Music to stimulate the brain during standardized testing

Today we're giving the CAHSEE, the California High School Exit Exam.  Your state probably has something similar.  Since I work with special ed kids, some of them get to have "accommodations," which means they get to use a calculator, or a CD that reads the questions to them, or some other thing that helps compensate for their processing difficulties without actually changing the test (which would be called a "modification").

The calculator is definitely helpful on the math section, and the CD seems to work well on the English section, but there's one accommodation that isn't offered but I know would be extremely helpful--let them listen to music.

Throughout our own high school days, it was universal parental wisdom that kids would study or work best when free from distraction.  "Turn off the TV/stereo, sit still, get your nose in that book and study!"  But over the past few decades it has become abundantly clear that many types of ADD/ADHD brains (and maybe many other "non-disabled" teenaged brains) actually NEED external stimulation and/or movement in order to function adequately.

The same applies to some adults but they typically have more freedom to make the adjustments they need for themselves (e.g. doodling during meetings to keep their brain activated, listening to music in their office, taking stretch breaks at their own discretion, choosing careers that let them be active).  However, kids are usually scolded or disciplined for employing these types of self-management techniques and consequently, their performance and productivity goes way down.

If you're interested in more information on this subject, or if you're just not yet convinced, please visit the following:

Med Page Today

Fidgeting Helps ADHD People Stay Focused

There are countless other articles and studies on this topic as well, which are easily found through a web search.

Irlen Color Overlays to Aid with Reading Difficulties

Recently, at a California Department of Education convention, I saw a vendor selling nothing but a few deceptively simple items: a narrow magnifying bar for reading, and what looked like overhead transparencies in various colors.  It seemed a little gimmicky to me at first but I was tired of looking at curriculum bundles and at least this was something novel to check out so I struck up a conversation with the very nice lady behind the Irlen Method table.

Just a few moments into her explanation, I realized that what I first considered gimmicky was actually brilliant in its simplicity.  I could think of students right away who would benefit from the system.  You know--those students who, when asked to read something on a computer screen, highlight the selection so the text is reversed to white on black.  They've instinctively developed that compensation strategy for a particular reading challenge, probably without even knowing it.  And here was a simple, compact, inexpensive method to help them and the millions of other people who haven't figured out their own strategies yet.

I was an easy sale.  I eagerly bought a magnifying bar and two different colors of overlays to use as samples with an intention to buy more after trying them out.  But when I showed them to my husband--a special ed teacher--that night, he grabbed them and said, "Oh, that's so cool.  I'm going to try them with Cheri tomorrow because she always needs to put a second sheet of paper behind her worksheets if they're printed on both sides or she can't read it."  Consequently, I haven't actually tried these out with any of my students yet, but my husband and Cheri seem to be happy. 

According to the Irlen Institute's self-reported research, their products have made a significant difference for children and adults with reading problems related to ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, learning differences, traumatic brain injury, Autism Spectrum Disorders and light sensitivity, as well as people who get headaches from reading for undetermined reasons.  Personally, I found that my eyes felt less strained immediately when I put the yellow overlay over the page of sample text, but anything with blue or red made me want to look away, so I feel confident that the overlays really do make a difference at least to some degree.

If you're interested in finding out if Irlen Overlays will help your child or someone else you know, the Institute offers various online self-tests.