Deconstructing Dyslexia

Understanding Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. A person with a learning disability has trouble processing words or numbers. There are several kinds of learning disabilities; dyslexia is the term used when people have difficulty learning to read, even though they are smart enough and are motivated to learn. The word dyslexia comes from two Greek words: dys, which means abnormal or impaired, and lexis, which refers to language or words.

Dyslexia is not a disease. It's a condition that you are born with, and it often runs in families. People with dyslexia are not stupid or lazy. Most have average or above-average intelligence, and they work very hard to overcome their learning problems.

Educators have not been able to agree on what dyslexia really is. Some authorities believe that is strictly a language processing problem that involves the distinguishing of sounds of letters—this is why the struggling reader cannot remember phonics sounds to decode a word. Others believe that it is a visual/perceptual problem since these children reverse words laterally (b/d) and vertically (m/w) as well as scrambling letters (“the” = “het”) when they read and write. They are both correct.

Dyslexia is an auditory/language problem, visual/perceptual problem, and often also a visual/motor (eye/hand) problem. My 30 years of experience working with these bright, yet struggling learners has taught me that it is essentially a midline problem. Our brain is divided into two main hemispheres: the right, our “automatic” hemisphere, and the left, our “thinking” hemisphere. When children are suffering from dyslexia the processes that should have been taken over by the right hemisphere (such as eye tracking, writing, and letter identification) are still in the left brain. This means that the child has to think about the processes. The learning processes can be likened to the driving process. If you had to think about how to turn the signals and when to brake and accelerate while you were driving, it would be a very difficult procedure. While reading, recognition of letters, sight words, and letter combinations need to be retrieved from the right hemisphere where our long-term memory is stored. This is not happening with dyslexics.

You can suspect dyslexia in your child if all three of these processing areas are impacted and your child is past the first grade. If your child has only a minor problem in the areas it can be considered a learning glitch. If the problem presents itself more frequently and your child is older, it would be considered a dysfunction. If the symptoms are much more frequent, your child is above first grade, and two years behind in reading or writing, it would be considered dyslexia. The degree of the problem and age of the child are major considerations in the determination of dyslexia. Many times these children are not reading or reading at least two years behind grade level. They write almost no sentences from memory since their right, visual hemisphere is not storing words efficiently (copying a sentence is not considered writing). Transposing numbers (19/91) is not considered dyslexia. When a child reverses letters or numbers, even if only once in a while, you know that there is stress in the writing system—the child has to think about the direction of the letters rather than the content of the writing. I always take reversals (reading and writing) seriously past the first grade. One way to eliminate them is with Brain Integration Therapy exercises.

 
The following items should provide useful guidelines for teachers and parents to follow and support:

In the class:

• Of value to all children in the class is an outline of what is going to be taught in the lesson, ending the lesson with a resume of what has been taught. In this way information is more likely to go from short term memory to long term memory.
• When homework is set, it is important to check that the child correctly writes down exactly what is required. Try to ensure that the appropriate worksheets and books are with the child to take home.
• In the front of the pupils' homework book get them to write down the telephone numbers of a couple of friends. Then, if there is any doubt over homework, they can ring up and check, rather than worry or spend time doing the wrong work.
• Make sure that messages and day to day classroom activities are written down, and never sent verbally. i.e. music, P. E. swimming etc.
• Make a daily check list for the pupil to refer to each evening. Encourage a daily routine to help develop the child's own self-reliance and responsibilities.
• Encourage good organizational skills by the use of folders and dividers to keep work easily accessible and in an orderly fashion.
• Break tasks down into small easily remembered pieces of information.
• If visual memory is poor, copying must be kept to a minimum. Notes or handouts are far more useful.
• Seat the child fairly near the class teacher so that the teacher is available to help if necessary, or he can be supported by a well-motivated and sympathetic classmate.

Copying from the blackboard:

• Use different colour chalks for each line if there is a lot of written information on the board, or underline every second line with a different coloured chalk.
• Ensure that the writing is well spaced.
• Leave the writing on the blackboard long enough to ensure the child doesn't rush, or that the work is not erased from the board before the child has finished copying.

Reading:

• A structured reading scheme that involves repetition and introduces new words slowly is extremely important. This allows the child to develop confidence and self esteem when reading.
• Don't ask pupils to read a book at a level beyond their current skills, this will instantly demotivate them. Motivation is far better when demands are not too high, and the child can actually enjoy the book. If he has to labour over every word he will forget the meaning of what he is reading.
• Save the dyslexic child the ordeal of having to 'read aloud in class'. Reserve this for a quiet time with the class teacher. Alternatively, perhaps give the child advanced time to read pre-selected reading material, to be practiced at home the day before. This will help ensure that the child is seen to be able to read out loud, along with other children
• Real books should also be available for paired reading with an adult, which will often generate enthusiasm for books. Story tapes can be of great benefit for the enjoyment and enhancement of vocabulary. No child should be denied the pleasure of gaining access to the meaning of print even if he cannot decode it fully.
• Remember reading should be fun.

Spelling:

• Many of the normal classroom techniques used to teach spellings do not help the dyslexic child. All pupils in the class can benefit from structured and systematic exposure to rules and patterns that underpin a language.
• Spelling rules can be given to the whole class. Words for class spelling tests are often topic based rather than grouped for structure. If there are one or two dyslexics in the class, a short list of structure-based words for their weekly spelling test, will be far more helpful than random words. Three or four irregular words can be included each week, eventually this should be seen to improve their free-writing skills.
• All children should be encouraged to proof read, which can be useful for initial correction of spellings. Dyslexics seem to be unable to correct their spellings spontaneously as they write, but they can be trained to look out for errors that are particular to them.
• Remember, poor spelling is not an indication of low intelligence.

Maths:

• Maths has its own language, and this can be the root of many problems. Whilst some dyslexic students are good at maths, it has been estimated that around 90% of dyslexic children have problems in at least some areas of maths. General mathematical terminology words need to be clearly understood before they can be used in calculations, e.g. add, plus, sum of, increase and total, all describe a single mathematical process. Other related difficulties could be with visual/perceptual skills, directional confusion, sequencing, word skills and memory. Dyslexic students may have special difficulties with aspects of maths that require many steps or place a heavy load on the short-term memory, e.g. long division or algebra.
• The value of learning the skills of estimation cannot be too strongly stressed for the dyslexic child. Use and encourage the use of estimation. The child should be taught to form the habit of checking his answers against the question when he has finished the calculation, i.e. is the answer possible, sensible or ludicrous?
• When using mental arithmetic allow the dyslexic child to jot down the key number and the appropriate mathematical sign from the question.
• Encourage pupils to verbalize and to talk their way through each step of the problem. Many children find this very helpful.
• Teach the pupil how to use the times table square and encourage him to say his workings out as he uses it.
• Encourage a dyslexic child to use a calculator. Make sure he fully understand how to use it. Ensure that he has been taught to estimate to check his calculations. This is a way of 'proof reading' what he does.
• Put key words on a card index system or on the inside cover of the pupils maths book so it can be used for reference and revision.
• Rehearse mathematical vocabulary constantly, using multi sensory/kinesthetic methods.
• Put the decimal point in red ink. It helps visual perception with the dyslexic child.

Handwriting:

• Reasons for poor handwriting at any age can be poor motor control, tension, badly formed letters, speed etc. A cursive joined style is most helpful to children with dyslexic problems. Encourage the children to study their writing and be self-critical. Get them to decide for themselves where faults lie and what improvements can be made, so that no resentment is built up at yet another person complaining about their written work.
• Discuss the advantages of good handwriting and the goals to be achieved with the class. Analyze common faults in writing, by writing a few well chosen words on the board for class comment.
• Make sure a small reference chart is available to serve as a constant reminder for the cursive script in upper and lower case.
• If handwriting practice is needed it is essential to use words that present no problem to the dyslexic child in terms of meaning or spelling.
• Improvement in handwriting skills can improve self confidence, which in turn reflects favorably throughout a pupil's work.

Marking of work:

• Credit for effort as well as achievement are both essential. This gives the pupil a better chance of getting a balanced mark. Creative writing should be marked on context.
• Spelling mistakes pinpointed should be those appropriate to the child's level of spelling. Marking should be done in pencil and have positive comments.
• Try not to use red pens to mark the dyslexic child's work. There's nothing more disheartening for the child than to have work returned covered in red ink, when they've inevitably tried harder than their peers to produce the work.
• Only ask a pupil to rewrite a piece of work that is going to be displayed. Rewriting pages for no reason at all is soul destroying as usually much effort will have already been put into the original piece of work.

Homework:

• By the end of a school day a dyslexic child is generally more tired than his peers because everything requires more thought, tasks take longer and nothing comes easily. More errors are likely to be made. Only set homework that will be of real benefit to the child.
• In allocating homework and exercises that may be a little different or less demanding, it is important to use tact. Self-esteem is rapidly undermined if a teacher is underlining the differences between those with difficulties and their peers. However, it should also be remembered that far more effort may be needed for a dyslexic child to complete the assignment than for their peers.
• Set a limit on time spent on homework, as often a dyslexic child will take a lot longer to produce the same work that another child with good literacy skills may produce easily.

Integration:

• A dyslexic child's ability to write down thoughts and ideas will be quite different from the level of information the child can give verbally. For successful integration, the pupil must be able to demonstrate to the teacher that he knows the information and where he is in each subject. Be prepared to accept verbal descriptions as an alternative to written descriptions if appropriate.
  
  Alternative ways of recording should be looked at, such as :
  • The use of computers for word processing.
  • Audio tapes for recording lessons that can then be written up at a later stage.
  • Written record of the pupil's verbal account, or voice activated software can be used.
• More time should be allocated for completion of work because of the extra time a dyslexic child needs for reading, planning, rewriting and proofreading their work.
• For a dyslexic child the feeling of being 'different' can be acute when faced with the obvious and very important need of 'specialist' help for his literacy and possibly mathematical skills. Some specialist methods can be incorporated into the classroom so all children can benefit from them, thus reducing the feeling of 'difference'.