Colored sounds
I am a Special Needs co-ordinator at a main stream junior school in England and mum and aunt of dyslexic boys! I have two Grade/Year 5 students very evenly matched in the support they need. Last week I set about a new approach to teaching them the phonic skills. I felt they needed a more multisensory approach, including listening to the specific sound, listening for it in a given word and identifying it, and also seeing the sound written and having the opportunity to write the word themselves. We decide on a couple of sounds to tackle and I write just the sound in color on a Post-it note, which they put in their book. We say the sounds out loud until they feel confident they are saying the sound that matches the sound written on the Post-it. I then say a word with one of the sounds in and they have to judge which sound they can hear and write the word using the same color writing when they get to the identified sound in the word. E.g. using 'ee' they would write 'feet', using 'oi', they would then write 'coin'; using 'oa', they would write 'goat', and so on. I only give them two sounds and a few words at a time and I make sure that the sounds we are working on are very different (and the colors too) ensuring high levels of success each time. They are so keen and excited by their achievement that they actually refuse help to read a word because, “They know it!” And what is really great for them is that the next day and the next week they are still able to read those words! (V. L., UK)

How some teachers view dyslexia
Although I do not like to make generalizations I have been struck by some subject teachers total lack of understanding of dyslexia and their resistance to accepting the very idea. Again without succumbing to generalizations I would say that this lack of understanding is most evident in the 55 plus age group. To illustrate my point I will refer back to the discussions with one subject teacher in particular. I have known this teacher for over 10 years. In his field there is no more knowledgeable teacher. He loves his profession and is totally dedicated. He is also a fine father of two (non-dyslexic) teenage children.

This teacher, who I will name Mr. Smith, denies that dyslexia is real. His opinion is that students labeled "dyslexic" are those who are simply not bright and unsuited for academics. The best adjective used by Mr. Smith to illustrate his opinion is "thick". Mr. Smith also uses terms such as lazy and unmotivated. Thus dyslexic students are either thick or lazy or both. Unmotivated students would include those who express themselves well in class but do not produce neat, high quality written assignments.

Mr. Smith is against all Learning Support for such students and is equally against concessions such as extra time or permission to use a word processor, during exams. Mr. Smith however would totally support whatever might be needed to assist a blind or wheelchair bound student.

On a personal note Mr. Smith is aware that my son (now 22 and well on his way to being a gifted architect) is "labeled" dyslexic but I have always had the strong impression that he has never respected my son's intellect, but, not wanting to directly insult me, Mr. Smith skirts the issue of dyslexia in favour of my son's bilingual background to explain his struggles with the written language. (Multilingualism is often held responsible for problems, which are in fact due to dyslexia.) My son certainly picked up on this so I am sure that Mr. Smith's students who are dyslexic also feel this. In addition to my discussion with Mr. Smith I have also been part of discussions with teachers in the same age category who are more sympathetic in one sense but equally uninformed. Instead of adjectives such as 'thick' they tend to refer to the 'poor thing', i.e. the child is slow. The adjectives are used in private but the condescending attitude towards such students comes across to the students.

To conclude I think that one of the problems for teachers who are trying to come to terms with dyslexia late in their careers is that dyslexia is not manifested the same way in all students so the teachers become skeptical. I believe that with a young generation of teachers coming up that dyslexic students will be able to have far more positive experiences at school. (A.G.)

Pokemon helped!
I believe that Pokemon helped our son improve his reading by one grade level in less then a year. He has slowed down, however, the interest in Harry Potter is growing.. Our son is in 5th grade. (Val, Mom of one dyslexic, wife of the other (USA)

Teachers' lack of understanding of dyslexia
Just last week I was sitting in a workshop with other teachers from around the country. We were talking about various learning disabilities and I mentioned that I was taking the Dyslexia Certificate course.

Three of the teachers just laughed and said "Why would you do something like that, don't you know that it is just a catch-all term for children that can't read"?

I responded with a definite "NO", and began to defend my position.

I told them that I had been tutoring students with various types of learning disabilities for four years, and out of all the disabilities dyslexia is the one that teachers and educators know the least about. They think that it is just about reversing letters and numbers and nothing else. These students rarely qualify for special services, and then are placed in a regular mainstream classroom and struggle to stay abreast of their work. I have seen parents desperately seeking for help, not knowing where to turn.

There are so many different manifestations of dyslexia that it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the best route would be for these students. This doesn't mean that we don't try to find them help, or go on thinking the same things we always have which are that these students are lazy, uncoordinated, too quick to give up and so many other labels that get thrown at them.

I was appalled at the ignorance of these 25-year veteran teachers, and how unwilling they were to learn more. I just hope that what I had to say to them that day made a difference.

Children with dyslexia are real. They deserve a better education, and we need to step up and offer that assistance to them. They struggle so much with their self-esteem as it is, so we as educators need to rise to the occasion and give them a better chance. (N. R., Utah).

Dyslexia undiagnosed in girls?
The latest research indicates that dyslexia is as common in girls as it is in boys. I think that the reason for the apparent increased frequency in boys is that dyslexia is under diagnosed in girls, as it was with my daughter.

Software for teaching musical notation?
I am hopeful that my search for materials will end here. I am a music teacher working on a master's. In a recent parent conference, I discovered that one of my students was dyslexic. I was astonished because none of the documents that I keep as his teacher identified this learning style. Now, more than ever, I am dedicated to seeing this student (and probably others) succeed in reading music in my choir. Who knows of some computer software (this is what motivates kids) that would help my students and I in our success? (Bill, Texas, USA - bakenney12@netscape.net)

Dyslexic, but no problem writing?
Is it possible to have a reading and spelling problem, without a writing problem and still be dyslexic if you have all the other classic symptoms? (Stacey, UK)
Response from John Bradford: Yes, it is. Dyslexia is a general term covering a whole range of difficulties in dealing with words and text, and different people are affected differently. Many dyslexic people are able to read, but have difficulties with spelling; others experience difficulties with reading comprehension, and others with speech. If you were lucky, you were taught to write in a cursive handwriting style, which makes things much easier all round.

Music and dyslexia
I am a guitar teacher. I have a dyslexic student who has been studying the piano for 10 years. She has perfect pitch and has never had a problem reading music. However, she seems to have an unusually hard time picking out shapes and patterns on the fret board of the guitar. I'm not sure if this is because she is used to the piano, which is arranged in an entirely linear fashion (the guitar is not traditionally taught this way), or if her dyslexia is causing the problem. Any answers/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (M.B., USA)

I am a flute and dyslexia teacher. We have so many problems here in Austria with schools. I think we are living in the STONE AGE. I would like to know more about music playing and dyslexia. Can anyone help? I'm looking for e-mail support. (A.D., Austria - mgm.weinrauch@aon.at)

Distinguishing left from right on the piano
I teach children music and have a child who has great difficulty in distinguishing Right from Left, and also confuses finger numbers 2 and 4. I draw a picture of the hand he is supposed to use in each section and circle the correct finger, but this does not seem to help much. Once he has done the song correctly enough times, he is fine - I guess that is the sense of touch helping him out?
I found your information very useful, and would love to hear from any other teachers of music (in particular piano) that have helped their students with dyslexia read music. I guess the best way for a child with these factors is to concentrate on learning through touch, sound, sight and give lots of encouragement. (Kaja, USA)

Provide study guides?
I am the parent of a 13-year old dyslexic 7th grader. He attends a private Catholic school which has little resources for the LD child. The school does provide a resource teacher, but she only spend limited time with my son. My question is, what do you recommend I ask of his other teachers in order to help him through the year? It seems like they are put out if something extra is required of them. I do not want to infringe on their time but I feel they should be willing to provide additional help to anyone who should ask. I would like his teachers to provide me with answered study guides prior to his tests, as well as advance notices of test. I see no reason why I should have to spend hours filling out the guides. My husband and I already spend 1-4 hours nightly studying with our son (as you can see we are very dedicated to helping our son deal with dyslexia and school). This amount of study time only adds to the family stress level. I'm looking for ways to reduce the stress and to make the most of our study time. As teachers, can you suggest ways that teachers have helped families deal with simplifying the study hours? We currently use books on tape so that he can listen to his textbooks. In the past I re-read all of his textbooks to him after he read them first. This provided me with the answers to the study guides but now I'm not reading the text.
Also, what can I ask of teachers who do not provide study guides. I feel we need to know the specifics of the test material so as not to be focusing on material that is not necessary.
Now that my son is in Junior High I know the classes will become more difficult - some to the extent that my husband and I need refresher courses. Thank you for any advice you can provide. (US)

My son gave a talk to the class
I've only just discovered this site. My 9-yr old dyslexic son had to give a talk to the class. He chose to talk about dyslexia and started: "What do Walt Disney, Richard Branson and me have in common? - No we're not all millionaires . . . yet, but we do all have dyslexia. And so it went on. The teacher was so impressed! And with his peers my son was the hero for many weeks. (Proud mom, UK)

Resource support
Is there something wrong with the system in my school district? I see children every day who are clearly dyslexic and yet they get no support from the school at all. If you see a bright kid in your class and they cannot write or spell, there must be something wrong. The resource specialist is part-time and only seems to be seeing about three or four children. I think you have to be in a wheelchair to get to see her! It just seems really unfair - and I'm the one who has to spend extra time each day helping these dyslexic kids complete their work. It makes me really angry. (JJ., Texas, USA)

I couldn't agree more, JJ. I seem to spend my evenings making materials and equipment that the school should have purchased if they placed any real value on resource teaching. (Rod, Birmingham, UK)

Yes, there is something wrong with the school system. I used to work for Howard County Public Schools in Maryland. We - the teachers - were instructed to hide problems from parents. Teachers are in trouble if they cost the school system money. Seems like the school board prefers to fund promotions so people don't have to work with kids anymore. (Kristine, Columbia, Maryland, USA)

There are limits to a school's budget. (Hilary, Washington, USA)

Assessment
Could someone tell me how you assess a child for dyslexia? Are there any simple criteria you can use as a rough guide, or do you really have to have a psychologist come in for each child? Our school district seems to short on funds - as usual - and we never seem to see a psychologist in the building. I work as a Resource Specialist, and I really feel I need more guidance on individual children's particular difficulties. (Rosemary, Vancouver, Canada)

I've worked with dyslexic children for years now, and, whilst you obviously need a proper assessment for each child, I'm beginning to get a feel for the signs of dyslexia. They have a lot of confusions with left and right. If you say to them 'Point to my left foot with your right hand', they find it very hard. They also have great difficulty sequencing, for example saying the days of the week backwards or counting backwards. You also notice the joy in physical co-ordination - they love all kinds of outdoor games - basketball, softball, football, and so on. There don't seem to be one set of criteria that all dyslexic children fit, however, and you have to be careful. But these seem to be fairly common. (Kathleen, Yorkshire, England)

Disappointed
I'm disgusted at my school's attitude to dyslexic students. They refuse to say that any student is dyslexic - in case it should cost them any extra money - and one parent told me that the psychologist went to sleep during a conference about her son last year. (Disappointed, USA)

I'm really sorry to hear that 'Disappointed' is having such a hard time. I hope that you've got some support outside of your school. I work as a Resource Specialist, and our psychologist is really excellent. He always includes my opinions in any assessments, and says that a child is dyslexic - or has a specific learning difficulty - if he thinks it. He makes a point of coming to see me after each conference, and I really feel I can always ask for advice. He's a real gem! (Flora, Minnesota, USA)

Group size
How many pupils do other people take in their resource group? I have over six in most of my groups now and I find it impossible to give individual attention. I just don't feel that the children are benefiting from the attention I give them because so many of them need one-to-one help. (Ken, Texas, USA)

I couldn't agree more, Ken. I think two or three is quite enough if you want to see any improvement. (John Gardner, South-West Australia)

Maybe I'm lucky, but I only ever take one child at a time. Our school is fee-paying, so I guess that makes the difference. (Mary, Bristol. UK)

I don't think group size matters so much as the method you use. Unless you teach the dyslexic children phonemic awareness in a multi-sensory way you're banging your head against the wall! (LL., Maryland, USA)

Dyslexia identifiable in 3 to 4 year olds?
Are there any possible signs of dyslexia in children as young as three or four and how early can it be determined? I have a parent whose dyslexia was not noticed until high school and she is very worried about her young daughter. (Mel C, USA)
Reply: It's extremely difficult to diagnose dyslexia before the age of 7. Also, you have to be careful that any anxiety about whether the child might be dyslexic or not isn't picked up by the child. The best recommendation is to try to do all the right things for developing early literacy and numeracy - stories at bedtime, counting the forks and spoons, etc. - and be very supportive of all the school work once she starts. If she's noticeably below the rest of her age-group at 7, then have an assessment. Remember that, whilst dyslexia is an inherited characteristic, there are huge numbers of dyslexic adults whose children have not inherited it in the least.
Reply: I'm also concerned about my 3 year old grand-daughter being dyslexic. She writes from right to left and draws her letters backwards. If she is dyslexic, I would like to give her the learning tools now so she can learn in our public school system when the time comes. I don't want her to fall into the cracks that sometimes exists in public schools. Can we help now? Are there things we can do that will aid our children and their teachers later? (Mona S., Oklahoma)