[senco-forum] Developing listening skills insecondarypupils-Eddie's CD

Aly

Well AlyI will have to live with your disapproval and disgust.
As far as US and UK government recognition, both of these worthy 
instituations recognise all manner of things which I and many others, abhor 
theefore I do not consider that as supporting evidence of the existence of 
APD

Did Graeme not report that the MRS had withdrawn their statement of support 
for the existence of such a condition?

In any event, there are those who role in life is to carry out delicate 
brain surgery: there are those in life whose role is to diagnose cancer. I 
have none of these skills and do not therefore encroach on their areas of 
professional responsibility. I confine myself to my own little world where I 
believe, rightly or wrongly, that I have a role in catering to the needs of 
those with learning difficulties - that's enough of a challenge for me.

I could not diagnose APD any more than could produce a rabbit out of a hat 
and I am happy to leave that to those who have expertise in those particular 
fields.

Eddie C.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Eddie Carron" <eddiecarron at btconnect.com>
To: <Olanys at aol.com>; <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 3:02 PM
Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills 
insecondarypupils-Eddie's CD

> Aly
> I do not know if any of the children had APD and quite frankly, I dont 
> care. The condition is not well defined - a credible, objective means of 
> establishing its existence/severity is not currently available nor indeed 
> is a credible, means of responding to it. I prefer to stand on firmer 
> ground which has the support of logic.
>
> Consider the point raised about modalities.
>
> I worked for a term with a group of poor readers who were unable to 
> segment complex words into two or three simpler segments.  I respsonded to 
> their 'special need' by having them complete a one term course of daily 10 
> minute sessions  which resulted in making segmenting  a routine, reflex 
> reation to complex words. That course was deemed to be succesful, not 
> because their ability to segment became reflex  - but because their 
> general literacy skills improved.
>
> Naturally, prophets of doom would say that this did not prove that the 
> segmenting course was responisble for their improved literacy skills and 
> they would be right. But those whose glass is invariably half full rather 
> than half empty, would say that this is irrelevant - the significant thing 
> is their literacy skills improved and this is true whether they had APD, 
> dyslexia or any other learning disability.
>
> The whole point of seeking to enhance listening skills is the same - it is 
> to improve the child's general literacy skills. If a child completes a 
> term course which provides that he or she had a total of about sixteen 
> hours concentrated and successful listening practice over the course of 
> one term, I would expect there to be significant improvements, specfically 
> in general literacy skills.  I have always believed that the function of 
> the special needs teacher was specifically to cater to these special 
> needs.  My own, in this case, limited research shows that the sixteen 
> hours focused listening experience did impact positively on their general 
> literacy skills and that is enough justification as far as I am concerned. 
> I leave it to everyone else to form their own conclusions.
> I assume that if the course had been inappropriate, they would not have 
> made significant improvements in general literacy skills - but they did!. 
> Suppose for a moment that there is such a thing as APD and suppose further 
> that one of the childrn in my study made good literacy gains as a 
> conseqence of completing a listering skills course, would you say that 
> that child should not have been put throught that course?
>
>
> Eddie C.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <Olanys at aol.com>
> To: <senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk>
> Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 1:50 PM
> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Developing listening skills in 
> secondarypupils-Eddie's CD
>
>
>> Eddie,
>>
>> You also said:
>>
>> "Contrary to what you write, the target group for this approach do indeed
>> have learning difficulties- " then you add...
>>
>> "But No - they don't have Hydrocephalus, Downes Syndrome - or
>> APD or  Aspergers or Full Spectrum Autism  - they are neither deaf nor 
>> dumb
>> etc. etc etc but I did say that the approach was developed with 
>> mainstream
>> secondary school children with reading ages of about 9.5 whose reading 
>> was
>> beginning to improve but their general literacy skills, including 
>> listening
>> skills, were still fairy abysmal. I made no claims about its 
>> effectiveness
>> with any other groups."
>>
>>
>> 1. How do you know they don't have APD? There may be many children in
>> mainstream who have APD as the cause of their listening difficulties. But 
>> that  is
>> irrelevant to you? How can you help a child if you don't know what is 
>> causing
>> it?
>>
>> 2. So are your target children those that have none of these  conditions?
>>
>> 3. Is the progam aimed at children with diagnosed or undiagnosed learning
>> difficulties or not or is it just not suitable for the ones you named?
>>
>> Your post contradicts itself.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Best wishes,
>> Aly
>>
>> Chair Auditory  Processing Disorder in the UK/APDUK
>> www.lacewingmultimedia.com/APD.htm
>> www.apduk.org
>
> 