Academic support for children with dyslexia

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Academic support for children with
dyslexia Alison Doyle alison.doyle_at_tcd.ie  
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Curriculum delivery
Less able than classmates to cope when teaching
input is delivered in a style that is different
from their individual learning preference. Mismat
ch between a teachers preferred style and a
students learning preference, learning is likely
to be incomplete and concentration may be
difficult in class. Many teachers deliver the
curriculum by talking not always effective for
dyslexic pupils. Slower processing of auditory
material causes them to lose the thread and
become confused when trying to make sense of
lesson content.
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Support at primary, secondary and third level

• Individual tuition
• Literacy programmes
• Study skills study sessions
• Assistive technology
• Metacognition
• Knowing how I think
• Understanding how I learn

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Multi-sensory learning

• Using a range of modalities, often at the same
  time listening, watching, speaking, doing.
• Which literacy / numeracy programme?
• could I do it?.....would I want my children to
  do it? (Deborah Eyre, 2009)

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Multi-sensory learning

• Diverse programmes on the market to suit the
  business of dyslexia, however recommended
• Alpha to Omega was devised 30 years ago by
  Professor Beve Hornsby, a psychologist and speech
  therapist.
• It was the first complete teaching programme
  based on structured, sequential phonetic and
  linguistic concepts to be published in Britain.

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Multi-sensory learning

• Edith Norrie Letter Case
• Multi-sensory resource using letters on a
  magnetic board.
• Letters are arranged spatially, rather than
  sequentially, according to whether the sounds
  they represent are voiced or unvoiced. Vowels are
  in red.
• Learners use a lip mirror to see and feel how
  sounds are made.
• Learners can move and change letters physically
  to make new words, giving them a 'concrete'
  experience of how the alphabetic system works.

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Private tuition things to consider

• You could ask for a copy of the teacher's CV, or
  consider the following factors
• Experience of teaching dyslexic children.
• Specialist dyslexia teacher training is
  essential.
• Note if the teacher regularly updates his/her
  knowledge, e.g. courses, seminars, conferences
  etc.
• Ask about current teaching post(s) and note
  relevance for your child.

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Private tuition

• Detail to consider
• Would a multi-sensory structured programme be
  used for literacy?
• Would study skills need to be taught?
• Are there recommendations from an Educational
  Psychologist's assessment to work from?
• Clarification needs to be established as to when,
  where and how frequently the lessons will take
  place.
• Would the parent want to observe the lessons?
• Would homework be set with guidelines for
  parental assistance?

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Private tuition

• Establish the timeframe of lessons.
• Establish how much the lessons will cost and
  payment arrangements.
• Ask how often reports, verbal or written, will be
  produced and whether these will be chargeable.
  Progress should be reviewed regularly, e.g.
  termly or at six monthly intervals with reports.
• Establish whether there will be cancellation fees
  or additional charges for materials.
• Has the teacher obtained a police check? Those
  teachers employed by a DES registered school
  should have this already in place.
• Ask for references and take them up by telephone
  as well as in writing.

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• Bored with the book? Interactive literacy and
  numeracy games

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• Woodlands Junior School (UK) literacy and
  numeracy portal
• http//woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/Ind
  ex.html

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Studying at second level
Text to speech removes the burden of reading
dense text, but may not suit all
children Texthelp Read and Write
Gold Robobraille Both convert text to mp3
formats.
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Texthelp Read and Write Gold
Available as a memory stick for portable
use. User can select voice, pitch, volume,
speed. Reads documents, pdf, web pages. Can be
used over a lifetime. More versatile than simple
text to speech engines.
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Robobraille
European initiative principally for blind users
and a free service and thus language selection
is limited. 2008 EU e-Inclusion Award. Reads
documents, but punctuation must be formatted so
that reading is clear. For example, full stops
after headings and correct spacing. Available
in English, Danish, French, Greek, Portugese,
Lithuanian, Italian, American (?)
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Making audio notes www.skoool.ie
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Study notes by subject
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Paste into Word

• The Renaissance.
• Key Points.
• The Renaissance is a period of a few hundred
  years in Europe in which many people were eager
  to study, to learn, and to try new ideas. The one
  country most associated with the Renaissance is
  Italy and it was there that a great revival of
  interest in the learning of Ancient Greece and
  Ancient Rome began. However these new ideas also
  spread to many other countries, especially in
  northern Europe.
• Learning Objectives
• From this section, you are expected to know
• Why the Renaissance began in Italy.
• What made Renaissance painting so special?
• The life of one famous Renaissance
  artist/sculptor.
• The life of one Renaissance artist outside Italy.
• The life of a Renaissance writer.
• A famous Renaissance artist.
• Michelangelo.
• His early life.
• Born near city of Florence 1475.
• Educated by Lorenzo de Medici.
• Lived in his home - treated him like a son.

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Email as an attachment
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Receive your mp3 and save
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Study aids

• Multi sensory
• Excellent revision aid, acts as a prompt.
• Can be re-created mentally in an exam.
• Post-it notes for need-to-know facts. Assign
  one subject to each
• room. Put them in obvious places e.g. above
  the kettle. Post them
• early on in the year and they become embedded in
  visual memory.
• Mindmaps.
• Walk and talk Hello Justin Timberlake..this is
  all you will ever need
• to know about the digestive system.

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Mindmaps When created / drawn by the pupil they
are likely to be more meaningful. It is possible
to condense an entire chapter into a single
page.
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Mindmapping programmes may or may not
suit. Some can be overly fussy, complicated and
time consuming.
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Study aids

• Shakespeare in plain English
• No Fear Shakespeare http//nfs.sparknotes.com/

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Study aids

• Having trouble with science?
• Interactive periodic tables engage the mind of
  curious
• people.
• One of the very best at http//www.periodictable.c
  om/
• A common sense wall poster version try..

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Exam revision

• Back to not another boring book.
• Online revision sites such as www.skoool.ie the
  science
• section has animations which are excellent.
  Or try..
• http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
• Reasonably similar curriculum but has online
  revision tests and
• animations for most subjects.

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Learning styles or learning strategies?
Learning styles label or categorise the
individual.Learning strategies label the
approach or method.Tilly Mortimore, (2008),
Dyslexia and Learning Style, Wiley and
Sonsread section 4 for memory strategies
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Studying at university level
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CAO Supplementary Admission Process

• Consideration of eligibility for a reduction of
  required points based on
• significance of disability and impact on
  educational attainment.
• Specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia,
  ADD, ADHD or Aspergers Syndrome
• Physical or mobility disabilities
• Blind or vision impaired
• Deaf or hard of hearing
• Significant ongoing illnesses
• Mental health difficulties

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Supporting students needs in Higher Education

• Students with disabilities register with
  Disability Support Services.
• Following assessment of needs, Disability Service
  Staff
• submit applications for funding to support the
• Educational
• Technological
• Personal needs of students with disabilities
• The National Office for Equity of Access to
  Higher Education administer
• the Fund or Students with Disabilities and
  make allocations based on
• students needs

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Primary BBC http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bites
izeprimary/ Interactive literacy and numeracy
games http//woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Games/In
dex.html Alpha to Omega http//www.heinemann.co.
uk/Series/Secondary/AlphaToOmega/AlphaToOmega.aspx
Edith Norrie Letter Case http//www.arkellcentr
e.org.uk/Thelibrary.htm
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Secondary BBC http//www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcs
ebitesize/ Study Skills books
http//www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/i
ndex.asp Periodic tables http//elements.wlonk.c
om/index.htm
http//www.periodictable.com No Fear
Shakespeare http//nfs.sparknotes.com/ Text to
speech http//www.texthelp.com
http//robobraile.org Mortimore, T.,
(2008), Dyslexia and Learning Style A
Practitioner's Handbook, Wiley and Sons