1. Funded by Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD: All teachers are teachers of SEND

2. Funded by Bronze Level: Awareness for all teaching & support staff School commitment Continuing Professional Development & Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD Awareness of Dyslexia and other SpLD Training Access to CPD resources Pupil and Parent Voice Identification Using a checklist Support and Intervention Trialling and reflecting on Dyslexia Friendly ideas. 2

3. Funded by Session aims and outcomes By the end of this session, you will: understand what is meant by the terms ‘specific learning difficulty’ (SpLD) and ‘dyslexia’; know about the co-occurring nature of SpLD; have an understanding of the key indicators of dyslexia and know a range of strategies for supporting these in the classroom; know how and when to use a Dyslexia Checklist; know how and when to signpost for further action. 3

4. Funded by Session overview What is a Specific Learning Difficulty? What is Dyslexia? The overlapping nature of SpLDs Working Memory Phonological Awareness Processing Speed Visual processing difficulties Identification and signposting Questions and Evaluation Activity 4

5. Funded by Selecting and Evaluating Strategies During this session you will have the opportunity to discuss various classroom and teaching strategies. You should select 3 strategies which you would like to trial in your classroom over the next few weeks. You will also be asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies and to complete the Strategies Evaluation form. After completion, return the form to your named staff member. 5

6. Funded by All teachers are teachers of SEND This includes: Having an awareness of all the children in the class with SpLD. Look out for the ‘hard to spot’ children who appear to be coping but are having to work hard to maintain this appearance. Recognising the underlying causes of the difficulties observed and use this to inform/adapt teaching. Adapting teaching delivery and the learning environment to meet needs within the whole class, where possible. Knowing the pathways within school to access further support. 6

7. Funded by What is a Specific Learning Difficulty? Activity Think of a child who has difficulties with specific aspects of learning. Briefly discuss the child’s difficulties and strengths with a partner and be ready to report back to the group. 7

8. Funded by A range of specific difficulties Reading accuracy Reading comprehension Spelling Letter/number reversals Organisation of writing Handwriting Co-ordination Motor-skills Maths Learning times tables Distraction/focus Disorganisation Self-esteem Behaviour 8 with various accompanying …

9. Funded by Oral skills Design 3D visualisation Problem solving 9 …. learning strengths Artistic skills Creative skills Big picture thinkers Sports

10. Funded by The Overlapping Nature of Specific Learning Difficulties Dyslexia Dyspraxia/DCD Dyscalculia Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Dysgraphia Thanks to Professor Amanda Kirby Dyscovery Centre, University of South Wales Asperger’s Syndrome 10

11. Funded by What is Dyslexia? 11

12. Funded by What is dyslexia? literally = difficulty with words It is one of a number of Specific Learning Difficulties. Definitions of dyslexia vary in detail and emphasis. All generally agree that it involves a specific difficulty with language learning. 12

13. Funded by What is Dyslexia? ‘Dyslexia occurs across a range of intellectual abilities. It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.’ Rose Review 2009: Report on Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties 13 Causes are thought to be related to brain differences which often appear to be genetic in origin. More males than females tend to be identified. Some research suggests inheritance factor is 50/50, others that it may be more prevalent in males. Dyslexia affects about 10% of the population, 4% severely. 13

14. Funded by 14 Dyslexia is not caused by: Lack of intellectual ability Poor motivation Emotional disturbance Sensory impairment Lack of opportunity BUT it may occur alongside these. Dyslexia may also be influenced by: Environmental factors Co-existence of other Specific Difficulties

15. Funded by What is Dyslexia? ‘Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.’ Rose Review 2009: Report on Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties 15 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. 15

16. Funded by Early years: identifying children ‘at risk’ Research clearly indicates some characteristics are closely correlated with later difficulty. Areas of concern in Early Years Foundation Stage: Receptive and expressive language development Vocabulary development Alphabet knowledge Phonology Memory Attention Motor-coordination Family history of dyslexia and SpLD Main carer concerns 16

17. Funded by Verbal Working Memory 17

18. Funded by ‘Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.’ Rose Review 2009 18

19. Funded by What is Verbal Memory? Memory has many components. Individuals can excel in some areas of memory but have difficulties in others. Verbal memory is related to information which can be verbalised. Verbal short term and working memory help us:  retain information for very short periods;  remember instructions;  plan what to do next;  focus on a task;  with complex thinking and problem solving;  with organisation;  process information to store in long term memory.

20. Funded by Short Term and Working Memory Limited capacity which varies – from person to person; – with age (adults 7 items +/-2). Both are temporary stores. Information once lost, cannot be retrieved. Short Term Memory can hold information for 10 to 20 seconds. This can increase with rehearsal. Working memory is used to work with that information. Dyslexics hold less information in Working Memory, for less time, compared to peers. 20

21. Funded by Why is Working Memory important? For academic performance  Reading ‘age’ → working memory ‘age’ link  Predicts attainment  One study of children with poor Working Memory  Poor performance by 83% in Maths or English tests  Poor performance by more than 70% in both Some controversy over impact of training Difficulties best addressed through adaptations to teaching and development of personal strategies 21

22. Funded by What to look out for Slow progress Difficulties following instructions Difficulty copying from the board Easily distracted Not appearing to listen when spoken to directly Short attention, especially for auditory work Difficulties with organisation Forgetful and loses things Avoids activities which require prolonged complex thinking Most evident in tasks which load heavily on working memory, e.g. reading comprehension, writing composition, mental maths 22

23. Funded by Working Memory Overload Activity Copy the information from the board using your non-preferred hand. You must complete in 1 minute to succeed! 23

24. Funded by Hippeastrum (amaryllis), Lycopodium (clubmoss, Lycopersicon (tomato), Rhapidophyllum (needle palm), Liriodendron (tulip poplar), Chionanthus (fringe tree, granddaddy greybeard), Helianthus (sunflower), Eremochloa (centipede grass), Cynodon (Bermuda grass), Stenotaphrum (St. Augustine grass), Eriobotrya (loquat), Thelypteris (woods fern) 24 Put a hat on vowels ȏ ȇ and ȗ

25. Funded by Adjectives: Boltonia apalachicolensis, “Apalachicolan boltonia”; Quercus alba, “white oak”; Pinus palustris, “swamp pine” (longleaf pine); Croomia pauciflora, “few-flowered croomia”; Capparis cynophallophora. These adjectives must match the genus name in gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), number (singular or plural), and case (for example, nominative or genitive). 25 Put a hat on vowels ȋ ȏ and ȃ

26. Funded by Working Memory Strategies 1 General teaching strategies  Don’t do too much at once – overloads the working memory  Ensure information is clearly understood in the first place  Make links to previous knowledge explicit  Use repetition/overlearning where necessary  Give instructions in the order they are to be performed  Ask child to repeat instructions/information back to you  Create an environment where it is ok to ask for repetition 26

27. Funded by Working Memory Strategies 2 Examples of working memory strategies for reading:  Building up words when blending s>st>sto>stop  Chunking (less information to remember) st-op > stop Which is easier? 492651309486 or 492 651 309 486  Visual strategies for blending (plastic letters, etc.)  Use highlighters to identify important information for reading comprehension  Scaffold learning, e.g. paired reading 27

28. Funded by Working Memory Strategies 3 Examples of working memory strategies for writing  Mind-map to help pre-plan writing (use post-it notes to make it easy to re-arrange ideas)  Provide word banks, writing frames  Organise writing into tables with given headings  Break down the task (e.g. MAPS for editing)  Consider alternative forms of recording information (e.g. diagrams)

29. Funded by Working Memory Strategies 4 Encourage use of different senses  Provide visual/auditory cues (examples in following slides)  Get children to transfer information into a different medium, e.g. verbal to picture Self-awareness – what works best for the individual?  What helps? Listening, watching, doing?  Verbal rehearsal  Visualisation (closes eyes and pictures)  Kinaesthetic (e.g. making letters out of play dough)  Mnemonics (works for some, causes additional difficulties for others) 29

30. Funded by Phonological Abilities 30

31. Funded by ‘Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.’ Rose Review 2009 31

32. Funded by Phonological Awareness Awareness of the sounds of language (as opposed to the meaning of words). Poor phonological awareness can cause difficulties with hearing the individual phonemes in words and thus with matching sounds to letter patterns (phonics skills). This causes difficulties in learning to read and spell accurately. 32

33. Funded by Decoding Activity Activity Read this sentence. Fluent readers will complete in less than 10 seconds. You have 2 minutes. No pens allowed. 33

34. Funded by What to look out for Has difficulty identifying individual sounds in words, particularly vowel sounds Confuses similar sounds (e.g. m/n) Has difficulties identifying rhyme Has difficulty blending sounds for reading Has difficulty segmenting sounds for spelling Has difficulty with sequencing or manipulating sounds Has difficulties with phonics and the alphabetic principle Speed of reading Uses faulty strategies, e.g. ‘guessing at word’ 34

35. Funded by Phonological Awareness Difficulties in this area are often accompanied by weak working memory. This is one cognitive area which can be improved through good teaching. Many proven strategies are incorporated in synthetic phonics programmes. However, for many the pace of learning is too fast and does not contain enough repetition and overlearning.

36. Funded by Verbal Processing Speed 36

37. Funded by ‘Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.’ Rose Review 2009 37

38. Funded by Verbal Processing Speed The speed it takes to think through and respond to verbally presented information Slow processing speed: – may result in a poor view of one’s own abilities; – exists across all abilities. Slow does not mean lack of brain power 38

39. Funded by What to look out for Cannot make rapid decisions Does not respond quickly to questions Works slowly Becomes overstressed when working under timed conditions and pace slows even further Does not appear to be listening Tends to stare into middle distance/daydream Shuts down when overloaded May be inattentive/unfocused 39

40. Funded by Verbal Processing Strategies Allow thinking time – e.g. prepare: “in a few minutes, I am going to ask you…..” Allow information to ‘sink in’ before continuing Allow extra task time Target accuracy before fluency Develop fluency through overlearning and repetition May need regular prompting to keep on task Agree homework limits with parents/carers Try some of the Working Memory strategies 40

41. Funded by Visual Difficulties 41

42. Funded by Visual difficulties Important to consider all visual issues Rule out general eyesight issues Binocular instability – can be requested as part of NHS eye test Tracking difficulties Visual processing difficulties 42

43. Funded by Visual Stress (Meares-Irlen Syndrome)Meares-Irlen Syndrome Sensitivity to strong contrasts (black on white) Sensitivity to bright light Difficulty judging distance Script may appear to move Basic assessment with coloured overlays Full assessment by trained optometrist 43

44. Funded by 44 Visual Difficulties Strategies 1 Provide reading rulers. Provide coloured overlays. Avoid black type on white backgrounds for paper, computer and visual aids. Use dark coloured text on a light (not white) background. Avoid green and red/pink as these are difficult for the colour-blind. Some will have their own colour preference. Paper should be thick enough to prevent the other side showing through. Use matt paper/laminates rather than glossy paper.

45. Funded by Visual Difficulties Strategies 2 Use a plain, evenly spaced sans serif font such as Arial, Calibri, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Trebuchet in minimum 12-14 point. Try using alternate coloured lines of text on slides to help tracking. Prepare and use worksheets that are both dyslexia friendly and visual stress friendly. See the BDA Style Guide for advice: http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/common/ckeditor/filemanag er/userfiles/About_Us/policies/Dyslexia_Style_Guide.pdf http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/common/ckeditor/filemanag er/userfiles/About_Us/policies/Dyslexia_Style_Guide.pdf 45

46. Funded by Dyslexia Friendly Classroom 46

47. Funded by The Dyslexia Friendly Classroom Teaches to all senses (multi-sensory) Teaches to all learning styles Respects individuals Differentiates Fosters respect Encourages meta-cognition 47

48. Funded by Assistive Technology The Dyslexia friendly classroom ideally includes assistive technology It allows independence Is non-judgemental If there is an issue, assistive technology can often help: – Text readers for reading – Spell checkers for spelling – Word banks and writing frame software – Voice recognition for writing, etc – Mind mapping for planning, etc

49. Funded by Identification 49

50. Funded by The purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, not to fit a pupil into a category…..The support provided to an individual should always be based on a full understanding of their particular strengths and needs and seek to address them all using well-evidenced intervention targeted at their areas of difficulty and where necessary specialist equipment or software. SEND Code of Practice

51. Funded by Identification: a graduated response This involves gathering information to make a decision. A checklist – May be used as a type of basic screener; – Helps identify patterns of difficulties; – Does not diagnose. Remember – There can be many reasons for issues identified. – Judgement and caution need to be exercised: refer concerns to the SENCo.

52. Funded by Using a checklist: CPD Activity Think of a child who has one or a number of the issues raised in this session. With this child in mind, complete the checklist. Remember to respect confidentiality. Evaluate the usefulness of using a checklist. Consider the need for follow up action.

53. Funded by Signposting Signs of SpLD should be discussed with the SENCo. Actual identification should be carried out by an appropriately trained individual. – Dyslexia – Specialist teacher/ EP (Educational); – Speech & Language – SaLT (Medical); – Dyspraxia / DCD – Occupational therapist (Medical); – ADHD / ADD – GP (Medical); – Autistic spectrum – GP (Medical). 53

54. Funded by Signposting Reports from professionals often go far beyond identification. Individual profile information and recommendations can be used to further inform approaches and classroom practice. Parents/carers particularly appreciate being given parent support group information – local and national. 54

55. Funded by A final thought…. Research indicates that teachers lower their expectations when a child is identified as dyslexic. This is not a problem with the label but with the perception. Children with dyslexia and SpLD are very capable of thriving - particularly where identification is early and there is appropriate intervention and classroom support. We need to continue to be ambitious for all our children, not least for those with dyslexia and SpLD. 55

56. Funded by Questions 56

57. Funded by Evaluation Next steps: Strategies & Checklist 57