Two (Duo lessons) or three (Trio lessons) students will usually be working in the room, each following his or her own individual programme. Sometimes they will be working with the teacher, and sometimes doing practice work on their own, using a variety of aids to assist their learning, including computers.

Many centres also offer study skills groups, adult groups and mathematics lessons.

There is widespread agreement that teaching for dyslexic children and adults should be:

• STRUCTURED - so reading and spelling make sense.

• CUMULATIVE - to build up skills gradually.

• MULTI-SENSORY - using sight, sound and touch.

• THOROUGH - over-learning to compensate for weak memory.

• ACTIVE - to make it interesting.

• USEFUL - related to school work.

This method leads to successful learning and builds up the student's confidence.

HOW DOES DYSLEXIA INSTITUTE TEACHING WORK?

We teach in ways that dyslexic pupils can learn. Our programmes are based on the Dyslexia Institute Literacy Programme( D.I.L.P)* and 'Units of Sound'   and CD-ROM. DI pupils have access to the latest materials which are trialled in-house before being released for wider use.

*D.I.L.P. has been developed over 25 years. It draws on the work of Orton and Gillingham in the USA; Kathleen Hickey, who developed her programme whilst she was our first Director of Studies; and the most recent research. It was first published in 1993. It forms the core course material for teachers trained to diploma standard by the DI and may only be used by them.

We use multisensory methods for teaching and the pupils use multisensory ways for practising and learning. This means using as many senses as possible at a time to make learning easier - looking, listening, saying and doing. In this way strong channels of learning are used and they help build up weaker but essential ones. For example:

• A new sound is listened to then spoken, then the letters representing it are looked at and written down.

• A pupil who writes well can use writing to help her/him recognise a word when s/he sees it. By saying it, hearing it and spelling it as s/he writes s/he can learn more quickly to read and spell correctly.

• An older pupil who learns best through listening, but has great problems, can use hearing to help understand and learn difficult passages. S/he reads into a tape recorder and listens as it plays back.

The work is structured. The Dyslexia Institute's Literacy Programme introduces letters and groups of letters, strategies for tackling long words, 'tricky' words and spelling rules, in specific order. At each stage the pupil is working only with the part that has been covered during lessons. This builds confidence to tackle longer words and passages. It also involves some effective routines for tackling work.

The work is cumulative. Each part of the programme leads on to the next and the pupil can be confident that he is only expected to do work for which he has been well prepared.

Varied and interesting activities are used for essential practice. Pupils must have regular revision and "overlearn" until they automatically use sounds, letters and rules in reading and writing.

The level of work is planned so that progress is made while the pupil enjoys success. (Work that is too hard merely reinforces failure).

Research for reading and spelling stresses the importance of children being aware of the sounds that make up words (phonological awareness). This is an area of particular difficulty for our pupils and the programme is careful to develop this ability.

The pupils use their reasoning power to learn new ideas and consider the most efficient ways for them to learn.

Every effort is made to help the child see the relevance of the lessons to her/ his success in school-work and the classroom. Lessons are purposeful and given in friendly surroundings. Short, varied activities throughout the lesson help effective learning.

Study skills are taught alongside literacy. Help is given with learning to write stories and reports, and in coping with more difficult reading material. For older pupils this may include note-taking, essay planning and revision.

Progress is made at the child's own pace. Pupils are actively involved throughout the lesson.

Regular in-service training keeps our teachers abreast of new, effective teaching methods and current research.
 

Important links:

"Principles of teaching for dyslexia." An introduction to The Dyslexia Institute Literacy Programme (D.I.L.P.) which forms the core course material for teachers trained to Diploma standard by the DI, and may only be used by them.

"How can I help the dyslexic children while I teach everyone."  Pages on advice for teachers on helping in a normal school environment. This section is divided into three parts:

Our "Units of Sound" multimedia literacy development programme from is not just for those with dyslexia but is an excellent programme for developing literacy skills generally. From the Units of Sound link you will access "Training Opportunities" to learn about the course associated with Units of Sound multimedia.

Study Skills: Learning. A valuable page on tips of how to study.
 

Study skills - You can lead a horse to water.

Teacher Training Agency (www.canteach.gov.uk)  Those who can, teach. Visit the web site for information on how to become a teacher and the rewards offered.

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