Learning Disabilities: How to Find Help for Your Child

Clearly, most educators value every core subject equally, and find them fundamental to the student's overall ability to grasp higher learning concepts; nonetheless, literacy acquisition seems to touch every aspect of a student's life in and outside the classroom in a very unique and all-encompassing way. Because of this truth, we educators and parents need to employ intervention tactics for reading literacy at the earliest possible point in the education process. The question remains, when can we accurately detect delays in a child's acquisition of early literacy skills, and once found, how can we intervene constructively? Fortunately, research for just this purpose was made possible through funding by Nemours BrightStart! Dyslexia Initiative. Once funded, it was possible to begin the projects; and, through a longitudinal study across 38 child-care sites, 220 children were identified as "at risk" for reading failure through screening measures of early literacy skills ( Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ).

Interestingly, according to Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Snow, burns & Griffin, (1998), "There is a widespread recognition that children arrive at the critical kindergarten juncture with variable states of readiness and that the quality of early learning experiences and environments contributes substantially to that variability" (as quoted by Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ). Furthermore, Fielding Kerr, and Rosier, (2007) estimated that up to 40% of children entering kindergarten are 1 or more years behind their peers in critical language and reading readiness skill (as quoted by Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ). Obviously, it is crucial that this critical information is addressed; and yesterday was not soon enough. Therefore, more studies were launched to target developmentally appropriate intervention designed to teach emergent literacy skills to preschoolers considered "at risk" for reading failure ( Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ).

Coincidentally, few prekindergarten projects existed prior to, but several began well after the government initiated the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001;" and, these studies have made great strides in developing targeted programs for language acquisition in "at risk" students; and, have made a substantial positive impact, even during brief interventions. For example, of the studies implemented, highly-qualified teachers were thoroughly trained in order to implement the intervention studies, which accurately identified "at risk" prekindergarten students for later reading failure, or language-impairment. Clearly, after identification, and 9 weeks of targeted early intervention, consisting of three, one hour sessions per week, these "at risk" students made great strides in literacy acquisition; and, closed a significant gap between them and non-risk students of the same age ( Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ).

Despite the evidence of accurate prediction and early detection for student's future language acquisition failures; and, regardless of the fact that tried-and-true intervention curricula and training are made available to highly qualified teachers, these valuable resources aren't yet implemented in preschool settings; but, can be accessed through state programs or federally funded programs like, but not limited to Easter Seals. Clearly, educational professional have several valid concerns that have caused hesitancy with early education teachers, psychologists, and administrators. One such concern involves the real possibility of young children being inappropriately labeled at a time when their skills are still developing. Evidently, each child develops differently, and although they pass through developmental stages in the exact same order, they may not acquire skills at the same age. Another point to consider is the difficulty in assessing prekindergarten students because of age-related characteristics. Case in point, prekindergarten students have extremely short attention spans, and are less social, plausibly making direct instruction unpredictable at best. A third issue is the educator's preferences when teaching such young children. For example, many teachers prefer a child-initiated approach, in which case, direct instruction would be inappropriate ( Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ).

From my experience, I've found early intervention most advantageous and extremely effective. For example, my daughter (Jessica) suffered from dyslexia, which made it impossible for her to enjoy the computer-time that her brother (James) loved. It is because of the computer learning programs and games available at the time, that we realized she had a disability. In a quest to help, my husband and I found learning software like but not limited to "Reader Rabbit" ( SuperKids 1998-2010). Without a doubt, Jessica began to move past the disability. For a long period, we continued to assist her through use of these programs; consequently, she caught-up with the normal learning curve, and overcame dyslexia before she knew that she had a disability. Interestingly, by the time she ended her second year of school, Jessica was reading "Rikki Tikki Tavi", and by 3rd grade, "Pippi Longstockings" and "The Pink Dress." By age 10, she was eagerly collecting a story called, "The Christy Miller Series," and "The Wayfarer Redemption." Thankfully, my daughter is an avid reader today for several reasons; the first being, reading was a major form of entertainment in our home as TV was limited to a few educational programs; secondly, she needed to read in order to play the much loved computer learning games with her brother; and thirdly, she never knew she had a learning disability until she had conquered the art of reading.

In conclusion, I believe that reading literacy seems to touch every aspect of a student's life, in and outside the classroom in a very unique and all-encompassing way. Because of this truth, we educators need to employ intervention tactics to assist with literacy acquisition at the earliest possible point in the education process. Through reading the article on early prekindergarten intervention, it confirmed my personal experience on the positive impact we experienced in overcoming Jessica's disability. Additionally, the longitudinal studies recorded in the article were well documented and employed across multiple real-life preschool institutions. For me, this further validates the findings. Finally, as a student that struggled with dyslexia and speech disabilities as a child, I am impressed with the early progress made with young students, as well as, the documentation acquired through the scientific investigations acknowledged in the article titled, "Emergent Literacy Intervention for Prekindergarteners at Risk for Reading Failure" ( Bailet, Repper, Piasta & Murphy 2009 ).