Dyslexic children.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability and people of all ages suffer from this disorder. Dyslexia can be recognized as one of the symptoms of mental handicap but it can also be a sole learner difficulty. The number of children with dyslexia is constantly growing, and while in the past it was a problem of only some individuals, now in a class of 20 to 30 students there may be as many as 4 or 5 children who are poor readers, listeners or comprehenders. Very often such children do not keep up with the rest of the class and they are simply considered stupid, lazy or unwilling to learn, when, in fact, they just learn differently. These students struggle to learn but if they are not encouraged by teachers or parents, they will be quickly put off, the learning process might become overwhelming and their level of achievement will be much lower than their potential. Although most of these children have an IQ score close to normal, still they have great learning difficulty. However, it is usually the matter of teaching methods and not the child itself.


When we think about dyslexia we usually associate it with problems with reading and writing. Also most definitions of this disability concentrate only on these two skills. For example, the World Federation of Neurology defines dyslexia as: “A disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and sociocultural opportunity” ( my transl. ) ( Krzyczmonik, 2001: 48 ). In my opinion, such definitions are quite narrow because some dyslexics can read fairly well but they have difficulties comprehending the text they read. Therefore, the definition described on the Orton-Gillingham web page is more appropriate and broad enough because it defines dyslexia as a ”difficulty in the use and processing of linguistic/symbolic codes – alphabetic letters representing speech sounds, or numeric symbols representing numbers or quantities. Such difficulty is reflected in the language continuum that includes spoken language, written language, and language comprehension” ( www.ortonacademy.org ).

2.1. Early warning signs.

Children with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, exhibit a wide range of symptoms. These include problems with reading, mathematics, comprehension, writing, spoken language, or reasoning abilities. Hyperactivity, inattention and perceptual coordination may also be associated with learning disabilities. We must also remember that no two people with dyslexia are exactly alike. No one will have every single symptom, and the symptoms they do have, can range from mild to severe. To understand the problem better it is often advised to look at the symptoms in some specific areas.

2.1.1. Reading and spelling.
People with dyslexia do not make random reading errors. They make very specific types of errors. Also their spelling reflects the same types of errors.
Reading:
Slow and inaccurate reading of single words in isolation ( when there is no story nor pictures to provide clues )
When reading aloud, a child reads in a slow, choppy cadence as well as ignores punctuation.
After reading for only a short time a child becomes visibly tired
Reading comprehension may be low due to spending so much energy trying to read the words. Listening comprehension is normally significantly higher than reading comprehension.
When reading, dyslexics frequently reorders letters, for example: bog for dog, we for me or gril for girl.
Substitution of similar-looking words, even if it changes the meaning of the sentence, is very common.
Children can misread, omit, or even add small function words, such as an, a, from, the, to, were, are, of
Omiting or changing suffixes, such as need for needed, talks for talking, late for lately, is very frequent ( www.dys - add.com ).
Spelling:
Spelling errors, just like the reading errors, also consist of reordering letters
Incorrect spelling even when copying something from the board or from a book is characteristic feature of dyslexics
Written work shows signs of spelling uncertainty - numerous erasures, cross outs, etc. ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.1.2. Handwriting – dysgraphia.
Also known as a visual-motor integration problem. People with dyslexia often have poor, nearly illegible handwriting. Signs of dysgraphia include:
Unusual pencil grip, often with the thumb on top of the fingers ( a "fist grip" )
Students may hold the pencil lower than normal, or higher than normal
The pencil is gripped so tightly that the child's hand cramps. The child may frequently put the pencil down and shake the hand.
Writing letters is very slow.
Students often write letters with unusual starting and ending points
Children have great difficulty getting letters to "sit" on the horizontal lines.
Unusual spatial organization of the page. Words may be widely spaced or tightly pushed together. Margins are often ignored ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.1.3. Quality of written work.
People with dyslexia usually have an "impoverished written product." That means that their intelligence and abilities are not apparent when looking at something they wrote. Their intelligence is obvious when we speak to them, but it is not obvious when they write. They tend to:
Write extremely short and simple sentences.
Misspell many words.
Take an unusually long time to write and have nearly illegible handwriting due to dysgraphia
Display very poor mastery of punctuation as well as grammar, syntax and suffixes. ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.1.4. Directionality.
Most dyslexic children and adults have chronic difficulty with many aspects of directionality.
Geographic directionality: confusion about north, south, east and west; difficulty reading or following maps.
Words directionality: difficulty learning ( or remembering ) the meaning of words such as left-right, before-after, over-under, up-down,
Handwriting: trouble remembering where a letter starts and which way it goes. ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.1.5. Rote memory of non-meaningful facts.
Memorizing non-meaningful facts ( facts that are not personally interesting and personally relevant ) is extremely difficult for most dyslexic children and adults. In school, this leads to difficulties in learning:
Multiplication tables
Science facts: water boils at 100 Celsius degrees, etc.
History facts: dates, names, and places. Dyslexic students do very well in history classes that emphasize why some event happened, rather than rote memorization of dates and names. ( www.dys - add.com ).



2.1.6. Time concepts and time management.
People with dyslexia often have difficulty with time management and time concepts. They often have difficulty:
Telling time using an analog clock because of problems with directionality.
Knowing the months of the year in sequence.
Estimating the time a task requires. People with dyslexia are often late to appointments and late with homework because they cannot accurately estimate the time required to drive to a destination or to complete a task.
Remembering the starting times and the sequence of classes
Using appointment calendars. People with dyslexia will often show up for appointments on the wrong day or the wrong week ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.1.7. Spatial organization.
People with dyslexia have an extremely difficult time organizing physical space. They tend to prefer to pile things rather than to organize them and put them away. It is almost as if they cannot see item, if it is behind a door or in a drawer. This disorganization invades all of their personal space: their rooms, desks or their bags. They often have extreme difficulty organizing their study space. Also, perhaps due to their disorganization, they tend to lose many personal items: clothing, watches, books, lunches, and shoes. They also have trouble bringing all necessary items to a meeting or to their house to do homework.
2.1.8. Math problems.
People with dyslexia are often gifted in math. Their three-dimensional visualization skills help them "see" math concepts more quickly and clearly than non-dyslexic people. Unfortunately, difficulties in directionality, rote memorization, and sequencing can make the following math tasks so difficult that their math gifts are never discovered.
Memorizing addition and subtraction facts
Memorizing multiplication tables
Performing long division
Understanding fractions. ( www.dys - add.com ).
2.2. Coping with dyslexic children.
All students do not learn a foreign language, or anything else, equally. Teachers ought to remember that especially dyslexic children differ from the rest of the children in such aspects as: ways of learning, the length of time needed to learn some material, a variety of sources, even if the final goal is the same. Therefore, they should adjust their teaching methods to the needs of such students ( Altman, James, 1980: 20 ). They can, for instance, assist dyslexic learners with multisensory teaching strategies supported additionally by kinesthetic movements and mnemonic strategies. These methods, of course, are not sufficient on their own. Also learning environment, parental involvement and teacher attitudes are of great importance for the child to overcome the learning disabilities.

2.2.1. Multisensory teaching.

The purpose of this kind of teaching is to enhance the encoding of learned material and, as the term suggests, as many senses as possible are stimulated in this process. The aim is achieved by reinforcing the storage of knowledge in some units of memory through several different ‘memory pathways’, like e.g. visual memory, auditive memory, kinesthetic and tactile. Examples of multisensory teaching methods are listening to a recorded text while reading it, or tracing the form of a letter while pronouncing the sound. Such use of several senses has also other benefits: they can compensate for difficulties in learning through a particular sense. If, for instance, reading, connected to the visual sense, is a problem, then listening to a tape of the text can be of use ( www. ortonacademy.org ).

2.2.2. Kinesthetic movements.

These are easy and simple physical activities that enhance the neural pathways in the brain. Such exercises are usually based on extensive research in kinesiology, which is the science of body movement and its relationship to brain function. They improve learning by relieving stress, building up the student’s self-esteem and enhancing both concentration and physical coordination. And because stress is a major factor that prohibits learning, and the continuous failure to read or comprehend will certainly cause enormous amounts of stress for disabled students, this method will be very helpful. Kinesthetic movements are also said to improve memory, reading, writing, organizing and listening. However, there are people who claim that, although this method might lead to improved balance and coordination, it does not improve cognitive abilities and the same positive effects could also be obtained by means of other methods. To my opinion, however, it is very helpful and interesting strategy and it should be a part of every lesson, no matter if it is a foreign language, history or biology lesson. It can be used for all types of dyslexia and can also be of use for the children that do not have learning disabilities ( www.switchedon.info/braingym.php ).

2.2.3. Mnemonic strategies.

These strategies are specific techniques for enhancing memory. They are particularly used to develop better ways of encoding information and make it easier to remember this information. This is achieved by finding ways of relating new information to this already existing in long-term memory. However, we must remember that mnemonic strategies do not improve comprehension, but only help to remember more information and to train memory.

(a) The Keyword Method.

It emphasizes associating the things we need to remember to something familiar. A good example of this strategy is the one given by Mastropieri and Scruggs who talk about learning the capitals of states and they give an example of Florida and its capital Tallahassee that have the corresponding keywords Flower and Television.




(b) Acronyms.

These are especially very helpful when a list of words need to be remembered. They are formed by taking the first letter of each word that is to be remembered and combining them so that they make up a new word, e.g. the names of the Great Lakes in the USA: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior can easily be remembered by transforming them into the acronym HOMES.

(c) Acrostics.

They follow the same pattern as acronyms but instead of forming a word we form a sentence that consists of words with the same initials letters as the words that are to be memorized. For instance, if we want to learn the names of the planets in their order from the sun, we would create the sentence: “My very educated mother just sent us nine pizzas” (M-V-E-M-J-S-U-N-P).

(d) Method of loci.

It emphasizes associating the things we need to learn with a path we know well and the items and landmarks we see on the way. This strategy combines the use of organization, visual memory and association. What is essential here is that we have vivid visual memory of the path and objects along it.

(e) Rhymes and songs.

Rhythm, repetition, melody and rhyme can all aid memory and help to remember information. A good example is teaching the alphabet as a form of a song. Using this technique can be real fun especially for young learners as they are not stressful and do not require much effort.

(f) Chunking.

It is based on the idea that short-term memory is limited in the number of things that can be contained. A common rule says that people can remember between 5 and 9 things at one time. Therefore, when we use chunking, we decrease the number of items we are holding in memory by increasing the size of each item e.g. when learning a number string 64831996 we can put them in pairs 64 83 19 96. So instead of remembering 8 individual numbers, we have to remember four larger numbers.( www.brain.web-us.com )

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Dyslexia is nowadays among the most common types of disabilities. It causes problems at school, home and in everyday life, which makes dyslexic children suffer and feel uncomfortable. The role of the teacher, therefore, is ,first and foremost, to recognize the problem and make sure whether it is one of the symptoms of mental handicap or maybe a sole learner difficulty. If it is the latter one, the teacher is able to help the child not only to learn some basic educational skills but also to cope with problems that for many may seem trivial.

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