Dyslexia is a learning disability and, while it cannot be cured, early diagnosis and treatment can be integral in helping children become successful in school and in life. Most dyslexics benefit from help from a teacher, therapist or tutor specially trained to teach using methods that utilize multi-sensory techniques.
Modifications to a student’s academic program can help dyslexics succeed. Using teaching methods that involve different senses such as hearing, touch and sight simultaneously help children with dyslexia to better understand and recall the material they learn. At school, allowing students with dyslexia additional time to complete assignments, providing help with note taking and even giving taped tests can provide students the help they need in order to succeed.
Dyslexic children often have difficulty with auditory processing, visual processing, or both. They might also have difficulty understanding how sound functions in the way words are put together. Rhyming, blending sounds and segmenting words can be difficult. Dyslexic children often have problems learning the sight words taught in early elementary grades.
Effective Instruction for Children with Dyslexia
Dyslexia cannot be cured, but proper teaching methods can improve a student’s success and minimizes many of the problems associated with dyslexia. For example:
Teaching skills explicitly using techniques that might be considered “old school” but directly instruct students on reading, writing and spelling.
Using logical systems for introducing new concepts so that information builds on what is learned before.
Following step-by-step methods for introducing, reviewing and practicing concepts.
Simultaneously engaging visual, kinesthetic and auditory channels when teaching concepts. This kind of teaching links these pathways enhancing memory and learning.
