Reading Tips for Dyslexic Students

As a Special Education teacher, I have had my share of varying learning disabilities in my classroom, including children with dyslexia. Dyslexia affects how children learn, read, write and remember information. With reading being the foundation of reading, teachers and parents can use several skills and strategies that will help a dyslexic child become a better reader, and to make sense out of what they are reading. Some of these tips are widely known, while others are hardly used.

1) Use clear colored overlay sheets. I have tried this myself with my students. The same color does not work for every student. it ends up being trial and error and the student's honest reply to find out which color works best. Researchers are not sure why colored overlays work, but research has been done showing that they do assist in clearing up reading. Their is a website that can be used for a rough estimate of which color overlay will work best. The site is : www.dyslexia-test.com/color.html. I found that blue appeared to work the best, but as stated,each student is different.

2) Use a bookmark or ruler to keep the student focused on one line at a time. Some students have trouble focusing on one word or sentence, with the visual stimulation of all of the other words. Using a ruler , book mark, or even a piece of paper, and following along with each line the student reads, will help them focus on one sentence at a time.

3) Give the child a pencil to use to trace words. He can also use his finger to follow along. As some dyslexic children state letters move, this will help them to stay focused. This tip uses the same principal as using a bookmark or ruler.

4) Keep worksheets and papers in the same font. most textbooks use New Times Roman for text. There is no proof that printing in larger font helps dyslexics, however the reading material should be fairly uniform. In my classroom, I try to print all worksheets in New Times Roman. If they are not, I translate them to that font for my dyslexic students. It is a familiar font that they can read easier.

5) While the ultimate goal is to increase reading skills of students, pairing a reading assignment with an audio of the book helps. Of course not all material can be found in audio format, but those that can, should be used. If a student has difficulty with a word, the audio will tell them how to pronounce it. A web site that has audio books at no charge is http://librivox.org/

With patience, determination,and the above tips, the child with dyslexia can learn to compensate for his reading disabilities. Rather than trying to make the child fit into the system, make the system fit the child!

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Reading_Tips_Dyslexia/

http://www.dyslexia-test.com/color.html

http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html#gifts

http://librivox.org/