LETTER AND NUMBERS WRITTEN BACKWARDS

Andrew reverses b/d, p/q and several numbers. His reversals are not consistent. He has difficulty with sequencing tasks in general, and with directional/positional concepts.

In addition to 'tracing' with his finger in the air and on carpet squares, he is using water brushes (painting with clear water) to write letters very large on the chalkboard.

He is also using sidewalk chalk to write letters very large on the driveway.

When he writes on the chalkboard, I have him erase his letters by tracing them in the same motor pattern as he wrote them. The erasing leaves a negative shape on the board and then Andrew traces that with his writing finger.

Since we cannot always face the same direction when we do our writing, Andrew wears a friendship bracelet or a watch on his left-hand and I place a green dot (for Go) in the upper left hand corner of whatever writing surface we are using.

One very successful activity is to have Andrew write the letter or number we have practiced on unlined paper with his eyes closed. He always gets it right and is very pleased with himself.

Jo Ann Palmenti

(Jo Ann is a student on the Dyslexia Certificate course.)

TEACHING METHODS FOR DYSLEXIC CHILDREN

The outstanding teachers of dyslexic children have something in common: they see themselves and all the children as interesting, worthwhile, capable, trustworthy people who are eager to learn.

Each one of them sees each child in a positive way.

Not one of these teachers ever comes to school empty-handed! They bring things that they themselves consider interesting. Somehow they impart this interest to the children. This is not an isolated 'Show and tell' time, done to relieve the regular curriculum. This is the curriculum!

We all need to be appreciated and you will be enthusiastically greeted and appreciated if you become known as a person who brings a piece of your outside world into the school each day.

We need to resist the temptation to lecture about it. Use it. When a child asks what it is for, say, 'Watch!' and go on using it.

For these children, the brain is not neatly divided into two areas, which can separate and deal with stimuli. Mixed dominance is characteristic of dyslexia. For a person with mixed dominance, merely listening, reading and writing do not accomplish learning effectively.

There is a greater need to bring another skills, activities involving body movement, touch, taste, smell, color, patterns and self-expression.

Learning is not talking and listening, it is doing! Unless these children are involved with all their senses they are apt to lose interest.

The process of learning is not just logical, it is sensual. It is up to us to see to it that the stimuli we present have personal meaning.

We must bring the real world into the classroom. We can let the children do something, and then see if we can help them generate a personal reaction, which can be written down.

There is no love in workbooks and no personal meaning in a sentence made up by the teacher and copied off the chalkboard by the children. In essence, a holistic approach is needed to ensure that the best possible attempt has been made to ensure the fullest level of understanding.

Because dyslexia can affect many areas of language and thus it can have an impact on all subject areas, teachers must be aware how to present information, how to help students interact with information and how to evaluate acquisition of information.

When we teach students with dyslexia we cannot forget their learning style, to involve the student and as much as is possible use multi-sensory teaching methods and have a varied teaching.

We need teach students to use logic rather than rote memory because as we know short-term and long term memory is a common area of weakness for dyslexics although most of them have o good intelligence.

Present material sequentially, start from the very beginning and build slowly, step by step.

People remember best when facts and experiences are connected with one another and when the material was present in small units. 'Less is better'.

Then encourage students to practice, practice and every time you start a lesson make a review.

Another aspect of importance one must be consider is to help students organize time and space. Be aware of the emotional climate, individualize instruction, related subjects and the most important thing, enjoy and laugh a lot.

All of these principles are simple and basic, but they are also very powerful. They will allow you to open the windows of success.

Maria Filomena Teixeira da Silva

E-mail: mfilomenats@aol.com

(Maria is a student on the Dyslexia Certificate course.)