How Science Can Become Unscientific, and Why the ‘Science of Reading’ is No Exception...

Science remains one of the few methodologies to give us ‘valid and reliable’ knowledge, particularly as the methodology insists on changing our understanding as new evidence emerges, at least in an idealistic world, untrammelled by profit, greed and deception. But when ‘science’ is in the service of profit, it all too often denies our experiences, rather than attempts to explain them.

Let me unpack this. My PhD was based on the sociology of knowledge; how ideas become accepted or rejected as legitimate ‘Knowledge’. What are the circumstances, and economic background that enables an idea to become common knowledge? Unsurprisingly, money and vested interests play a dominant role. Let me give you a concrete example.

When researching the training of agronomists in Peru in the mid 1970s, well before the advent of the internet, it became evident that student agronomists had limited access to text books. When selecting textbooks for courses, lecturers had to consider what was available in multiple copies in the library. In most cases, multiple copies were donated to the University by USAID. Most of these textbooks had been written about agriculture in the USA, which overall, of course , has a completely different temperate climate to that found in Peru, not to mention assumptions about the class structure within the agricultural world.

So the first layer of what counts as legitimate Knowledge, was determined by who could afford to donate books. We do not need to enter into conspiracy theories about USAID agendas to explain this impact...

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How many labels do we need?

As a sociologist, I am more than aware of the perils of labelling. However, I have never experienced this as a problem as a dyslexic learner, since understanding dyslexia, and my strengths and weaknesses, is essential for success. It can provide an informed explanation for all the difficulties and facilities I have experienced in my life and education. It seems to me that this is a basic human right- to know oneself.

What has muddied the waters is the growing social realisation that most neurodivergent labels are incomplete. We almost invariably can identify with many of them. When researching for the Westminster AchieveAbility Commission (2018), we discovered that only a small minority identify with just one neurodivergent label. Most identify with two or three, and one of our respondents identified with 14. So what is going on?

In practice, different diagnostic labels are controlled by different and competing professional groups. These include psychologists, medical practitioners, teachers, speech and language therapists, and psychiatrists. It takes a great deal of training and expense to become recognised as a diagnostician (or assessor). And each will focus on their area of expertise. Consequently, the label (or very occasionally, labels) acquired by the neurodivergent person may depend heavily on the professional background of the assessor...

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Development & Impact of the online Visual Reading course with Structured Saccade

The Development and Impact of the online Visual Reading course with Structured Saccade

Since Evelyn Wood invented speed reading in the 1950’s (Frank, 1994), three key strategies are central to all advanced reading courses:

1. The use of the finger to develop and maintain high speeds
2. Widening the reading visual span to take in multiple words at once
3. The elimination of subvocalisation, because subvocalisation physiologically limits reading speed to 300-350 words per minute (wpm).

A persistent criticism of speed reading is that it improves reading speed at the expense of comprehension (Rayner, Schotter, Masson, Potter, Treiman, 2016). Consequently, a 4th strategy, to improve comprehension through metacognitive reading strategies, is now generally included. This includes techniques such as previewing, questioning texts, and reviewing. Metacognitive strategies have been known about and researched for 100 years (Thorndyke, 1923), and there was much interest in this as a study skill from the 1950s on (Russell, 1956; Smith, 1965; Sochor, 1959; Wolf, Huck, & King, 1967).

All speed reading and advanced reading skill courses are based on these four strategies. However, in practice, how the reader is enabled to read, and widen their reading visual span. varies from course to course. Some courses merely exhort the reader to speed up and pay attention to a wider field of characters, following the rapid movement of the finger...

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The Social Mechanics of our Disablement

Neurodivergence is often mistakenly perceived to be the result of being different from most other people, when it is actually a consequence of unintentionally challenging social power.

For example, contrary to accepted wisdom, two thirds of us all prefer to make meaning visually, rather than verbally (Cooper,2009) . Despite this, we are often punished (or humiliated) for thinking visually when our thinking fails to follow, or observe, accepted wisdom, lines of logic, grammar style, sequence and boundaries. This happens because visual thinking recognises and values social, structural and philosophical connections, meaning and patterns, rather than the limiting boundaries and hierarchies imposed by words.

I am arguing that this is the real reason that thinking in words is considered essential and inevitable by schools intent on imposing social control (and why our schools look like prisons), and why what is taught is not generally open to debate. Those of us who can think in words are therefore channelled into doing so. Those of us who find it difficult, or impossible to do so, are considered unpredictable, lazy, stupid, deviant, challenging, crazy or dangerous.

The real issue is that visual thinking enables us to see the connections across and between the boundaries in thinking (and social structures) that those in power intend to hide. As Basil Bernstein argued, power is never more eloquent than in the boundaries between categories (1973). It is therefore holistic thinking which is at the heart of the issue, rather than visual or verbal thinking themselves...

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Why Dyslexia is NOT a Reading Disability

My predecessor at the London Language and Literacy Unit (LLU+), based then at Southbank University, was Cynthia Klein (2000). I remember having a conversation with her about 25 years ago. She had recently met with Prof. Maggie Snowling and been given some advice. Prof. Snowling cautioned Cynthia to avoid talking about dyslexic strengths, since these were merely anecdotal and in promoting them, would discredit her own work. Cynthia failed to take that advice. I suspect, among other things, this is because she worked with adults and it is impossible to work with dyslexic adults without recognising the consistent patterns of our experiences. There has been much water under the bridge since then, and it is now common knowledge that dyslexia presents patterns of strengths as well as difficulties. But this has made very little difference to the way children are treated by our education systems, even if it has, to some degree, for adults.

Of course there have been some landmark changes in awareness, not least of which is the recognition of ‘dyslexic thinking’ as a strength...

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The first 110 Visual Readers

We systematically collect the reading speed scores of all participants on our Visual Reading course. We intend to regularly update the data as it's received.

We have provided both the mean and median scores. The mean scores give an accurate reading for the group, but the median scores give a better representation for individual progress. This is because extreme scores can skew the mean up or down, whereas the median score is the score achieved in the middle of the group. In a perfectly symmetrical set of data, the mean and the median will be the same. In our case, some readers achieve extremely high scores (the highest so far being 3000 wpm), which results in the mean scores being higher than the median scores. This is not offset by extreme low scores, because we do not have any. All our students make excellent progress.

Measuring reading speed progress can be articulated in several ways, including raw reading speed scores, analysing the difference between start and final speeds in Standard Deviations, and the multiple increase in reading speed. Each of these measures provide different angles on the progress made.

Standard Deviations are calculated from the standardised scores. Standardisation of reading for meaning speeds were calculated by measuring the reading speed of 355 postgraduates who read a 400 word text suitable for 12 year olds (and answering 10 questions). Around 67% fall into the single Standard Deviation below and above the mean score.

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Weekly progress of Dyslexic Visual Readers

Weekly progress of Neurodivergent Visual Readers

The Visual Reading course is based on 3 main concepts. The first is that silent reading speeds can be dramatically improved by gaining control over the accuracy of saccades through using the Structured Saccade Overlays©. The second is that comprehension can be improved by good use of metacognitive reading strategies, even when speed increases. The third is that reading skills develop best when the reader is enabled to read texts that interest them.

This article will explain and illustrate what the significant elements of the coaching are and how each are handled by the coach, It will also analyse the weekly progress in Standard Deviations (59 wpm represents one standard deviation) as well as raw reading speed scores for all those for whom we have this weekly data. This includes progress of both the mean and median reading speed scores of the group (and sub groups).. We have compared these between adults and children, and also the two individual Visual Readers who made the most and the least progress showing the current parameters of individual progress.

The process involves 3 coaching elements.
1. Explaining how and why to use the Structured Saccade Overlays with their chosen reading material, and how to use and develop metacognitive reading strategies...

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The Extraordinary Impact of Visual Reading Through the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).

The Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is a system of support in the UK for all students in Higher Education with a recognised ‘disability’. This includes neurodivergent students.

The process requires that the individual must have a formal assessment recognised by the awarding bodies (Student Finance England (SFE), Student Finance Wales (SFW), Student Finance Northern Ireland (SFNI), or NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

This enables the individual student to have a free Assessment of Need which identifies what equipment, products or services will help to level the playing field. This looks at both the educational experience of the student, and the course requirements of their prospective courses. The recommendations (and justifications) are sent to the awarding body for their agreement to fund. Once agreed, a supplier provides, or arranges, what has been agreed.

This can include Visual Reading, which is on the list provided by SFE of products that have been awarded through the DSA. This system has been under review...

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