John Bald/language and literacy

Reading Recovery and Tints - Dyslexia Research Trust

An article in the Dyslexia Research Trust's Newsletter reports that half of the children receiving Reading Recovery teaching in Hackney also require a tint in order to help them read. This is one of the most significant findings in research into visual stress and reading difficulty, and RR is to be congratulated in co-operating with the experiment after years of ignoring the issue. This should be the starting point for a thorough review of all RR teaching methods, which are still based almost exclusively on Dame Marie Clay's research in the sixties and early seventies.

Mobility for blind people

No miracles, but an ingenious piece of applied technology, here, that enables a blind boy to find his way without bumping into things, using a click and echol technique learned from the study of dolphins.

Light and Learning to Read

The EU directive banning conventional lightbulbs and requiring people to use flluorescent light has serious implications for education. Fluorescent lights flicker, effectively switching themselves off and on 100 times a second, with the alternation of standard electric current. This creates a harsh environment, particularly when the light is reflected off white paper. The leading expert on this subject is Professor Arnold Wilkins of Essex University, and I highly recommend his books Reading through Colour (Wiley) and Visual Stress (OUP). The directive will cause distress, and needs to be changed.

Fluorescent light causes particular problems in education, as young children learning to read have both to focus closely on text and move their eyes in a very regular and disciplined way. Flourescent lignt makes these adjustments more difficult for a significant minority of children, and can lead to problems that are liable to be mis-diagnosed as dyslexia, as their effects are very similar. We need to take three simple steps

• Watch for any signs of irritation or difficulty with concentration in children learning to read - this may be rubbing eyes, reluctance to read for long periods or headaches
• Make the Institute of Optometry's screening kit (www.IOO.org.uk) part of our assessment procedures
• Avoid flourescent lignt wherever possible, and try to use daylight.

Here is a link to Professor Arnold Wilkins' work

http://www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/psy/PEOPLE/wilkins/wilkins.html