Dyslexia (for students and parents)

Students with dyslexia appear bright, intelligent, and articulate, however they really struggling readers. Dyslexia is an inherited and lifelong learning difference that primarily affects students phonological awareness, verbal memory, verbal processing speed, as well as, fluent reading and spelling.  Students with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters seen on the page to the sounds those letters (or combination of letters) make.  If a child struggles with dyslexia they spend much more time decoding and manipulating the language.  Dyslexia can effect a students social and emotional aspects of life as well, including their confidence, and understanding of social cues.  Although there is no cure for dyslexia, it has been proven that certain interventions can help support the students. Many students with dyslexia are very creative, have strong people skills, amazing visual abilities, and will find very successful jobs, however their time in school will be very difficult.

Causality:

• 1 in 5 people have dyslexia, many are undiagnosed
• Effects 20% of the population
• Runs on a continuum from mild to severe
• Can runs in families (hereditary): about 40% of siblings have dyslexia or reading differences

Behavior, Health, Development and Personality

• Extremely disorderly or compulsively orderly.
• Can be class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet.
• Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, crawling, walking, tying shoes).

Social Emotional Effects:
Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing.
Labeled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, “not trying hard enough,” or “behavior problem.”
Seems to “Zone out” or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.

• Prone to ear infections; sensitive to foods, additives, and chemical products.
  
• Can be an extra deep or light sleeper; bedwetting beyond appropriate age.
• Unusually high or low tolerance for pain.
• Strong sense of justice; emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection.
• Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.

Academics
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Writing and Motor Skills

• Trouble with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or is illegible.
• Clumsy, uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine and/or gross motor skills and tasks; prone to motion-sickness.
• Can be ambidextrous, and often confuses left/right, over/under.

Vision, Reading, and Spelling

• Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
• Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
• Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
• Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing, or copying.
• Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don’t reveal a problem.
• Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks depth perception and peripheral vision.
• Reads and rereads with little comprehension.
• Spells phonetically and inconsistently.

Math and Time Management

• Has difficulty telling time, managing time, learning sequenced information or tasks, or being on time.
• Computing math shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers, but can’t do it on paper.
• Can count, but has difficulty counting objects and dealing with money.
• Can do arithmetic, but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher math.

Memory and Cognition

• Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces.
• Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced.
• Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue).

Strategies for Students with Dyslexia:

While there is no cure for dyslexia, there are strategies to help students with dyslexia thrive in the classroom.  

Listening to reading options, iPads for textbooks to help decode words, work in small groups to build specific strategies

Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids.

Comprehension and instructional strategies for before and after reading 

Orton Gillingham interventions (shown in the video above) - successfully teaches letters and sounds, uses hearing, seeing, and speaking

Classroom accommodations (IEPs) oral testing, listening to reading, pull out tutoring and supports, extended time for testing, pull out testing for less distractions, and grade on the content, not on spelling and handwriting

Alternative schools for students with Dyslexia


There are independent schools around North America that specialize in teaching students with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Examples of schools in the Northeast 
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The Carroll School - Lincoln, MA
The history of The Carroll School dates back to 1967 when Dr. Edwin Cole and a small group of concerned individuals founded a special school for children with language-based learning differences. Today, Carroll is a thriving community helping students to value their differences and remediate their learning difficulties.

Eagle Hill School - Greenwich, CT, Hardwick, MA and Southport, CT
Eagle Hill School helps children with language-based learning disabilities acquire the academic and social skills necessary for transition to a traditional learning environment. Approximately 252 students, ages 6-16, enjoy an educational experience that is skills rather than grade-driven. Small classrooms ensure that each child receives an extraordinarily customized education.

Forman School - Litchfield, CT
Forman is a dynamic community where students learn to recognize their own merit and develop an appreciation for challenges as opportunities. Faculty nurtures growth and a love of learning in a culture of caring. A Forman education provides the foundation for a lifetime of personal achievement and service to others.

Landmark School - Beverly, MA
Landmark was founded by Charles “Chad” Drake with the goal of educating students whose reading, writing, spelling, and mathematical skills did not match their thinking and problem-solving capacities. Today, Landmark is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of language-based learning disabilities.

Windward School - White Plains, NY
Windward is a coeducational, independent day school dedicated to providing a proven instructional program for children with language-based learning disabilities.  The multisensory curriculum is designed for students of average to superior intelligence who can benefit from the unique educational experience provided.

Links for Parents and Teachers 

Dyselxie Font

Strategies for teaching reading from Forman School

Landmark School's "Formula for Success"