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About Dyslexia

What's it all about?

Dyslexia is the inability to translate sounds from their written form to their spoken form. Everyone has to learn to translate sounds. Students normally learn to translate while they are learning to read in the first, second, and third grades.

However, some students can only learn when they are given special instructions using a combination of teaching methods such as phonics, whole word, rote memorization, and other activities such as spelling, writing, listening, and reading out loud.

During the course of a child's education, all of these activities make a contribution to his or her reading and learning skills. Most students can learn reading, math, and other subjects without any special help, but about 20% of the population need special instructions.

If we rated all students' learning and reading abilities from one to ten, those students who learn and read without help would be given a rating of ten. A dyslexia student or someone who can't seem to learn to read would be rated one. This gives us a full range of reading abilities from one to ten. People who are rated ten, can associate and learn sounds by studying them one time. For instance, a ten can read by memorizing whole words or whole sentences. Tens will be able to take in and read (all at once) a length of text twice the width of a newspaper column. A newspaper column is supposed to be shorter to accommodate the slower readers.

People who read at the higher level can read a complete sentence faster than they can speak the words. When they are reading out loud, their reading rate will be slower than their reading speed.

Students who have dyslexia and other learning problems cannot read words much faster when they read them a second or third. They are slow learners. They even have trouble sounding out the letters of the alphabet. A fast reader can read a ten-word sentence before a dyslexic student can read ten letters of the alphabet. It is not just the words that dyslexic students have trouble with; they can't read the letters.

The person, who is a ten, learns the same way a dyslexic person learns, except that teacher's should spend more time teaching dyslexic students to read. All of the classroom activities should be focused on teaching reading. Teachers should use only those learning activities that get results. When teachers focus all of the learning activities on teaching reading, they are using "Multi-sensory Learning."

When teaching dyslexic students using multi-sensory methods, the students get ten times the amount of lessons, study time, and homework as the students who read at the rate expected for their age.

If dyslexia is identified and treated early, students will learn how to focus and work through the problem during grade school. They will be able to attend high school and go on to college without any reading or learning problems.

Here is how to focus learning activities to defeat Dyslexia.

1. Use phonics to help teach all of the language skills: Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Spelling, Reading, and Writing. This approach will help students learn both the written and spoken forms of the English language. These language skills should be taught with other classes such as health, science, and social studies.

2. Handwriting should be included in each lesson, throughout the day. Next to phonics, handwriting is the most important reading activity for dyslexic students because it improves their short-term memory. A dyslexic student may remember the nine planets in the order of their distance form the sun but have trouble copying a three-letter word from a book without having to look at the word three times. Copying and writing help improve this area of short-term memory.

Any type of handwriting practice can be used, including formal writing lessons, copying assignments from the board, and writing answers to questions. Students benefit from writing because a special type of concentration stimulates the brain and makes it more receptive to learning.

3. Teach memorization skills. Focus lessons do no good unless students can remember what they have learned. To help students work on their short-term memory, include memorization tasks in each lesson.

4. Use other focus activities that require concentration such as reading out loud, connect the dots, checkers, walking a straight line, playing "pick-up sticks", and working with building blocks.

5. Also, use learning activities that require the use of listening skills. Test students on their listening concentration by having them repeat (word for word) what they are told. Example, studying flowers: "The Carpel consists of three parts: stigma, style, and ovary. Now, what did I say and what does it mean? Students should be tested on each important point you want them to remember. During free time in the afternoon, before school lets out, read to the students.

Play "listening games." Give students the following instructions and repeat it as many times as necessary until they get it. "Take out a sheet of paper and write your name on the top line, right side of the paper. Write your last name on the bottom line, left side of the paper. Count down five lines from the top and write your full name on the fifth line, in the middle of the paper. Develop and use a list of activities similar to the one above.

What to expect from Dyslexia Treatment

Dyslexia Treatment: Series One

Dyslexia Treatment: Series Two

Dyslexia: Group One

Dyslexia: Group Two

Student Workbook

Teacher's Guide