Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that affects the ability to read and spell. About 60 per cent of children with dyslexia also have trouble with the sounds that make up words

Dyslexia can also cause difficulties with basic maths (especially the order of numbers and multiplication tables), general literacy skills, word interpretation and perception, organisational skills, short-term memory, sequencing and processing information. Children with dyslexia, however, are often very creative and able in certain areas of the curriculum, such as art, design, technology, computing, drama and lateral thinking.

Dyslexia is a complex neurological disorder and affects about ten per cent of the population, across all levels of intellectual ability. It tends to affect boys more than girls and often runs in families. It is believed to have a genetic cause.

Key characteristics
A dyslexic child may:

use bizarre spellings and have poor phonological awareness
frequently lose their place when reading and see blurred or distorted word-shapes
confuse some high frequency words eg. was/saw
reverse letters and number digits beyond the age where this is normal
write words with the correct letters in the wrong order
write sequences of letters and numbers in reverse
have difficulty remembering a word and substitute other words instead
have great difficulty organising themselves and their belongings
be unable to remember simple sequences such as days of the week
experience problems following oral instructions
have poor senses of time and direction
make frequent errors when copying, especially from the board
have some coordination difficulties
have low levels of motivation and self-esteem.

Support strategies
You may need to:

teach syllable count to help the child hear how many syllables are in a word
teach how to blend syllables
teach onset and rime to help the child to discriminate between words aurally
teach phoneme discrimination to help the child identify phonemes in words
teach phoneme-blending to help the child with reading and spelling
use multisensory methods to support the child’s learning
ensure repetition of learning, using word and language games for enjoyment
make use of coloured overlays and line trackers where necessary
create a positive reading environment with opportunities to listen to stories
teach keyboard skills and encourage use of spell-checkers
encourage alternative methods of recording eg. writing-frames, diagrams, labelled drawings, flow charts, comic strip stories
allow the use of a scribe where appropriate, especially for copying anything important such as homework instructions
make use of audio-visual aids
keep oral instructions brief and clear
revise and review previously taught skills at frequent intervals
raise self-esteem and confidence with lots of praise and encouragement.