With the popularity of e-readers, research is beginning to be done to see if this platform is a better one for our dyslexic learners. The link above leads to an article about research done by the Smithsonian of this important topic. It certainly is good to think about!
Author: thecindyleafhall
Dyslexic Wonders: Understanding the Daily Life of a Dyslexic
At age 12, Jenny Smith decided she wanted to help other dyslexic kids by writing a book about what it is like to be dyslexic. Four years and 11 editors later, her book was published. She soon founded Jenny’s Wish Foundation, which accepts scholarship applications to help individuals with dyslexia get the educational help they need. Read her story, which includes a link where you may go to purchase her book.
Attitude matters!
“It’s not what problems you have: it is how you face them. Your attitude can help take a bad situation and make it better.”
~Jennifer Smith, author and dyslexic college student. Link to her story and how to purchase her book coming tomorrow.
Blossoming under the Right Conditions
The Christmas cactus in my Dyslexia Center classroom is giving quite the show of blossoms already this holiday season. I smile as I see it proudly flying its Christmas flags, though the calendar says Veteran’s Day was just Monday. It took some doing to get this plant to flower. It needed the right combination of conditions to put on the show it was holding inside. Equal parts light and dark, limited water, a summer at home on my porch then into the classroom just as frosts begin outside. The resulting blossoms make the efforts seem very worthwhile, and I am glad I took time to understand which conditions this plant needed to thrive.
Dyslexic students are a lot like my plant. They have such potential for enriching the lives of those around them, if only they are given the right conditions. I love coaxing the confidence out of them, helping them try to sound out words, try to understand that the silent e at the end of the word is changing the vowel sound, try to remember that cursive f has loops above and below the line.
The sunshine of praise goes a long way toward helping a dyslexic student have the confidence to try. Celebrating even small successes will help create an environment where it is safe to continue trying.
The soil of a program of teaching that is scientifically based, sequential and given with enough intensity allows students’ roots to anchor in something solid enough to hold and sustain growth is also key. We use the Orton-Gillingham method for both small groups and tutoring. It is a proven method that fills the gaps in student learning providing a solid soil for growth.
Fertilizer is an important key to plant blossoms. In my classroom, I think the support fellow dyslexic students give provides the needed boost for others to feel accepted and comfortable enough to blossom. Our success would not be nearly as high without this key element of peer support.
With the right conditions, dyslexic students can and do thrive. I love seeing the buds of understanding appear. Nurtured with teaching and fun ways to reinforce learning, the flowers of confidence and understanding burst forth, enriching the lives of all who see and rejoice in the transformation of lives.
Staying organized with Post-it notes
Keeping up with things seems to be a huge challenge for most of my dyslexic students. This website shows how to create a Post-it note grid to keep up with assignment due dates and to chart when to begin working on tasks. This is a great idea, and I don’t just say that because I admit to a secret addiction to the sticky little note pads!
Wondering how dyslexia is diagnosed?
This article from University of Michigan goes through the steps which are taken to go from suspicion of dyslexia to diagnosis. It is very readable, and gives a lot of great information!
Excellent TED talk on dyslexia
This is a clip to forward to all your family and friends who just can’t seem to grasp what dyslexia is. It is clearly explained in a way that also includes positive language and makes all of us think about what it is like to have a neurological difference.
Limitations
“If you have 20% of the population whose potential is limited, not by their intelligence, but by their inability to read, that is clearly of concern.”
~ Congressman Bill Cassidy, cofounder of the Bipartisan Dyslexia Cacus
Ideas on how to choose a book of the right level.
It is summer. That means time to hit the bookstore, to sign up for summer reading at your public library, to soak up the pleasure of reading a book cover to cover in one or two days. But, that means picking books at the right level of difficulty, or reading becomes frustrating or boring. The article above has some great thoughts on how to pick the right book, and how to teach your child to pick the right one. It’s worth the effort! choosing the right level book Choosing the right level book
The Best Method for Helping Dyslexic Learners!
Use what works best!
When we do laundry, we pick the detergent or stain remover that experience has shown us works the best on the mess we are dealing with at the moment. Dingy whites? Use bleach. Ink pen marks? Spritz on hairspray. Grass stains? Rub in Fels Naphta bar soap. We use the best tool for the job, and like the results we get.
Teaching children to read is similar to laundry stains in that there are a variety of learning differences to address. In the same way you would not expect good results from pouring bleach on the knees of grass stained blue jeans, you cannot take a dyslexic child to a traditional store-front tutoring center and expect his or her dyslexia to improve. Different challenges need different teaching methods. Tutoring centers are great for some reading problems, and may have helped your neighbor’s non-dyslexic child, but will not help your dyslexic reader. There is no one single solution for all reading problems. Dyslexia responds best to specific methods.
Brain rewiring
I have written previously in this blog about the amazing way that brains can be rewired. New brain research shows us more about the brain all the time. Dyslexia is a brain wiring issue, and using a method of teaching which addresses these issues makes sense – and works great!
Orton-Gillingham Method
The best method for teaching a dyslexic child (or adult!) to read is called the Orton-Gillingham method. I have mentioned it before in blog entires, and you can google it and read about it for a whole weekend.
What makes the O-G method work?
The O-G method addresses reading and spelling as what they are – opposite sides of the same coin. Dyslexic individuals struggle with both reading and spelling, so this approach really works for them. Each phoneme (smallest sound of language) is taught individually, in a prescribed order. Practice starts with phonemes, moves to words, then sentences and passages to read. The spelling side progresses in the same way – how each sound can be spelled, how words are spelled and then sentences are written.
Syllables and Spelling Generalizations
The O-G method uses a lot of hands-on practice methods which can be crazy fun for both the teacher and the student. Syllable types are learned along with their characteristics so long words can easily be diced into manageable pieces with predictable vowel sounds. Finger sounding keeps the sounds in order as the student works out a word.
Traditional school teaches spelling by memorizing lists of words for Friday spelling tests. This works great for kids who are not dyslexic. It is a lot of frustration for dyslexic kids, and does not teach them to permanently spell the list words anyway. The O-G method teaches spelling by learning spelling generalizations. These simple rules provide a framework for spelling many, many words, and keep the child from the agony of trying to memorize spelling words that just won’t stick.
An example of a spelling generalization would be to spell the /ch/ sound with a tch at the end of a word or syllable right after a short vowel. Everywhere else, spell /ch/ with a ch. You are thinking about words with tch at the end right now, aren’t you? And the generalization is surprisingly accurate, isn’t it? For dyslexic students, it is almost magically easy.
Testing results show – this method works!
There are lots of reasons to shop for an Orton-Gillingham based tutor or program if you are looking for help for your dyslexic student. We are in the midst of our end-of-semester progress testing with the students in our Dyslexia Center. Results are showing astounding progress in our students this semester. The bottom line reason to use O-G is because it is the right solution for this problem. Just like bleach for dingy whites.
Tales from the Dyslexia Center 