Our chat host tonight on October 16, 2000 is Dr. Charles Haynes from the Graduate Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. The Health Institute is the first in the United States to offer the option of dual teacher certification in Speech-Language and Reading. Dr. Haynes is an Associate Professor and Chair of Admissions at IHP. His research interests are in word storage and word retrieval in normally achieving and dyslexic children, cross-cultural comparisons of children with dyslexia and related language learning disabilities, as well as early detection and early intervention for dyslexia. He serves on ASHA's Multicultural Issues Board and on the Board of Directors of the International Dyslexia Association. Dr. Haynes will be chatting tonight about dyslexia. <Adrienne> Hi Dr. Haynes! <Robin> Hi Dr. Haynes, thank you for joining us tonight <Robin> Dr. Haynes, your work with dyslexia sounds very interesting <Dr. Haynes> Yes, we are starting a dyslexia clinic for acquired dyslexia <Robin> are you familiar with the Wisnia-Kapp reading program? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, Sharon Kapp and I teach together <Adrienne> is this the special reading program at IHP? <Robin> Oh....I have heard about their work and remembered that they were in the Boston area <Dr. Haynes> Yes, Sharon teaches with me in the reading part of our program <Dr. Haynes> One of my students did her thesis evaluating Wisnia-Kapp <Adrienne> what is Wisnia-Kapp? <Dr. Haynes> It is a phonological awareness + phonics program <Robin> What is the most frequent cause of acquired dyslexia? <Dr. Haynes> There are many causes of acquired dyslexia -- any kind of brain damage, depending on the location <Nicola> When you say dyslexia are you referring to problems in writing as well as speaking? <Adrienne> is it something you can overcome or do you just learn of strategies to cope and manage? <Robin> I have a friend whose child had a cerebellar tumor at age 4 and is now 10 with many reading problems <Dr. Haynes> Many questions.. problems in reading and writing are associated with dyslexia <Robin> he had many chemo treatments <Dr. Haynes> Dyslexia can be overcome, although people have symptoms for their whole lives <Adrienne> reading problems as a result of the tumor or chemo? <Robin> yes, reading problems and memory deficits <Adrienne> I have heard dyslexia can take many forms and is not just letters in different orders <Dr. Haynes> With respect to cerebellar involvement, that can contribute to developmental dyslexia <Dr. Haynes> Developmental dyslexia is usually related to phonological problems <Nicola> So children with phonological disorders would be more likely to have dyslexia? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, if they are severe <Dr. Haynes> Mild articulation problems are not associated with dyslexia <Robin> Dr. Haynes, what approaches have you found to be most successful for acquired dyslexia treatment? <Dr. Haynes> That is not established <Adrienne> but there are treatments? <Dr. Haynes> We have set up a pilot intervention program <Dr. Haynes> Yes, treatments are highly individualized <Nicola> How common is dyslexia? % <Nancy> What do you think of the Phonological Awareness Test? <Dr. Haynes> We like the PAT, but are particularly interested in the CTOPP <Dr. Haynes> (Wagner, Torgeson & Rashotte's test) <Robin> how young are your patients/clients? <Dr. Haynes> Our acquired clients range from 45-73 years (we only have four right now) <Robin> no children? <Dr. Haynes> Our developmental clients range from 8-12 <Dr. Haynes> We have about thirty developmental clients in our language lab <Adrienne> do the students work in this dyslexia clinic? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, during the first two semesters they work in the developmental clinic <Adrienne> where do they work the last semesters? <Nancy> How many times a week do you work with clients? <Dr. Haynes> The last four semesters are in out-patient settings <Dr. Haynes> When I am supervising, I am in the clinic two days per week <Nicola> I haven't studied dyslexia yet - what would be an example of dyslexic speech? <Dr. Haynes> Dyslexic speech varies <Adrienne> I usually think of dyslexia as a receptive problem <Dr. Haynes> from dysphonemic sequencing to syntactic deficits <Dr. Haynes> Sometimes the difficulties are extremely subtle <Dr. Haynes> measurable through comparison of F1 ad F2 measures using a spectrographic andalysis of <Dr. Haynes> vowel production <Adrienne> Nicola asked a good question earlier, how common is dyslexia? <Dr. Haynes> Dyslexia is quite common, affecting 5-15% of the population <Dr. Haynes> There are good data at interdys.org (international Dyslexia Association's website <Roberta> Do you have an assessment "protocol" that you use to try to determine the possible bases of the dyslexia? That is, to rule in/out the possibility of receptive or expressive vocabulary problems and/or different types of phonological awareness difficulties? <Adrienne> whoa, communication science class is flashing before my eyes <Adrienne> are some people surprised to learn that not everyone reads this way? or do they usually realize their difference <Dr. Haynes> A narrow definition would identify primarily phonological deficits <Dr. Haynes> A wider definition might include more broad-based language problems <Dr. Haynes> Earlier Nicola asked about protocols <Dr. Haynes> A solid eval would address memory, IQ, and spoken & written language abilities <Robin> is this type of evaluation performed by an SLP or other professionals? <Dr. Haynes> A well-trained SLP can look at reading & memory, however, IQ is usually done by a psychologist <Nancy> Do you also look at academic areas? <Dr. Haynes> Acedemic functioning is important, too, of course <Dr. Haynes> We often use the Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Ed Battery <Nicola> Do you find cross-cultural differences amongst people with dyslexia? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, in fact in June of 2002 we will have a conference on multilingualism and dyslexia in Washington, DC <Adrienne> Dr. Haynes, what do you do on the Multi-cultural Issues board for ASHA? <Dr. Haynes> I am a member at large, we are currently drafting a statement on treatment of multilingual speakers <Roberta> Dr. Haynes, are you trained as a Reading Specialist, an SLP, or both? <Dr. Haynes> My doctorate is in reading; my MS is in SLP <Robin> Dr. H., we have a group of SLPs that chats here on Tuesday nights who deal with accent reduction, multcultural communication, etc <Roberta> Do you have any idea how many SLPs are members of the International Dyslexia Association,or the Orton Dyslexica Association, or ANY Dylexia Associations? <Nancy> What time does that chat take place? <JohnD> Currently I am practicing SLP at a Rehab Hospital and working on a PhD at UVA <Dr. Haynes> My guess is that 25% of IDA's members are SLP's (around 2-3K) <Dr. Haynes> IDA ad the Orton Society are the same now <Dr. Haynes> Orton became the International Dyslexia Association <Dr. Haynes> My work at IDA is on international comparisons of dyslexia <Roberta> Oh. At any rate, I find that number very reassuring. Do many SLPs present at the "reading" national conventions? In other words, are we beginning to see more interaction and sharing of information between the 2 professions? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, many SLP's present at IDA <Dr. Haynes> Many members of the Board of IDA ae or have been SLP's! <Roberta> That is even MORE reassuring!! <Adrienne> "SLP" is such an understated title!! <Adrienne> but I guess if you said all we can do it would be way too long <Dr. Haynes> It is hard to think about reading without addressing speech and language <Robin> I think in the past SLPs were hesitant to treat dyslexia and reading issues, but that area seems to be opening up <Adrienne> who else would deal with that? learning specialists? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, as SLP's gain more expertise in reading -- stages of reading, orthography, multisensory instruction, etc. <Roberta> About 10 years ago I was asked to guest lecture in a graduate reading course about the relationship between speech/language difficulties and reading problems. Again, it was 10 years ago, but the students were "shocked" at what I had to say. They were very open to it, but their instructor had basically taught them that most reading problems were related to vision problems. <Roberta> What a long way we've come!! <Nicola> One of my professors was explaining that in the future schools systems are likely to move towards having SLPs in classrooms to work alongside teachers - do you see that as a positive step re: dyslexia <Dr. Haynes> What did you talk about? <Adrienne> Roberta, are you a professor or working somewhere? <Roberta> I'm a professor of Communication Disorders <Dr. Haynes> Roberta, what do you teach? <Roberta> I teach in upstate NY. I teach 9 different courses, but my major areas are Articulation/Phonology and Language Impairments in Infants thru Adolescence <Robin> is there more training in this area in graduate school now than in the past? <Dr. Haynes> There is more training. Last year I presented with several prof's from other programs <Dr. Haynes> Have you read John Locke's book, The Child's Path to Spoken Language? <Roberta> I have only read excerpts. I don't have my own copy. <Roberta> Should I get one? <Dr. Haynes> It is right up your topical alley <Robin> Dr. H., when I was in grad school we didn't really address reading issues...do you offer a class in dyslexia in your program? <Roberta> I think I heard him speak at an ASHA convention a few years ago on that topic. He presented with an anthropologist or someone like that. <Adrienne> ok, I want to know about MGH IHP <Roberta> I'm happy to hear that undergraduate students really study (kidding)! <Dr. Haynes> Adrienne, what year are you in? <Adrienne> I am a senior at FSU <Dr. Haynes> What are you concerns re: applying to schools? <Adrienne> I am trying to decide what programs are strong in the areas I am interested in <Dr. Haynes> Those areas are... <Adrienne> I think I am interested in brain trauma and aphasia type things <Nicola> Me too <Adrienne> definitely the older population instead of children <Dr. Haynes> Our program has some nice links with rehab centers <Adrienne> how does your partnership with the hospital work? <Robin> I think your emphasis on reading is a wonderful way to go professionally...it opens many doors of employment opportunities <Dr. Haynes> IHP is a free-standing HEC-approved graduate school <Dr. Haynes> We are afficliated with MGH and have many hospital folks on our staff <Adrienne> so the profs are not necessarily slps? <Dr. Haynes> Most are SLP's with an occasional cognitive psychologist, too <Robin> do you offer a class in dyslexia/reading issues? <Dr. Haynes> Boston is a great place to study -- lots of thesis opportunities <Adrienne> how do you mean? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, our core curriculum is centered around spoken-written language <Dr. Haynes> MGH is a research center. <Dr. Haynes> Hence the thesis opportunities <Robin> great program...how long has it been around? <Dr. Haynes> Our program has been around for 8 years <Adrienne> Dr. Haynes, do you have a thesis/non-thesis option? <Dr. Haynes> Yes <Robin> how many students go for the thesis? <Dr. Haynes> About 3-5 students out of 35 <Adrienne> wow <Dr. Haynes> Is that many or few? <Adrienne> few? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, I want more students to try it out <Adrienne> I think I would rather spend a year learning something in detail than cram all this I've already learned at one point into one day's test <Dr. Haynes> The inquiry skills you learn are excellent <Robin> the thesis also lead to papers at ASHA and other conventions, publications, etc <Adrienne> Dr. Haynes, what are the qualifications for admission to your program? <Dr. Haynes> Adrienne, if you are interested in applying, contact me at chaynes.partners.org <Dr. Haynes> Sounds like you are inquisitive. <Dr. Haynes> A minimum GPA of 3.0 and combined minimum GRE of 1000 <Adrienne> that sounds typical, do most of your students exceed that by much? <Dr. Haynes> Those are absolute minimums <Dr. Haynes> Yes, most students are significantly higher <Adrienne> good <Dr. Haynes> We leave minimums though for late-bloomers <Adrienne> there is always potential <Robin> when do most students start the application process? <Dr. Haynes> Now -- applications are due in January <Adrienne> you require rec letters and a purpose statement? <Dr. Haynes> Yes, those are very important to us <Robin> well, at the least, two hundred NSSLHA faculty advisors from around the country were informed about your program with our chat letter <Adrienne> yes <Adrienne> I had not realized it was offered there <Dr. Haynes> Thanks for the chance to meet <Adrienne> Thank you so much for coming on, Dr. Haynes <Dr. Haynes> I will look forward to hearing from you. <Robin> Thank you for joining us Dr. Haynes....please join us again <Dr. Haynes> My best wishes - |
