Techniques for teaching
dyslexic students
How to define a dyslexic student?
Medical aids to assist students
How to define a dyslexic student?
Dyslexia is a complex condition in which a person
has extreme difficulty in understanding the written word. They will
find it very hard to understand written material including numbers
and other typographical symbols. Dyslexic people are characterised
by a reduced reading comprehension, as well as distortions,
reversals, or missing letters or words when reading or writing.
Dyslexia is three times more common in boys than in girls and is
usually first noticed in the early years of school. However,
dyslexics frequently perform above average on nonverbal tests of
intelligence, although the reason for this is poorly understood.
Dyslexia is a genetic disorder and it has been
linked to a defect within a particular region on chromosome 6. It is
manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language,
including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling,
handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic. Dyslexia is not a result
of lack of motivation, sensory impairment, inadequate instructional
or environmental opportunities, or other limiting conditions, but
may occur together with these conditions. Although dyslexia is
life-long, individuals with dyslexia frequently respond successfully
to timely and appropriate intervention.
So that good techniques can be reinforced, teachers
are encouraged to display posters on the walls as continual
reminders of the words that are specifically difficult for dyslexic
students. They can also stick the words onto the ceiling, wall and
floor or on other appropriate surfaces. Words can be positioned in
creative ways, for example words like tall, taller and tallest can
be placed on the ceiling.[i]
Having pictures and information about famous people
who are sufferers or supporters of dyslexia is really important.
These people can be easily identified with and can be used as good
role models. For example, a very good way to do this is by having a
Leonardo Da Vinci screen saver on their computer to inspire them to
greater ambitions.
In order to understand how to teach dyslexic
children it is necessary to understand what causes the condition.
The English language has 26 letters and contains 44 sounds, or
phonemes. All words are made up of one or more phonemes; for example
sounds like ba and da or mu and nu. To
learn to read, a child must be able to sound out phonemes and build
them into words. Unfortunately the brains of dyslexic children,
right from birth, cannot clearly distinguish phonemes that make
rapid sound shifts. For example, the sound "ba" starts with a
"b" made by pressing the lips together, and flows into "aaaah"
made further back in the mouth. The time between the "b" and
"aaaah" is just 40 milliseconds (a millisecond is
one-thousandth of a second), but most babies can hear it just fine.
Some, however, need five times that long, 200 milliseconds or more,
to really hear such sounds. Other phonemes, like mu, make
sufficiently slow sound shifts and therefore do not pose a problem.[ii]
In order to aid students to learn to hear the
‘extra’ sounds, words must be broken down and enunciated more
slowly. To most people, when they hear the word ‘bag’ they will
report that they hear three sounds. Even though they have really
only heard one short burst, their brains are able to interpret the
mush and separate the individual components. This is the task that
dyslexics find so difficult to accomplish.
It should also be understood by the teacher that
just as everyone has a dominant hand, we also each have a dominant
eye and ear. For most people this is the right ear, and sounds that
are heard by the dominant ear are transmitted directly to the
language centre in the left-brain. On the other hand sounds captured
by the left ear go first to the right brain before being transmitted
back to the language centre in the left-brain. The second circuit is
longer and some of the information is lost or corrupted along the
way, making sound recognition more difficult.[iii]
Using mnemonics that are chosen according to each
student’s own interests can be an aid to help with commonly made
spelling errors. Applying colour codes to classify folders and
textbook spines by subject is an easy way to make sure students take
the right books and equipment to the classes. This characteristic is
often mistaken as forgetfulness, and since taking the right books to
class is important, it ensures that the student does not feel
inadequate, or any different to the other students.
Having taught dyslexic students using many of these
different teaching techniques has afforded us with an opportunity to
compare and assess these different approaches. One of the most
successful techniques was using hands-on practical exercises as a
way of engaging the student’s interest. This approach will also
provide the student with a mental image they can remember and refer
back to. Additionally, making models of related objects has also
been observed to assist with learning to remember a series of items.
By teaching chemistry, using actual experiments, the
student was encouraged to set up the experiment for themselves and
then watch the ensuing reaction. To understand the structure of
molecules, you can build them either from a model kit or by using
Plasticine with plastic or metal rods. This is far better than just
writing down a chemical reaction equation. The ability to see the
structure of a molecule, using colours to identify the components
and structure of the chemicals, made it easier for the vocabulary to
be learnt.
For example when teaching physics, a prism or even a
crystal ornament can be used to demonstrate how white light can be
split into the spectrum of colours. This session developed into a
light show on the wall, and because of the fun that the student had
doing this they found learning and understanding the concept much
easier.
We have developed several teaching techniques that
address some of these key topics. For example, to help students
discern words that contain fast phoneme transitions, we employ a
modified speech pattern, which puts more emphasis on key words.
Identifying the particular key words that contain these fast sound
transitions requires some practice, but having become familiar with
the common ones and by speaking with appropriate emphasis and pauses
improves the ability of the student to absorb the information. One
point to bear in mind though is the possibility that the student
could feel patronised or even bored by the monotone of the voice.
So there is a balance that has to be achieved while using this
technique.
Another teaching method is to encourage the student
to make a dictionary of their own that contains words related to the
subject that they are studying. This approach has been observed to
be very successful, and also has the added benefit of becoming a
useful revision tool.
As another exercise a student is allowed to make
their own audiocassette recording of the things they need to
remember. This can be beneficial because it teaches the student how
to verbalise their thoughts, as well as improving their diction and
listening skills by being able to hear their own voice. The
experience of hearing your own voice can be an unsettling experience
for most people, so at first a student may find it difficult to find
the self-confidence that this process will demand from them. They
may require several attempts before they become comfortable and are
happy with the outcome.
We have also observed that students can find it
difficult to read continuously from overhead projection sheets, or
from digital projectors. This is beginning to become more widely
recognised, and some universities have taken steps to assist
students by ensuring they are given access to printed copies of
these presentations if they are unable to take notes from the
displayed material quickly enough. This removes the frustration that
comes from constantly struggling to keep up with the rest of the
class and instead gives the student the opportunity to listen and
focus on what the lecturer is saying instead. Students are also
being encouraged to record lectures so that they can listen to them
again in their own time.
Another novel teaching technique that we have used
is to encourage the student to only write on the left hand page of
their notebook. This allowed them space for corrections and improved
the setting out of their work. Otherwise they had a tendency to
clutter their work with large numbers of corrections which made it
illegible for later revision. The right hand side of the page was
then used for drawing diagrams, or making sketches of the
information written. This is a good way to jog the memory when
reviewing the notes and while preparing for a test.
Additionally it is possible to use coloured pens, or
even highlighters, to make each important section colour coded for
easy identification. An extension of this concept, through the use
of mnemonics, is to get the student to think of their own acronyms
and phrases to aid their ability to remember lists of items. It is
very important that the student is able to invent their own phrases
as this will aid their memory, but having a back-up suggestion
already prepared for them can often be a useful prompt. Students can
also be encouraged to design their own posters and stick them to the
walls in their bedroom, or the room they use for study, since this
is also a good memory aid.
Additionally, when working closely with a student
away from a normal classroom environment, it is better to structure
the lessons into smaller time allotments. This allows the student to
focus their attention on the task at hand and gains the maximum
benefit from the time available. It also facilitates the breakdown
of each task into smaller and more distinct steps. By structuring
the lessons in this way, using short breaks to help to maintain a
high level of concentration, the student can also learn to improve
their study techniques when working by themselves. It is also
important to help the student develop their public speaking skills
by having short five-minute informal talks. This gives them another
way of expressing their thoughts.
For students who have not had the opportunity to
learn to use a computer early on at school, it seems just another
thing to learn. Usually they need all of their time and energy to be
focused on learning the subject information itself. Developing
computer skills and keeping up with new software and styles of
presentation can be an added burden that should be avoided if it is
causing the student to lose focus on the core subject material.
Initially having had extra time allocated at school,
can give some students the feeling of being different and singled
out. However after explaining that there are many students with
similar disabilities that get extra time, I was able to put these
students at ease.
Dyslexic students need a lot of encouragement,
whether it is by contacting them several times a week or taking them
on excursions to maintain their interest. Most importantly though,
students should be encouraged to be proud of their own work, and
this needs to be reinforced by all other family members. Since
dyslexia typically does not occur within a family in a predictable
pattern, it is most likely that other members of the same family may
not have this disability. Therefore without appropriate counselling,
they may find it very difficult to understand why their child or
sibling requires extra assistance to master a subject that they
possibly found easy for themselves. Frequently, dyslexic students
are unfairly labelled as dumb, or incompetent. However, this is
clearly not always the case, since with the right approach these
students can achieve results that are at least equal to those of
regular students.
Medical aids to assist students
Having children tested for dyslexia very early in
their school life is a good initial step, and once a dyslexic
student is identified, they can be given the correct teaching
techniques. Teachers should also be familiar with the common errors
made by dyslexic students, and should be aware of the techniques
that they can employ to help them. For example teachers should
recognise that students who confuse the letters p and q, d and b and
the numbers 9 and 6, as well as other combinations such as E and 3,
and “was” and “saw”, are potentially dyslexic.
A student that has dyslexia can often improve their
reading ability by varying the wavelength of light as well as the
luminance or image blurring that reaches their eyes. Wearing glasses
that have a blue lens can produce an improvement.[iv] A sheet of blue acetate will also
help them to read a computer monitor in the same way.[v] From his research, Dr. Williams
has found that reading through blue filters helps 80% of dyslexic
children read better, and red filters helps another 8%. The filters
are pieces of transparent coloured plastic like those sometimes used
as overhead transparencies.[vi]
Since dyslexic people have extreme difficulty in
understanding the written word and find it very hard to understand
numbers and symbols, teachers who are teaching dyslexic students
need to ensure they involve all the five senses in the material they
present. Using a practical and visual approach has the largest
impact on memory and comprehension. This in turn improves the
student’s self-esteem and subsequently can have a profound effect on
their results at school. Students need to understand and be
comfortable with the reason for their difficulties. They should not
be made to feel “different” or inadequate from other students in
their class. Instead, they should be told that they learn things in
a different way from the other students, but that this does not mean
that they are inferior or any less capable. Dyslexic students can be
taught how to overcome the symptoms of dyslexia, and to use that
knowledge to help themselves in their studies and their ability to
achieve their ambitions.
[i]
(The web page referenced by this essay has been removed.)
[ii]
“New York Times”, September
14, 1999
[iii]
Pierre Sollier, “How the
Tomatis Method Treats Learning Disabilities and Dyslexia”,
The Tomatis Listening and Learning Center, 1995
[iv]
Solan HA, Brannan
J, Ficarra A, Byne R. Transient & Sustained Processing - A
Dual subsystem Theory of Reading
Disability. J Behavioral Optom.1994; 5:149-154.
[v]
Solan, HA. The Effects of
Varying Luminance and Wavelength on Reading Ability in Good
and Poor Readers: Is there a Transient System Deficit? Am.
Opt. Assoc. meeting, New Orleans: January 1996.
[vi]
Blakeslee S. Study Ties
Dyslexia to Brain Flaw Affecting Vision and Other
Senses. The New York Times National; Sept 15, 1991: P1C3,
P30,C3. (Copyright of the New York Times 1991)