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Strategies for students with dyslexia

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Life is tough when you have dyslexia. Children and adults with this learning disability struggle with reading, and can also have trouble learning how to speak, be phonemically unaware and have issues with organization.

Although dyslexia is primarily defined by having difficulties transposing how text is seen and read, Dr. Keith Magee, director of the multicultural initiative at the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity explained dyslexia is more complex.

ā€œ(Dyslexia affects) short term memory processing. For example, you see the word ā€˜cat.ā€™ Your brain does a lot of things at the same time when you see ā€˜cat.ā€™ It sees c-a-t ā€“ it meows, is furry and has four legs. A ā€˜normalā€™ brain sees c-a-t and quickly puts that together,ā€ said Magee. ā€œA dyslexic brain says ā€˜three letters, meow, c, three letter thing that has four legs, t, that is furry, aā€¦oh, cat.ā€™ā€

Experts say children with dyslexia, whether African-American or white, face big challenges, and while there is no cure, there are strategies for academic success.

Following is more information to help identify dyslexia.

Dyslexia at a glance

  • Dyslexia is the name for specific learning disabilities in reading.
  • Dyslexia is often characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, decoding and spelling.
  • Dyslexia may cause problems with reading comprehension and slow down vocabulary growth.
  • Dyslexia may result in poor reading fluency and reading out loud.
  • Dyslexia is neurological and often genetic.
  • Dyslexia is not the result of poor instruction.
  • With proper support, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers.

Kids with dyslexia have trouble with:

  • Recognizing letters, matching letters to sounds and blending sounds into speech
  • Pronouncing words, for example saying ā€œmawn lowerā€ instead of ā€œlawn mowerā€
  • Learning and correctly using new vocabulary words
  • Learning the alphabet, numbers, and days of the week or similar common word sequences
  • Mastering the rules of spelling
  • Remembering facts and numbers
  • Handwriting or with gripping a pencil
  • Learning and understanding new skills; instead, relying heavily on memorization
  • Reading and spelling, such as reversing letters (d, b) or moving letters around (left, felt)
  • Following a sequence of directions
  • Trouble with word problems in math
  • Reading at the expected level
  • Understanding non-literal language, such as idioms, jokes, or proverbs
  • Reading aloud
  • Organizing and managing time
  • Trouble summarizing a story
  • Learning a foreign language
  • Memorizing

Treatment

It helps to identify dyslexia as early in life as possible. Adults with unidentified dyslexia often work in jobs below their intellectual capacity. But with help from a tutor, teacher, or other trained professional, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers. Use the following strategies to help to make progress with dyslexia.

  • Ā Expose your child to early oral reading, writing, drawing, and practice to encourage development of print knowledge, basic letter formation, recognition skills and linguistic awareness (the relationship between sound and meaning).
  • Ā Have your child practice reading different kinds of texts. This includes books, magazines, ads and comics.
  • Ā Include multi-sensory, structured language instruction. Practice using sight, sound and touch when introducing new ideas.
  • Ā Seek modifications in the classroom. This might include extra time to complete assignments, help with note taking, oral testing and other means of assessment.
  • Ā Use books on tape and assistive technology. Examples are screen readers and voice recognition computer software.
  • Ā Get help with the emotional issues that arise from struggling to overcome academic difficulties.
  • Reading and writing are key skills for daily living. However, it is important to also emphasize other aspects of learning and expression. Like all people, those with dyslexia enjoy activities that tap into their strengths and interests. For example, people with dyslexia may enter fields that do not rely on language skills. Examples are design, art, architecture, engineering and surgery.

Source: National Center for Learning Disabilities; Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity

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