Module 13 – Learning Difficulties: Dyslexia
Duration: Approx 25 minutes
Student Aims:
· To understand dyslexia
· To understand some of the primary difficulties dyslexic learners face
· To learn different methods for supporting learners in literacy
· To learn different methods for supporting learners in numeracy
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13.1 Introduction
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Of all the learning difficulties covered in this course, dyslexia is one of the most well-documented.
The course is broken down into 22 modules. Each information-packed module lasts between 15 and 60 minutes, but you are free to spend as long as you like on each module. Once you have finished the module, click the “continue to next module” button at the bottom of the page to move to the next one.
Assignments
Some of the modules contain self-assessed assignments/tasks. The tasks are set at the end of the module. Most of the assignments should take around 30 minutes to complete, again, you are free to spend as much time as you need on them. The assignments are self-assessed; you do not need to send them to us. You will find the answers/our suggestions attached.
Highlighted Text
In the modules, you may notice some text has been highlighted or marked differently to the majority of the rest of the text. For an explanation of each, see the key below:
13.2 What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty.
It can affect a pupil’s work in reading, spelling, writing, maths and musical notation.
Dyslexia can also present challenges in organisation and memory. For example, a pupil with dyslexia may often forget what books to bring to each lesson. Younger children – who have had fewer opportunities to develop their organisational skills – might forget instructions. These organisational difficulties often stem from poor auditory, visual, short-term or working memory.
Organisation strategies need to be explicitly taught and this applies to all aspects of learning. Abstract concepts need to be made more concrete. Dyslexic children will find it difficult to apply generalised concepts to specific areas. For example, a child who is taught what a sentence is will need time to practise the principles of sentence writing in order to learn.
Dyslexia makes it difficult for people to map sounds to letters. Some pupils will struggle to hear how words can be broken down into individual sounds and syllables and they may find it difficult to detect rhyme or distinguish letter sounds that are similar.
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty, but it is not a general learning disability. Dyslexia is not related to intelligence and, indeed, many dyslexic people are extremely able. They just happen to struggle with reading and/or spelling.
Dyslexia is different to other learning disabilities because of its high impact on reading. Reading requires the brain to do several things at a time. It has to organise sounds, syllables, words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters for the reader to know what they mean. When a reader reads ‘d-o-g’, they are not just reading ‘dog’ but making connections between ‘dog’ and a furry animal with four legs.
A dyslexic child will have no difficulty with the meaning of the word dog but can struggle with the individual sounds and how they relate to individual sounds that then come together. This process needs to be made explicit by teaching phonics and morphology (prefixes and suffixes and how they are constructed).
The brain of a dyslexic person is healthy, although wired slightly differently. Dyslexia is both a specific learning difficulty and a learning difference.
Fact
Ten percent of the population are believed to be dyslexic
Source: British Dyslexia Association
Identifying Dyslexia
Identifying dyslexia is difficult because it may be more pronounced in some children than others. However, there are several early indicators that educators may notice when working in the classroom.
Pre-School Ages
Educators should look out for children who struggle with learning how to talk or pronounce complex words. This might be evident when teaching the child nursery rhymes and having little success. However, many dyslexic children will be good talkers but struggle when they have to make meaning out of words.
There are sometimes co-occurrences of difficulties with dyslexia that appear in practical tasks such as young children dressing themselves. Buttons, shoelaces and zips might be a problem for them. They may also have a difficult time using scissors or colouring neatly. These are more closely related to dyspraxia (discussed in Module 14) but can often be seen in children who are dyslexic.
Young children with dyslexia might often be accused of not paying attention to an adult when speaking. They may be distracted and often overwhelmed by their environment. The child might enjoy being read to but may not show any interest in the words. Some dyslexic children also suffer from visual stress and find black print on white paper too bright.
Primary School Age
Children who have entered primary school may present as dyslexic by struggling to organise letters, words and numbers. They may have difficulty learning sequences like the alphabet, the months of the year or how to tell the time.
In class, dyslexic children may have trouble concentrating and following instructions. They may sometimes also be late learners in reading and spelling, and may confuse letters that are visually similar, like ‘b’ and ‘d.’ Reading aloud is often very difficult for dyslexic children and they should never be forced to do so in front of a class.
Primary school-age children may have poor concentration due to difficulties with processing information, especially when this is extensive. They may take longer to finish their written work and may struggle when listening to people who speak quickly.
Some co-occurring difficulties with dyspraxia will mean that there are also non-language indicators of dyslexia at the primary age. Children might still have difficulty tying their laces or getting dressed. They may also have problems distinguishing left from right and may have a poor sense of direction.
Children at this age will begin to notice if they are slower than their peers, and this might translate into a lack of confidence and low self-esteem in children who are otherwise very bright and alert.
Over 12 Years Old
Older children may show the same signs as children in primary school. They may read slowly and have poor comprehension. Most will still struggle with spelling. They will need to have instructions repeated frequently and they may have difficulty with long numbers, like telephone numbers.
Difficulties around rapid word retrieval, retaining multiple pieces of information in verbal (or working) memory, and the ability to manipulate language by breaking it down, will impact mathematics, effective learning strategies, and reading and spelling.
A dyslexic child might struggle with polysyllabic words but may learn to spell challenging words whilst confusing smaller words that look similar, such as the/they/them.
Many older children have difficulty with the planning and writing of essays. They can struggle with due dates and deadlines, and often confuse times, dates and places.
Older children may also struggle to process complex language or too many instructions when they are given too quickly. Dyslexic students should not be asked to listen to information and take notes simultaneously.
Non-language indicators at this age may include poor self-esteem and low confidence levels. Like younger children, they will have many areas of strength, but these become harder for them to see when they are struggling in the classroom.
A child who presents with one or two of these issues is not necessarily dyslexic. However, noticing these issues in children early has benefits because it alerts teachers and parents to possible problems in the future.
13.3 Supporting Dyslexia in Literacy
This section will provide useful strategies for supporting reading and writing in the classroom.
Reading
Before reading begins, you should allow the children to preview the book. Show them the title, chapter names, pictures and any bold words. Encourage them to predict what will happen in the book. Encourage them to write or verbalise questions prior to reading the book.
While reading it is helpful to model questions like ‘Does the reading make sense to me?’ and ‘Can I use other words in the text to help me figure out what it means?’ It is also helpful to pre-teach both vocabulary and themes before reading the text.
You can also teach them how to use the tools provided in books. Teaching students how to use the glossary, index, headings, table of contents, charts and captions will help children to better understand the detail in the book.
It is useful for children to have their own textbooks and to be able to highlight them. However, it is also helpful to provide pupils with audio recordings of the books. Text-to-speech software is also a valuable tool.
Give children the autonomy to choose what they read, where possible. When children are more interested in what they are reading, they learn to enjoy it and generally have greater comprehension. This reading time should be scheduled in the curriculum.
Choose books at different reading levels so that the pupils can read well but can still be challenged by the texts.
Writing
You can help with writing by teaching phonics rules and regularly discussing these rules. This will help increase the pupils’ ability to use phonetic spelling for unfamiliar words.
Support pupils by giving them time to plan. Put aside five minutes when the children must put their pencils down and plan their writing assignments before beginning. Assist them with the different parts of the narrative. Provide the pupils with models of good work that they can use as a template.
Encourage the children to write in stages. This takes the pressure off writing a long narrative in one go and teaches the pupils how to come back to the paper to revise what they have written.
Use the SCOPE mnemonic to teach pupils how to edit. SCOPE stands for Spelling, Capitalisation, Order of words, Punctuation and Expressing complete thoughts.
Encourage children to write on their own and for themselves. Teach them how to create a journal using both written text and visual images.
You must be aware that any task undertaken by someone who is dyslexic is likely to take them longer compared to their peers. Dyslexic students have to work harder, and this can be discouraging for them. It is important that they find fun in learning. If a child does not want to work, it may be because they are extremely overloaded with information and demotivated.
It is important not to make a judgement, but to be supportive of any difficulties that a child may be experiencing with literacy.
Fact
According to a report by the Drivers Youth Trust, nine out of ten parents of children with dyslexia say that teachers lack the proper training needed to support their child. 84% of teachers say that it is very important to be trained in teaching children with dyslexia.
Source: ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk
13.4 Supporting Dyslexia in Numeracy
Dyslexic pupils can often have maths learning difficulties.
Typically, dyslexic learners will struggle to count objects because their basic sense of numbers is affected by their organisational skills. It is important to encourage frequent and rhythmic counting with pauses to stop and think about the quantity.
Pupils may also have trouble with sequences and transitions, especially when counting backwards. Extra oral practice is often required.
They may also find the underlying structure of numbers difficult to comprehend. Using a number grid is often a helpful tool for dyslexic pupils, particularly if the bottom row of the grid begins at one and works its way up to 100.
Fractions and place values are also often confusing. Fractions can be made easier by creating visual representations of the fractions. Teaching place value is often best done with tools such as arrow cards or Dienes blocks.
Calculations can also be difficult for dyslexic learners. They can have issues with adding and subtracting or combining and partitioning. Using concrete materials and relying on overlearning methods are often helpful in these areas.
They may also struggle with strategies and methods for calculations because they cannot remember the sequence of steps. Rather than focusing on singular ways of doing things, focus on strategies that have general uses and can be used across different calculations.
Some pupils have trouble reading calculations both on paper and on a calculator. Others may have difficulty with mental arithmetic. Encourage pupils who struggle with written calculations to try mental calculations, and encourage pupils who struggle with mental calculations to try writing them down.
Solving word problems is also difficult if the pupil has reading difficulties. Thus, they may need extra clues to help them recognise the problem and predict the patterns required to solve it. However, using real-world images is often a good way to create word problems for pupils.
When it comes to measurement, dyslexic learners may find time sequences difficult. Using language like quarter past and quarter to the hour can complicate time for them. In some cases, it can be useful to focus on digital time.
Direction and movement can also be difficult for dyslexic pupils. Performing physical activities and using mnemonic devices are often helpful.
13.5 Adaptations for the Classroom
There are several general adaptations that can be made in the classroom to help support pupils with dyslexia.
Teaching Materials
Using the right materials can have a big impact on supporting students. Allowing dyslexic children to access the curriculum in a variety of ways can help improve their learning. Audiobooks are a useful tool for classroom reading. When reading from physical books, teachers can provide bookmarks or coloured strips of paper to help children follow along.
When providing classroom resources, it is a good idea to use large-print text, as well as pictures for schedules and directions. It is useful to write directions using keywords and these words could be colour-coded.
Presenting information should be done in a concise manner. Use bullet points and diagrams when possible to reduce the amount of text on the page. When writing out long numbers, divide them up so that they are easier to remember.
For example, you can write 123456 as 12 34 56.
Classroom Environment
During lessons, ensure that all pupils can see your face and that you can see them. Some children may benefit from being moved to the front of the classroom.
Do your best to minimise distractions. Leave the doors closed, and close the blinds if there is too much activity outside.
Teaching Techniques
Multisensory teaching techniques and metacognitive strategies are extremely useful for all students, but especially for those with dyslexia. Learning must be reinforced through the senses as much as possible and metacognition encourages students to explore how they learn and what works best for them. The latter is an essential skill that they will take with them throughout life.
When teaching, give instructions in a step-by-step format.
For example, you can say, ‘Firstly, you should do ____. Secondly, you can do ____.’ This will help clarify the instructions. Always give the students time to process what they are learning.
Providing instructions out loud and in written format is also useful. Written instructions are best accompanied by pictures.
After giving directions, repeat the directions and ask the students if they have understood. If there is new vocabulary or concepts involved, write them on the whiteboard so that the pupils can refer to them.
Educators can also help support pupils with routine. Consistent daily routines are good not only for SEN pupils but for the whole class. Routines take the anxiety out of learning because pupils can anticipate what is coming up next.
Small group teaching or 1:1 teaching is also useful for dyslexic students. This can be applied both in class and as an intervention method.
To support lessons, it is helpful to provide notes for the pupils to follow. It is also useful to pre-teach lessons when new and important concepts are coming up in the curriculum. Pre-teaching gives pupils extra time to familiarise themselves with the concept so that they can fully engage with the learning later on.
When learning writing skills, pupils can try out multiple methods.
For example, they can practise on paper, interactive whiteboards, tablets or other devices.
It is important to teach the concepts behind letters. Learning about vowels, consonants, suffixes, prefixes and syllables can help pupils learn the organisational foundations of spelling and writing.
Encourage pupils to spell out loud and provide them with time to repeat themselves.
Assessment Techniques
When setting tests and quizzes, it is important to allow extra time for pupils with dyslexia. This is especially important if the assessment requires a lot of reading and writing.
Rather than providing only one method for a response, educators can support pupils by allowing them to circle answers, speak the answers or have large spaces to write the answers, rather than having fill-in-the-blank answers. This prevents pupils from struggling with word recall but still allows them to explain their answers fully.
Modelling is also useful for classwork and assessments. Educators can hand out number and letter strips for pupils to look at to influence correct writing techniques. Providing a start to a sentence will help enable written responses. It is also beneficial to include examples of correct work so that the pupil knows how to organise their response.
Building Confidence
Dyslexic pupils often have problems with confidence in the classroom. Educators can support them in a number of ways.
Never minimise their difficulties. It is important to recognise and understand where their problems lie so that you can guide them appropriately. These difficulties can be frustrating for the pupil and underestimating them can have a negative effect on the pupil’s confidence. You must, however, refer to and utilise their strengths. Knowing their strengths is a very useful tool in helping a student work on any weaknesses.
When setting targets, you should always make them achievable, as well as challenging. Of course, this applies to all students! It is better to help a pupil over-deliver than to set goals that they cannot meet, and which will result in failure.
Dyslexic pupils are bright and curious and their independent learning should be encouraged.
They are also often holistic learners and like to see the whole picture. Mind Mapping is a very useful notetaking, brainstorming and planning technique that utilises both sides of the brain and encourages cross laterality – effective working between the logical left side of the brain and the creative right side.
If your pupils show strong interest in certain areas, they can be encouraged to go out and seek answers for themselves and use their natural abilities to figure out how they learn best.
Finally, it is important to praise their efforts. Giving them praise will provide them with the incentive and motivation to keep working even when it is difficult.
Conclusion
Dyslexic children are often bright and creative pupils. However, their struggle to read and write and organise information can produce pronounced difficulties in the classroom. Early intervention and a joint teacher-parent effort are important for supporting pupils with dyslexia.
Early identification and support will help prevent pupils from falling behind, improve their reading and writing, and increase their self-esteem.
In Module 14, we discuss dyspraxia.
WELL DONE!
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