Blue
2/10/23
Dyslexia Awareness Week
Dyslexia Awareness Week is the 2nd October to the 8th October. There is also a Dyslexia Awareness Day on Friday. It is a time to raise awareness of Dyslexia, what it is and how it effects the 10-20% of the population that has it. In every class there will most likely be children with dyslexia, diagnosed or not…so its important we know more about it.
This Dyslexia Awareness Week is all about being Uniquely You. These days we have more understanding that our brains work differently and we don’t all process things in the same way. All dyslexics will experience their dyslexia differently and will have different strengths and weaknesses. What is true for all dyslexics though is their brain works differently and traditional teaching methods and an emphasis on testing, in particular under time pressure, does not help a dyslexic child. A more practical, creative, visual way of learning helps a dyslexic learn more effectively, and benefits everyone else too.
I am dyslexic so the information in the post is in part a reflection of my experience and how dyslexia has affected me.
What is dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a difference in the way the brain processes information. Dyslexics have difficulty processing and remembering information that they see and hear.
A common misconception is that dyslexia just affects someone’s ability to read and write. It does, but also has a massive impact on their memory, concentration, organisation, communication, ability to multi task and time keep. Another consideration is the impact it could also have on their mental health and self esteem if they are not correctly supported.
Dyslexia is hereditary, so if a close relative is dyslexic, there is about 50% chance or higher of being dyslexic too. It can be identified early on in children in key stage one or even before. Official assessments however are only really carried out once a child has reached the age of 8.
Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, in fact many dyslexics are very intelligent. This can mean they often find ways around their problems and hide the issues they are facing. A strong indicator of dyslexia is if someone’s reading or writing for example does not match up with their other abilities.
The impact of Dyslexia
Reading, Writing and Spelling
Children with dyslexia may have difficulty in blending words together and hearing the different phonemes in the words. They will often loose their place when reading, will misread words and not notice, and struggle to sound out unknown words. They will have to sound out words they only sounded out on the last page. They will be able to understand the text but might take longer than others, having a reread and refocus repeatedly to take the information in. Their reading may lack expression and they may be very unkeen to read out loud, especially in front of others.
A dyslexic will usually struggle to know how to start a piece of writing. The writing they do produce will not match their oral ability. It may be messy, badly organised and some letters and/or words might be reversed or mixed up. They may also struggle with poor motor skills, which could also have an impact on their handwriting.
They will struggle with spelling a lot. Memorising words and how they are spelt is a struggle, they may well be able to learn spellings for a spelling test but the next day will probably have forgotten. Or they may know how to spell a word but when writing and having to think about many things at once this will be very easily forgotten. Words in a piece of writing may be spelt in different ways, with a reliance on the way words phonetically sound.
Dyslexics will find proof reading for errors and spelling mistakes tricky, especially if they have just put all their effort into writing it.
Processing Speed
This is the speed at which you take in information, make sense of and understand it and then begin to respond. Dyslexics have a much slower processing speed than others. It means that to takes longer to process information when listening to someone talking, if someone asks you a question or reading information for example. Too much information all at one time will be overwhelming and they probably won’t be able to process it all at once.
Working Memory
Working memory is the ability to take information in, hold on to it and do something with it. Dyslexics may struggle with recalling numbers, reading word problems and then knowing how to solve the questions or reading a story and then being able to say what was happening for example. It also causes issues with following more than one or two step instructions and being able to prioritise information, especially in a noisy environment or for long periods of time.
Maths
Issues with processing and working memory will mean most dyslexics will struggle in Maths as well. Yes some children will reverse numbers when reading or writing them but their issues will go beyond this. As discussed above, remembering strings of numbers, using and applying their knowledge in different contexts and word problems will be challenging. Mental maths will probably be hugely difficult for them, especially under time pressure. Even if they know what they should be doing having to do processes in their head, especially if there are multiple steps would be tricky. Add in the pressure of limited time and their brains will probably just freeze! Times tables will also prove challenging, like spellings they may be able to learn them to some degree short term but being able to use them, especially under time pressure is just not how their brains work! Another thing they may be slow to pick up is sequences and concepts of time, such as telling the time or remembering months of the year.
Communication
Children with dyslexia may find their mind races and goes 100 miles an hour. They may struggle to keep up with and make sense of their thoughts and feelings. They may know they right answer to a question for example but need to time to remember it or they may find it hard to find the right words to explain what they mean. Dyslexics may find it really quite difficult to express and explain their feelings to others and not be able to find the right words.
Organisation and Concentration
Children with dyslexia will struggle with organisational skills. Time keeping, remembering daily routines, keeping track of their things might be difficult. They will find multi tasking very difficult.
Dyslexic children have to work a lot harder than others and this can be exhausting! They may seem to daydream, or that they are not listening. They will be incredibly easily distracted and find it hard to concentrate, especially for long periods of time. They could also be very distracting for others too! A dyslexic child will probably have good days and bad days and be can be quite inconsistent in what they can do and cope with from day to day.
The Positive Side of Dyslexia
Dyslexics are often very creative, and are visual learners, tending to think in pictures, rather than words. They are able to see the ‘bigger picture’ very well and ‘think outside the box’ coming up with ideas that others may not have thought of. They can often be very good problem solvers, and see patterns that others don’t. A dyslexic brain processes information differently, so they can see things from a different angle than others and approach problems in a way that others may not have thought of. They have good spatial awareness and tend to be good at problem solving. They will probably have a fantastic imagination and may be great story tellers. A dyslexic will often ask why! They will question everything and they don’t just take information for what it is.
There are so many dyslexic people in the world who have achieved amazing things through their creative, innovative and determined dyslexic minds, such as Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Steven Hawking, Jennifer Aniston, Princess Beatrice, Lewis Hamilton, Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Benjamin Zepaniah, Rio Ferdinand, Kiera Knightley, Steve Redgrave and Jamie Oliver.
There are other people from the past that it has been said had dyslexia but this would be very hard to prove. People have suggested Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Pablo Picasso and Roald Dahl among others all had dyslexia but this is something we will never know for sure.
Ways to help a dyslexic child
A multisensory approach to learning
To be neurodivergent is much more accepted these days but has the education system caught up to that as quickly as it could? Are children that are neurodivergent, such as those with dyslexia, given enough support and do we know enough about how their brains work to do that effectively in the classroom?
A dyslexic brain almost needs to be tricked into processing new information better. A multisensory approach to a learning task helps fire up more areas of the dyslexic brain and help the cerebellum realise they are learning a new skill. The cerebellum is the part of the brain responsible for creating neuro pathways in the brain. It is the part of the brain that helps newly acquired skills to become automatic and saves them in our long term memory. Often a dyslexic isn’t using enough areas of the brain for this to happen automatically and as effectively as it could. A multisensory approach, using auditory, verbal and kinaesthetic ways of teaching will help to activate more areas of the brain so the cerebellum recognises a new skill is being learnt and those very important neuro pathways can be built to support that learning.
Dyslexics respond much better to pictures, diagrams and mind maps than written or spoken language. A visual, practical, hands on, creative, multisensory approach to any lesson will improve their chances of being able to process and take in new information. Movement is also important, sitting still at a desk for long periods of time is not going to get the best out of a dyslexic child, especially if there is far too much ‘teacher talk’!
Reasonable Adjustments
Supporting a child with dyslexia starts with understanding! We all know that no child learns in exactly the same way. Differentiating through tasks and outcomes is part of teaching. A dyslexic child also needs to be taken into account too. How can tasks or the expected outcomes be adapted to match what they are capable of? How can we reduce the barriers they may face making it harder for them to complete their work?
Dyslexic children will take longer to complete a task, so not putting them under pressure to complete the same amount of work as others in the same time frame will be incredibly important. Telling them they have to hurry up or they are being too slow really isn’t fair. They also may need brain breaks to account for the amount of extra effort it takes for them to complete a task. A child that is easily distracted or look like they are day dreaming might be overwhelmed and need a break to help them refocus or time to process what they are doing.
A dyslexic needs time to think and process information. They need time to question and make connections. Without this space they may find it hard to answer a question straight away or join in with a discussion so giving them time is important, either time to think to themselves or to discuss it quietly with an adult or a talk partner.
Other simple changes, such as not making a dyslexic copy text from the board, not having to write the date in before they have to start a piece of writing, giving them some structure to focus on instead of a blank page will all help. Understanding their inability to multi task will also be important. It will be taking them a lot of effort to concentrate on what they are doing, especially in a noisy classroom so expecting them to listen to you and do something else will be very unfair on them. Giving them a chance to focus on one thing at a time will beneficial. Not making every task writing based would benefit them, can they record their answers another way? A dyslexic child may have a lot of difficulty getting their ideas on paper but verbally can be very good.
Interventions
These ‘reasonable adjustments’ in class are often described as Wave 1 Interventions. Above and beyond these adjustments a dyslexic child will probably need further support, or Wave 2 and Wave 3 Interventions. Wave 2 interventions help support a dyslexic child to keep up and ensure they are still working at age related levels. It may involve working in a small group to support their learning of a specific area they are struggling with. Wave 3 Interventions work beyond this and are used if a child is still struggling despite extra support. These interventions should be with a specialist teacher or TA, trained in supporting additional needs. Wave 3 Interventions would be one to one, or in very small groups and would be incredibly specific, working in small achievable steps using a multisensory approach.
Computers
Using a computer to help a dyslexic is incredibly valuable and important. It is not them cheating! It is ok for them to use a computer to write, it takes so many barriers away for them. They can use a spell check, they can edit and rewrite sentences, it helps them structure and then restructure their work and listen to their work to check it makes sense (see TTS below). It supports them with many of the things they find difficult, eg spelling, punctuation, grammar, organisation etc and allows them to actually focus on the content of their writing.
Text to Speech (TTS) and Speech to Text
Text to Speech is a great tool and one we recommend you use on our website for everyone! But for dyslexics TTS can be so useful, especially if the text is highlighted as its being read. Text to speech helps with reading, focusing on the text and being able to take the information in. It is also incredibly helpful for a dyslexic child when used to read back their own work.
There are so many TTS options out there but we really recommend using the Microsoft Edge browser and using their Read Aloud option when online. You can also use this in Word and PowerPoint too. You can choose the Read Aloud icon in the address bar on the Microsoft Edge browser, or highlight and right click the text you want to read (which works on Word and PowerPoint too) and it will read and highlight it for you so you can follow along. On Google Chrome you have to add an extension. Natural Readers and Speechify are the ones I’d recommend. They also work on Google Docs which is very helpful too.
Another tool hugely beneficial to a dyslexic to Speech to Text. Instead of writing out something, they can just talk and it is then written out in written form. This can then be edited and changed.
Dyslexia Friendly Fonts and Colour Overlays
It is questioned how much this helps, but its always worth a try! There are fonts that people say might help, that are simple and clearly spaced, for example sassoon fonts. There are also some fonts designed to apparently help dyslexics called Dyslexie and OpenDyslexic which you could also try.
I came across Bionic Reading recently which I found really interesting as I think I found it a lot easier to read! It makes some letters at the beginning of each word bold and claims to help guide you eyes through the text better to help you read it more easily.
Colour overlays might help if a child has visual stress when reading, but this is not something that all dyslexics have. Visual stress is when people experience things such as words moving or being blurry, letters changing shape or size when reading. This can then cause them to misread the text, miss out words, loose their place or not really understand what they have read. They might rub their eyes or blink a lot when reading, use their finger to track the words or fidget a lot. They might get headaches or reading may really exhaust them.
Some dyslexics do have visual stress, but it is not actually a symptom of dyslexia. Instead it is something some dyslexics also suffer from at the same time. You can experience visual stress without being dyslexic.
Emotional Support
A dyslexic child needs to know they are dyslexic. They need to know the struggles they have are down to the dyslexia and how their brain processes information and what they can do to help this. Having a growth mindset is important for them and they will need support to develop this. They need to know that there are actually benefits of being dyslexic and for those skills to be nurtured and developed. It is so important that they focus on their strengths and find things they are really good at and they enjoy to balance out the things that they probably will find really tough.
Being dyslexic can feel unfair, you do have to work harder than some others. It is exhausting. A dyslexic child is more likely to feel as they are not as clever as other children, which can obviously affect their mental health and self esteem and this is something that needs to be taken into account.
Albert Einstein said ‘If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll live its whole life believing it is stupid’. The education system is not designed for dyslexics, it is so important that we make sure dyslexic children don’t leave our classrooms feeling like this.
Recommended Links
Made by Dyslexia is an excellent resource and provides so much valuable information as well as free online training on dyslexia. The training takes about a day and is excellent and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough…all teachers should do it! It would also be incredibly helpful for any parents of dyslexic children to explore.
Made by Dyslexia have also published a book called Xtraordinary People Made By Dyslexia, which is a great book for helping young dyslexic children understand the amazing strengths their dyslexic brains have.
The British Dyslexia Association also has lots of information on their website. They also run webinars and occasionally free webinars which you can sign up to which are very helpful.
The Nessy website provides lots of helpful info on what dyslexia is and ways to help, a lot of which is child friendly. There is also lots of interactive activities on there to help dyslexic learners too.
Dyslexia Gold also provides information and interactive resources to help dyslexics. There is also a helpful dyslexia screener that you can use if you suspect a child has dyslexia.
The Helen Arkell website is also helpful, providing information, training and is also a place you can get dyslexia officially assessed.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots, Public Domain and Shutterstock Images.
Other images on the site may be Creative Commons Images, which are credited appropriately.