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Inclusive Education: It's not more work, it's different work!

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Reenvisioning the UDL Guidelines

Because the UDL Guidelines are meant to be informed by feedback from the field as well as new research, they have been updated several times in the past. We are in the process of updating the Guidelines once again in our UDL Rising to Equity initiative.

This update will focus specifically on addressing systemic barriers that result in inequitable learning opportunities and outcomes. CAST aims to develop a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven process. If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

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_Template for Designing A Lesson Using Gradual Release Model - 

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Texas SPED Support: Strategies for Working with Students with Autism in the General Education Setting

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Texas SPED Support: Strategies for Working with Students with Autism in the General Education Setting

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Strategies for Working with Students with Autism in the General Education Setting

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Designed for general educators, administrators, and others, the tips provide quick strategies that can be implemented in the general education classroom.

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example 1 (Alex) - teks staircase graphic

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example 2 (Anna) - teks staircase graphic

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The resources in this module offer helpful tips on setting up the physical aspects of your classroom and will introduce types of equipment used by students with visual disabilities (est. completion time: 1 hour).

Work through the sections of this module in the order presented in the STAR graphic above.

Related to this module

Copyright 2022 Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved.

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Accommodations to the Physical Environment: Setting Up a Classroom for Students with Visual Disabilities

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The resources in this module offer helpful tips on setting up the physical aspects of your classroom and will introduce types of equipment used by students with visual disabilities (est. completion time: 1 hour). Work through the sections of this module in the order presented in the STAR graphic above.

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Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society

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Nielsen, L.S. et al. (2007). Visual dysfunctions and ocular disorders in children with developmental delay. I. prevalence, diagnoses and aetiology of visual impairment. Hatton, D.D. et al. (2007). Babies Count: the national registry for children with visual impairments, birth to 3 years. Matsuba, C.A., Jan, J.E.. (2006). Long-term outcome of children with cortical visual impairment. Swaminathan, M. (2011). Cortical visual impairment in children - A new challenge for the future? Roman, C., Baker-Nobles, L., Dutton, G.N., et al. (2010). Statement on Cortical Visual Impairment. Roman-Lantzy, C. (2018). Acta Ophthalmol Scand, 85: 149-56.
JAAPOS, 11: 351-5.
Dev Med Child Neurol, 48: 508-12.
Oman Journal of Ophthalmology, 4(1), 1-2. http://doi.org/10.4103/0974-620X.77654
JVIB, 104:69-72.
Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention . 2nd ed., New York, NY: AFB Press.

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What Is CVI? | Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society

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Nielsen, L.S. et al. (2007). Visual dysfunctions and ocular disorders in children with developmental delay. I. prevalence, diagnoses and aetiology of visual impairment. Hatton, D.D. et al. (2007). Babies Count: the national registry for children with visual impairments, birth to 3 years. Matsuba, C.A., Jan, J.E.. (2006).

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Instructional Activities with a Light Box

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Having impaired vision makes it difficult to read, play sports, recognize faces and participate in social activities. It can also make it difficult to navigate outdoors, especially on a busy street or crowded sidewalk.

In children, the first signs of low vision may be clumsiness or inattentiveness, when in reality, the problem is in their vision.

While impaired vision comes with many challenges, a low vision eye doctor can offer a variety of strategies and vision aids that can maximize a child's remaining vision.

There are many causes of low vision and blindness in children:

1. Albinism

Albinism is an inherited condition that affects the production of melanin- pigment in the skin, hair, and eyes that gives each person their own unique coloring. People with albinism either have very little melanin or no melanin at all.

Albinism affects how the eyes function. Healthy amounts of melanin are used in the development of the retina. Reduced amounts of melanin in the eyes, or none at all, can cause a variety of vision problems including:

Astigmatism - when the lens is abnormally shaped or the cornea (the clear part at the front of the eye) isn't curved correctly, causing blurred vision

Low vision - irreversible vision loss

Nystagmus - involuntary, rapid eye movements

Photophobia - light sensitivity

Poor eyesight - farsightedness or nearsightedness

Eye turn - eyes pointing in different directions

Vision problems associated with albinism last a lifetime, but typically don't worsen over time.

2. Ocular trauma

Ocular trauma is a leading cause of blindness, affecting one eye.

According to a study published in the Journal of Ophthalmology, about a quarter of a million children are treated for serious ocular trauma every year, in the U.S. alone.
Up to 14% of children experiencing ocular trauma result in permanent visual impairment or blindness.
Whenever your child is playing sports, doing certain crafts or engaging in any activity that could pose a risk to their eyes, make sure they wear protective eyewear.
SEE RELATED: What is Low Vision?
Contact an eye doctor near you to ensure your child achieves the highest quality of life.

3. Pediatric cataracts
An estimated 3 out of 10,000 children have cataracts.
A cataract is the cloudiness or opacity that occurs in the eye's lens. While some cataracts are small and won't interfere with vision, others are large causing severe vision loss.

Common causes of pediatric cataracts are infections, genetics, and abnormal lens development in utero. If a cataract is small or on the outer edges of the lens, it might not interfere with a child's vision.

If a cataract interferes with the child's vision, it should be surgically removed as soon as safely possible.

4. Pediatric glaucoma
Glaucoma causes an increase in the eye's internal pressure, which can lead to permanent optic nerve damage.
Pediatric glaucoma, also referred to as infantile or childhood glaucoma, is usually diagnosed before a child's first birthday.

Symptoms of pediatric glaucoma include vision loss, excessive tearing, cloudiness in the cornea, enlarged eyes, and photosensitivity (light-sensitivity). In many cases, childhood glaucoma can be effectively managed and treated.

5. Retinal diseases
A child with any of these retinal diseases should be monitored closely by a low vision optometrist.
Retinal diseases, such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Leber congenital amaurosis, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Stargardt macular dystrophy, and Usher syndrome can cause low vision or blindness in children.

Low vision devices for children

Children with vision loss can live full and independent lives. While lost vision can't be restored, there are low vision devices, such as magnifiers and telescopes, that can help maximize a child's usable vision. These low vision aids can be easily adapted to facilitate a child's daily routine to help them function as independently as possible.

The most common low vision devices for children include magnifiers for improving near vision and telescopes for improving distance vision.
If you have a child with low vision, contact a low vision eye doctor near you to learn more about the variety of low vision devices that can benefit your child.
LEARN MORE: Guide to Low Vision

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What Causes Low Vision In Children? - Optometrists.org

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More than half a million children in North America are blind or have low vision. Having impaired vision makes it difficult to read, play sports,

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Active Learning Space - A collaborative project of Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Perkins School for the Blind, and Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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Active Learning Space - Active Learning Space

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Welcome to the Active Learning Space! This site is designed to provide an introduction to Active Learning, which is an educational approach developed by Dr. Lilli Nielsen. This is a collaborative project of Penrickton Center for Blind Children, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Perkins School for the Blind.

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Assisting educators and families in the quest to provide literacy experiences for children who are blind or visually impaired

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State Guidance, Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Child Find, Evaluation

TEA's FAQ regarding evaluating a student with a sensory impairment for a potential learning disability.

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State Guidance, Blind/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Child Find, Evaluation TEA's FAQ regarding evaluating a student with a sensory impairment for a potential learning disability.

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Texas Autism Resource Guide for Effective Teaching (TARGET)

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TARGET supports schools with research-based practices from referral to program implementation, emphasizing peer-reviewed strategies for better outcomes.

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Digital Promise Learner Variability Project

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Digital Promise Learner Variability Project

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Learner Variability Project - Digital Promise

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Uncovering strategies to meet learners where they are across varied contexts and needs by incorporating research on learning variability

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A listening simulation: Providing auditory access to educational environments

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Informational fact sheet focusing on the specific mental health needs of students with autism.

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Sign up for monthly AUesome Newsletter (Autism SMORE)

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Sign up for monthly AUesome Newsletter (Autism SMORE)

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Visual reminders of behaviors that may help to reinforce or replace verbal directions or prompts.

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When to use: Choice boards are effective in many situations such as:

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A visual that uses a student's interest as motivation to teach a skill or encourage a behavior.

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SOCCSS: Situation, Options, Consequences, Choices, Strategy, Simulation

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A teaching strategy to help students understand social interactions and/or social situations.

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Signals a period in which the student must wait.

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Individual Schedules | Texas SPED Support

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List of activities in a student’s day to provide structure, predictability and build independence.

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Visual guides for breathing techniques to help students self-regulate.

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TX School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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TX School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

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Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

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TSBVI serves students ages birth-22 who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind in Texas through a variety of educational programs and services.

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Children who suffer from child traumatic stress are those who have been exposed to one or more traumas over the course of their lives and develop reactions that persist and affect their daily lives after the events have ended.

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - Elementary School Students

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - Elementary School Students

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - Middle School Students

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - Middle School Students

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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The following resources on Schools were developed by the NCTSN.

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10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know

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10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know

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10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs To Know

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With grief, sadness is obvious. With trauma, the symptoms can go largely unrecognized because they mimic other problems: frustration; acting out; or difficulty concentrating, following directions, or working in a group. Students are often misdiagnosed with anxiety, behavior disorders, or attention disorders rather than understood to have trauma that drives those symptoms and reactions.

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - High School Students

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NCTSN: Impact of Trauma - High School Students

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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Suggestions for Educators (Helping Traumatized Children in School)

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Offers suggestions to educators about what can be done at a school to help a traumatized child. This tip sheet describes very practical ways school staff can help children who have experienced trauma.

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Know Your Rights: Students with ADHD from the DOE

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Know Your Rights: Students with ADHD from the DOE

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By Kate Kelly

At a glance

For some kids with dyslexia, reading music may be easier than reading text.

Kids who struggle not only with reading words but also with understanding how symbols work might find reading music difficult.

There are many strategies that can help kids overcome obstacles and enjoy music in their own special way.

If you have a child with dyslexia, you may wonder whether it will affect the ability to read music or play an instrument. The answer? It depends.

Trouble with reading words can also impact a child's ability to read, decode, and interpret music. That doesn't mean kids with dyslexia can't learn to play music and enjoy doing it, though. The brain systems involved with dyslexia are complicated, and they vary from child to child.

Plus, music isn't written the same way for all instruments. There's a big difference between reading drumming, piano, and guitar notation. While your child might have difficulty reading piano music, drum notation might feel quite natural. The only way to know is to try.

Here are some answers to common questions about dyslexia and music.

How does learning music happen in the brain?

Reading words and engaging with music share some of the same brain networks. But for the most part, they happen in different areas of the brain.

For example, the temporal lobe is responsible for phonological awareness and decoding. Listening to music involves the auditory cortices. Matching the beat of music involves the frontal lobes, subcortical structures, and the cerebellum.

Brain function isn't the only thing that impacts a child's ability to learn music, however. How a child engages with music can also have an impact.

Learning music doesn't need to begin with reading it. In fact, it's often better to start with just listening to music, playing it, and moving musically. Programs like Meludia.com, Let's Play Music, and School of Rock are places to begin experiencing musical pitch, melody, rhythm, and tempo.

Why might kids with dyslexia struggle with reading music?

The research on this isn't clear. Some studies suggest the same issues that make reading difficult also make learning to read musical notation hard.

Kids with dyslexia have trouble isolating sounds in words and then mapping them back to letters. This weakness may also impact their ability to process sounds in music. They may have trouble perceiving rhythm and pitch, which can make it hard to make sense of sheet music.

Just as kids with dyslexia don't all struggle with reading in the same way, they don't all struggle with music in the same way. There are some common challenges, however. These include:

Learning a new vocabulary in which familiar words have a different meaning. These words include note, key, bar, sharp, and flat.

Visual tracking from left to right, and top to bottom.

Rhythm and timing.

Decoding music symbols. Kids may have trouble noticing details like whether the "tail" of the notes goes up or down, for instance. They may also not understand the symbols for sharps and flats or rhythm notation.

Holding musical information in working memory.

Coordinating use of their hands and feet as they play their instrument.

Can music training improve a child's reading skills?

There's some research that suggests musical training may have a positive impact on reading skills. Learning music can be a fun, more relaxed way of listening to, and producing, changes in sound. Research suggests that it may also improve a child's ability to process speech sounds.

One study found that learning to recognize sound patterns and map them to symbols helped build reading skills. It seemed to improve phonemic awareness.

Also, singing may help kids segment words into syllables. For example, when kids sing "Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream," the word gently is exaggerated. Drawing out the word to music may make it easier to hear its segments.

Are there strategies that can help kids with dyslexia learn to read music?

Just like they help kids learn to read words, multisensory techniques can help them learn to read music. In fact, music teachers often use these techniques for all beginning students.

Here are a few common strategies.

Tracing the melody with a finger on the score, then drawing it in the air and on paper.

Raising and lowering hands or jumping up and down in response to changes in pitch.

Walking, marching, or clapping to different rhythms to raise awareness of the beat.

Writing notes in different colors on sheet music to make them stand out.

Reducing clutter on sheet music by only showing the line of music the child is working on.

There are many more multisensory techniques that can help kids learn music. Ask potential music teachers (or the music teacher at school) if they use these types of strategies.

Should kids with dyslexia avoid learning an instrument or joining the school band?

Research suggests that musical experience has a positive impact on thinking and learning skills. But if your child's not really interested in music or in playing an instrument, it may not be worth pushing it. Your child may already be facing enough challenges with reading.

If your child is really motivated, however, offer encouragement! Many kids with dyslexia are successful at learning music. If your child wants to give it a try, playing music can bring a lot of joy - and a feeling of accomplishment.

Key takeaways

Multisensory techniques can help kids recognize rhythms and make sense of musical notation.

Many teachers will already be using some of these techniques because they benefit all beginners.

The practice kids get distinguishing sounds and rhythms may improve reading skills.

About the author

Reviewed by

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For some kids with dyslexia, reading music may be easier than reading text. Kids who struggle not only with reading words but also with understanding how symbols work might find reading music difficult. There are many strategies that can help kids overcome obstacles and enjoy music in their own special way.

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PACE's: Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences

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PACE's: Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences

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The science of PACEs refers to the research about the stunning effects of positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs) and how they work together to affect our lives, as well as our organizations, systems and communities. It comprises:

1. The CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study and subsequent surveys that show that most people in the U.S. have at least one ACE, and that people with four ACEs- including living with an alcoholic parent, racism, bullying, witnessing violence outside the home, physical abuse, and losing a parent to divorce - have a huge risk of adult onset of chronic health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, suicide, and alcoholism.

2. Brain science (neurobiology of toxic stress) - how toxic stress caused by ACEs damages the function and structure of kids' developing brains.

3. Health consequences - how toxic stress caused by ACEs affects short- and long-term health, and can impact every part of the body, leading to autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, as well as heart disease, breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.

4. Historical and generational trauma (epigenetic consequences of toxic stress) - how toxic stress caused by ACEs can alter how our DNA functions, and how that can be passed on from generation to generation.

5. Positive Childhood Experiences and resilience research and practice - Building on the knowledge that the brain is plastic and the body wants to heal, this part of PACEs science includes evidence-based practice, as well as practice-based evidence by people, organizations and communities that are integrating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices. This ranges from looking at how the brain of a teen with a high ACE score can be healed with cognitive behavior therapy, to how schools can integrate trauma-informed and resilience-building practices that result in an increase in students' scores, test grades and graduation rates.

1. What are ACEs?

ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains and lead to changing how they respond to stress and damaging their immune systems so profoundly that the effects show up decades later. ACEs cause much of our burden of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence.

"ACEs" comes from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, a groundbreaking public health study that discovered that childhood trauma leads to the adult onset of chronic diseases, depression and other mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence, as well as financial and social problems. The ACE Study has published about 70 research papers since 1998. Hundreds of additional research papers based on the ACE Study have also been published.

The 10 ACEs the researchers measured:

-- Physical, sexual and verbal abuse.

-- Physical and emotional neglect.

-- A family member who is:

depressed or diagnosed with other mental illness;

addicted to alcohol or another substance;

in prison.

-- Witnessing a mother being abused.

-- Losing a parent to separation, divorce or other reason.

Subsequent to the ACE Study, other ACE surveys have expanded the types of ACEs to include racism, gender discrimination, witnessing a sibling being abused, witnessing violence outside the home, witnessing a father being abused by a mother, being bullied by a peer or adult, involvement with the foster care system, living in a war zone, living in an unsafe neighborhood, losing a family member to deportation, etc.

ACEs fall into three large categories:

Adverse childhood experiences

Adverse community experiences

Adverse climate experiences

Resources:
CDC ACE Study site Wikipedia -- Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
The 10 ACE Questions (and 14 resilience survey questions)

The Pair of ACEs: The Soil in Which We're Rooted, the Branches on Which We Grow

Why are ACEs significant?

1. The ACE Study revealed six main discoveries:

ACEs are common...nearly two-thirds (64%) of adults have at least one.

They cause adult onset of chronic disease, such as cancer and heart disease, as well as mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence

ACEs don't occur alone....if you have one, there's an 87% chance that you have two or more.

The more ACEs you have, the greater the risk for chronic disease, mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence. People have an ACE score of 0 to 10. Each type of trauma counts as one, no matter how many times it occurs. You can think of an ACE score as a cholesterol score for childhood trauma. For example, people with an ACE score of 4 are twice as likely to be smokers and seven times more likely to be alcoholic. Having an ACE score of 4 increases the risk of emphysema or chronic bronchitis by nearly 400 percent, and attempted suicide by 1200 percent. People with high ACE scores are more likely to be violent, to have more marriages, more broken bones, more drug prescriptions, more depression, and more autoimmune diseases. People with an ACE score of 6 or higher are at risk of their lifespan being shortened by 20 years.

ACEs are responsible for a big chunk of workplace absenteeism, and for costs in health care, emergency response, mental health and criminal justice. So, the fifth finding from the ACE Study is that childhood adversity contributes to most of our major chronic health, mental health, economic health and social health issues.

On a population level, it doesn't matter which four ACEs a person has; the harmful consequences are the same. The brain cannot distinguish one type of toxic stress from another; it's all toxic stress, with the same impact.

What's particularly startling is that the 17,000 ACE Study participants were mostly white, middle- and upper-middle class, college-educated, and all had jobs and great health care (they were all members of Kaiser Permanente).

Resources:

ACE Study primer -- KPJR Films, which came out with Paper Tigers in 2015 and Resilience in 2016, put together this five-minute overview of the ACE Study.

ACE Study video -- Three-minute trailer for a four-hour CD of interviews with ACEs researchers produced by the Academy on Violence and Abuse.

How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime (16-minute TED Talk by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris)
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study - the largest public health study you never heard of - started in an obesity clinic
Has anyone else done an ACE Study?

Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C. (infographic) have done one or more ACE surveys. Here are links to some of their reports (some states haven't produced reports).

There are numerous other ACE surveys, including cities, such as Philadelphia; organizations, including the Crittenton Foundation; schools, including Spokane elementary schools; by pediatricians, including Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and Dr. Victor Carrion ( 2011 and 2013); several countries, including England, Saudi Arabia, and a World Health Organization ACE survey of university students in Romania,; and 64,000 juvenile offenders in the Florida juvenile justice system. You can find a list of ACE surveys, including expanded ACE surveys with more questions, in the Resources Section of ACEsConnection.com.

2. What's the neurobiology of toxic stress?

Brain science shows that, in the absence of protective factors, toxic stress damages children's developing brains. Stress is the body's normal response to challenging events or environments. Positive stress -- the first day of school, a big exam, a sports challenge -- is part of growing up, and parents or caregivers help children prepare for and learn how to handle positive stress, which is moderate and doesn't last long. It increases heart rate and the amount of stress hormones in the body, but they return to normal levels quickly.

But when events or the environment are threatening or harmful - we stumble across a bear in the woods - our brains instantly zap into fight, flight or freeze mode and bypass our thinking brains, which can be way too analytical to save us (Is the bear really mean? Is it more interested in berries or killing me? Should I wait until I see it charge?). With help from caring adults, children also recover from this tolerable stress.

Too much stress - toxic stress - occurs when that raging bear comes home from the bar every night, says pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris. Then a child's brain and body will produce an overload of stress hormones - such as cortisol and adrenaline - that harm the function and structure of the brain. This can be particularly devastating in children, whose brains are developing at a galloping pace from before they are born to age three. Toxic stress is the kind of stress that can come in response to living for months or years with a screaming alcoholic father, a severely depressed and neglectful mother or a parent who takes out life's frustrations by whipping a belt across a child's body.

Resources:
Harvard University Center on the Developing Child
Video: Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development (2 min)

An Unhealthy Dose of Stress (Center for Youth Wellness white paper)
The Science Behind PTSD Symptoms: How Trauma Changes the Brain Brain Story Certification, Alberta Family Wellness Initiative

3. What are the health effects of toxic stress?

Chronic toxic stress-living in a red alert mode for months or years - can also damage our bodies. In a red alert state, the body pumps out adrenaline and cortisol continuously. Over time, the constant presence of adrenaline and cortisol keep blood pressure high, which weakens the heart and circulatory system. They also keep glucose levels high to provide enough energy for the heart and muscles to act quickly; this can lead to type 2 diabetes. Too much adrenaline and cortisol can also increase cholesterol.

Too much cortisol can lead to osteoporosis, arthritis, gastrointestinal disease, depression, anorexia nervosa, Cushing's syndrome, hyperthyroidism and the shrinkage of lymph nodes, leading to the inability to ward off infections.

If the red alert system is always on, eventually the adrenal glands give out, and the body can't produce enough cortisol to keep up with the demand. This may cause the immune system to attack parts of the body, which can lead to lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia.

Cortisol is also extremely important in maintaining the body's appropriate inflammation response. In a normal response to a bee sting or infection, the body rushes antibodies, white blood cells and other cell fighters to the site and the tissues swell while the battle rages. But too much swelling damages tissue. Cortisol controls this fine balance. So without the mediating effects of cortisol, the inflammatory response runs amok and can cause a host of diseases.

If you're chronically stressed and then experience an additional traumatic event, your body will have trouble returning to a normal state. Over time, you will become more sensitive to trauma or stress, developing a hair-trigger response to events that other people shrug off.

Biomedical researchers say that childhood trauma is biologically embedded in our bodies: Children with adverse childhood experiences and adults who have experienced childhood trauma may respond more quickly and strongly to events or conversations that would not affect those with no ACEs, and have higher levels of indicators for inflammation than those who have not suffered childhood trauma. This wear and tear on the body is the main reason why the lifespan of people with an ACE score of six or higher is likely to be shortened by 20 years.

Resources:

What Happened To You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing, by Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey

Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel Van Der Kolk

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, by Nadine Burke Harris, 2018.
Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease by Robin Karr-Morse with Meredith S. Wiley
Biologial Embedding of Early Social Adversity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012
PubMed childhood adversity research publications

4. What's epigenetics and how does that relate to historical or generational trauma?

Most people believe that the DNA we're born with does not change and that it determines all that we are during our lifetime. That's true, but the research from epigenetics - the study of how social and other environments turn our genes on and off - shows that toxic stress can actually change how our genes function, which can lead to long-term changes in all parts of our bodies and brains. What's more, these changes can be transferred from generation to generation.

Epigenetics means "above the genome" and refers to changes in gene expression that are not the result of changes in the DNA sequence (or mutations).

Resources:

WhatIsEpigenetics.com -- This New York-based blog and news aggregator covers the field of epigenetics and is funded by EpiGentek. It includes backgrounders, including epigenetics fundamentals.

Epigenetics -- From the Genetics Science Learning Center at the University of Utah, this section includes explainers and an overview of how the social environment affects your epigenome.

Epigenetics 101: A beginner's guide to explaining everything (TheGuardian.com, 2014)

5. Positive Childhood Experiences and resilience research: If you have a high ACE score, are you doomed? No!

The good news is that the brain is plastic, and the body wants to heal.

The brain is continually changing in response to the environment. If the toxic stress stops and is replaced by practices that build resilience, the brain can slowly undo many of the stress-induced changes.

There is well documented research on how individuals' brains and bodies become healthier through mindfulness practices, exercise, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and healthy social interactions.

Here's a good article that weaves the unified science of human development together: Scars That Don't Fade, from Massachusetts General Hospital's Proto Magazine.

In the last few years, researchers have started to examine the impacts of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on children and adults. We at PACEs Connection are particularly interested in the interplay between positive and adverse childhood experiences. Here's some of the relevant research:

A team of researchers - Dr. Christina Bethell, Jennifer Jones, Dr. Narangerel Gombojav, Dr. Jeff Linkenbach and Dr. Robert Sege - published research in 2019 that found a dose-response association between positive childhood experiences - such as feeling like family stood by one during difficult times and feeling safe and protected by an adult in the home - and adult mental and relationship health among adults who had experienced ACEs, irrespective of how many ACEs they had. Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels | JAMA Pediatrics.

That same year, Bethell, Gombojav, and Dr. Robert Whitaker reported that at each level of ACEs, "the presence of flourishing increased in a graded fashion with increasing levels of family resilience and connection." Family Resilience And Connection Promote Flourishing Among US Children, Even Amid Adversity | Health Affairs

In 2014, Bethell, Dr. Paul Newacheck, Dr. Eva Hawes, and Dr. Neal Halfon found that children with higher ACE scores were less likely to demonstrate resilience, live in a protective home environment, have a mother who was healthy, and live in safe and supportive neighborhoods. However, almost half of the children who had experienced ACEs also demonstrated resilience, and "resilience mitigated the impact of adverse childhood experiences on grade repetition and school engagement." Adverse Childhood Experiences: Assessing The Impact On Health And School Engagement And The Mitigating Role Of Resilience | Health Affairs

In a study published in 2021, Whitaker, Dr. Tracy Dearth-Wesley, and Dr. Allison Herman wrote that "greater childhood family connection was associated with greater flourishing in US adults across levels of childhood adversity." Childhood family connection and adult flourishing: associations across levels of childhood adversity - Academic Pediatrics (academicpedsjnl.net)

Dr. Yui Yamaoka and Dr. David Bard reported in 2019 that "the number of adverse childhood experiences was associated with both social-emotional deficits and developmental delay risks in early childhood; however, positive parenting practices demonstrated robust protective effects independent of the number of adverse childhood experiences." Positive Parenting Matters in the Face of Early Adversity - PubMed (nih.gov)

Among juvenile offenders, Dr. Michael Baglivio and Dr. Kevin Wolff discovered in 2020 that "high ACE scores were associated with increased reoffending, and high PCE scores were associated with decreased recidivism, as measured by both rearrest and reconviction. Further, among juveniles with four or more ACEs who have six or more PCEs, reconviction was 23% lower and rearrest 22% lower when compared to those youth with four or more ACEs and less than six PCEs, controlling for a host of demographic and criminal history measures." Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE): Cumulative Resiliency in the Face of Adverse Childhood Experiences - Michael T. Baglivio, Kevin T. Wolff, 2021 (sagepub.com)

Dr. Michael Baxter, Dr. Eden Hemming, Dr. Heather McIntosh, and Dr. Chan Hellman published research in 2017 that demonstrated that higher ACEs scores were associated with lower hope in a study of caregivers who brought children in for a child abuse medical investigation at a child advocacy center. Exploring the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hope: Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: Vol 26, No 8 (tandfonline.com)

In 2019, Dr. AliceAnn Crandall, Dr. Jacob Miller, Dr. Aaron Cheung, Dr. Lynneth Novilla, Dr. Rozalyn Glade, Dr. M. Lelinneth Novilla, Dr. Brianna Magnusson, Dr. Barbara Leavitt, Dr. Michael Barnes, and Dr. Carl Hanson observed in a study of adults that "higher counter-ACEs scores [i.e., positive childhood experiences] were associated with improved adult health and that counter-ACEs neutralized the negative impact of ACEs on adult health."ACEs and counter-ACEs: How positive and negative childhood experiences influence adult health - ScienceDirect

A study by Whitaker, Dearth-Wesley, and Herman in 2020 showed that across levels of childhood adversity, greater childhood family connection was associated with greater flourishing among young adults with type 1 diabetes. Childhood Family Connection With Flourishing in Young Adulthood Among Those With Type 1 Diabetes | Pediatrics | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Finally, in 2016, Bethell, Gombojav, Dr. Michele Solloway, and Dr. Lawrence Wissow examined ACEs, resilience, family protective factors, and emotional, mental or behavioral conditions (EMB) in children and youth in the U.S. The authors found that children with ACEs had higher EMB than children without ACEs, but the presence of resilience was significantly associated with lower amounts of EMB for both children with and without ACEs. In addition, the prevalence of EMB was lower when family protective factors were present, even if the child had ACEs, although the presence of two or more ACEs decreased the effect. Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience and Mindfulness-Based Approaches: Common Denominator Issues for Children with Emotional, Mental, or Behavioral Problems (nih.gov)

Who's using PACEs science?

Many people, organizations, agencies, systems and communities are beginning to implement trauma-informed, resilience-building practices based on PACEs science.

Pediatricians (here's an update on the Children's Clinic) and public health clinics are screening patients for ACEs. By the end of 2017, between 1,000 and 2,000 pediatricians had integrated ACEs screening into their practices. Here's an article about Kaiser Permanente pediatricians in Northern California who have started screening kids for ACEs. Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, MacArthur genius award winner, recommends physicians adding ACE screening to measurement of other vital signs, such as blood pressure. A rural health clinic in Pueblo, CO, changed its medical practice after it integrated ACEs screening. A family physician in Tennessee educates his opioid patients about their ACEs, and it helps motivate them to heal themselves. The physician also understands that ACEs leads to damage that is chronic and, thus, he treats addictions as he does diabetes, as a chronic disease.

Many schools - including schools in San Francisco, CA, Spokane, WA, San Diego, CA, and Walla Walla, WA - have integrated healing-centered/trauma-informed practices into classrooms, playgrounds and school policies. These schools have seen 90 percent drops in suspensions after one year; after three years, the schools no longer expel students and some no longer even have the need for in-school suspensions. The grades, test scores and graduation rates increased, and the students most benefitted were those with the highest ACE scores. By the end of 2017, several hundred schools across the U.S. were integrating trauma-informed and resilience-building practices based on ACEs science.

Head Start (early childhood education program) in Kansas City has integrated trauma-informed practices in a program called Head Start Trauma Smart. (NYTimes article about the program.)

Home-based early childhood intervention, such as Child First. (NYTimes article about the program.)

Police departments and courts have integrated trauma-informed approaches. Safe Babies Courts have integrated PACEs science in resilience-building practices that provide wrap-around services for families; a year after participating in Safe Babies Courts, 99 percent of the children suffer no further abuse. Some prisons are beginning to educate inmates about PACEs science.

Homeless shelters and the faith-based community are integrating practices based on PACEs research. At the heart of their approach is educating those who are homeless and people in rescue missions about PACEs science; it often changes their whole understanding of their behavior, because they realize that they weren't born bad, that they had no control over what happened to them as children, that they coped appropriately, given what was available to them, and that they can change. Batterers intervention programs that have integrated PACEs science have reduced recidivism rates from what was accepted - 20 to 60 percent - to zero to four percent.

Cities and states are integrating practices based on PACEs science. By the end of 2017, several hundred communities around the U.S. had launched PACEs initiatives. This report on self-healing communities describes how integrating ACEs science drastically reduced youth suicide, teen pregnancy, juvenile arrests, and high-school drop-out rates - all at the same time - in communities in Washington State that integrated practices based on PACEs science.

Research on families shows that interventions - such as Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Steps, and Child First - can improve the lives of parents and children. Evidence-based parenting practices ( Incredible Years, Triple P Parenting, etc.), increase the health of parents and children.

Resources:

Growing Resilient Communities provides guidelines and tools for communities to launch and grow local PACEs initiatives, and measure the progress of their work.

What does trauma-informed mean?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHMSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a trauma-informed approach refers to how an organization or community thinks about and responds to children and adults who have experienced or may be at risk for experiencing trauma. In this approach, the whole community understands the prevalence and impact of ACEs, the role trauma plays in people's lives, and the complex and varied paths for healing and recovery.

A trauma-informed approach asks: "What happened to you?" instead of "What's wrong with you?" It is designed to avoid re-traumatizing already traumatized people, with a focus on "safety first" (including emotional safety), and a commitment to do no harm. But a trauma-informed approach is most successful when an organization or community builds policies and practices based on a foundation of ACEs science.

Resources:
SAMHSA overview of what trauma-informed is and isn't National Center for Trauma-Informed Care
SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach -- Introduces a concept of trauma and offers a framework for how an organization, system, or service sector can become trauma-informed. Includes a definition of trauma (the three "E's"), a definition of a trauma-informed approach (the four "R's"), 6 key principles, and 10 implementation domains.

Any legislation or federal policies?

Updates on U.S. state and federal legislation can be found in the State ACEs Resolutions and Laws section of State PACEs Action on PACEsConnection.com. Some examples:
California legislature resolution to reduce ACEs Massachusetts bill on trauma-informed schools Vermont attempt to pass ACEs bill Overview of state, federal legislation
US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines to state health directors (and the letter to state health directors)

All resources:
CDC ACE Study site
A Critical Assessment of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study at 20 Years (attached)
Wikipedia -- Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
The 10 ACE Questions (and 14 resilience survey questions)

Harvard University Center on the Developing Child (neurobiology of toxic stress)

Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (Canada)

ACEsTooHigh.com - News site covering PACEs research and practices

PACEsConnection.com - Social network (with 18,000+ members across sectors) and more than 100 community sites that support ACEs initiatives in cities, counties, states, regions and nations.

WhatIsEpigenetics.com - News site covering epigenetics

Epigenetics -- Explainers and backgrounders about epigenetics
National Center for Trauma-Informed Care
Community Resilience Cookbook - Nine case studies of cities and states that are integrating PACEs research)

SAMHSA's Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach -- Introduces a concept of trauma and offers a framework for how an organization, system, or service sector can become trauma-informed. Includes a definition of trauma (the three "E's"), a definition of a trauma-informed approach (the four "R's"), 6 key principles, and 10 implementation domains.

ACE Study video (three minute trailer)

Video: Toxic Stress Derails Healthy Development (2 min)

How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime (16-minute TED Talk by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris)

Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology and How You Can Heal, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel Van Der Kolk

The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, by Nadine Burke Harris, 2018.
Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease by Robin Karr-Morse with Meredith S. Wiley
The Last Best Cure: My Quest to Awaken the Healing Parts of My Brain and Get Back My Body, My Joy, and My Life, by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

For other books, go to the ACEs Connection Books community.

Documentaries:

Paper Tigers -- What does it mean to be a trauma-informed school? And how do you educate teens whose childhood experiences have left them with a brain and body ill-suited to learn? This film follows six students through a year in America's first trauma-informed high school.

Resilience -- Resilience chronicles how trailblazers in pediatrics, education, and social welfare are using cutting-edge science and field-tested therapies to protect children from the insidious effects of toxic stress.

CAREgivers -- How is the professional care provider affected emotionally and physically, and who helps them?

For a list of all documentaries addressing PACEs science, and how to access them, go here.

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PACEs Science 101 (FAQs) - Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences

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What are ACEs? ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children's developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later; they cause much of chronic disease, most mental illness, and are at the root of most violence. ...

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The Party: a virtual experience of Autism

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The Party: a virtual experience of Autism

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The Party: a virtual experience of autism – 360 film

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NCTSN: Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed School

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NCTSN: Essential Elements of a Trauma-Informed School

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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network

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The primary mission of schools is to support students in educational achievement. To reach this goal, children must feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. Children exposed to violence and trauma may not feel safe or ready to learn. Not only are individual children affected by traumatic experiences, but other students, the adults on campus, and the school community can be impacted by interacting or working with a child who has experienced trauma. Thus, as schools maintain their critical focus on education and achievement, they must also acknowledge that mental health and wellness are innately connected to students' success in the classroom and to a thriving school environment.

Becoming trauma-informed should be an essential component of the overall mission of the education system. A trauma-informed school recognizes that trauma affects staff, students, families, communities, and systems. Thus organizational support, partnerships, and capacity-building are essential.

The following represent the Essential Elements for a Trauma-Informed School System:

1. Identifying and assessing traumatic stress.

2. Addressing and treating traumatic stress.

3. Teaching trauma education and awareness.

4. Having partnerships with students and families.

5. Creating a trauma-informed learning environment (social/emotional skills and wellness).

6. Being culturally responsive.

7. Integrating emergency management & crisis response.

8. Understanding and addressing staff self-care and secondary traumatic stress.

9. Evaluating and revising school discipline policies and practices.

10. Collaborating across systems and establishing community partnerships.

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The primary mission of schools is to support students in educational achievement. To reach this goal, children must feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. Children exposed to violence and trauma may not feel safe or ready to learn.

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ADHD sometimes manifests in obvious ways - like when a second grader blurts out an answer (again) or when a high school student forgets her completed assignment at home (again). Just as often, though, signs of ADHD in the classroom are more subtle and easily overlooked because they don't align with stereotypes. Here are seven less-recognized ways ADHD symptoms show up at school, and productive ways to address each one.

Surprising Sign of ADHD #1: Difficulty with Transitions

The teacher gives a two-minute warning to the class that independent reading time is about to end. But when the teacher announces it is time to move on to science, the student does not stop reading.

The Explanation

ADHD is best seen as a medical disorder affecting a child's overall self-management skills, frequently referred to as executive functioning. These skills let us manage things in life - our goals, projects, time, emotions, or social situations - and they can manifest as forgetfulness, poor focus, or weak impulse control when they're not working properly.

Kids with ADHD over-focus on what's captivating, can't focus when effort is unnatural but necessary, and can't transition because switching attention is part of managing these skills well. A student who keeps reading after it's time to move on can come across as misbehaving. But if a child can't shift attention easily, he might not even register that a teacher is speaking while he's focused on his book.

The Solution

Give students an advance warning of five minutes. Help them come to a good stopping point. You might suggest that they "pause" rather than stop, reminding them that they can come back to the current task later. Then start the next task with them individually, when possible.
[Free Download: The Ultimate ADHD Toolkit for Parents and Teachers]
Surprising Sign of ADHD #2: Struggling to Follow Instructions

A teacher says it's time for math. This means students must put aside other tasks to get out a pencil, a piece of paper, and their math book, and open the book to the correct page. A student appears to be ignoring the teacher's instructions by moving slowly or not at all.

The Explanation

Tied tightly to executive dysfunction, ADHD can be reframed as a disorder of organization, planning, and time management. Getting ready for math requires a student to first hear the instruction and then transition attention out of one activity to another.

They also need to know the location of their supplies, avoid distractions during each step, return their attention to the teacher, and do all that quickly enough to keep up and get settled in time to absorb the lesson. This is a strain on ADHD brains.

The Solution

Avoid telling the student how to start the next activity before finishing the current one. Some students with ADHD have short-term working memory deficits, so trying to remember everything can feel overwhelming. Also:

Recognize that planning skills aren't acquired automatically by some people, who need repeated explicit instruction.

Meet with them privately or assign partners to check progress. Make your daily activities as predictable as possible.

Post your day's schedule prominently.

Write down the step-by-step directions for doing the task.

Provide a visual sequence of the task to be completed

[Self-Test: Could My Child Have a Learning Disability?]
Surprising Sign of ADHD #3: Social Rejection

A student seems to be disliked by her peers. She is socially isolated, eats alone, and doesn't join other kids in school activities.

The Explanation

While often unintentional, ADHD's behavioral symptoms can annoy peers. ADHD impairs communication when it causes kids to miss details in a conversation, or struggle to organize their thoughts quickly, which is a working memory-related task. To others, it can seem like the child isn't listening or isn't interested in the conversation.

The Solution

Just as we teach academic skills, we should teach social skills. Privately, we should reinforce when we see students with ADHD acting appropriately. We also must teach neurotypical students to be tolerant of others, stressing that all students have individual needs and we must help them as much as we can. When we see students engaging in those random acts of kindness, we should recognize them.

Surprising Sign of ADHD #4: Disruptiveness

Long after the rest of the class has complied with the teacher's signal for quiet, a student is unable to stop talking and is seen as disruptive.

The Explanation

Being overly talkative is common with ADHD, as is distractedly missing cues and struggling to shift attention. Children rarely learn to change these kinds of behaviors through discussion and/or consequences. They cannot simply choose not to have an ADHD symptom, and they often start feeling bad about themselves when they require so much redirection.

The Solution

We need to teach students ways to regulate their emotions before they need them, not when they are in the middle of a crisis. Breathing techniques and mindfulness activities can be helpful. If we teach them in advance, then we can provide a quiet reminder when the child needs it.

Surprising Sign of ADHD #5: Missing Materials

A student chronically forgets her materials - a pencil and workbook, her homework when it's due, and other assignments.

The Explanation

Forgetfulness is a symptom of ADHD. Repeatedly marking down grades for an ADHD symptom doesn't help anyone much - a student with ADHD can't magically conjure motivation because ADHD is a planning disorder. That means a student who has ADHD lags behind in the executive function skills that would help her devise solutions to overcome her challenges.

The Solution

Talk to the student privately. Brainstorm together. Can she bring in a box of pencils to be kept in your classroom as her personal stash? Provide her with a checklist of what to bring to class that she can carry as a reminder. Give her the responsibility of collecting everyone's assignments in class as a reward for turning in her assignments on time.
[Download: A Guide to Building Foundational Executive Functions]
Surprising Sign of ADHD #6: Reading Skill Stagnation

A student who doesn't seem to have a learning disability isn't progressing in reading.

The Explanation

For fluent reading, we first must decode words effortlessly, which obviously requires language and background knowledge. And then, as new research has confirmed, we need strong attention and executive function to manage all the information we're consuming. These are the three components, broadly speaking, of strong reading skills.

Kids with ADHD often struggle with reading because of inattention and executive dysfunction, as well as lost instructional time in general. They also may avoid reading until they find it easy because avoiding effort and failure are common with ADHD as well. That's particularly true without strong screen time limits at home.

The Solution

Many children with ADHD also have a learning disability, such as a more specific impairment in decoding or comprehension. As such, there should be a low threshold for requesting educational testing for students with ADHD. If academic concerns persist, don't assume this is caused by their ADHD symptoms alone.

Surprising Sign of ADHD #7: "Wasted" Potential

A gifted student seems to have lots of potential in school but doesn't appear to study or try very hard.

The Explanation

A student may successfully coast for a few years, then hit a brick wall when they are unable to manage time, study, or prepare effectively - usually in middle or high school. The skill of studying relies on long-term thinking, creating a plan, and sticking to a plan; many students with ADHD fail to understand the why of studying, much less how.

The Solution

Juggling an intense workload with poor organizational skills can send a student's stress level through the roof. Writing and other assignments may take far longer than expected, even though the end product may be brilliant.

Even when a student is gifted, he may shut down if he feels overwhelmed. Therefore, we must break assignments into small steps, encourage the student to set earlier deadlines than what may be required, and provide him with tools that can make the assignment easier to complete. Appropriate accommodations can be life-changing for students, even when their grades are good.

ADHD in the Classroom: Next Steps
Mark Bertin, M.D., is a developmental pediatrician and author of Mindful Parenting for ADHD. Beverley Holden Johns is president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Illinois and the author or co-author of 23 books on special education. Kathy Kuhl helps parents of students who learn differently at LearnDifferently.com.
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7 Surprising Ways ADHD Shows Up in the Classroom

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ADHD in the classroom is easy to mistake for carelessness, defiance, laziness, or a learning difference. Here are the 7 ADD symptoms that educators seldom recognize at school - and solutions for each.

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What does it feel like to learn and think differently? Watch these videos to see the world through your child's eyes. Kids of different ages talk about how it feels to learn and think differently - and what helps them thrive.

Hear how hard it is to complete a task when you have trouble focusing. Or how frustrating it is when your hand won't write what your brain is telling it to write.

Reading challenges: Videos of kids

Hear from kids about what it feels like to struggle with reading - and get insights from expert Julie Washington on how to help.

Math challenges: Videos of kids

Hear from kids about what it feels like to struggle with math - and get insights from expert Michèle Mazzocco on how to help.

Writing challenges: Videos of kids

Hear from kids about what it feels like to struggle with writing - and get expert insights on how to help.

Attention challenges: Videos of kids

Hear from kids about what it feels like to struggle with focus - and get insights from expert Ned Hallowell on how to help.

Organization challenges: Videos of kids

Hear from kids about what it feels like to struggle with organization - and get expert insights on how to help.

What causes these challenges, and how can you help if your child is struggling? Choose from the following skills to learn more:

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Through Your Child's Eyes Tool | Learning Disabilities

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What does it feel like to learn and think differently? Watch these videos to see the world through your child's eyes. Kids of different ages talk about how it feels to learn and think differently - and what helps them thrive. Hear how hard it is to complete a task when you have trouble focusing.

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Significant Cognitive Disabilities | Texas SPED Support

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Find the right classroom accommodations for your student.

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Welcome to the new Texas SPED Support! Learn More

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Classroom Accommodations for students with Dyslexia

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Classroom Accommodations for students with Dyslexia

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What types of accommodations can help students with dyslexia? Here are some classroom accommodations to talk over with your child's school. You can even try these supports at home.

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Region 17 INclusion Support - Instruction for ALL Learners! by Elda DeSantiago | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for educators, businesses and more

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Since the YCDC website began in 2007, we have received many requests about how best to help dyslexic students struggling with math. We reached out to Chris Woodin, the head of the Math Department at Landmark School, a respected school that specializes in teaching students with language-based learning issues, to help us find alternative methods for mitigating common math struggles that seem to accompany dyslexia. Woodin offered many helpful strategies to help address them, and we hope that it will help other teachers and parents who are looking for ways to support dyslexic children with math. We also hope that if you are a math specialist or a parent of a child who has struggled in math, you will share what has worked for you.

Breaking Down Math

Excelling at math, or just even being able to pass the requirements, draws on many different skills and ways of thinking-it calls on conceptual, logical, and spatial reasoning, but it also often requires neatness, exactness, and computational skills. There are many areas in which to shine in mathematics, but unfortunately, there are also many areas in which to struggle. These tasks change over time, demanding increased refinement or elaboration of skill sets, or the addition of new ones as a student progresses through school. Woodin encourages teachers to treat math problems with the same kind of thoughtful and targeted strategies that are applied to reading instruction.

In the classroom, we break down the complex processing tasks of reading and spelling into various subskills that can be tested and analyzed. As a result, students' strengths and weaknesses may be acknowledged and an effective course of action can be planned and implemented. Math skills, however, are not routinely evaluated in this manner. Math is usually assessed in terms of achievement: a student's ability to perform a set of increasingly sophisticated computations or word problems. Resulting scores define students as being "good, average, or bad" at math. The problem with these labels is that, much like reading and writing, math is made up of subskills, and it may be that a deficiency in just one of these subskills makes the student "bad" at math. A student who is a poor speller or has bad handwriting wouldn't necessarily be considered a poor writer. Specific weaknesses are not defined within the context of math, therefore specific therapies are not prescribed to treat them. In the math sphere, the "bad" math student who has been defined in very general terms is usually afforded an equally general course of remediation, and a repetition of previously introduced material ensues, or perhaps an enhanced sensory diet of "slower and louder" is dispensed.

The Relationship Between Math and Language Struggles

We often define dyslexia as an "unexpected difficulty in reading"; however, a dyslexic student may also have difficulty with math facts although they are often able to understand and do higher level math quite well. The specific skills that an educational evaluation measures to determine where language glitches, both written and verbal, occur can also be helpful in predicting where math breakdowns might occur. Using this knowledge, we can also develop strategies to address an individual student's struggles in math.

Math-specific skills, including the ability to recognize and relate quantities, should also be assessed and factored into the production of an effective program for students whose atypical learning profiles suggest the need for special attention.

Why and how should teachers use what they know about language remediation to address math problems?

Mutlistep tasks can be difficult for students who have trouble organizing, naming, or sequencing; however, experience has shown that these students can be helped by using instructional methods that forge meaning and context through physically organizing objects, naming the action, and writing the process down.

Students' learning styles must be acknowledged through the development of strategies that compensate for their individual difficulties. Woodin has found that using activities that involve visualizing, walking, and talking out problems are effective in developing vocabulary, organizational skills, and oral and written output.

Overview: Importance of Integrating Visual and Language Systems

Like reading, math involves many cognitive processes or systems. Ideally, teachers should diagnose and treat math breakdowns with the same specificity and strategies they apply to language-based instruction. When math remediation is most effective and efficient, it employs the same best practices that are used to address reading struggles. We know that using hand motions when teaching songs or poems may be helpful since it provides cues and context clues that reinforce learning of the content. Likewise, the best math instruction utilizes student strengths to mitigate weaknesses, and uses context and the integration of multisensory techniques to help the student create meaning and improve memory.
About Chris Woodin:
Christopher Woodin is a specialist in the field of mathematics and learning disabilities. A graduate of Middlebury College and Harvard Graduate School of Education, he has taught extensively at Landmark School in Massachusetts. At Landmark School's Elementary/Middle School Campus, he holds the Ammerman Chair of Mathematics. Christopher served on the Massachusetts Department of Education's Mathematics 2011 Curriculum Framework Panel, and teaches graduate-level professional development courses during the summer through Landmark's Outreach Program. Chris was the 1997 Massachusetts Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) Samuel Kirk Educator of the Year. He has presented at numerous international LDA and International Dyslexia Association (IDA) conferences, and has led math workshops to audiences across the country.

Christopher has published The Landmark Method of Teaching Arithmetic ©1995 and several journal articles. His latest project, Multiplication and Division Facts for the Whole-to-Part, Visual Learner: An Activity-Based Guide to Developing Fluency with Math Facts, is currently in press and due to be released in 2012. This comprehensive text features the methodologies and many of the activities that are described on The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity's website. To learn more about Mr. Woodin and his work, please visit his page on the Landmark School website and his own website.

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Since the YCDC website began in 2007, we have received many requests about how best to help dyslexic students struggling with math.