John P. Parker School

What is Dyslexia?  Written by Cathy Koesters, Intervention Specialist and Certified in Dyselxia Intervention What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by poor phonemic awareness (matching sounds to letters) and deficits in decoding and spelling words.   What is not dyslexia? Dyslexia is not a problem with intelligence, laziness, vision, or seeing/writing letters backwards. What causes dyslexia? Brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions compared to a person who reads easily.  It is basically a phonological processing deficit. Most people with dyslexia have problems identifying the separate speech sounds in words and they struggle to associate sounds with letters.   These dyslexic problems are not due to lack of intelligence.  People with dyslexia can be very bright and are often gifted in areas such as art, c...

 Early Childhood Literacy Activities Developing a Love for Reading at an Early Age Written by: Robyn White, Reading Specialist at John P. Parker Students in preschool can start to make meaning from the  Environmental Print around them even as non-readers.  Environmental Print consists of packages, logos, labels and signs.  Pointing out Environmental Print is an opportunity for families to  work on early literacy development skills when your family is  running errands, traveling or taking a walk in your neighborhood. Early Literacy Development Activities Have a notebook or pad of paper available for your child to make a  shopping list alongside you. They may not be writing the word  correctly but they are beginning to understand that print carries  meaning. When shopping your child may recognize the box of Cinnamon Toast  Crunch cereal on the shelf. This allows for conversation with your  child and again allows them to connect the me...