Accommodations for Specific Learning Disabilities: Dyslexia

1. Be able to define what dyslexia is

2. Be able to identify what accommodations could be used in the classroom

3. Be able to identify useful assistive technology for dyslexic students

Though it may sound like a difficult task there are some simple methods to incorporate into the classroom that can help students with dyslexia.

1. Label all the objects in your class with a symbol attached to the word (Sutton and Sheilds, 2016).

   • For young children with dyslexia trying to identify all the objects in the classroom with the correct associated word can be a difficult task somedays. This will allow them to develop a more independent thought process in the classroom by being able to put tools away without any help or discouragement from classmates.

2. Cut back on the number of homework problems (Hamman, 2018).

   • Children with dyslexia have to work twice as hard as other students in order to read the same content, so by cutting back on problems they can focus on actually being able to comprehend what the question is asking and how to answer the question.

3. Use fonts such as Ariel, Comic Sans, or Times New Roman on all of your printed work (Sutton and Sheilds, 2016).

   • Children with dyslexia have a 10% increase in reading capability with these fonts (Sutton and Sheilds, 2016).

4. A sound chart that allows them to identify phonic sounds with pictures to help them remember, so they can differentiate the sounds later when practicing decoding (Montgomery, 2017).

When educating children who have a different way of processing information, it is up to the educator to develop new ways to present the information to the child. Montgomery, in their article, discussed the difficulty of teaching students about spelling in the classroom. It is important to remember that spelling is considered a recall ability (Montgomery, 2017). When writing out a word, there are several concepts that need to be mastered. First, knowing what the letters are, how to write these letters, and understanding how to bring these letters together to form a word (Montgomery, 2017). Since children with dyslexia cannot process certain sounds or letter concepts, educators need to change their teaching methods. When teaching dyslexic students about spelling, use multi-sensory objects to help them make multiple connections with the letters. An example of this could be using wooden letters that they can physically hold and use as a tracing reference when going over the sounds of the letters and what the letter is (Montgomery, 2017).

With the help of the internet, there is an overwhelming amount of resources teachers can incorporate into the classroom. The problem is that with this excess amount of resources how can teachers identify what technology would work best with their students. Antonenko and others created a brief summary of what to look for when finding the right resource for the students. Here are some main points to look out for:

1. Media Affordances

   • It is when the instructor must ask themselves if the resource is easy to use? Can someone with dyslexia easily navigate how to access the resource? (Antoneko, etc, 2017).

2. Personalization

   • Is the student able to adjust the resource to their reading needs? Or is the reading assistance tool a one size fits?

3. Socialization

   • Can this tool be used for collaborative uses in the classroom for group work (Antonenko, etc, 2017)?

These are 3 of the main points an educator should be asking when trying to identify a resource that is valuable to a student with dyslexia. Below is a sample of an audiobook from the Assistive tool Learning Ally dedicated to making reading more enjoyable for those with dyslexia (Hamman, 2018). When students are motivated to read, they can build on their background knowledge from information that they absorb from the books they read. The one on the right is Speechify, a free google chrome extension that reads emails, pdfs, or any online source aloud to the user. Someone with dyslexia designed this extension to help others like himself to accomplish everyday tasks easier.

Dyslexia, if not caught early by a teacher, can be detrimental to a child's development. It is the responsibility of all educators to recognize the signs of dyslexia in a young student. If the issue is left unidentified, it will only become a cumbersome problem for the student in the entire adult life and severely limit their options. There is some debate about whether or not it is up to the special education teacher to make all the accommodations for kids with different needs in the classroom. Their role should be a guide for the general educator in how to incorporate accommodations and find new strategies to get the material across.

1. True OR False: Dyslexia can be considered an INTELLECTUAL disability?

2. What is NOT an accommodation that would benefit a child with dyslexia

a. Make sure they have access to audiobooks

b. Have printed works be in Comic Sans or Times New Roman

c. Do not cut back on homework problems

d. Color code vocabulary words presented in the class

(Answers are at the bottom of References)

Antonenko, P., Dawson, K., & Sahay, S. (2017). A framework for aligning needs, abilities and affordances to inform design and practice of educational technologies. British Journal of Educational Technology, 48(4), 916-927.

Hamman, J. (2018, April 12). Accommodating students with dyslexia. Edutopia. Retrieved

February 7, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/accommodating-students-dyslexia

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2017, July 22). Dyslexia. Mayo Clinic.

Retrieved February 2, 2022, from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353552

Montgomery, Diane. (2017). Dyslexia-friendly teaching of reading. In Dyslexia-friendly Strategies

for Reading, Spelling, and Handwriting (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 14-42). Routledge

Sandman-Hurley, K., TEDEducation, & Christofordis, M. (2013). What is dyslexia?. YouTube.

YouTube. Retrieved February 1, 2022, from://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zafiGBrFkRM.

Sutton, J., & Shields, M. (2016). Dyslexia: 10 strategies. TEACH Journal of Christian Education,

10(2), 13-22. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from

https://research.avondale.edu.au/teach/vol10/iss2/5

Answers:

F

C