Do Reading Disorders,
Males, and Technology
Compute?
Paul D. Acquaro
Dr. Hui-Yin Hsu
May 3, 2006
Introduction

This presentation will identify
what a reading disorder is,
discuss the susceptibility of
males to reading disorders,
and lastly discuss how
computer technology can
help males reader become
more successful readers.
Statement of Problem




“A 2004 federal study known as the National
Assessment of Educational Progress showed that
girls did better than boys in reading” (Flannery,
2006, p.2).
The divide between male and female learners is
identified in a number of ways.
The most common being the idea that girls are quiet
learners, who absorb learning by reading and
listening while boys learn by doing.
To date there is no direct research on behalf of the
role technology can play in helping male students
identified as having reading disorders in increasing
their reading abilities
Statement of Problem (cont.)

Current research does however
identify the following




(1.) Why and how do we determine if
reading difficulties and disorders exist?
(2) What are the many factors can
contribute to reading disorders?
(3.) Is there is a perception that males
are more likely to be diagnosed as
having reading disorder than females?
(4.) Can computer based technology
can provide some assistance to troubled
readers?
Identifying Reading Difficulties

Through IDEA the student who has been document for a
reading disorder is given special educational assistance
for their reading disability.

NCLB guidelines say “even though the student’s reading
achievement scores are significantly below the student’s
overall learning potential the score’s are within the
average range”(Ross-Kidder, 2003, p.2).

Snowing et all did a study of which concluded that the
best formula for doing research on children with dyslexia
is to compare dyslexic children with that of students of the
same reading age, vice the same chorological age.

“By definition therefore, the results of any experiment
comparing dyslexic children with control children of the same
chronological age are difficult because of the ‘chicken-egg’
problem” (Nation, 2005, p. 30)
Identifying Reading Difficulties

Earlier research believed that poor readers difficulties
stem from bad word retrieval problems, as well as
others believe that poor reading may stem not only
short term memory problems but poor letter
recognition and phonological awareness.

To continue to support the idea that reading
disorders are disabilities, M. Ruth Davenport and
Carol Luaritzen provided a research article on
determining reading disabilities through the use of
over the shoulder reading analysis.

“The purpose of this article is to present Over the
Shoulder Miscue Analysis as a foundation for
reflection, the opportunity to revisit and make
meaning of a literacy event” (Davenport and
Luaritzen, 2002, p.109)
Identifying Reading Difficulties

Richards and Morse (2002) conducted research on
students with literacy learning disabilities and the role
their self esteem plays in their success.

The particular data that Richards was looking for in her
research was a comparison of the literacy growth of both
students in learning disabled student classroom settings
and regular class settings.

The goal of their research was in parallel to the goal of
this presentation:

to ascertain how students assessed as learning disabled
would respond to a literature-based instructional program
that incorporates multiple literacy’s (the extension of literacy
beyond reading and writing encompasses all forms of
communication, including computer technology, music,
dance and the visual and performing arts) (Richards and
Morse, 2002, p.3).
Identifying Reading Difficulties

“Learning to read is critical to a child’s (and adult’s) well
being. The child and adult who cannot read at a
comfortable level experience significant difficulties
mastering many types of academic content” (Lyon, ND,
p.1)

The three big questions that Lyon sees are at hand:




How do children learn to read?
Why do some children and adults have difficulties learning to
read?
How can we help most children to learn to read?
“Specifically in order for the novice reader to begin to
devote more attention and memory capacity to the text
that is being read for strong comprehension to occur,
phonological and decoding skills must be applied
accurately, fluently and automatically”( Lyon, ND, p.3).
Contributing Factors

“All children make errors in learning to read, and the
nature of those errors is generally regarded as
useful information for the teacher” (Singleton, 2005,
4).

In order to determine the reason for miscues the
belief was that students use ‘top-down’ strategies in
order to determine words and or concepts they are
having difficulty with.

This means that the students will use the MSV
concept talked about in our class: meaning
(semantic), structure (syntactic), or visual (graphic
or phonemic).
Contributing Factors

Within the research it was found that dyslexic students
“were found to employ syntactic and semantic cues much
to the same extent as the control group but the graphic
and phonemic proximity score were lower than that of the
control group” (Singleton, 5).
Male Perception

Jacqueline Lederman, Lore Kantrowitz, and
Kathleen Flannery (2005) explain the susceptibility
of boys to the various neuro-developmental
disorders that include learning and reading
disorders to name a few.


The study called into question the notion that boys are
more likely than girls to suffer from neurodevelopmental disorders.
Within this the implication is that boys are over
diagnosed and girls have been under diagnosed.

“Emerging evidence suggests that girls have been
under referred for special education services
designed to address reading problems, and boys
have been over referred”(Liedermann, Kantrowitz and
Flannery, 2005, p.109).
Male Perception


“Reading achievement as measured by
individually administered standardized
tests of reading accuracy or
comprehension that is substantially below
that expected given the person’s
chronological age, measured intelligence
and age appropriate education”
(Ledermann, Kantrowitz and Flannery,
2005, p.111).
Their study includes determination of
reading disabilities via the use of unbiased
methods to wit: race, religion, creed and
regionalism.
Computer Based Technology

“During the past three decades, research has shifted its
attention from main consideration toward the
development of word recognition to focusing on how
instruction and reading experience contribute to reading
fluency” (Irausquin et all, 2005, p247).

Using this belief the Irausquin introduced 28 students to
the use of computers during reading sessions.

“The goal of the present study is to contribute to the
knowledge on the effects of computer interventions on the
reading speed accuracy of children who have not
successfully passed the stage of beginning reading”
(Irausquin et all, 2005, p249).

Irauquin et all believe that “computers allow children to
work independently, at their own pace, and with as much
repetition as needed ”(Irausquin et all, 2005, p248).
Computer Based Technology



SeeWord is a computer program that has
been developed to aid dyslexics in a word
processing environment.
Gregor, et.al initially identifies that many
other professional educators and reports
have said that the potential benefits of the
use of word processing for people with
reading difficulties are boundless.
“The word processor gives consistent and
clear text on screen and provides spell
checking and often limited grammar
checking” (Gregor et all, 2003, 341).
Data Analysis

Lyon

maximize a teachers success in preparing for the task of
teaching children how to communicate.

Richards & Morse

“Students who participate in classrooms where multiple
literacy’s are emphasized have heightened opportunities
to become more motivated, actively engaged learners”
Richards and Morse, 2002, p.10).

Gregor

The Gregor research hypothesis “was that if dyslexic
users are enabled to configure the environment to their
own personal preferences their performance on reading
tests will improve” (Gregor et all, 2003, 341).
Links to the Web
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Lesson Plans for Parents and
Teachers
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www.pbs.org
Website for interactive learning
www.superkids.com
 www.magickeys.com

Unusual Facts

Ross-Kidder’s article explains the direction that
NCLB legislation will lead us for better or worse with
children who are properly diagnosed with reading
disabilities.

The Ross-Kidder thoroughly goes on to provide
readers with a brief description of seven of the top
reading computer based treatment programs
namely FAST ForWord, Lindamood-Bell, PhonoGraphix, Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, and Slingerland.

The article identifies that reading disabilities are
going to move away from being a school problem
and more so the problem of a parent after the
school identifies it as an issue.
Unusual Facts (cont.)

This is very disheartening to me
not only as a future educator but
as a parent. The support and
lessons should come from the
institution not a computer
program they use at home a few
hours a week on top of all their
other studies.
Sample Research

In April of 2006 I did a sample
research with a student in third
grade the was reading on grade
level and was able to increase
his reading skills to that of a full
grade higher. This link provides
that sample research:

F:\Source Presentation pda.ppt
Conclusion

The ability for computers to make learning fun and enjoyable is a
concept we as educator must employ to our advantage,
especially when dealing with a troubled male reader.

Kimberlee Weaver’s book Gender and Computers:
Understanding the Digital Divide confirms that the male student
can and will benefit from technical hands on learning that is in the
form of games.

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Not surprisingly boys indicated that they liked learning programs that
were in game format. They particularly like games that focus on
sports, war and space. Boys particularly like sound effects to
accompany their learning and also liked flashing lights to signify their
success. (Weaver, 2003, 16)
Somewhere between reading to a newborn so they develop letter
sound recognition, to playing a digital word scramble with a son
to help with single word recognition or reading Little House on
the Prairie with a daughter to increase her reading inventory the
role of the parent is going to soon supersede the role of the
teacher in the reading process
References

Davenport, M.R., and Luaritzen, C. (2002) Inviting reflection on
Reading through over
the shoulder miscue analysis. Language Arts, 30(2), 109-118.

Flannery, M.E.(2006). Single Sex Education No Girls Allowed.
National Education
Association. Retrieved April 28, 2006 from www.nea.org.

Galaburda, A.M. (2005). Neurology of learning disabilities: what
will the future bring?
The answer comes from the successes of the recent past.
Learning Disabilities
Quarterly, 28, 107-109.

Gregor, P., Dickinson, A., Macaffer, A., and Andreasen, P. (2003)
SeeWord a personal word processing environment for dyslexic
computer users. British Journal of Education Technology, 34(
3), 341-355
References

Irausiquin, R., Drent, J., Verhoeven, L. (2005). Benefits of computerpresented speed training for poor readers. Annals of Dyslexia, 55(.2),.
246-265.

Lederman,J., Kantrowitz, L., and Flannery, K. (2005) Male vulnerability to
reading disability is not likely to be a myth: a call for new data. Journal of
Learning Disabilities, March/ April, 109-129.

Lyon, G. R. (ND) The NICHD research program in reading development,
reading disorders and reading instruction. National Center for Learning
Disabilities, 6 Retrieved February 10, 2006 from www.ncld.org.

Nation, K. (2005). Picture naming and developmental disorders. Journal of
Research in Reading, 28,(1), 28-38

Richards, J.C. and Morse, T.E. (2002) One preservice teacher’s
experiences teaching literacy to regular and special education teachers.
The Reading Online Journal, 5(10), 1-19
References

Ross-Kidder, K. (2003). “Reading disability” or
“Learning Disability”: The debate, models of
dyslexia, and a review of research validated reading
programs. LDOnline, 7. Retrieved February 21,
2006 from www.ldonline.org.

Singleton, C. (2005). Dyslexia and oral reading
errors. Journal of Research in Reading, 28( I), 414.

Weaver, K. (2003). Gender and Computers:
Understanding the Digital Divide. Mahwah, NJ:
Lawerence Erlbaum Associates