A COMPLETE TOOLKIT
His teachers said that he was mentally slow, unsociable and adrift in his foolish dreams. – Albert Einstein
Dyslexia is a specific difficulty in reading, writing, and spelling. It is not caused by a lack of intelligence or a lack of opportunity to learn.
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Contents
PREFACE
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ABOUT DYSLEXIA
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THE OTHER SIDE OF DYSLEXIA
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TO TEACH A DYSLEXIC
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FOR DYSLEXICS FONT STYLE LAYOUT Increasing accessibility
61 63 69 73
PREFACE
The concept behind this book is to provide information about Dyslexia to teachers & parents & a range of ideas & methods which are effictive in supporting childern with Dyslexia.
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dys·lex·i·a [dis-lek-see-uh] Noun 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.
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“I’d try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I’d get to the end of the page and have very little memory
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of anything I’d read.
– Tom Cruise
Actor
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ABOUT DYSLEXIA
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1 Dyslexia is a unique mindset that is often gifted and productive but learns differently than other minds.
2 10%
In In genral, genral, Dyslexia Dyslexia affects affects nearly nearly 10% 10% of of the the population. population.
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3 1 in 10 ItIt isis estimated estimated that that 11 in in 10 10 people people have have Dyslexia. Dyslexia.
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Dyslexia Dyslexia isis life-long life-long and and often often occurs occurs in in families. families.
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Dyslexics Dyslexics require require extra extra time time and and effort effort to to process process language language information. information.
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Dyslexics Dyslexics have have trouble trouble breaking breaking down down unfamiliar unfamiliar words words into into letter-sound letter-sound segments. segments. As As aa result, result, reading reading isis slow slow and and filled filled with with errors. errors.
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7 bd pq Dyslexics Dyslexics might might not not be be able able to to tell tell the the difference difference between between letters letters that that have have similar similar shape shape but but different different orientation, orientation, such such as as bb and and dd and and pp and and q. q.
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8 Dyslexics Dyslexics have have trouble trouble translating translating ideas ideas to to writing, writing, sometimes sometimes using using the the wrong wrong words words altogether. altogether.
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Dyslexics Dyslexics often often need need to to be be taught taught to to look look at at words words linearly, linearly, left-to-right. left-to-right.
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10 “_ _ _” Dyslexics Dyslexics often often omit omit parts parts of of words words when when reading. reading.
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“As a high school student, many of my teachers labeled me DUMB...I could barely
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read my textbooks
– Muhammad Ali
Famous Boxer
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THE OTHER SIDE OF DYSLEXIA
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1 Dyslexics have excellent thinking skills in the areas of conceptualisation, reason, imagination, and abstraction.
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2 Dyslexics have a strong ability to see concepts with a “big picture� perspective.
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3 Dyslexics tend to be more curious, creative, and intuitive than average.
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4 Dyslexics think and perceive multidimensionally (using all the senses).
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5 Dyslexics typically have a large spoken vocabulary for their age.
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6 Dyslexics have great intuition and are highly insightful.
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“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious” – Albert Einstein
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7 Dyslexics can be very driven, ambitious and persistent.
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8 Dyslexics have the ability of visual, spatial and lateral thinking.
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A teacher sent the following note home with a six year old boy: “ He is too stupid to learn.” That boy was... – Thomas Edison
Inventor of all time
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TO TEACH A DYSLEXIC
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The more important, consistent, frequent, multi-sensory, and emotionally reinforcing information is presented, the easier and more enduring language learning becomes for dyslexics.
1 Utilize a multi-sensory approach to teaching
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Multi-sensory teaching involves many senses at the same time: touch, sight, movement, and sound. Though this is extremely helpful for a dyslexic child, all students can benefit from this.
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• Write note cards. This provides something tangible for students to look at while also giving them something to hold. Having them read the note card out loud also engages their motor and auditory skills. • Make sand trays. Sand trays are simply tray-like containers that contain sand (or beans or shaving cream). Students can use these to spell words or draw pictures in the sand. This engages their sense of touch. • Incorporate fun activities into their learning time. Games and other creative activities get the dyslexic child more involved in the learning process. This makes learning more fun and rewarding, as it gives them a sense of accomplishment. • Use color intentionally. Visual cues help individuals with dyslexia to understand written material. Use color on the blackboard or marker board. Write decimals in math problems in a different color. Grade in a color other than red, as red carries a universally negative connotation.
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2 Use time wisely
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Dyslexic children often struggle with focusing. Other things may distract them, or they may have a hard time listening to a long lecture or watching a lengthy video.
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• Take your time. Do not rush through a class lecture. Give students time to copy anything written on the board. Make sure dyslexic students understand you before moving on to another section. • Repeat yourself often. Since dyslexic children may struggle with short-term memory, it is challenging for them to remember what you say. Repeat instructions, key words, and concepts so students are more likely to remember what you say, at least long enough to write it down. • Incorporate short breaks regularly. A dyslexic child often struggles to sit for long periods of time. Take short breaks throughout the day to divide long lectures. You can also move from activity to activity. For example, lecture, game, back to lecture, followed by a learning activity. • Use appropriate time limits. It takes dyslexic children longer to complete assignments other students may have no problem completing. Allow dyslexic students more time to take exams and quizzes and to complete homework so they do not feel rushed.
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3 Provide handouts
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Dyslexic children may also struggle with short-term memory, making it difficult for them to take notes or understand simple instructions.
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• Provide some sort of outline to dyslexic children as you are lecturing is helpful, especially following long lectures. • Write homework instructions directly on the assignment so they know what is expected. • Use visual cues, such as asterisks and bullets, to highlight important directives or information. It is also beneficial to let them use reference guides such as alphabet and numbers.
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4 Model organizational structures
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Help individuals with dyslexia to develop organizational skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Model these in your classroom, but also encourage them to apply them at home.
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• Use folders to separate different classes or class topics. This makes homework assignments and handouts easier to find. Color-code these if possible. • Stick to a daily routine. Schedules help dyslexic children know what to expect and what is coming up next. If possible, post your routine, using both words and images, on a classroom wall for students to refer to. • Encourage dyslexic children to use an assignment book or calendar. Have them write daily assignments in their assignment book. Check these before they leave school to ensure they understand the directions.
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5 Utilize other resources
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Do not feel like you are the only teacher for a dyslexic student. There are several resources available to help dyslexic children learn.
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• Encourage peer tutoring. Peer resources and social support are probably one of the strongest resources you can offer. Students can read aloud to each other, review notes, or conduct lab experiments together. • Bring a specialist into the classroom. This helps prevent the dyslexic child from feeling different and benefits the other students as well. • Utilize appropriate technology. Games, word processors, voice activated software, and digital voice recording can all be very useful for a child with dyslexia.
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FOR DYSLEXICS
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Aabcdefghi jklmnopqr stuvwxyz 0123456789 ABCDEFGHIJ KLM NOPQR STUVWXYZ
FONT STYLE
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• Use a san serif font such as Arial and Comi Sans, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet. • Font size should be minimum of 12pt or 14pt. • Use lower case letters. Avoid unnecessary use of capitals. Using all capital letters can make it harder to read, and it can also appear that you are shouting at the reader. • Use dark coloured text on a light (not white) background, e.g. cream or off white. Some individuals will have specific colour preferences, e.g. yellow or blue. • Avoid green and red/pink as these are difficult for colour-blind individuals.
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b
b
b Arial
Comic Sans
d
d
d
Tahoma
Trebuchet
Century Gothic
Verdana
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brown on cream
white on blue
Layout
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• Use left-justified with ragged right edge. • Avoid narrow columns (as used in newspapers). • Lines should not be too long: 60 to70 characters. • Avoid cramping material and using long, dense paragraphs: space it out. • Line spacing of 1.5 is preferable. • Avoid starting a sentence at the end of a line. • Use bullet points and numbering rather than continuous prose. • For Headings, use larger font size in bold, lower case.
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Dyslexia
There are three proposed cognitive subtypes of dyslexia: auditory, visual and attentional.Reading disabilities, or dyslexia, is the most common
Dyslexia is a very broad term
learning disability, although in
defining a learning disability
research literature it is considered
that impairs a person’s fluency
to be a receptive language-based
or comprehension accuracy in
learning disability. Researchers at
being able to read, and which
MIT found that people with dyslexia
can manifest itself as a difficulty
exhibited impaired voice-recognition
with phonological awareness,
abilities.
phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory
Adult dyslexics can read with good
short-term memory, or rapid
comprehension, but they tend to
naming.
read more slowly than non-dyslexics and perform more poorly at spelling
Dyslexia is distinct from reading
and nonsense word reading, a
difficulties resulting from other causes,
measure of phonological awareness.
such as a non-neurological deficiency
Dyslexia and IQ are not interrelated
with vision or hearing, or from poor or
as a result of cognition developing
inadequate reading instruction. It is
independently.
believed that dyslexia can affect between 5 and 10 percent of a given population although there have been no studies to indicate an accurate percentage.
Increasing accessibility
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• Flow charts are ideal for explaining procedures. • Pictograms and graphics help to locate information. • Lists of ‘do’s and ‘don’ts’ are more useful than continuous text to highlight aspects of good practice. • For long documents include a contents page at the beginning and an index at end.
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Dyslexia
create your own
How to Teach a Dyslexic Child These pictograms/symbols will remind you the basic important points while teaching dyslexic children. Stick these stickers in your classrooms or at your home, so that you can remember all the important points which can be a great help in the development of dyslexic children.
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Important Steps to take while teaching
refer page 39-59.
Important Points to Remember while teaching
bd pq “_ _ _� refer page 15-25.
Initiative by
Initiati
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