How dyslexia can be overcome with hard work and explicit teaching

When, Connor, my grandson was seven he struggled to read and write. I am an educator. I knew what this journey looked like. Often it didn’t end well. Joint diagnoses of dyslexia and dysgraphia confirmed my instincts and set us on a ‘not uncommon’ learning journey.

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By the start of Year 4, aged 8.05, Connor was scoring 3 on the National Star Reading Stanine. That was in the 11-22% range. Interestingly, Connor’s Star Listening Comprehension Stanine score was 9. This gave him a listening age of 12-13 years and placed him in the 90+%. In October of the previous year, Connor had scored 12.6 on a Stanford Binet Listening for Meaning test with an educational psychologist. Clearly Connor was an intelligent child, so why was it so hard for him to read and write?

Initially the journey Connor and I embarked on together covered a range of phonologically-based activities to ensure he understood sound/symbol and blend/ letter relationships. He needed multiple opportunities to go over this foundational learning at his speed, to accommodate processing issues. All phonological work was contextualised so that Connor continued to develop his knowledge levels and expand his interest in the world around him.

Screen Shot 2014-06-20 at 12.19.06 pmAs part of our learning I took Connor through a Kids Language Kit (www. kidslanguagekit.co.nz) I had written when I was teaching ESOL. The tactile and rote learning components of this resource were perfect for him. He’s a tactile, visual and oral learner. The tactile elements provide focus and engagement while the rote component added fluency to his reading skills. He particularly enjoyed the last section of each unit where key words are exploded with associated vocabulary to enhance comprehension and link neural pathways.

Learning words individually, while neural pathways are established, is critical. Connor became very confused if he had to deal with a whole sentence. I used learning of sight and high frequency words as part of our phonology work so that Connor was seeing and working with these words often. (Remember he’s a visual and tactile learner). I made up grids of about 12 words and used this as a base for a range of activities. I would work on these words until he knew them. When we moved onto the next grid of words I would make sure we used previous grids as review so that he didn’t lose those words. Regular review is very important, as is going over the words, as often as possible at home. These students need to have automatic recognition and recall of sight and high frequency words along with strong word attack skills. Often dyslexics appear to be going well with their reading until they start using ‘readers’ with fewer pictures. When the visual cues disappear they are completely lost. Without automaticity of sight and high frequency words these students will ‘lose’ the plot with their reading. The same applies to writing. Dyslexics need to be able to write down the sight and high frequency words automatically to allow their thought processes to flow when writing.

We worked on sequential activities, oral recounts (I did the writing), and as many developmentally appropriate activities as possible to increase his intellectual capacity and to help him keep pace with his year group. I did the writing for him as his dysgraphia had the potential to cripple him intellectually (2% writing speed). We focussed on the mental processes of the learning, not on whether he could express it in writing. Of course, he was still very disadvantaged when he had to read and write in the classroom setting. In Years 3 and 4 it was a nightmare for Connor to try to keep a sentence in his head, while he figured out how to write it down a word at a time.

By Years 5 and 6 National Progressive Attainment Testing (PAT) results put Connor’s reading comprehension at Stanine 6 (77%) and his reading vocabulary at Stanine 5 (60%).

Screen Shot 2014-06-20 at 12.19.16 pmConnor is now in his first year of Intermediate School and in February 2013, scored 4B in e-asTTle reading test and 3P in the e-asTTle writing. By June his e-asTTle reading result was 5B and his e-asTTle writing was 4B. Interestingly his Maths had also moved impressively from 3P to 4P. June 2013 Reading, Writing and Maths results place Connor in the ‘above’ category on New Zealand National Standards.

In spite of never having been offered any assistive technology (we did apply for funding) Connor has conscientiously applied himself to written tasks and gradually increased his proficiency and speed. We are planning ahead. He is learning to touch type so that by the time he gets to Year 9 he will be able to use a voice activated technology to assist him with his writing.

This journey is a testament to the fact that hard work and explicit teaching can overcome dyslexia. Connor is defined by what he can do – not what he can’t do. He’s a ‘bookworm’ and reads veraciously! He plays water polo and is competitive in cross country and triathlon events. He’s and avid movie buff and has a huge imagination. He’s not a bad writer either! In May 2013 he wrote this poem.

To find a poem . . .

To find a poem I dive through the water, the ripples shimmer in the sun.

I see bubbles fizz like a can of Sprite,
I break through the surface, take a breath,

Crack a smile, stroke by stroke I get closer to the prize,

Victory,
I have the bright, shiny, classic gold!

DYSLEXIA 

Dyslexic learners are typically tactile, visual and oral learners. They will successfully learn to read and write if an explicit, phonological programme targets their specific learning needs. They are sually intelligent. Don’t give up on them.

You, the teacher or parent, need to understand the symptoms and issues associated with Dyslexia. Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz is a must read along with online articles. Check eyes (NB: important you go to a behavioural optometrist), ears and other health issues, to eliminate any additional impact on the student’s learning.

Support and strengthen students’ self esteem by dividing the learning into bite-size goals which can be understood and worked towards to get a well earned reward (e.g. ‘Ipad’ time). Incentive systems punctuate the journey with emotions of achievement and success.

Learning styles and tools matter! Use every learning style and tool available to present and practice the information the students needs to master. Lots of repetition is necessary to create neural pathways that will eventually facilitate retention of the learning. Consider ‘old’ technologies (e.g.

desk- size blackboards and chalk, desk-size whiteboards and pens, crayons and textured paper, paint, pavement art, plasticine or clay, magnetic, foam or any type of manipulative alphabet letters and numbers, felts, vivids, music, collage, movement) and ‘new’ technologies (e.g. iPads). The possibilities are as endless as your imagination – and those of your students!

Encourage and praise the students often. This learning is ‘real work’ for them. Enjoy the journey with them. Have fun. They present a unique opportunity to demonstrate the power of creative teaching and learning.

should be described. They invariably possess unusual giftedness in some area. Look for and develop that giftedness. They are often lateral thinkers. Connor added some holistic kinesiology sessions to significantly aid his learning journey. A mix of massage to hands and shoulders (for the dysgraphia), talking through emotions around the learning process, bark flower compounds and supplements, body balancing and techniques to improve coordination, all supported his learning pathway.

Individual tutoring or in very small groups is important because dyslexics have difficulty processing and decoding, ‘intensives’, with a narrow focus (e.g. one or two specific learning intentions), work best for them.

Automatic recognition of sight and high frequency words is critical. Teach each word in context, orally at first. Follow this with a variety of interventions to teach the spelling of each, specific word. Being able to read and write these words easily and quickly facilitates fluency in the reading and writing process. Strong word attack strategies are essential. Teach these explicitly. Use patterns, rules, learning constructs and games as anchors to imprint and cement the learning. Insist on mastery of the phonological components of the learning and any other processes that resonate with the dyslexic learner. There are no short cuts. Practice, practice, practice and the result will be effective literacy.

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Jan Bibby


Jan is passionate about helping people succeed. She has published ‘Jan Bibbys Kids Language Kit’ (www.kidslanguagekit.co.nz) and written a life skills programme called ‘Grow Your Future’.
She has taught at every level of the education system and is a registered piano teacher. Jan loves being with her family, reading, writing, being outdoors, composing music and creating things. Jan teaches literacy, ESOL and Special Needs at Katikati Primary School.