Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-d8cs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-30T13:53:45.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

16 - What successful adults with dyslexia teach educators about children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

By
Rosalie Fink
Edited by
Kurt W. Fischer ,
Jane Holmes Bernstein  and
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Rosalie Fink
Affiliation:
Professor of Literacy Lesley University
Kurt W. Fischer
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts
Jane Holmes Bernstein
Affiliation:
The Children's Hospital, Boston
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Get access

Summary

Overview: A major problem in teaching dyslexic children is their learned negativity toward reading, built from multiple frustrating and embarrassing encounters with printed text. Fink suggests going beyond goals that treat reading comprehension and fluency as if they are disembodied skills, and argues for the importance of the motivating forces of affect and interest. Reading, after all, is about the skill of getting information through text. Based on her in-depth study of successful adult dyslexics, Fink suggests several affective hooks to draw in reluctant dyslexic children, especially emphasizing their individual interests and passions and catering to them. This essay provides a reminder that in the end, one major purpose of studying dyslexia is to translate the research into effective strategies to help learning-disabled children become successful adults.

The Editors

This essay analyzes development in 60 highly successful men and women with dyslexia and relates the boy William (Bernstein, this volume) to these adults' histories. The 60 men and women developed literacy three to four years later than normally developing peers (Fink, 1995/96, 1998a, 1998b, 2000a, 2000b; Mascolo, Li, Fink, & Fischer, 2002). They followed non-linear developmental pathways similar to a pathway found in children by Fischer and his colleagues (Fischer & Bidell, 1998; Fischer & Knight, 1990; Fischer, Rose, & Rose, this volume).

The men and women include professionals in a variety of fields that require sophisticated reading (i.e. law, medicine, business, and the arts and sciences).

Type
Chapter
Information
Mind, Brain, and Education in Reading Disorders , pp. 264 - 281
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, J. R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Blalock, J. W. (1981). Persistent problems and concerns of young adults with learning disabilities. In Cruickshank, W. M. and Silver, A. A. (eds), Bridges to tomorrow: The best of ACDL, 35–55. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Brown, J. I., Fischco, V. V. & Hanna, G. (1993). Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Form H. Chicago: Riverside.Google Scholar
Bruck, M. (1990). Word recognition skills of adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia. Developmental Psychology, 26(3), 439–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camp, D. (2001). It takes two: Teaching with twin texts of fact and fiction. The Reading Teacher, 53(5), 400–8.Google Scholar
Chall, J. S. (1983). Stages of reading development. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Literacy and intrinsic motivation. In Graubard, S. R. (ed.) Literacy: An overview of 14 experts. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.Google Scholar
Curie, E. (1937). Madame Curie. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Felton, R. H., Naylor, C. E. & Wood, F. B. (1990). Neuropsychological profile of adult dyslexics. Brain and Language, 39, 485–97.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fink, R. P. (1992). Successful dyslexics' alternative pathways for reading: A developmental study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Dissertation Abstracts International, F4965.Google Scholar
Fink, R. P. (1995/1996). Successful dyslexics: A constructivist study of passionate interest reading. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 39(4), 268–80.Google Scholar
Fink, R. P. (1998a). Literacy development in successful men and women with dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 48, 311–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fink, R. P. (1998b). Successful dyslexics: A constructivist study of passionate interest reading. In. C. Weaver, A balanced approach to reading instruction. National Council of Teachers of English.
Fink, R. P. (2000a). Gender and imagination: Gender conceptualization and literacy development in successful adults with reading disabilities. Learning Disabilities, 10(3), 183–96.Google Scholar
Fink, R. P. (2000b). Gender, self-concept, and reading disabilities. Thalamus, 18(1), 15–33.Google Scholar
Fink, R. P. (2006). Why Jane and John couldn't read – and how they learned. Newark DE: International Reading Association.Google Scholar
Finucci, J. M., Gottfredson, L. S. & Childs, B. (1985). A follow-up study of dyslexic boys. Annals of Dyslexia, 35, 117–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fischer, K. W. & Biddell, T. R. (1998). Dynamic development of psychological structures in action and thought. In Lerner, R. M. (ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Vol 1: Theoretical models of human development, 5th edn, 467–561. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Fischer, K. W. & Connell, M. W. (2003). Two motivational systems that shape development: Epistemic and self-organizing. British Journal of Educational Psychology: Monograph Series II, 2, 103–123.Google Scholar
Fischer, K. W. & Knight, C. C. (1990). Cognitive development in real children: Levels and variations. In Presseisen, B. (ed.), The at-risk student and thinking: Perspectives from research. National Education Association.Google Scholar
Fowler, A. E. & Scarborough, H. S. (1993). Should reading-disabled adults be distinguished from other adults seeking literacy instruction? A review of theory and research (Technical Report #TR93–7). Philadelphia, PA: National Center on Adult Literacy.Google Scholar
Gerber, P. J., Ginsberg, R. & Reiff, H. B. (1992). Identifying alterable patterns in employment success for highly successful adults with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 475–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilligan, C. (1982/1993). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Keller, E. F. (1983). A feeling for the organism: The life and work of BarbaraMcClintock. New York: Freeman.Google Scholar
Kindlon, D. & Thompson, M. (1999). Raising Cain: Protecting the emotional life of boys. New York: Ballantine Publishing Group, Random House.Google Scholar
LaBerge, D. & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mascolo, M., Li, J., Fink, R. and Fischer, K. (2002). Pathways to excellence: Value presuppositions and the development of academic and affective skills in educational contexts. In Ferrari, M. (ed.), The pursuit of excellence in education, 113–46. Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Moses, R. P. & Cobb, C. (2001). Radical equations: Math literacy and civil rights. Boston: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
National Council of Teachers of English (1998). Guidelines for a gender-balanced curriculum in English. 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL.
Odean, K. (1997). Great books for girls. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Odean, K. (1998). Great books for boys. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Orton Dyslexia Society Research Committee. (1994). Operational definition of dyslexia. In C. Scruggs (ed.), Perspectives, 20(5), 4.
Pollack, W. (1998). Real boys: Rescuing our sons from the myths of boyhood.New York: Henry Holt and Company.Google Scholar
Prosenjak, N. (1999). Reading across the grain of gender. Paper presented at the meeting of the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association, February, 1999.
Radway, J. A. (1991). Reading the romance: Women, patriarchy, and popular literature. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Rawson, M. (1968). Developmental language disability: Adult accomplishments of dyslexic boys. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Reder, S. & Vogel, S. (1997). Lifespan employment and economic outcomes for adults with self-reported learning disabilities. In Gerber, P. & Brown, D. (eds), Learning disabilities and employment. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed Publishers.Google Scholar
Roffman, A. (2000). Adults with learning disabilities: Life-long struggles. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Google Scholar
Roswell, F. G. & Chall, J. S. (1992). Diagnostic assessments of reading with trial teaching strategies. Chicago: Riverside.Google Scholar
Rumelhart, D. E. (1980). Schemata: The building blocks of cognition. In Spiro, R., Bruce, B. & Brewer, W. (eds), Theoretical issues in reading comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Scarborough, H. S. (1984). Continuity between childhood dyslexia and adult reading. British Journal of Psychology, 75, 329–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaywitz, B., Fletcher, J. & Shaywitz, S. (1994). The conceptual framework for learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Canadian Journal of Special Education, 9(3), 1–32.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S. & Griffin, P. (eds) (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Vogel, S. A. & Reder, S. (1998a). Literacy proficiency among adults with self-reported learning disabilities. In Smith, M. C. (ed.), Literacy for the 21st century: Research, policy, and practice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing (Praeger).Google Scholar
Vogel, S. A. & Reder, S. (1998b). Educational attainment of adults with learning disabilities. In Vogel, S. A. and Reder, S. (eds), Learning disabilities, literacy, and adult education. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.Google Scholar
Whitehead, F. & Maddren, W. (1974). Children's reading interests (Schools Council Working Paper No. 52). London, England: University of Sheffield Institute of Education, Schools Council Research Project into Children's Reading Habits.Google Scholar
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. & Rodriguez, D. (1998). The development of children's motivation in school contexts. Review of Research in Education, 23, 73–118.Google Scholar
Wolf, M. (1997). A provisional, integrative account of phonological and naming speed deficits in dyslexia: Implications for diagnosis and intervention. In Blackman, B. (ed), Cognitive and linguistic foundations of reading acquisition: Implications for intervention research. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Wolf, M. & Katzir-Cohen, T. (2001). Reading fluency and its intervention. Scientific Studies of Reading, 5, 211–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Shelby A. (1998). The flight of reading: Shifts in instruction, orchestration, and attitudes through classroom theatre. Reading Research Quarterly, 33(4), 382–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×