Tiana Takayama

Tiana Takayama

Mr. Coussens

English 8

21 April, 2020

Special Education for Children with Dyslexia

Dyslexia is one of the most common learning disabilities affecting one in five students (“Assessment”). Many students who have dyslexia experience emotional and mental challenges. They can get frustrated and cannot comprehend why they are not able to keep up with their peers. Dyslexia not only affects a student, but can also be a challenge for a teacher working to support their student. From a very young age I have always wanted to become a teacher. More specifically, I have gained an interest in the area of special education and want to explore it. For my Capstone project, I will be creating a one week lesson plan for elementary students with dyslexia. To gain a better understanding of my Capstone project I wanted to research more about what dyslexia is. This means what the cause of dyslexia is and how it affects the brain, signs that show a parent their child has dyslexia, how children get assessed, and how they can receive treatment. By doing this research, I hope to raise people's awareness on dyslexia. I want to educate my audience on how students with dyslexia can be successful through early detection, proper guidance, and a strong support system.

Dyslexia is a mysterious learning disability. There is no known cause of dyslexia, but researchers do know that it is hereditary (“Causes”). Researchers have also discovered that it is a neurological disorder that delays someone’s ability to process letters (“Dyslexia”). It is not a reflection of one’s intelligence, however. Many students with dyslexia have average or above average intelligence. It affects boys and girls equally and is usually discovered in the earlier stages of a person's life (Martinelli). Researchers have also located many genes that are connected to reading and language processing differences that can have slightly different roles in the brain. Some of these genes impact brain development and others affect how the brain communicates. Some dyslexia researchers use MRI scans to discover what things are different in the brain structure and brain functions that are associated with these tasks. They have discovered that some parts of the brain don’t function the same in people with dyslexia than people without dyslexia. Different functional MRI scans show how some areas of the brain are less active making reading for children with dyslexia extremely difficult (“Causes”). If this learning disability is not caught at a young age it can be hard for students to close the gap and catch up with their peers.

Many times children have dyslexia but their parents are unaware, but there are multiple signs that can help indicate that a child has dyslexia. Some of these include illegible handwriting, poor reading skills that have no explanation, reversing letters, and not wanting to be called on in front of the class. More signs could include having trouble decoding, which means having trouble sounding out words, recognizing words out of context, and confusion between letters and different sounds. Other signs include poor reading fluency and spelling which can be related to phonological weakness and certain language based difficulties (“Assessment”). Dyslexia doesn’t only affect students in the classroom, it can also affect them outside of the classroom. Children can struggle to learn the rules of a game, trying to tell time, and they can become very frustrated with themselves which can affect their mood and emotional state. Dyslexia can really affect a child socially. If a child is undiagnosed with dyslexia they can be very confused as to why they struggle to read and write when everyone else can. It can take a big toll on their confidence and make them think something is wrong with them (Martinelli). It is important that when a parent sees any one of these symptoms in their child to make an appointment immediately.

Dr. Cruger, a director of the Learning and Development Center at the Child Mind Institute thinks it would be wise to wait till the child is around six years old to be assessed. This way their ability to read and the gap in between their peers will be very clear. If a parent is concerned about their child's reading progress, they can always have their child get assessed by their school district. If they are not satisfied with the quality of the evaluation a parent can seek an evaluation from a reading specialist, speech and language therapist, psychologist, or an educational evaluator. Teachers can also be a valuable source when parents are concerned about their child’s reading level. They know the benchmarks as to where a child should be at a certain age, however diagnosing someone is something that is not in their field. They can say the facts, but are reluctant to request an evaluation (Martinelli). Many doctors emphasize the sooner someone gets evaluated it is much easier for them to get the help they need to catch up with their classmates.

The evaluation can last from three to four hours for a younger child testing a variety of skills. Some areas that are assessed include spelling, writing, sentence level, single words, and paragraph level. Phonological awareness is also assessed, which is their awareness to and the access to their sound structure. Phonological based memory is also a skill that is tested which means their ability to recall words, sounds, or syllables. One of the more common areas where children with dyslexia struggle is decoding. Decoding is the ability to know letter sound relationships and correctly pronouncing different words. Some ways that evaluators test this is by giving children real and nonsense words. The child has to decide and sound out which words are real and which words are not (“Assessment”). Educational psychologists will occasionally evaluate children to see if their issues are due to ADHD or depression (“Treatments”). Once the child has been properly diagnosed the evaluator will go over the next steps with the parent and how they can provide the support needed for their child.

The evaluator will suggest recommendations for things like therapy, activities at home, and school support accommodations. It is very important to act on these suggestions right away so that the child can have higher odds of success. This means they will have a higher chance of catching up to their peers. They will also ask the parent if they have further concerns or questions. Teachers, doctors or any special education teacher will help to create a lesson plan that will work for the child. Many teachers who work in the education field try to help these students discover how smart and capable they really are. Many students find out they have dyslexia and their self confidence goes down. They believe something is wrong with them because they can’t read and write like their peers. A lot of teachers who work with these children try to help them rediscover how capable and intelligent they really are. This way they can start to believe in themselves as well (Martinelli”). There are multiple reading programs that students can use to help improve their reading skills. The most popular one is the Orton-Gillingham Program that is used by multiple reading specialists and special education teachers. The Orton-Gillingham Program is a step by step technique that teaches children how to match letters and recognize other sounds. Another reading program is the Multisensory Instruction Program which teaches children how to use all of their senses to learn new things. Some examples of this would be tapping out syllables or running fingers over sandpaper letters to learn how to spell (“Treatments”). Another way children can receive help is through special education.

Another way children can receive help is through special education.When I first heard of the term special education I had a sense of what it meant, but I didn’t know the definition. Special education provides students with learning disabilities instructions that meet their needs and gives them an opportunity to be successful. Special education teachers need to be very patient, understanding and have empathy(“Special Education”). Special education began in 1975, but in 2004 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was an act that guaranteed that all students with learning disabilities would receive the care they need (“Parents Guide”). Some types of disabilities that are covered under the IDEA include deaf/blindness, autism, traumatic brain injury, and specific learning disabilities (“Teaching”). These teachers use specific teaching methods to help their students be successful in the classroom. One mental strategy that some teachers make is creating a growth mindset in the classroom. This way the students are motivated to improve and are working hard to reach their goals (Gilfeather). Another method is creating sky letters. This means making the letter motions in the air. This way students can connect the sound with the action. A viewfinder is another helpful tool that some teachers encourage. This could be a piece of cardboard or paper. It blocks out all the other words beside the one he/she is reading (Cimera). In a public or private school setting students can also be accommodated by having extra time on tests, a quiet place to work so they can focus, or an option to record lectures (Martinelli).

Through this research about dyslexia, I have learned the multiple steps it takes to get diagnosed as well as the ways these children can receive the help that they need. This information has also helped me discover the different challenges children with dyslexia face on an everyday basis, but also how they overcome these hard times. They are faced with the emotional and social hardships, but overcome those by continuing to want to get better and improve. Now that I have more information about my topic I will be able to create a lesson plan that will meet the needs of children with dyslexia to help them improve their reading skills. I hope that through making this Capstone project and writing this paper people will understand the intelligence children with dyslexia have and how they can achieve anything they put their mind to.

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