraiser for the family next week.

There are just two reports to finish before tomorrow and, hopefully, a little extra time to go for a bike ride after school and recharge for another day.

Names in this article have been changed.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/education/4101234.stm
Published: 2005/06/17 10:44:04 GMT
© BBC MMV

Shortage of Teachers forces Global Search

Local school officials say they are looking abroad for educators to deal with a short supply of U.S. teachers and to engage in cultural exchanges with other countries.

Public school officials in Loudoun County -- the fastest-growing county in Virginia -- have hired 55 teachers from 14 different countries, including Costa Rica and Mexico. In Washington County, Md., school officials plan to employ as many as 10 foreign teachers next fall.

Meanwhile, Fairfax County is using educators primarily from Japan as foreign-language and culture-immersion teachers. Prince George's County and the District are hiring teachers from the Philippines, Spain, Nigeria, Turkey and countries in South America to fill shortages in various curriculums, officials said.

The foreign-teaching hires meet a critical need while providing a "cultural-exchange opportunity," said Wayde Byard, spokesman for Loudoun County public schools.

"This is not [foreign workers] taking U.S. teachers' jobs," Mr. Byard said. "Between us and Fairfax [County], we'll take every graduate the 38 accredited education colleges in Virginia produce -- so we recruit worldwide."

Loudoun County currently employs 3,578 teachers and will hire 800 new ones over the summer. Mr. Byard said the hires will cover the teacher-attrition rate and fill 225 positions created for the district's five new schools, which will open in the fall.

Patricia Abernethy, deputy schools superintendent in Washington County, said school officials turned to overseas educators only after failing to recruit enough homegrown teachers.

"We have advertised in newspapers and online, and we are not able to find sufficient teachers for our needs," said Miss Abernethy, whose school system employs about 1,500 teachers a year and has about 100 vacancies. "If we could find teachers in our country, we would do it."

School officials have attributed the teacher shortage to such factors as an aging and retiring teacher population, an inability to retain teachers who are dissatisfied with pay and classroom discipline, and an increasing student enrollment.

In addition, colleges and universities are not producing enough teachers to meet state needs. For example, Maryland public schools needed to hire 5,900 teachers in 2003, when state colleges graduated about 2,300, officials said.

Stepping into the breach is the Visiting International Faculty Program. Based in Chapel Hill, N.C., VIF has provided foreign teachers for 33 school districts in Virginia, including Arlington, Loudoun, Prince William and Spotsylvania counties.

Nationally, VIF has provided U.S. schools with 1,800 teachers from 52 different countries, with Colombia producing the most teachers (237) and Jamaica offering the second most (128).

VIF applicants must be fluent in English, hold a degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree, be a certified teacher in their home country, have at least three years of teaching experience, pass a background check and have at least two years of driving experience, program spokesman Ned Glasock said.

The foreign teachers are paid on the same salary schedule as their American counterparts. In addition, VIF teachers are given visas that allow them to stay in the country no more than three years. They do not apply for or receive green cards.

Officials in Washington County have reluctantly turned to VIF to fill its teaching vacancies.
"That was the sole purpose -- filling positions that were vacant that we couldn't fill with U.S. teachers. We just didn't have any other choice," said Paul Bailey, president of the Washington County Board of Education.

Importing teachers saves school systems in Social Security payments and benefits, which the VIF provides.

Wayne Ridenour, a member of the Washington County school board and a former teacher, had reservations about hiring VIF teachers.

"I'm afraid that because it is a little cheaper and easier, we're going to have it as a crutch later. I want to bring our own teachers -- bring them, keep them," he said. "I'm very concerned that this will become a crutch."

Founded in 1989, VIF does not currently send U.S. teachers overseas, but has done so in the past.

By Amy Doolittle
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20050615-110828-6822r.htm
Published June 16, 2005