SPELL-Links to Reading & Writing and SPELL-Links Class Links for Classrooms

Are there embedded pre-tests/diagnostic assessments within the SPELL-LINKS program to help identify skill/lesson and starting point?

If you are using SPELL-Links via the Curricular or Supplemental Model, there is a suggested Scope and Sequence in the manual. Additionally, the SPELL-Links assessment software (SPELL-2; sold separately) prescribes the SPELL-Links lessons (target patterns) and starting point activity within each prescribed SPELL-Links lesson for a single student.

How long are the lessons?

Each SPELL-Links lesson consists of multiple activities, so the length of time required to complete a SPELL-Links lesson will vary. On average, an activity can be completed in 30 minutes but could take more or less time depending on student variables such as nature and complexity of disorder and attention and motivation factors, size of instructional group, and clinician familiarity with methods and activities. Frequency/intensity of intervention is determined by student need. When using SPELL-Links Class Links for classroom instruction, the lessons are part of the daily reading block.

How do you determine if a student has a mental orthographic image (MOI)?

Spelling error analysis shows deficits in any one of the linguistic underpinnings of word-level reading and spelling (phonological, orthographic, morphological, mental orthographic image (MOI)/representation) will manifest as specific patterns of spelling errors in the student's spelling of words. Professionals well-trained in linguistic word study can observe patterns within students' misspellings. For the rest of us, the SPELL-Links assessment software (SPELL-2), for example, uses spelling error analysis algorithms to identify deficits in a variety of underlying linguistic skills including storage and retrieval of mental orthographic images (MOIs) of specific words and word parts, including affixes.

The term dyslexia may be confusing to professionals and the public in general, isn't it important to just say difficulties/challenges in reading/writing and define these rather than saying "dyslexia?" Same with any term we need. I thought "dyslexia" was "word blindness." I have heard dyslexia to mean reading comprehension difficulties.

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as "a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge." Many state education departments have adopted this definition. More important than the label is identifying each student's specific deficits so that intervention can be tailored to the unique needs of the student.

What do you suggest to do when you have a limited staff for an entire elementary school (i.e., one special education teacher, one reading interventionist) with regard to increasing intensity of treatment?

This is a real challenge and a problem that is set to grow as more students are identified through mandatory screening for dyslexia. A multi-faceted approach is needed to provide students the services they need with limited staff. This can include early (preschool) programs that will help to reduce the need for intervention and intensity of services needed once a student enters school, early screening and identification to provide early intervention before students fall significantly behind their peers, targeted intervention so each student receives only the instruction s/he needs, evidence-based instruction to achieve results as quickly as possible, and use of clinical tools and independent activities that deliver the repeated exposure and practice needed.

How and when would you integrate fluency instruction into practice?

"First, it's imporant to distinguish between fluency and reading rate (wpm). Reading fluency is defined as ""reasonably accurate reading, at an appropriate rate, with suitable prosody, that leads to accurate and deep comprehension and motivation to read"" by Hasbrouck & Glaser (2014). Reading rate is one component of the three primary components of fluency (accuracy, rate, and expression) and develops as a student gains automatic word recognition. Multi-linguistic word study instruction, when properly done, leads to automatic word recognition and improved reading rate. For most students, reading fluency will emerge as reading rate improves. If not, there may be other factors--for example, oral language syntax comprehension deficits--at play that need to be addressed. "

Have you seen improvement for students with dyslexia in terms of their response to intervention?

Students with dyslexia DO respond to intervention but they require more intensive, explicit, and systematic instruction and practice than students who struggle with reading and writing for other reasons, for example, students who come from a low-print, low-verbal home, ELL students, students with oral language disorders, and student who do not receive evidence-based instruction in the classroom ("dysteachia").

Do you ever see memory deficits in these students?

Working memory deficits are not uncommon in children who struggle with written language.

Do you tend to see patterns of errors with dyslexia within this program?  

There are sub-types of dyslexia and no two students are identical. This is why, in a special education context, a diagnostic assessment is so important; intervention should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. At the larger general education level, robust structured literacy instruction using SPELL-Links Class Links, for example, can be preventative but can also intensify the individualized plan in special education when crafted by the education team together.  

What is the recommended age/grade level? Could it be used for secondary students (grade 6-12)?  

A speech-to-print structured literacy approach, and the SPELL-Links program itself, is appropriate for students of all ages as documented by published research.  

Could you address any distinctions between dyslexia, hearing loss, and auditory processing disorder in identification and implications for intervention?  

These are three very distinct disorders which may co-exist. Regardless of the disorder, all students would benefit from structured, speech-to-print, multi-linguistic literacy instruction. Modifications may be needed both during assessment and intervention, for example a student with a hearing loss would benefit from added visual cueing, but the framework of diagnostic assessment and instruction would remain the same.  

Is it common for a student to be a great reader and decode well, but spelling is terrible?  

It's possible that a student can be a poor speller and yet have strong reading skills. More commonly, however, if a student is a poor speller, weak reading skills often co-exist. Weak decoding skills could be masked by strong vocabulary and compensatory strategies such as guessing a word from context. Or a student may decode accurately but not efficiently, automatically, so on the surface reading decoding may seem "normal" but the student's comprehension may be compromised due to inefficiency of decoding. If a student presents with poor spelling, it's important to carefully examine decoding skills that on the surface may appear to be within normal limits.  

What separates SPELL-Links/Class Links from other dyslexia intervention programs?  

There are many distinguishing components. Most notable is SPELL-Links' speech-to-print (vs. print-to-speech) approach. A comprehensive description of what separates SPELL-Links from other dyslexia intervention programs can be found here on this page under the Resources tab!  

What were the improvement results of the FL project?  

In the study conducted by the Florida Center on Reading Research (FCRR), low-performing first grade students who received SPELL-Links Class Links intervention in small groups outperformed the control group with moderate effect sizes across different measures of spelling and curriculum-based writing. You can read and link to the study on the Resources tab of this page.