World of Dyslexia newsletter

World of Dyslexia Newsletter - September 01

This month we have news about the following items:

** Dyslexic Beats the Bar

** Word Frequency lists

** English is Europe's toughest language to learn

** Orange juice and ADD

** Gerard Sagmiller's story

** Computer Game Helps Dyslexics

Please note that a copy of this newsletter has been set up at

www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/newsletter.html

with 'live' links to save you the trouble of having to copy and paste them into your browser.

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Dyslexic Beats the Bar

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A determined dyslexic woman has finally won her eight-year fight to take the state bar exam with a computer and other aids to help overcome her disability.

Manhattan federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor ruled yesterday that Marilyn Bartlett's dyslexia qualified her as a disabled person under federal law - and therefore entitled to "accommodations" in taking the bar exam.

Read Marilyn Bartlett's full story at:

www.dyslexia-adults.com/a43.html

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Word Frequency Lists

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This useful page includes the 100 most common words, the 300 most common words - from the American Heritage Word Frequency Book, and, of course, the Dolch List.

From 50 to 75 percent of all words used in school books, library books, newspapers, and magazines are in the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary of 220 words. They are "service words" (pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and verbs) which cannot be learned through the use of pictures. Because they are used to hold thoughts together, these words must be recognized at a glance before a child can read with confidence.

www.dyslexia-parent.com/dolch.html

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English is Europe's toughest language to learn

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Despite being the world's most commonly used language (apart from Chinese, I believe), English is the most difficult European language to learn to read. Children learning other languages master the basic elements of literacy within a year, but kids growing up in English-speaking/reading/writing families take two-and-a-half years to reach the same point.

In the most extensive cross-national study ever, Philip Seymour of Dundee University UK and his team compared the reading abilities of children in 15 European countries. They found that those learning Romance languages such as Italian and French progressed faster than those learning a Germanic language such as German and English. "Children do seem to find English particularly complex and problematic though," says Seymour.

www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t114.html

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Orange juice and ADD

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We all know about the allergic reactions suffered by children with ADD - chocolate, sugar, additives and Cola drinks especially. But what about orange juice? Pure as a mountain stream, you'd think, but read the experiences reported in Dot's Diary:

http://dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t17.html

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Gerard Sagmiller's story

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"Why can't I read like the other kids?” 8-year-old Girard thought to himself as he sat in class. The sun was shining in through the classroom windows, creating a shadow from the paper pumpkins on the window the other kids had made. Just like the shadow of the pumpkin, Girard's life was shadowed by the other students’ performance. His own growth was not being considered but was being compared to the performance of his fellow students.