ERIC Number: ED252827
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1984-Nov
Pages: 9
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Avoiding Failure: A Developmental Language Program for Students with Dyslexia-Related Behavior.
Lesnick, Henry
There are several factors that account for the absence of college programs that adequately address students with dyslexia-related behavior, but probably none is more significant than the governmental definition regarding the condition itself. The federal law that provides for the special instruction of dyslexic students explicitly excludes those whose conditions are primarily the result of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. While it has been demonstrated that a minority of these disorders are indeed associated with intrinsic causes such as reversed cerebral asymetry and other conditions that may be genetically influenced, it is also clear that much of the behavior presently indistinguishable from that of the so-called intrinsic disorders is determined by no demonstrable intrinsic causes and is shaped by extrinsic factors such as inadequate developmental and educational experience. Nothing presently justifies viewing the law's exclusionary provision as actually explaining the causes of this condition, nor should it dictate the educational policy toward it. The characteristic language problems of dyslexic adults are poor decoding and encoding ability. They must be taught basic phonics and word attack skills that were never mastered and that are prerequisites for them to achieve higher levels of literacy. Through a proper program of identification and appropriate instruction, these students can achieve a degree of literacy that would otherwise elude them. (HOD)
Publication Type: Opinion Papers; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English (74th, Detroit, MI, November 16-21, 1984).