Not as black and white as some may think.

 Oxford Dictionary meaning.  A general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence. What is Dyslexia?

 A person with Dyslexia can have problems with reading, spelling or writing.  Find it difficult to express themselves clearly.  Find it difficult to fully comprehend what others mean when they speak.  The brain of a person who has Dyslexia generally shows some differences in its development and function.  People with Dyslexia find it more difficult to discriminate sounds within words.  Dyslexia is a lifelong condition.  Dyslexia runs in families  Colour coding can help, this is linked with coloured glasses.

 Most people with dyslexia need help from a teacher, tutor or therapist that is specially trained in multisensory (hearing, seeing and touching) and structured language approach.  As many as 1 in 5 people have dyslexia.  People with Dyslexia are usually gifted in other areas that do not require strong language skills.

 Early identification is the key.  Due to the range of different symptoms, it is said that no two people who have Dyslexia will have the same set of symptoms.  Dyslexia has a lot in common with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and therefore these two are often misdiagnosed.  It impacts just as many girls as it does boys.  Dyslexia can effect a persons self image if not picked up on quickly.

 Students with Dyslexia generally need to be taught via a method that involves several senses (hearing, seeing and touching).  Giving extra time to complete tasks is essential.  Help with taking notes.  Tape testing (recording the child saying the answer)

 Let the child type on a computer  Provide “books-on-tape”  Most people with Dyslexia find it difficult to read black ink in white paper. They find the contrast too harsh. As a teacher it is a good idea to give hand out on coloured paper. Blue and Green seem to be the easiest to see off of.  As well as the coloured paper it may be an idea to also help the student colour code different subject work. This ensures they can pick out their, Math, English, Science book with as much ease as the other students.

 Playing games which focus on long and short vowel sounds can ensure more familiarity with everyday words. This can be a whole class activity such as Heads and Tails where the teacher says a word and students must place their hands on their head if the word contained a long vowel sound (like in bone) or on their “tail” if the word contained a short vowel sound (like in cat)

 If you are not fortunate enough to have another teacher on your class to help your student with Dyslexia there are always computer games like WordShark developed by the British Dyslexia Association. It focuses on the development of both reading and spelling skills using phonics, onset and rime, homophones, spelling rules, common letter patterns, visual and auditory patterns and other aspects of literacy.  There are many online resources available for teachers who are teaching students with Dyslexia including SPELD. It is an organisation that provides different activities that you can do.  Children with Dyslexia are generally more worn out at the end of the day then other students, therefore having easier activities at the end of the day can make a job much easier.

 The only way to be sure is to have a formal evaluation that assesses intellectual ability, information processing, psycho-linguistic processing and academic skills.  A difficulty acquiring and using language.  Reading and writing letters in the wrong order.  Difficulty learning letters and their sounds.  Memorising number fact (Math)  Difficulty learning a foreign language.

 Siblings can feel left out and not as loved in the stage where parents and teachers are trying to find out what is wrong with the child with Dyslexia.  This is a stressful time for parents and it can lead to family breakdowns.  There is a lot of hard work, time and money that is consumed when having a child with Dyslexia.  Family members need to remember to continue to be positive, patient and persevering.  Being aware of how your child is going in school and on a social level can mean that you can pick up on abnormalities quicker.  Make sure you do some team and confidence building activities with not only your child with Dyslexia but with the whole family

 Teachers need to explain to other children why the child with Dyslexia is given more time for activities and why they may be moved into another quieter room for tests and exams.  Peers my get frustrated if they are interacting with a child with Dyslexia because they may not be able to understand them fully or have as many social skills as others.  Due to not always being able to complete tasks in the same time as other peers, self confidence issues can arise. Peers therefore need to be encouraged to support and have some understanding towards this student.  If teachers don’t have extra in the classroom other students can become disruptive because they don’t feel they are getting the attention they deserve.

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