Deciphering Differences

Sequim Gazette Wednesday, May 14, 2003
By Betty Oppenheimer
Sequim Gazette Staff Writer

Education therapist Melinda Pongrey helps people of all ages figure out how to learn. Focusing on clients who have been struggling with learning, Pongrey works to understand how their brains process information, using the body's auditory, visual, motor, tactile, spatial and language systems. Read More

Using Dyslexia to Advantage

BUSINESS | December 6, 2007
Tracing Business Acumen to Dyslexia
By BRENT BOWERS
A study concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to excel in oral communication and problem solving and to own two or more businesses.

Dyslexia-Overcoming day-to-day challenge of living with learning disability

Wednesday Jan 12, 2000
By Janet Huck
Leader Staff Writer

Shelley Wolff, a single mother of two young boys, thought the only job she would be able to get was hanging clothes at a department store. "I wanted more, but I couldn't see how I could get a better job because I could barely write, and working a cash register was out of the question," she said.

But the 25-year-old woman learned to overcome her learning disabilities by working with Port Townsend's Melinda Pongrey, the owner of SISIUTL: New Paradigms in Learning. SISIUTL was names after a mythical beast which transforms people's greatest challenges into their greatest gifts. Read More

Shelley's Update

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Learning Difficulties Awareness

Famous people with learning difficulties

What Are Learning Disabilities?

A short animation about Learning Disabilities (LD).

Dyslexic Me( poem)

About This Video
I was diagnosed with a "learning disability" as a young child. However before that my parents were told I was mentally handicapped and that I would never make it pass the 8th grade. I did make it pass the 8th grade. In fact, I graduated high school at the age of 20 and went on to graduate from College with a degree in Special Education.

OUTPUT FAILURE: The Myth of Laziness

We naturally understand other individuals from inside our own experiences. From the outside looking in, learning disabilities are difficult to comprehend, especially when you live or work with children or adults who do not perform as you do. Read More

Back to School: Support Your Child's Learning

What can you do?
Students with learning disabilities/differences typically begin the school year with a bang, yet somehow, mid-way through the year, find that they are behind and struggling despite every one's hard work. Here are a few tips to make sure your student makes steady progress during the school year. Read More

To Label or Not? The Learning Assessment

Understandably, many parents are reluctant to have their children identified with a learning disability label. Read More

Peninsula Daily News Article: On The Fast Track

On the Fast Track: Innovative ways help overcome reading disability

By Jennifer Jackson
Peninsula Daily News April 4, 2005

PORT TOWNSEND---Anthony Short has been on the fast track all his life.

He races hydroplanes as a hobby. He goes "4 bying"---4 by 4 trucking on back roads. He rides motorbikes, and enters and wins mud bog competitions in vehicles he repairs and maintains.

Now 21, he has taken engines apart and put them back together since he was 9 years old.

But in school, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get off the mark in reading. Read More

Binocular Teaming affects READING and Attention

clipped from www.nytimes.com Experts estimate that 5 percent of school-age children have convergence insufficiency. They can suffer headaches, dizziness and nausea, which can lead to irritability, low self-esteem and inability to concentrate. Interesting article---Convergence can be quickly screened using the string and bead test. Convergence most often improves using the Belgau Balance Board activities--Melinda

WHAT IS LEARNING ANYWAY?

Why do physical activities affect reading, writing or attention?

The June 2003 Volume 24, Number 6 issue of Discover magazine includes an interesting article outlining neuroscientist Paul Back-y-Rita’s current research into the plasticity of our senses. His thesis is that our brain is so adaptable that any of the five senses can be rewired. Read More

PT Project Won't Quit on Learning Problems

Advisor Shows how to cope with disabilities over the long run By Philip Watness Peninsula Daily News
January 2000 Port Townsend

Letters have a life of their own when Shelley Wolff looks at them. "P's become q's because Wollf has dyslexia. Shana Cannavaro learns from images rather than words on a page. Both women have learning disabilities and both of them somehow got through Port Townsend High School. Read More

Output Failure: The Myth of Laziness

We naturally understand other individuals from inside our own experiences. From the outside looking in, learning disabilities are difficult to comprehend, especially when you live or work with children or adults who do not perform as you do. For example, failure to produce organized, written work is difficult to understand for those of us who manage to generate written materials. "If only he'd apply himself....If only she'd work a little harder....He just isn't living up to his potential....She can do it, I've seen her do it..." Today, schools are under increased pressure to have students perform. Now, instead of filling in bubbles and blanks, much of performance is measured by constructing written responses. Indeed, the current Washington State Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) requires students to write cogently about their thinking.

In his book, The Myth of Laziness, Mel Levine, M.D. argues that low productivity is almost always a product of a neurodevelopmental bottleneck. So, when writing output is minimal, haphazard, or inconsistently produced, Dr. Levine checks for possible breakdowns in the motor system. He uses a seven step Motor Chain----looking at sports coordination (gross-motor), arts/crafts/repair work (fine-motor), and writing (graphomotor). Using his model, there are 21 possible points of "breakdown" for motor performance!

But the cause of output failure might not lie in the complexities of the motor system. Dr. Levine identifies seven other neurodevelopmental areas where output failure can occur: weak production control, social distractibility, low mental energy, disorganization, language delays, impoverished ideation, and insufficient memory. Of course, an individual might have a combination of the above affecting performance! The first step in understanding output failures, is to examine the individual's performance across different types of motor, attention, and language tasks to determine their unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses. Then, effective remediation and appropriate instruction can be designed so that hard work leads to successful outcomes.