The ABCs of RTI

Response to Intervention (RTI) can be overwhelming: You may have to process your feelings, decide the best way to advocate for your child, and determine how to best approach educators and administrators. As a parent and educator, myself, I realize how much information is presented to you during the process. Therefore, I have developed these ABCs of RTI to help you as you navigate this journey.

1. Advocate. It is the best way to support your child. YOU are the best advocate for your child and know your child’s strengths and struggles, which can provide invaluable insights to the team.
2. Breathe, and recognize this may be a marathon, not a sprint, to discover the ways to best help your child succeed academically (in and out of the classroom).
3. Collaborate and be a team player. Ask questions like, “Can you help me better understand how to support my child at home?” and find out to whom you should communicate future questions. In addition, always bring your calendar to each meeting.
4. Design a binder in which to keep and organize all communications. Create and label tabs, such as the following: team meetings, teacher conferences, work samples, homework observations, and resources.
5. Expect to do research and know your district’s policy on RTI, which can be found on most district’s websites (search keywords: board policy). Explore your state’s department of education website and become familiar with RTI in your state. Please note that districts and states are in different phases of RTI implementation. For information beyond RTI, check out the information about Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/. Also, check out https://www.understood.organd be sure to bookmark https://dyslexiaida.org/.

Close Reading

Definition of Close Reading: Close reading is a strategy for making meaning of complex texts through four critical phases of understanding: literal, analytical, conceptual, and evaluative.  All of these phases serve in supporting students' discovery of the text's implicit messages, overall significance, and mastery.

What does all this mean?

Within the text, there are different phases of learning, there is the Literal Phase, Analytical Phase,

Conceptual Phase, and Evaluative Phase.  During each phase of reading the student should instructed to stop and questions should be ask, reflecting on each area.  For example:

Phase of Understanding           Questions Answered                   

Literal                                        What kind of text is this?              

                                                    What does the text sound like?     

                                                    What does the text say?                

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                   

Analytical                                   How does the text express itself? 

                                                    What is implied?                            

                                                    What does it mean?                       

                                                                                                     

Conceptual                                  What does the whole text mean?   

                                                      What is the text's overall message? 

Evaluative                                    What is the significance of the text?    

                                                       Why does this text matter?              

                                                                                                                

Principles of Instruction for a Dyslexic Student

Explicit Direct Instruction:

Explicit instruction requires use of straightforward, consistent, and precise language for direct

teaching of all skills and strategies with continuous student-teacher interaction and use of as much scaffolding as needed.   An outline of explicit instruction is as follows:

• Teacher Connects to Prior Knowledge: Teacher connects to what was recently taught to what the teacher will teach.

• Auditory Introduction:  The teacher introduces the lesson and the student is only required to listen

• Direct Instruction with Visual:  The teacher gives the student a visual on what they will learn and explain the lesson utilizing the visual

• Multi Sensory Reinforcement: The student writes or utilizes their other senses in order to understand the lesson

• Oral Reading:  The student will read vocabulary that is related to the text

• Spelling: The student will learn additional vocabulary related to the lesson by spelling out the words

• Reading Connected to text: The student will read a passage, article, or short story related to the lesson

• As the student work, the teacher provides corrective feedback as needed.

Sensory Integration

Sensory Integration is:
Building neural pathways between right and left brain.

It is possible to build new neural connections between left and right brain hemispheres.  Doing this enhances a person's ability to retrieve learned information and problem solve, which enhances reading.

How to improve sensory integration:
Simple physical exercises which cross the body midline from right to left and left to right helps to improve sensory integration.

Examples of Sensory Integration Activities:

• Skip rope while memorizing Math Facts

• Juggle stuffed animal or soft balls

• Cross hands and place fingers over opposite eyebrows, breathe deeply, relax

In summary, dyslexics tend to be imaginative and highly intelligent, and learn to read extremely well when taught using right brain techniques instead of left brain techniques.

Parent Tips

Tips for helping with Schoolwork

• Show an interest in your child's homework.  Ask about the courses and the work that should be done.  Ask question that require an answer longer than a one word answer. 

• Help your child organize their homework material before beginning

• To avoid procrastination, develop a regular time to do homework with your child 

• Locate a specific space in your home for your child to do their homework.  A space that has  lots of space and light

• Encourage your child to ask questions and take time to figure out the right answers.

• Practice school taught skills at home

• Relate homework to your child's everyday life

• Be a role model, also read a book or magazine with your child

• Praise your child for both the small steps and big leaps in the right direction

Types of Learning Disabilitiees

Types of Specific Learning Disabilities:

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD):  This is a conditions that affects how sound that travels through the ear is processed or interpreted by the brain.  Individuals with APD do not recognize subtle differences between sound in words, even when the sounds are loud and clear enough to be heard.  They can also find it difficult to figure out where sounds are coming from, to make sense of the order of sound, or to block out competing background noises.

Dyscalculia: A specific learning disability that affects a person's ability to understand numbers and Math facts.  Individuals with this type of learning disability may also have poor comprehension of math symbols, may struggle with memorizing and organizing numbers, have difficulty telling time, or having trouble with counting. 

Dysgraphia: A specific learning disability that affects a person's handwriting ability and fine motor skills.  Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spacial planning on paper, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing as well as thinking and writing at the same time.  

Dyslexia:  A specific learning disability that affects reading and related language-based processing skills.  Dyslexia can affects reading fluencing, decoding, reading comprehension, recall, writing, spelling, and sometimes speech.  

Language Processing Disorder: A specific type of Auditory Processing Disorder in which there is difficulty attaching meaning to sound groups that form words, sentences and stories.  Language Processing Disorder only applies to processing of language and not sound.  

Non-Verbal Learning Disability: Indivisuals with Non-Verbal Learning Disability have trouble interpreting non-verbal cues  like facial expressions or body language, and may have poor coordination.

Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Deficit: A disorder that affects the understanding of information that a person sees, or the ability to copy information. 

The Brain and Learning Differences

When teaching students with learning differences, it is very important to understand how the brain functions and how it related to the student's learning disability.

How the Brain functions:

Life Skills-Left side of the  Brain:

• Handwriting
• Language (spoken and written)
• Reading
• Phonics
• Working with details and facts
• Talking
• Following Directions
• Listening to spoken language

Life Skills-Right side of the Brain:

• Spacial Relationship (where things are on a map, relationship of one object to another in space)
• Shape and pattern recognition
• Mathematical computation
• Sensitivity to Color
• Singing and music
• Art Expression
• Creativity
• Visualization
• Feelings and emotions

Where do Learning Differences Fit?

Reading Disabilities:

Unexpected difficulties with learning to decode words, to read fluently, and to comprehend what one reads.

Writing Disabilities:

Unexpected difficulties with expressing thoughts in written format.

Math Disabilities:

Unexpected difficulties with number facility and applying mathematical concepts.

Language Disabilities:

Unexpected difficulties with oral expression and listening comprehension