Dyslexia Awareness 14 th January 2015

Contents Dyslexia Fact and Fiction Common Symptoms Strategies for Spelling Strategies for Reading Strategies for Writing Conclusion and Questions

Dyslexia Facts It is a disability under the DDA It affects approx 4% of the population There are different degrees of dyslexia It may have a genetic base It has nothing to do with intellectual ability

Dyslexia Fiction More left handed people are dyslexic than right It affects more men than women There is a ‘gift’ of dyslexia It is a middle class excuse for bad behaviour Dyslexia can be cured Coloured paper helps all dyslexics

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty that mainly affects the development of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be present at birth and to be life-long in its effects. It is characterised by difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills that may not match up to an individual's other cognitive abilities. (BDA 2007)

Common Symptoms – General Late Talker ‘Clumsy child’ Quick Forgetter Motor control problems Disorganised Pronunciation difficulties Left/right confusion

Common Symptoms – Literacy Letter Reversals – ‘b’ and ‘d’ Print blurring or moving Has to re-read frequently Problems copying text Problems differentiating sounds Problems getting ideas down on paper Handwriting problems

Spelling Teach spelling in logical groups eg letter patterns Always give spelling in context and make sure the learner understands the meaning of the word. Make spellings fun! Discuss different ways of learning key spellings

Reading Highlight difficult words, keep a list and go back to in order to encourage recognition Encourage not to read aloud Link with the spelling programme and high frequency words High interest reading is key

Writing Encourage learners to write everyday Give key spellings and technical terms so that learners have them to hand Encourage learners to use a small notebook to keep key words in – a memory book

General Provide explicit instructions for reading tasks Provide exemplars so that learners know what it expected Provide writing frames Always back up verbal information with information in writing

Any Questions?

Sources of Information British Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Action