Let's Talk About Dyslexia and Dyscalculia
By Carol K. Kennedy, Ph.D.
Dyslexia is more than just reversing letters. So many young people have reading and writing difficulties which cause them to struggle in school and then later in life, impacting their future careers and ability to navigate everyday life.
Think how hard it would be for you if you could not read a street sign, a label on a food product, a prescription, a newspaper, a contract, even basic instructions. For young people who have dyslexia these tasks we take for granted can be overwhelming. Sadly, years ago these students would be dismissed as inferior or uneducable. Imagine trying to read a passage of text in a foreign language that has a different alphabet. Dyslexia is not just about reversing letters while reading or spelling. It impacts reading fluency- the able ability to read smoothly, comprehension, reading aloud, pronunciation, and cognitive processing. Dyscalculia is similar to dyslexia , but relates to a person’s ability to process, decode, encode and memorize numbers. Much of classroom learning is still heavily reliant on being able to read, comprehend and process text. Think of current textbooks, fiction writing, expository text and so on. While trying to solve a math problem a student has to be able to read the words and calculate correctly. Perhaps your child has struggled with this learning disability and it has caused them frustration, embarrassment and lack of academic progress. Many young people on the Autism Spectrum have other disabilities, including dyslexia which can make life more challenging.
There are many more options now.
So many more options are available to help young people with dyslexia. There are specific learning strategies that educators can use, computer programs that help, using text to speech so the student can hear as well as read passages of text. There is also speech to text to help the student express what they know and learn. E-text is available for many textbooks, allowing for different presentations or modalities of information. Educators are so much more aware now.
Become an expert
How to choose what is right for your child? Become familiar with what resources your child with dyslexia and other reading challenges can use. What does your school offer, what can you use at home? Make sure your child's teachers are familiar with and actually use these best practices in their classroom and individualize your child's instruction. Also, be sure that your child's IEP includes these resources, including assistive technology to ensure their success. Become an expert and be your child's best advocate. Always include them in what works best.
October is Dyslexia Month: One company I have worked with for many years that is tried and true is Don Johnston, Inc. who specialized in computer programs to help with literacy for students with disabilities. Please check out their website.
https://learningtools.donjohnston.com
Here is a useful site for more resources
https://twitter.com/DyslexiaIDA
For even more information on getting accommodations please got to this site:
https://dyslexiaida.org/accommodations-for-students-with-dyslexia/