Blue
7/10/24
What is Dyslexia?
What is dyslexia? It is a good question to be asking, as this week it is Dyslexia Awareness Week. The theme for this years Dyslexia Awareness Week is…What’s Your Story?
Well, what’s my story? Behind the Whizzbots is me, a grown up dyslexic. I found out I was dyslexic when I was at secondary school. Knowing I was dyslexic really helped me. It gave me a reason why I found certain things so hard and made me feel better about myself.
I was really interested in dyslexia and found out lots about it. I found ways that would help me. I had to work really hard at school, and I didn’t enjoy it much to be honest. But I got through it and became a teacher! I wanted to help children like me. If children find things difficult at school, I hope I am good at finding ways to make it easier for them and to work out how their brain works and what works for them. I hope I am good at celebrating their strengths and helping to develop those. Its so important to me they know that it might be a bit trickier but actually their brains are amazing and anything is possible for them, because it really is!
Do you have dyslexia? If so this post is for you. My son is now 10 and dyslexic too. When he got diagnosed I had to try and explain what being dyslexic meant. This post explains what I said to him and what we have talked about over the last two years. It also goes through the things that have helped both of us.
Hopefully this post will help you to understand a little bit more about what it means to be dyslexic and some of the ways that might make it easier for you. But all dyslexics will experience their dyslexia differently and will have different strengths and weaknesses. It is important if you are dyslexic that you figure out what works for you. And please remember there are positives to being dyslexic and it could end up being your superpower! Your story could be magical!
This post is adapted from a very similar post for Grown Ups I wrote last year, if you’d prefer to read that version, you can find it here.
Dyslexia Explained
Dyslexics think differently. Dyslexia is a difference in the way the brain takes in and makes sense of information. A dyslexics brain is actually used differently to someone who is not dyslexic, it is wired completely differently. Everyone’s brain is split into a left side and right side. Very simply explained the left side is used for speech and processing spoken and written language. The right side is the creative side. Dyslexics will use the right side of their brain much more.
The cerebellum is also an important part of the brain to be aware of as it is responsible for making newly learned skills automatic and making connections in your brain. Often this part of the brain is not used effectively as it could in a dyslexics brain and needs to be tricked into being activated, which is why sometimes it is hard to remember and retain new information.
A non dyslexic’s brain is almost like driving on a motorway. You will get from A to B probably really quickly. The way a dyslexic thinks is like taking the scenic route, it will take longer to get there but you get to see and experience so much more. This might mean you’ll have a deeper understanding or can see the bigger picture from your experience. (a description I heard from the Made By Dyslexia training which made so much sense!)
Dyslexics have difficulty processing and remembering information that they see and hear, which can make lots of things a bit tricky. But the way dyslexics process information can also be a strength. It often lets them solve a problem others didn’t see a solution for, it can make them come at a problem from a different angle, make connections others don’t see, it can help them see the bigger picture. Plus wouldn’t it be boring if we all thought the same way!
Dyslexia has nothing to do with how clever someone is, in fact many dyslexics are really very clever. Please believe me when I say the things you find tricky doesn’t mean you aren’t as clever as your friends. It just means your brain works differently. You really can find ways round the things you find hard.
School probably will be harder for you and I’m really sorry about that. But there are things that you and the grown ups around you can do to help. I promise you it does get easier. Your brain isn’t really made for school, especially when it comes to time pressure, tests and assessments. BUT for the real world it is perfect and there are so many things you will be able to do when you are older that will really suit the way your brain thinks. I promise you, you are not alone. 10 – 20% of people are dyslexic so there is probably at least three of you in your class that are dyslexic, if they know it or not. There are people who understand how your brain works and can help you, I promise.
I don’t want to go into lots of detail about the things you find tricky. You’ll know the things you find difficult. But in general you might struggle with reading and taking the information in. You will probably have to re read it, especially if you have to answer questions about it. Writing will feel like a challenge, especially starting from a blank page and copying from the board might be hard too. Things like spelling and grammar probably will also be difficult. You might find some parts of Maths tricky, such as mental maths, especially if you only have a short period of time, as well as times tables and word problems for example.
Listening to the teacher and trying to take in and remember what they have said will be hard, especially if they like to talk a little bit too much!! Following instructions and thinking of answers to questions, especially if put on the spot will also feel tricky. Trying to concentrate, especially for long periods of time or when there are lots of distractions will be really hard. You also might struggle to be organised with your time and your things.
Things that might help...
Getting Assessed
If you are dyslexic you need to get an official assessment done. You can get one done if you are 8 or older. This will give tips to your parents and teachers on what will help YOU. Being assessed isn’t scary, but it is quite long. You will sit for a few hours doing lots of different activities with someone who knows a lot about dyslexia. They will see what you are good at and what you struggle a bit more with. Then your parents and teachers will get a report with lots of information in that will help them to help you the best they can.
Computers and Text to Speech
Get really good at using a computer! Technology will help balance out the things you find tricky and make things so much easier for you. You do need to write with a pencil/pen, if you don’t it will just become even harder when you do. But, writing on a computer will make life so much easier.
First thing to do is get really quick at typing and to do this you need to practise touch typing. Using a computer when you are writing will help in so many ways. You can use spell check, to make you more aware of the words you have spelt wrong and correct them (can you change your spellings yourself when you see they are underlined before using the spell check?). The grammar check also can help you in a similar way and help you make sure your punctuation is correct. You can edit and change things around, which you can’t do on paper. This gives you a chance to review and improve your work, making sure it makes sense and add details you maybe forgot to add first time round. You can also then use Text to Speech to read your work through and check for mistakes.
Text to Speech will really help you! Hopefully you have heard of it as we recommend using it on our website for everyone! Text to Speech reads out text and the good ones highlight it as well, so you can read and follow the words with your eyes at the same time. This will help you so much as you are using more than one of your senses, which is super important to dyslexics, and will help you take in the information so much more easily. You can use Text to Speech for pretty much any reading you do and there are lots of different tools you can use. There is more information at the bottom of this post on options available.
Using all your senses
A dyslexics brain sometimes does not trigger the cerebellum to make new connections when learning something new. It is important to activate more areas of your brain to ensure it does. To do this try to use more than one of your senses. Whenever you are trying to learn something new or trying to help trick your brain into remembering something using more than one of your senses will really help. Visual pictures will probably really help you and using things such as mind maps probably would be helpful to you too, as it is so visual which is probably the way your brain works. But also sounds, feelings, movements etc will help too. It could be as simple as reading / saying something out loud instead of just in your head for example.
Being an active reader is really important. This will help you when you are reading a maths question, answering questions in a reading comprehension or trying to read to take in information. Reading out loud, highlighting / underlining / circling relevant information, making notes / writing key words in the margin would help you. Someone checking you understand and having time to think and talk about questions before writing would also sometimes be helpful.
Your verbal memory won’t be your strength. Listening to information and remembering what is said will be tricky. So shortening information into smaller chunks would help and then adding something to the verbal information, such as pictures, sounds, actions, movements would help.
Practise, Practise Practise!
You will need to practise things, probably a lot more than others. But you will get there. If something is tricky or hard to remember try to repeat it often, practise it again and again, for short periods of time, and it hopefully will then be built into your long term memory and become easier.
Time
When completing assessments you should be given extra time. Even when completing written tasks you should also be given this or it should be understood you won’t be able to get quite as much done as children without dyslexia. Being given time to think when asked a question will also be important. If you are given time to think you allow your brain the time it needs to process the information. Discussing questions with a partner or adult first also might help as would your teacher understanding that you would find it difficult to be put on the spot.
Understanding!
Hopefully your teacher will understand that you are working really hard and you might not be able to produce the same amount of work as others in the same amount of time. Hopefully they will understand if you zone out its probably because you can’t process anymore and that you need a break! Hopefully they will understand you need to focus on one thing at a time.
Brain / movement breaks can be helpful to help you refocus. Sitting still for long periods of time, especially if just listening will be difficult. Having a fidget toy to keep your hands busy or a resistance band on the legs of your chair for example might also help you focus.
Overview
That was a lot of information! Lets recap what might help…
- Using all your senses to try and trick your brain into processing/remembering information.
- Being given time. When trying to complete any task extra time to help you process information would be helpful.
- Don’t try and multitask. Do one thing at a time to give your brain a chance to keep up!
- Break tasks into manageable and achievable chunks and then being allowed to have a brain / movement break to help process and refocus. This would give your brain a chance to catch up to help it work most effectively.
- Repeat and practise. If you are finding something difficult to remember or learn, keep practising. You will get there. Building things into your long term memory often will take time but you can do it.
- Make sure you are being an active reader. Read the questions first, then read the text. Underline/highlight information, especially if you find the answer to a question or you think something is important. It will help you hopefully not have to read the whole text again.
- Make use of tools to help you. Computers, Text to Speech, apps, calculators, multiplication squares, fidget toys etc. Work out what helps you and use them when you can.
The Positive Side of Dyslexia
There is very much a positive side to having dyslexia. As well as helping yourself with the things you find hard, it is also important to focus on the things you are good at. Spend time on these things and get even better! Are you artistic or enjoy DT? Are you good at creating games in Scratch? Do you enjoy investigating things in Science? Do you love sports and enjoy swimming or running for example. Focus on your strengths, because you will be able to do some things better than those without 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 have good spatial awareness and tend to be good at problem solving.
While school might not be the perfect fit for how your brain works, there is a endless list of jobs you might want to do in the future that would particularly suit a dyslexic. Just some of the things you might want to do could include becoming a graphic designer, an architect, a scientist, a website designer, an engineer, an entrepreneur, a game designer/programmer, a chef, a mechanic, an artist, a photographer, an actor, a musician, or a sportsperson. You might want to work in construction, landscaping, marketing, hospitality or in social work. I personally think being dyslexic can make you a brilliant teacher too!
There are so many people who you might have heard of that have dyslexia, for example, Steve Jobs (creator of Apple products), Steven Hawking (physicist and cosmologist), Princess Beatrice (member of the Royal Family), Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1 Driver), Steven Speilberg (movie director), Tom Holland (Spiderman!), Jenifer Aniston (Friends actress) and Jamie Oliver (a chef). They have done incredibly well and so can you!
Recommendations
Text to Speech
Microsoft Edge Internet Browser has a Read Aloud option – it will read any text on the internet and highlight it too. You don’t have to download anything, it just works. This same tool can be used in Word as part of Immersive Reader (find it by choosing View – Immersive Reader. You can also adjust other settings to make the text easier to read)
Chrome and other browsers don’t have an inbuilt Text To Speech option, but you can download extensions to make it work. Natural Reader and Speechify are the ones we’d recommend. Both of these extensions will read text from the internet and highlight it. Both these can then also be used on Google Docs as well.
You can also use an app on phones and tablets to read pretty much anything. Natural Reader and Speechify are also available as apps for example. On Natural Reader there are free as well as paid options, Speechify you do have to pay for. These apps will also read text from the internet and documents but you can also take a photo of any text and it will convert it into text to be highlighted and read out loud.
One last option is also a Reading Pen. These are good for using Text to Speech with an actual text. You run the ‘pen’ over the words and it will read it out loud.
Touch Typing
Touch-Type, Read and Spell is great for dyslexics as it is multisensory and helps with your reading and spelling too at the same time…perfect! Or you could use Dance Mat Typing for free.
More Info
Made by Dyslexia have published a book called Xtraordinary People Made By Dyslexia, which is a great book for helping you realise the amazing strengths a dyslexic brain has.
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.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots Images.
Other images on the site may be Public Domain, Shutterstock or Creative Commons Images, which are credited appropriately.