The present study is unique and the first of its kind in the world. The study was undertaken as part of the thesis prepared by Hemda Amit Ben Simhon of the Neuro-developmental Center at Maccabi HMO, supervised by Prof. Rosenblum, and in consultation with Dr. Eynat Gal, an autism specialist, both from the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Haifa. The study included 60 children aged 9-12 from the 3rd through 6th grades at various schools. Half the subjects were children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder with IQs above 80, while the other halves were children with normal development. The children were asked to complete three writing tasks: writing the first name and family name; copying a paragraph; and writing a story describing a picture that was shown to them.
Study describing cognition differences in autism
Her son, Cole, now in eighth grade, is reading at a fourth-grade level, despite years of intervention. When Cole was in third grade, he was so depressed that he wrote he wanted to die. Yet, Arena says — and experts confirm — that many schools are afraid to use the “D” word, perhaps because they worry a diagnosis will trigger costly services. “We need to take the blindfolds off,” says Arena, who is also president of the Rhode Island chapter of Decoding Dyslexia, a national advocacy group. “We are not educating our teachers to know the signs and symptoms of dyslexia. To reach these children, you need the right education, early screening and early intervention.”
Yet Rhode Island public schools don’t screen for the disability, nor does the state require teachers to be trained in specific methods to address it, which can result in children feeling depressed, withdrawn and falling further behind in school
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Rhode Island students are at a high risk of falling behind in a program that doesn’t recognize dyslexia.
- School systems may shy away from the word “dyslexia” due to costly treatments associated with it.
- Legislation in the senate would require screening at an early age as well as teacher training to be able to spot children with learning difficulties.
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