Technological, financial support and other type of actions 1 Technological support

At present there are not technological instruments to support Spanish people with reading and writing difficulties. One resource is to tape lectures in order to avoid difficulties in note taking. Dyslexic students could also exploit

resources used by the general population, such as the spell-checkers of word processors, and other instruments designed for special populations. This is the case of some word-readers used by blind people.

Nevertheless, the most useful instruments are computerized procedures designed to train people, with or without special difficulties, in reading and writing. These procedures have being created as training rather than support instruments. Nevertheless, they could be useful instruments to train specific deficits. For instance, there exist computerized programs to train syntax composition, letter and word reading, or naming (Ardila, Ostrosky-Solís & Mendoza, 2000; Adrián, González y Buiza, 2003). The problem is that this software is expensive and difficult to obtain for individual use.

6.2. Exams and study facilities, and personal supervision.

School teachers are aware of reading difficulties, although not always trained to treat students with special needs. However, neither personnel in

administration nor teachers expect students with cognitive or learning difficulties at Secondary and High school, and less at the University. In this last case, teachers are not concerned with the problems of dyslexic students following lectures, take notes or to answer multiple choice exams. The provision of special material or supervision is a personal decision to take by the teacher.

Unfortunately, there are no special facilities for students with reading and writing difficulties. Written exams have to be passed in order to enter the University, and there is no possibility of adaptation in the case of reading or writing difficulties.

Once the student has entered at the University any adaptation to the general procedure is at the teachers’ discretion, since there is not any official provision over students with special needs. Some teachers will comprehend the

student’s difficulties and be available to provide any help, although the general attitude is to ignore individual conditions.

6.3. Non-technology and training support.

In some Universities there is a Service of Psychological Support constituted by Psychologists and Speech Therapists. This is free for University students, however the treatments are only provided during short periods.

The dyslexic can visit to find support for his/her difficulties, although not every Psychological Service in Spanish Universities recognises this kind of

disorders.

6.4. Financial support

Students who have been diagnosed as dyslexic could only apply for support from the Orientation Team or the Counsellor at the school. However, there is no financial support. If the dyslexic arrives at the University, he/she would not have access to financial or technological facilities.

As dyslexia is not considered a disability, dyslexic students could not apply for special grants or financial support but have access to the same ones as non- dyslexic student.

6.5. Other

The interest in people with difficulties is increasing in the Spanish society. Authorities are more conscious of the need to establish strategies to give support to the citizens with any kind of disability. Many advances have been introduced through legislative provisions, mainly for people with sensory or motor impairments, and cognitive deficiencies. However still more facilities are needed, as the creation of services to attend students with dyslexia or

learning difficulties in High Education Centres and at the University.

Nevertheless, small changes have been observed. For example, very recently the General Direction of Traffic has edited a Driving Manual for people with reading comprehension difficulties. We hope this innovation would be

extended to other aspects of the public life, such as the construction of official forms that need to be filled out.

7. Web sites.

The webs dedicated to dyslexia belong to associations and other

professionals whose work is centred on this topic. Some of them are very informative, and offer strategies for intervention. But most of them are not very helpful, since their aim is mainly advertising. There are still other webs with an old fashion approach, and even some that present dyslexia as a “precious value”, which could get parents confused. We list below a selection of the most interesting webs.

- Centro de Estudios de Aprendizaje y Reeducación (CEAR) (Center for the Study of Learning and reeducation). It is a non-profit private foundation recognized by the Ministry of Education for the help of people with learning difficulties in Spain.

www.dyslexia.org

- Problemas del Aprendizaje. (Learning Difficulties). A place to generate a community around dyslexia as a learning difficulty. http://www.geocities.com/jesus_rua/dislexia.html

- Asociaciò Dislexia i Familia. (Dyslexia and Family Association). Association constituted by parents and professionals who work in dyslexia and try to look for solutions to their medical, and educative difficulties in the city of Palma de Mallorca.

http://www.disfam.com/

- Fifteen basic questions on dyslexia. By Dr. Josep Artigas. A

document that sets and answers the most common questions in a very comprehensible language for non experts, and updated with the most recent research.

www.cspt.es/

- Asociación para la dislexia y otros problemas de aprendizaje. (Association for dislexia and other learning difficulties). This is an

association formed by parents, and teachers who attempt to spread the knowledge about dyslexia, and to claim for more support. The problem is their old fashion conceptualisation of dyslexia.

www.dislexia.net

- Estrategias de intervención en niños con dificultades de aprendizaje. (Strategies for the intervention on learning difficulties) Specialized document elaborated by the Department of Psychology in the University of Oviedo.

http://copsa.cop.es/congresoiberoa/base/educati/a9.htm Other interesting web-sites localized out of Spain

- La conquista del Lenguaje. (The Conquest of Language) A private centre for the study and treatment of the dyslexia. www.ladislexia.com

- La Dislexia en el niño. (Dyslexia in the childhood).

Introduction of C.I.L.A. (Interdisciplinary Centre of Language and learning). Argentina.

http://www.dislexia.com/ninho.html

A SURVEY. Reading and writing difficulties in High School and University students.

Several researches address the study of reading difficulties showed by 6 to 12 year-old students (Jiménez y Hernández, 1999; Justicia, Defior, Pelegrina y Martos, 1999). Even when there are some studies about reading

Elosúa, Gutiérrez, Luque, y Gárate, 1999), little is known about the Academic progress of students with reading and writing difficulties: if they enrol in the university or they opt to vocational training, and direct towards finding a job. It has been shown along the text above that there is a certain gap between what it is suggested by the law and the reality at the education Centres. Parents, teachers, and other professionals inside the educative field are aware of the necessity of strategies to prevent or to compensate learning difficulties, especially those related to reading and writing. Against these

expectations, there is a little provision of professional and instrumental means, and it tends to disappear at higher levels of education. In Secondary and High Schools, the duties of educative support are reduced to minimum, so that counsellors use most of their time in vocational orientation or attending the most difficult cases of social adjustment (Luque y Mora, 1999). Students lacking in resources are deprived of support just at the time when school tasks are more demanding. As a consequence, they could find more difficulties to achieve standard levels. In such a situation, what happens to intelligent students that, due to their poor reading and written abilities, fail to achieve beyond a low general achievement?

There is an additional matter to take into account. The law of Education establishes the compulsory of education until the age of 16 years. It means that students with low achievement, who would have preferred to initiate their working life, continue at school. However, they find little help to take on what they could consider tedious or difficult tasks. Thus, the difficulties would be emphasized, and the gap between good and poor students would increase. The purpose of this survey was of an exploratory nature. We pursued three general aims. First, we attempted to know the proportion of reading and writing difficulties in Secondary and High School through the information provided by School Counsellors. Second, we proposed to know the vocational advices these students received; and third, how many of them, finally, entered at the University.

The survey we are going to present consists of two studies. In the first, data were taken from a sample of Secondary and High School Counsellors by a questionnaire. For the second study, a questionnaire was used directly with a sample of University first year students. By examining the participants

responses, we hope to understand the academic progress of students with reading/writing difficulties, and their options to enter into University.

Study 1.

In this first study, it was intended to question counsellors about the

percentage of student with low reading/writing abilities, and about the kind of actions planned from the Orientation Department.

Participants: A sample 21 counsellors coming from the same number of Secondary and High Schools settled in Málaga city answered to a

questionnaire. This number constitutes 68% out the Secondary and High Schools in Málaga city. The socio-economical and cultural level and quality of education distribute randomly among the Centres that participated in the study.

Procedure: A questionnaire was elaborated and individually administered to the head of the Orientation Department (see Appendix I). The application took place at every Centre between the months of November 2003 and January 2004.

Results and Discussion.

The percentage of students that following the counsellor’s opinion manifest reading-writing difficulties is shown in Figure 1. Most of the counsellors inform of high percentage of students with any reading/writing difficulties. In one out of three High Schools, the percentage of students rage between 10% and 20%. It is interesting that in 24% of the Centres the counsellor considers that almost a third part of the students (30%) manifest this kind of difficulties. Please, insert Figure 1 here

However, very few students consulted for their difficulties, and the counsellors considered only a very low proportion follow any kind of treatment.

When counsellors were asked if there was any planned activity to prevent or re-educate this kind of difficulties by the Orientation Department only 24% of the answers were affirmative, although 50% of them admitted the Centre counted with enough resources to this aim.

Table 1. Vocational counselling and decision taken by the student

FURTHER STUDIES LOOK

FOR A JOB Secondary and High School Vocational Training Secondary and High School or Vocational Training Vocational Training or Job Job Vocational Counselling 28,6% 28,6% 33,3% 9,5% Students’ choice 23,8% 4,8% 33,3% 28,6% 9,5%

Of special interest it was the answer to the question about the type of

vocational orientation given to these students, as it is showed in Table 1. Most of the counsellors tend to advise to take further studies, either Secondary and High school either Vocational Training. Just a few (9.5%) considered that looking for a job was the best option.

In the counsellors’ opinion after their advice a 61.9% enter in Secondary and High school or Vocational Training, 9.5% look for a job; 28.6% could opt either for vocational training or for finding a job. As it could be observed, the

counsellors encouraged students to progress in the studies. It is the personal option of the student to leave the school.

If these predictions are fulfilled, there is a remarkable percentage of students with reading/writing difficulties that will enter at the University.

Study 2.

In the second part of the study we attempted to detect the proportion of students who, in spite of their difficulties, chose to enter at the University. We also seek to know if their difficulties determined their election. As a

consequence, we expected an elevated proportion among the students of science courses.

Participants: 1255 students of first year, 360 male, 865 female. The mean age was 20.26 years. The students were distributed along 20 different courses at the University of Málaga. This constitutes the 38% of the total studies given by this University. 4 were science courses, 13 “Arts” courses; 3 mixed courses.

Procedure: The questionnaire included in the Appendix II was administered to all participants. The questionnaire was collective applied between

November 2003 and February 2004 in the same class were the courses were given.

Results and Discussion.

A total of 213 students (17%), 145 (16.8%) female and 68 (18.8%) male, identified themselves as showing any kind of difficulties in reading, writing or