Individuals with dyslexia have brain processing issues, because their brains did not initially develop the same highways and byways to process written language. But many dyslexic students will have fluid oral communication skills. This may be why it has taken many years for society to recognize dyslexia as learning disability. Some students you will not recognize as dyslexic, others will jump up and down dyslexia. Boys tend to be diagnosed or show higher signs of dyslexia as they seem to squirm louder than girls.
Dyslexic students usually work twice as hard to learn how to read than the average student, as they are developing new brain connections. Teaching all students using rich Structure Literacy curriculum and instruction can reach most students. Taking brain breaks or moments of rest can the increase student motivation. My thought is that any students who is struggling to learn how to read and write should be supported in the process. Each dyslexic student will need different types of supports to develop the necessary highways and byways, as student environment plays a role in the brain development process. The earlier the intervention or supports are put into place the higher chance the student has to overcome the risk of literacy acquisition. The following dyslexic instructional strategies can be effective for any student at-risk in literacy.
- Use highlighters or a marking code. A highlighter is a tool that students can use for various tasks. Students can use them to highlight important information that they may need for future tasks, such as writing or reading comprehension. Highlighters can be used to note different parts of texts, such as topic sentence, detail, conclusion, parts of a sentence, etc. Students can use different colors to signify different types of information. Students can also use boxes, circles, underline, stars, etc. to note the same things when different colored highlighters are not available. This technique is helpful to teach/model students by highlighting different parts of written language. This technique can also assist early writers in proof reading their writing.
- Read the passage or words aloud at any volume. When students read the passage aloud, they are involving both their hearing and visual senses. Most dyslexic students already have good oral communication skills—they can effectively process heard information. Reading the passage aloud usually allows them to better comprehend the passage. In addition, students are using their visual sense to build or strengthen their brain connections for reading using just their vision. Whisper phones are a way for students to read written words aloud and not disrupt their fellow classmates. Some students will grow out of the need to use both their visual and hearing to comprehend the passage, while others will need to occasional use both senses.
- Listen and follow along at grade-level. Students listen to a book on tape and read it with the tape or follow along. This is a good tool for students who can orally comprehend at grade-level, but not read the words and comprehend at grade-level. This strategy allows students to be exposed to grade-level information and it helps them to build and strengthen brain connections for reading to comprehend at grade-level. This strategy should be used along with other strategies to increase student achievement level. This strategy has been used for many years to teach primary students how to read. Students listen to an oral reading of a book or passage and follow along. Some of the computer programs have books or passages that can be read as the words are highlighted, but students need to follow along.
- Discussing information read. Developing an environment where all students feel safe to share is key for the success of this strategy. Each student can bring their background/environment knowledge to the discussion. Many dyslexic students have strong backgrounds of knowledge and good oral communication skills. Discussing the read information can assist students in expanding their lexicon or student knowledge about a topic. Student discussion(s) can also increase their information processing highways and byways. This instructional strategy can also assist students in retaining the information read. This strategy can also strengthen student ability to communicate orally.
- Encourage their interest, passion. When possible allow students to choose their topic of study. This usually increases engagement and intrinsic motivation. Some students will still “battle” the assignment or parts of the assignment. I usually use science topics during the primary and elementary school years to increase student engagement in a task. Most students can find an animal, insect that stirs their intrinsic motivation to read and write about. The topic can be narrowed, to a particular aspect of the animal.
- Assistance in copying words from the board. Some dyslexic students struggle in copying words from the board or from a distance. This could be due to vision issues, which is usually an additional issue—not dyslexia. I usually lend them my notes or ask another student to assist them. Most can copy from a paper that is placed right next to the paper that they are writing on. Interactive word walls are excellent tools for students who struggle in copying from the board.
References
Gillingham, A. (1956). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Massachusetts: Educators Publishing Service, Inc.
Hinshelwood, James. (1917). Congenital word-blindness. London: H.K. Lewis.
