Dyslexia

The first thing to learn is that spoken words can be broken down into single speech sounds.  Next, letters and groups of letters stand for those speech sounds.  This is the magic of our alphabet, which is the bridge to reading and spelling.

Someone with dyslexia learns this best by using all the senses at the same time:  seeing, hearing, saying, moving, and touching.  For example, to learn a letter and its sound, the student sees the letter, names it, repeats its sound, writes the letter by first tracing it, copying it, writing it in the air, and then on paper.  In this way, letter sounds are being put into the brain through many pathways to help learning and memory.  All language skills connected to reading, writing, and spelling are taught using several senses.  This also helps students focus their attention an what they need to learn.

 This kind of teaching is called Multisensory (combining two or more senses) Structured (order of skills is carefully planned) Language (reading, spelling, writing, punctuation, grammar, and meaning) Education (teaching done by specialists in dyslexia). 

It is important for dyslexic students to be taught directly.  Teachers must explain and demonstrate all skills such as how to take the sounds in a word apart and how to put them back together to read and spell.  Teachers should demonstrate mouth positions for vowels and consonants and how to divide words into syllables with students actively participating.

Each time a student learns a new idea, teachers insure that it makes logical sense and is connected to what the student already knows, going from the easiest to the hardest to learn, reviewing and practicing daily.

Students with dyslexia can learn to read if they are taught using their senses, given information in a logical order, with lots of review and practice in a way that pays attention to their learning needs.  What they need most are teachers who know the structure of the English language and how to teach it in a multisenory approach.