MISUNDERSTOOD MINDS

By: Dawn, Jenna, Karla and Nicole

NATHAN

NATHAN VANHOV
Nathan loved to read. He was a natural leader, articulate, athletic. He was exceptional by all accounts. However, when he entered school... -first week of school, the teacher discovered that he didn't know the alphabet and couldn't actually read -Nathan was concerned that he was trying and trying without much success Nathan was sent for testing... -He did not score well on tests. -Nathan's mom admits that it was hard to hear that her child was not average especially when she thought he was exceptional. As it turns out... -He had memorized the entire book. He wasn't actually reading, he relied on innate strength (memory).

NATHAN VANHOV
Plan B.... -Nathan's parents hired a tutor. He knew 300 sight words before grade 2, but again, 9 weeks into class, he was behind Plan C...The investigation.... -Dr. Levine investigates all kinds of ways Nathan's brain learns. -He identified neurological deficiencies and strengths with 33 specific tasks. -Nathan did not perform well on a rhyming game. He though hot rhymed with hate. Therefore, this let Dr. Levine know that he did not have phonemic awareness. -Nathan can't break a word like dog into de-oh-g sounds

SARA LEE HARRIS

SARA LEE HARRIS

-lots of friends, youngest of 4, mom wants a good solid education for her kids- children's storefront school in Harlem -standout student, highly verbal -4th grade was really shy in history...wouldn't participate...out of charactercouldn't comprehend history, vocabulary -then tests basic language skills, good language for single words (mouse), but other words associated with pics she had difficulty -couldn't retrieve the information (e.g. Swine from Charlotte Web) -storage and retrieval system is very confused...takes card out but doesn't put it back in the right place -things start to unravel in grades 3 or 4, you begin to expose expressive language problems in grade 3 or 4: they know what they want to say but they can't get it out -had good inner language, knows what she wants to say but can't get it out the way she was thinking- she understands well but can't express herself - expert suggestion: Full Immersion Language Treatment: needs a verbal workout...needs to practice talking in full sentences...give your brain a workout -need to be comfortable in order to take risks, an immersion therapy...flash adds, drill...

SARA LEE 1 YEAR LATER

-Sara Lee is asked: What do you do if you find someone's purse in a store? Run after them... -Now she is contributing more in class -She has improved dramatically: comprehension score went from grade 4 second month to grade 7 -Sara lee is pushing herself beyond cliches, and is thinking deeper -Sara Lee-"I have matured a lot, I have been participating, my grades are improving, I have overcoming the mistakes I made other years."