Top Tips for Working with Students with Dyslexia Part 1 On screen – as staff come in they are given a coloured card numbered 1 – 4, they sit at the Home table of the same colour. Bingo cards – 1 between 2 are already on the table. Possibly laminated with pens and wipes.

What is it? ‘A difficulty with words’ Dyslexia is a learning difference which affects the way language is processed. Dyslexia can affect a person’s ability to organise, read, spell and memorise. This will be due to difficulties with cognitive processing – affecting processing speed; phonological awareness; short-term and working memory. Latest research shows there are differences in the area of the brain which deals with these processes. It is best thought of as a continuum. The degree of severity varies between each individual. Siobhan to summarise – all information and crib sheets will be available on intranet - 2 minutes

A Young Person In A Secondary School May: ◊ read inaccurately ◊ have problems spelling ◊ confuse places, times and dates ◊ have difficulty remembering maths tables and formulae ◊ need to have instructions repeated ◊ get ‘tied up’ using long words ◊ have difficulty planning and writing essays ◊ suffer poor confidence and low self-esteem They may also: ◊ forget which books to take to class ◊ have difficulty organising life around a timetable ◊ misunderstand complex instructions ◊ have problems trying to write down notes at speed, and completing work on time ◊ have memory difficulties which effect the marshalling of learnt facts effectively in exams As a result, the student may be extremely tired and fractious and employ avoidance techniques whenever possible. Motivation and self-esteem may drop. Challenging behaviours may result either as a distraction strategy or because the young person has given up.

Concept Map of Difficulties Associated with Dyslexia

Dyslexic learners may possess, or have developed, more positive talents such as: • creativity • thinking laterally and making unexpected connections • being able to see the ‘big picture’ • good visual spatial skills and being able to think easily in 3D • problem-solving skills • good verbal skills • good social skills.

They may learn well when they can: make personal, meaningful connections to secure things in their long-term memory Remember patterns rather than sequences • remember landmarks rather than directions Think holistically ‘all at once’ rather than step-by-step Learn to read and write by being very interested in the subject Learn by experience, not from being told.

Top Tips for Working with Students with Dyslexia Part 2 On screen – as staff come in they are given a coloured card numbered 1 – 4, they sit at the Home table of the same colour. Bingo cards – 1 between 2 are already on the table. Possibly laminated with pens and wipes.

Processing and Memory Dyslexic learners will have difficulty with their working memory. WM is like a mental jotter; we use it when problem solving to keep two or more pieces of information “alive” in our minds at once so that we can manipulate them for calculations, or relate them in complex ways. Many also have difficulties with auditory and / or visual memory All will have some level of difficulty with phonological processing

Difficulties concentrating or frequently lose their place when taking down information notes are muddled keeping a list of 3-4 instructions in mind, perhaps completing the first and then forgetting what else they were supposed to do Planning, organising, sequencing, missing out steps

Strategies to improve working memory in the classroom (from Dittas Spld course) Give instructions clearly, in stages, repeat Slow down speech and pause frequently when speaking Give information in verbal and written formats Encourage the use of planner/timetable etc. be clear how you want these used Multi-sensory – use a range of activities and ways of presenting information (VAK) Do not become cross or frustrated if a student forgets Get the student to tell you how they best remember things and allow them to use that approach Make things memorable by using memory aids; manageable; multi-sensory.

Strategies to help improve memory (Hull University)

Top Tips for Working with Students with Dyslexia Part 3 On screen – as staff come in they are given a coloured card numbered 1 – 4, they sit at the Home table of the same colour. Bingo cards – 1 between 2 are already on the table. Possibly laminated with pens and wipes.

Difficulties with Reading Is hesitant and laboured, especially when reading aloud Omits, repeats or adds extra words Fails to recognise familiar words Misses a line or repeats the same line twice Loses their place - or uses a finger or marker to keep the place Reads at a reasonable rate, but has a low level of comprehension Has difficulty in pin-pointing the main idea in a passage Struggles with inference Finds difficulty with dictionaries, directories, encyclopaedias So pre-occupied with literacy skills they miss the actual information and lack understanding of the text they have just read Problems interpreting written questions especially if under stress

Strategies to help: may need more prompts, time to re-read as first reading the focus is on each word not meaning (literal or implied) of the whole sentence/paragraph/text Using reading strategies – these may have to be explicitly taught – eg. Context cues / picture cues / inference and deduction / reading on to the end / skimming and scanning Don’t ask the student to read aloud better to see if they volunteer. Do give them time to rehearse what they are going to read; or shared reading in a small group Ensure the printed text is large enough, don’t reduce text to save on paper! Chunk longer text into shorter pieces with brief activities/review before moving on

Difficulties with Writing Often dyslexic learners can talk very eloquently on a subject but are stuck when they come to write Content – vocabulary and ideas may be in a simpler form than an oral response, sticking to words they are confident to write down Sequencing – can be muddled, ideas not logically linked Handwriting – for some maybe poorly formed, or they write very slowly Quantity – often cannot finish the task in the allotted time or write very short pieces Spelling errors – lots of crossings out; spells the same word differently in the same piece of work; confuses upper and lower case letters Punctuation errors – muddles the common ones up; forgets to use them Making notes - difficulty taking down notes from a oral presentation; unable to select key points from written texts

Strategies to help: Give notes on handouts rather than copying from the board Make the learning objectives explicit – is the activity about writing or ideas? If ideas are the focus – offer a variety of ways of capturing these – post-its / bullet points / comic strips / concept maps / pictures & key words / explaining to someone / use of technology for recording their ideas / making a film or animation If writing –model what you want / break the task down into smaller chunks / offer writing frames / key word lists /mini whiteboards so errors are not fixed on paper / work in pairs to share the writing workload Mark for success, identify progress and give pointers for development