ICT in Dyslexia Friendly Schools

We will cover: What it is to be a Dyslexia Friendly School. What this means every day in the classroom. Computers and Laptops Specific programmes Apps

DYSLEXIA affects 1 in 10 of the population – that means that it is likely to affect approximately 3 children in your class.

A Dyslexia Friendly School… Assesses and reviews the individual needs of each dyslexic pupil. Ensures ALL staff are aware of these needs and strategies. Ensures suitable equipment and support are in place. Provides in-house training and support for staff. Gives children the opportunity to acquire keyboard skills. Assesses and reviews the individual needs of each dyslexic pupil, so that suitable support is provided and it needs to be regularly reviewed, so that it stays appropriate. Ensures ALL staff are aware of these needs and strategies, so they can build on the support, not ‘fight’ it. Ensures suitable equipment and support are in place. To be effective, the support needs to be easy to implement. A short spurt of initial intensive training pays off in the long run. Efficient keyboarding should be seen as an essential life skill for all pupils. They do not need to be copy typists, but should be able to type as fast as they think. Provides in-house training and support: essential that LSA and parents are trained early on in providing support. Other teachers and support staff need to be aware of what the technology can do for the student and be sensitive to how their support is needed in getting printouts of work, providing wordlists for new topics ahead of the lessons and facilitating provision of homework details.

Most of all, a Dyslexia Friendly School… Provides a positive learning environment, where children are prepared to take risks – not getting things right is part of the learning process. Strengthens the strengths and weakens the weaknesses. Makes reasonable adjustments. Teaches in a multi-sensory way.

Multi-sensory Auditory visual Oral Manual

What this means every day in the classroom: Overlearning: Revisit, revisit, revisit Pre-teach subject specific vocabulary Break instructions into manageable chunks Encourage metacognition – thinking about thinking – How might you remember…? How did you do…?

Interactive White Boards IT in the classroom Interactive White Boards Cream background Easy to read font – style and size Not too crowded

Laptops, computers, ipads IT in the classroom Laptops, computers, ipads Text to speech (Word) Speech to text (ipad) Evernote: note-taking app (ipad) Syllabication

Customise the computer IT in the classroom Customise the computer Change the screen and text colours. Customise spelling and grammar support. Put difficult words or long phrases into Autocomplete. •The student can highlight significant words/phrases in colour. The thesaurus can be used to help extend language and vocabulary.

IT in the classroom Other devices Voice recorders Ipads / cameras Reading pens On screen spellcheckers Talking wordbanks Mind-mapping software

Specific Programmes Clicker: Talking books, sentence structures, composition. Eddie Carron: Library, Dictation, Comprehension Wordshark: spelling/reading and Numbershark: Units of Sounds: spelling/reading Touch Typing

APPS BEWARE! See ‘CALL Scotland’ guides

To conclude: Less is more. Really think about what will help each individual child. Ensure time is planned in for training TAs, LSAs and the child, otherwise it won’t be used. Good practice improves lives for all, not just the individual child. Regular reviews and updates.

Additional Useful Information

What is dyslexia? (Rose,2009) Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.

What is dyslexia? (Rose,2009) Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia. A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well founded intervention.

The point is, it is not just about reading and spelling. Apart from co-occurring difficulties, e.g. Dyspraxia, ADHD or ASD, it can lead to anxiety, poor self-esteem and loss of confidence – the effects of which should not be underestimated.

Strategies - images Exaggerate Image Wed - nes - day mnemonics sally ann is dancing Create images to help remember foreign language words. This is my image for the word for ‘cow’ in Spanish – ‘vacu’ – I picture a cow pushing a vaccum cleaner Exaggerate the image so that it is larger and looming! 19

Strategies - overlearning Practice makes perfect What do we mean by ‘over-learning’? Keep practising until the skill or recall is automatic 20

Strategies - chunking Don’t swallow it whole! It is far better to build up a memory than to try to remember information as a whole. Chunking is a valuable strategy for all ages and many tasks. Onset/rime is an example of chunking – can you think of more? 21

Sequencing Days of the week Months of the year Alphabet January February March

Aims in teaching handwriting We should : Teach handwriting correctly first time aim for automaticity Consider: Grip Paper position Lighting Pressure Equipment

Cursive from the beginning Natural continuous movements Less load on memory every letter begins on the line every letter has a lead in and lead out stroke Aids left to right movement Spacing is improved Letters which are confusable in print, become more distinctive and distinguishable

Identify early!! How can we help? Teach: Letter names as well as sounds Segmenting and blending phonemes Onset/rime Syllables Correct letter formation