Symbol Orientation
Dear Reader…here’s to a new school year 06-07--may we continue our learning together.
Since my last section (Perception and Memory) of Jay’s evaluation at Dyslexia Services, I’ve spent considerable time searching and reading new research about the motor pathways of the brain in preparation for this presentation, Symbol Orientation, the next section of Jay’s evaluation. Let’s start with a brief history of the kinesthetic/motor modality in learning language and then continue with my research findings.
Symbol Orientation evaluates the kinesthetic/motor modality, one of the three modalities of the Orton-Gillingham triangle--the other two being visual and auditory. Orton and Gillingham were pioneers in the field of dyslexia and its treatment.
During the 1920’s and 1930’s, Samuel T. Orton, M.D. (neurology and neuropathology) identified congenital dyslexia (belonging to one from birth) and experimented with educational treatment using the eye, ear, and hand. Anna Gillingham, an educator, worked with Dr. Orton and compiled the tested treatment (Orton-Gillingham Approach) into a manual. This Orton-Gillingham Approach is based on the three modalities (visual-auditory-kinesthetic/motor) of language learning. Each one of these three modalities needs to reinforce the other for language mastery to succeed. Furthermore, each one of these three modalities has its own area of operation in the brain cortex (eye-occipital, ear-temporal, hand-pariental) and is connected to the others via neurons, dendrites, and axons. A weakness in any one modality affects the other two modalities. Therefore, the focus of the Orton-Gillingham Approach is to reinforce the strong modality(ies) and to use the strong to strengthening the weak modality(ies) through eye-ear-hand linkages.
A kinesthetic/motor evaluation includes posture and pencil grip. Motor pathways that originate in the motor cortex of the brain travel down the spinal column and control posture and muscle tone of the body. Poor posture and improper pencil grip are markers of impaired muscle tone. My research evolves around the impaired pencil grip. The ideal pencil grip is the tripod grip where the thumb and index finger (stabilized by the middle finger) control the pencil. A link exists between the thumb and index finger grip and the brain (posterior pariental cortex). A major player in this link is the median nerve which originates from the brachial plexus (start of spinal column), runs down the arm to the thenar muscles in the hand, and supplies the energy of the thenar muscles which enable the hand to grip and hold a pencil. The proper alignment of brain, median nerve, hand, and thumb and index finger gives the hand the mobility and the thumb and index finger the strength to function properly.
In the tripod grasp, the index finger controls the writing process to minimize fatigue and muscle tension and hurt. In holding the pencil, the bent of the index finger (second joint) and the bent of the thumb should make an open web space (circle) while the pencil rests on the first joint of the middle finger and the ring and pixie fingers touch the paper.
As soon as your child takes pencil to hand, check the grasp. If the child makes a fist around the pencil, the thenar muscles controlling the index finger and thumb need to open into a circle (web). Good exercises are cutting paper or cardboard with the thumb and middle finger holding the scissors. Other exercises are picking up objects with index finger and thumb or opening clothes pins or hair pins (index finger on top). If allowed to write with the fist, the muscles will be reinforced and develop into a fist grasp which is difficult to break and causes muscle stress and pain.
A kinesthetic evaluation also evaluates the direction and sequence when stroking letters and numbers. The direction of stroking indicates whether the student is processing left to right in the flow of language or right to left, opposite to the flow of language.
If your child or student cannot remember how to make a letter form, reverses (b/d, s/z), or inverts letter forms (u/n, b/p, m/w), faulty kinesthetic/motor processing needs to be addressed. Ask your child or student to print the alphabet. Note if he or she hesitates to recall a letter form or starts at the beginning of the alphabet (singing the abc’s song) to remember the next letter. The printing of the alphabet is a revealing first step in identifying kinesthetic/motor weakness.
Further reading:
Gillingham, A. & Stillman B. (1969). Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship (5th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service, Inc.
H.H. Ehrsson, A. Fagerin, R.S. Johansson, and H. Forsberg. “Evidence for the Involvement of the Posterior Pariental Cortex in Coordination of Fingertip Forces for Grasp Stability in Manipulation.” J.Neurophysiol; November 1, 2003; 90 (5): 2978-2986.
“A Patient’s Guide to Hand Anatomy” Louisville, KY: Apex Physical Therapy, 5/5/2006, 1-5. http://www.eorthopod.com/eorthopodV2/fuseaction/topics.detail/ID/3a680c091a62a9749e073... 5/5/2006
Let’s now evaluate Jay’s Symbol Orientation
SYMBOL ORIENTATION.
Letters
Numbers
Accuracy of letters and numbers gives insights into visual-kinesthetic/motor (eye-hand) linkages and left to right sequence. The English language flows from left to right. Reversed, inverted, and transposed letters indicate right to left sequence, opposite to the left to right flow of language. Those with dyslexia usually have difficulty with symbol perception and memory and with left to right sequence. Jay showed these visual-kinesthetic/motor memory and perception weaknesses.
Letters.
Since 95% of what we read is lower case print, the immediate recall of lower case letters is an essential part of success in language. Upright posture and a strong index finger grip on the pencil are indicators of kinesthetic strengths. Jay slouched on the table and his middle finger and thumb gripped the pencil. He printed most of the letters in lower case (except F, G, Z), showed by boxing his upper case G that he was aware that the letter was not lower case but could not remember how to make the form for lower case g. He then printed g for j (showing his confusion between the two letters) and upper case “Z” after u. He printed the letter n after the letter y (singing abc’s—y ‘n z) and ended with the number 5 (for z which he later self corrected) and added lower case g at the end of the alphabet. He showed his struggles with the b and d reversing the letters in sequence (“a, d, c, b”). He accurately down stroked the stick letters in the left to right flow of language. However, he started the ball letters (a, g, o) at 6:00 (base line) and circled clockwise, opposite to the left to right flow of language. Jay showed weak visual memory and weaknesses in visual-kinesthetic/motor linkages blocking his ability to master letter formation and alphabet recall.
Numbers.
This informal testing measures number forms and their orientation as mathematical language that flows from left to right. Jay’s form and orientation for most of his numbers was accurate. His stroking of numbers 5 and 9 can lead to confusion. A sloppy 5 can become confused with an upper case S. In his stroking of number 9, he ended to the left of the number rather than the right (mathematical flow). To evaluate sequence, Jay was asked if he could write numbers 30 through 1 (reverse). He said, “Yes,” started at the right margin of the paper and proceeded to the left (opposite of mathematical flow). He accurately wrote “30, 29, 28, 27” then wrote “29”, self-corrected, then wrote “25, 26.” The examiner changed the task to writing graduated numbers 1 through 30. Jay accurately wrote 1 through 12, repeated 11, self-corrected, and accurately continued the task through 30. Mathematical errors can occur when the forming of numbers is opposite to mathematical flow. Directional confusions affect computation. My suggestion is to use large-block graph paper when computing to help him with accuracy, organization, and calculation.
Since my last section (Perception and Memory) of Jay’s evaluation at Dyslexia Services, I’ve spent considerable time searching and reading new research about the motor pathways of the brain in preparation for this presentation, Symbol Orientation, the next section of Jay’s evaluation. Let’s start with a brief history of the kinesthetic/motor modality in learning language and then continue with my research findings.
Symbol Orientation evaluates the kinesthetic/motor modality, one of the three modalities of the Orton-Gillingham triangle--the other two being visual and auditory. Orton and Gillingham were pioneers in the field of dyslexia and its treatment.
During the 1920’s and 1930’s, Samuel T. Orton, M.D. (neurology and neuropathology) identified congenital dyslexia (belonging to one from birth) and experimented with educational treatment using the eye, ear, and hand. Anna Gillingham, an educator, worked with Dr. Orton and compiled the tested treatment (Orton-Gillingham Approach) into a manual. This Orton-Gillingham Approach is based on the three modalities (visual-auditory-kinesthetic/motor) of language learning. Each one of these three modalities needs to reinforce the other for language mastery to succeed. Furthermore, each one of these three modalities has its own area of operation in the brain cortex (eye-occipital, ear-temporal, hand-pariental) and is connected to the others via neurons, dendrites, and axons. A weakness in any one modality affects the other two modalities. Therefore, the focus of the Orton-Gillingham Approach is to reinforce the strong modality(ies) and to use the strong to strengthening the weak modality(ies) through eye-ear-hand linkages.
A kinesthetic/motor evaluation includes posture and pencil grip. Motor pathways that originate in the motor cortex of the brain travel down the spinal column and control posture and muscle tone of the body. Poor posture and improper pencil grip are markers of impaired muscle tone. My research evolves around the impaired pencil grip. The ideal pencil grip is the tripod grip where the thumb and index finger (stabilized by the middle finger) control the pencil. A link exists between the thumb and index finger grip and the brain (posterior pariental cortex). A major player in this link is the median nerve which originates from the brachial plexus (start of spinal column), runs down the arm to the thenar muscles in the hand, and supplies the energy of the thenar muscles which enable the hand to grip and hold a pencil. The proper alignment of brain, median nerve, hand, and thumb and index finger gives the hand the mobility and the thumb and index finger the strength to function properly.
In the tripod grasp, the index finger controls the writing process to minimize fatigue and muscle tension and hurt. In holding the pencil, the bent of the index finger (second joint) and the bent of the thumb should make an open web space (circle) while the pencil rests on the first joint of the middle finger and the ring and pixie fingers touch the paper.
As soon as your child takes pencil to hand, check the grasp. If the child makes a fist around the pencil, the thenar muscles controlling the index finger and thumb need to open into a circle (web). Good exercises are cutting paper or cardboard with the thumb and middle finger holding the scissors. Other exercises are picking up objects with index finger and thumb or opening clothes pins or hair pins (index finger on top). If allowed to write with the fist, the muscles will be reinforced and develop into a fist grasp which is difficult to break and causes muscle stress and pain.
A kinesthetic evaluation also evaluates the direction and sequence when stroking letters and numbers. The direction of stroking indicates whether the student is processing left to right in the flow of language or right to left, opposite to the flow of language.
If your child or student cannot remember how to make a letter form, reverses (b/d, s/z), or inverts letter forms (u/n, b/p, m/w), faulty kinesthetic/motor processing needs to be addressed. Ask your child or student to print the alphabet. Note if he or she hesitates to recall a letter form or starts at the beginning of the alphabet (singing the abc’s song) to remember the next letter. The printing of the alphabet is a revealing first step in identifying kinesthetic/motor weakness.
Further reading:
Gillingham, A. & Stillman B. (1969). Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship (5th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service, Inc.
H.H. Ehrsson, A. Fagerin, R.S. Johansson, and H. Forsberg. “Evidence for the Involvement of the Posterior Pariental Cortex in Coordination of Fingertip Forces for Grasp Stability in Manipulation.” J.Neurophysiol; November 1, 2003; 90 (5): 2978-2986.
“A Patient’s Guide to Hand Anatomy” Louisville, KY: Apex Physical Therapy, 5/5/2006, 1-5. http://www.eorthopod.com/eorthopodV2/fuseaction/topics.detail/ID/3a680c091a62a9749e073... 5/5/2006
Let’s now evaluate Jay’s Symbol Orientation
SYMBOL ORIENTATION.
Letters
Numbers
Accuracy of letters and numbers gives insights into visual-kinesthetic/motor (eye-hand) linkages and left to right sequence. The English language flows from left to right. Reversed, inverted, and transposed letters indicate right to left sequence, opposite to the left to right flow of language. Those with dyslexia usually have difficulty with symbol perception and memory and with left to right sequence. Jay showed these visual-kinesthetic/motor memory and perception weaknesses.
Letters.
Since 95% of what we read is lower case print, the immediate recall of lower case letters is an essential part of success in language. Upright posture and a strong index finger grip on the pencil are indicators of kinesthetic strengths. Jay slouched on the table and his middle finger and thumb gripped the pencil. He printed most of the letters in lower case (except F, G, Z), showed by boxing his upper case G that he was aware that the letter was not lower case but could not remember how to make the form for lower case g. He then printed g for j (showing his confusion between the two letters) and upper case “Z” after u. He printed the letter n after the letter y (singing abc’s—y ‘n z) and ended with the number 5 (for z which he later self corrected) and added lower case g at the end of the alphabet. He showed his struggles with the b and d reversing the letters in sequence (“a, d, c, b”). He accurately down stroked the stick letters in the left to right flow of language. However, he started the ball letters (a, g, o) at 6:00 (base line) and circled clockwise, opposite to the left to right flow of language. Jay showed weak visual memory and weaknesses in visual-kinesthetic/motor linkages blocking his ability to master letter formation and alphabet recall.
Numbers.
This informal testing measures number forms and their orientation as mathematical language that flows from left to right. Jay’s form and orientation for most of his numbers was accurate. His stroking of numbers 5 and 9 can lead to confusion. A sloppy 5 can become confused with an upper case S. In his stroking of number 9, he ended to the left of the number rather than the right (mathematical flow). To evaluate sequence, Jay was asked if he could write numbers 30 through 1 (reverse). He said, “Yes,” started at the right margin of the paper and proceeded to the left (opposite of mathematical flow). He accurately wrote “30, 29, 28, 27” then wrote “29”, self-corrected, then wrote “25, 26.” The examiner changed the task to writing graduated numbers 1 through 30. Jay accurately wrote 1 through 12, repeated 11, self-corrected, and accurately continued the task through 30. Mathematical errors can occur when the forming of numbers is opposite to mathematical flow. Directional confusions affect computation. My suggestion is to use large-block graph paper when computing to help him with accuracy, organization, and calculation.
posted by Stephanie M. Gordon at
1:30 PM
