What Students with Dyslexia Need

“Dyslexic students need a different approach to learning language from that employed in most classrooms. They need to be taught, slowly and thoroughly, the basic elements of their language—the sounds and the letters, which represent them—and how to put them together and take them apart. They have to have a lot of practice in having their writing hands, eyes, ears, and voices working together for the conscious organization and retention of their learning.”

Margaret Byrd Rawson-Former President-International Dyslexia Association

Although individuals with dyslexia learn differently, they can be taught to read, write, and spell, if they are taught using an appropriate, scientifically based curriculum.

What Students with Dyslexia Must Be Taught

The National Reading Panel identified these five areas of instruction that are vital for all students learning to read. They are the following:

• PHONEMIC AWARENESS or the awareness of individual sounds in words and the ability to segment words into sounds and manipulate sounds in words
• PHONICS or instruction that teaches how letters correspond to sounds (use this knowledge in reading and spelling)
• FLUENCY or the speed, accuracy, and expression of oral reading
• READING COMPREHENSION or the interaction with and understanding of text
• VOCABULARY or knowledge of word meanings and word-learning strategies

How Students with Dyslexia Must Be Taught

Instruction for children with dyslexia should be explicit, systematic, cumulative, structured, and multisensory. In other words:

• Reading, spelling, and writing skills must be directly taught (EXPLICIT)
• Concepts must be introduced in a definite, logical sequence. (SYSTEMETIC AND CUMULATIVE)
• Step-by-step procedures are used to introduce, review, and practice concepts
• Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses are engaged in the learning process simultaneously or in rapid succession. (MULTISENSORY)

 

Elizabeth Hendrix • 347-882-1074 • eahendrixnyc@gmail.com