Dyslexia – 101 Produced by Patricia Oliver, Ed.D Dyslexia Teacher-Leader Spring Branch ISD

Objectives Understand the characteristics of dyslexia Identify ways to assess/support students at the sound, letter, and word level

About Dyslexia Dyslexia is language-based learning disability. Students with dyslexia have difficulty learning to read words accurately and fluently. Researchers have discovered differences in brain structure and organization. Poor phonological awareness contributes to difficulties with manipulating the sounds in a word. Students have problems with visual and verbal memory as well as word retrieval issues. (International Dyslexia Association, 2007,Updated 2010)

Common Signs of Dyslexia - Preschool May talk later than most children May have difficulty with rhyming May have difficulty pronouncing words May have poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants May be unable to recall the right word May have trouble learning numbers, days of the week, colors, shapes, and how to spell and write his or her name (Dyslexia Handbook Revised 2007, Updated 2010)

Common Signs of Dyslexia – Kindergarten Through Third Grade Fails to understand that words come apart; for example that snowman can be pulled apart into snow and man, and later on, that the word man can be broken down into /m/ /a/ /n/ Has difficulty learning the letter names and their corresponding sounds Has difficulty decoding single words – lacks a strategy Has difficulty spelling graphophonetically Reads dysfluently (choppy and labored) Relies on context to recognize a word (Dyslexia Handbook Revised 2007, Updated 2010)

Common Signs of Dyslexia – Fourth Grade Through High School Has a history of reading and spelling difficulties Avoids reading aloud Reads most materials slowly; oral reading is labored, not fluent Avoids reading for pleasure May have an inadequate vocabulary Has difficulty spelling; may resort to using less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell (Dyslexia Handbook Revised 2007, Updated 2010)

In order to make an appropriate identification of dyslexia, we must consider... A.If the pattern of weaknesses reflects one or more difficulties with the following academic skills: Reading real words in isolation Decoding nonsense words Reading fluency (both rate and accuracy) Written spelling (an isolated difficulty in spelling would not be sufficient for identification) (Dyslexia Handbook Revised 2007, Updated 2010)

In order to make an appropriate identification of dyslexia, we must consider... B. Based on the data, what are the underlying cognitive processes for the difficulties? Phonological/phonemic awareness A student may also demonstrate difficulties with... –Rapid naming –Orthographic processing

In order to make an appropriate identification of dyslexia, we must consider... C. If the student exhibits weaknesses in reading & written spelling that are the result of a deficit in phonological/phonemic awareness, then... we need to determine if these difficulties are unexpected for the student in relations to the student’s other cognitive abilities.

Dyslexic students may also have ADD resulting in... losing papers. a poor sense of time. forgetting homework. not finishing work. not remembering when things are due. messy desks. attention problems. (Shaywitz, 2003)

But these same students may have strengths in... thinking and reasoning. listening comprehension. listening vocabulary. creativity. the ability to conceptualize in pictures and abstract ideas. imagination. oral language. areas not dependent on reading.

So now what? How can I support the struggling student?

When a student is struggling with reading check on their understanding of... PreK-2 Phonological/phonemic awareness Alphabetic principal Phonics (What should they have under control at this point?) High-frequency words Vocabulary Fluency Reading as a meaning- making process 3-5 (or above) Phonological/phonemic awareness Phonics (What should they have under control at this point?) Morphology (root words, affixes) High-frequency words Vocabulary Fluency Reading as a meaning- making process

Start with rhyme: nursery rhymes, songs, poems. Can they complete a nursery rhyme or rhyming story? Can they tell you if two words or not? Can they create rhyming words? Clap or make a tap for each word in a sentence; in a word (puppy – 2 taps) Blend/segment words Recognizing same beginning sounds; ending sounds Use sound boxes – recognizing & segmenting phonemes Sound Awareness Activities

Alphabetic Principle Games, songs, books, rapid naming charts, work dough, etc.

Check students on high-frequency words. Find out which ones they know, sometimes know, don’t know Create and use flashcards (daily, but briefly) Use work dough to build Draw picture to attach to word to help student recognize on “sight” Rapid naming word charts Memory games High Frequency Words – They can “trip” students up!

Use a simple but consistent signal for vowels Attach them to the most common rimes/words Have students highlight vowel, search for spelling pattern – Divide & Conquer Tap out syllables in a word, emphasize that every syllable must have at least one vowel sound Create “key” words Use Making Word Activities Words Their Way approach also teaches phonics! Phonics (synthetic & analytic)

If I know _______, then I know ___________. incat king itnotslide canwillday makenamethink tellsawstop truckjumpblack thank,vinetreat

A word on fluency: it’s not all about speed and accuracy! Choral reading Echo reading Reader’s theater Repeated reading Phrase reading Read it like the character

Some things to think about! Students would rather appear unwilling than unable. When school success is unattainable, students seek success elsewhere and devise ways to save face in the classroom. When it comes to struggling readers, we can’t just repress the behavior without eliminating the cause... we must treat the calluses from multiple stress responses. Shea, 2006

But no matter what, they should be spending most of their time...