DYSLEXIA: SOME HINTS FOR TEACHERS

The word 'dyslexia' comes from the Greek and means, literally, 'difficulty with words'.  It is a language difficulty in which tiny differences in brain organisation lead to problems in handling verbal codes or symbols. (For more information see the article 'Dyslexia 100 Years On' on this website). 

The dyslexic person may struggle to  translate written symbols into speech (reading) and spoken words into written symbols (spelling and writing). Other symbol systems such as musical notation and mathematics may also be affected. It may be helpful to think of dyslexia as an information processing difficulty.

Dyslexia tends to run in families (a gene which may be responsible for dyslexia has been identified), affecting about three times as many boys as girls.  It occurs at all levels of intellectual ability and can accompany, but is not the result of, lack of motivation, emotional disturbance, sensory impairment or meagre opportunities.  About 4% of the population of Great Britain are severely dyslexic and some 350,000 school children may be affected.

Dyslexia may vary greatly in the type and extent of the problem which the individual experiences.  In addition to difficulties with reading, writing, spelling or written number skills,  a dyslexic person may have problems with short-term memory such as remembering a telephone number; with word-finding and other spoken language skills; with personal organisation, which may, for example, cause him to be late for appointments; and with following a sequence such as the alphabet or the months of the year.

Some dyslexic children have behaviour problems; these usually improve when effective teaching is provided for reading, writing and spelling.

Many dyslexic people are extremely creative, think laterally and have excellent problem-solving skills; they may excel in fields such as the arts, design, architecture and computing.
  

Although many signs of dyslexia will be evident at all ages, others may be more obvious at different ages.  Early recognition and provision of specialist help can reduce problems which might occur later.

If, as a classroom teacher, you believe that a pupil is underachieving in literacy, or has unexpected or specific areas of difficulty in school, you should consider the possibility that he may have some degree of dyslexia.  You may wish to consider the following:

• Does the child puzzle you?

• Is the standard of his work erratic?

• Does the standard of his reading and written work fall below the expectations of his ability?

• Is he unable to remember a list of instructions?

• Is he able to read a word on one line but unable to recognise it further down the page?

• Does he spell the same word in a variety of ways?

• Does he have difficulty copying from the board?

• Does he confuse symbols, for example + and - in Maths?

• Does he use spoonerisms, eg par cark?

• Does he surprise you by the amount of effort he puts into his work but the little he has to show for it?

• Is he clumsy in some respects, but very good in others, eg in manipulating things like Lego?

• Is he the classroom clown?

• Is his concentration poor?

• Are his difficulties so severe that he needs specialist help?  If so, can you set it in motion?

Further hints for recognising the dyslexic child in the primary classroom are contained in the DfEE's leaflet ' Handy Hints for Primary School Teachers' which was sent to all schools.
 

• He may have difficulty with remembering a list of instructions

• He may have problems getting his thought together coherently for story or essay writing

• He may have sequencing problems and may need to be taught strategies to cope

• He may have difficulty organising his work and need specific teaching to help him

• He may be able to answer the questions orally but unable to write them down

• He may have found that the less he writes, the less trouble he gets into for making mistakes

• He may have difficulty copying accurately.  This may be because he cannot remember chunks but needs to look at each letter, write it, then look at the board again, find the place, and so on....

• He may have very poor handwriting as he hasn't sufficient handskills to control the pencil

• He may spell the word several different ways if he doesn't have the visual memory to know what is right, or the kinaesthetic memory for it to feel correct as he is writing.

• He may have a visual memory deficiency and therefore experience difficulty when interpreting symbols

• He may be able to produce very good work one day and the next day ' trip over every word'. 'Off days' are quite common and require extra encouragement and understanding

• poor phonological awareness
• poor information processing
• poor short-term auditory memory
• poor sequencing

• Boost self-confidence - focus on achievements and give encouragement
• Marking work - when marking work with very poor spelling, tick what is correct rather than draw attention to errors.  Help older children to proof-read by ticking lines with no errors and placing a dot for each mistake in the margin.

• Where a child in the class has a poor short-term memory, limit the number of verbal instructions.  Back them up visually by writing on the board.  Notes to parents should be written rather than verbal, as should homework tasks.

• Poor concentration span can be helped by asking the child to sit at the front of the class.
• Ensure that your writing is clear both on the board and on worksheets.
• Give out work in manageable amounts
• Check the child's writing position, his pencil grip, paper angle and general balance. If children sit side-by-side, ensure that left-handers are correctly placed so as not to crowd out their right-handed neighbours.
• Encourage a cursive hand -writing style, linked to the printed form, so that a movement memory can be established.
• Encourage the child to survey each task and to think what has to be done, before starting to write.  It will help if he tells you what he has to do.
• Use multisensory techniques to link all the pathways to the brain in the learning situation.
• Encourage him to use alternative ways of recording his work: tapes, diagrams, flowcharts, computers.
• Teach spelling by showing him how to  build up regular words and use the look, say, name letters, write, check, routine.
• The child's problems may well apply to all subjects.  Maths in particular may need to be taught in small steps.