We all learn in different ways and you be wondering how to help a child with dyslexia. Some of us are visual learners and need to work with images, videos, tables, graphs etc. Anything really where the initial input of information comes to the brain through the eyes first. Conversely auditory learners are more successful hearing information first before processing it. Auditory learners have a slight advantage when it comes to sitting in the classroom and learning. Conventional teaching methods still rely a lot on talk from the teachers. In my experience many dyslexics are visual learners and are therefore immediately at a disadvantage. Many are also kinaesthetic and tactile learners and this method of learning is not encouraged in all but the most progressive of schools. Kinaesthetic ways of learning involve the whole body, much movement and learning through touch.

The dyslexic brain, when seen through an MRI scan behaves in a different way to a non-dyslexic brain. Since dyslexia is believed to be a specific learning difficulty which is largely centred in the linguistic area of the left hemisphere, in order to compensate for this deficiency other parts are used in preference. More parts of the brain therefore are activated particularly when attempting reading, spelling and writing than would normally be expected. In other words, left to its own devices a dyslexic brain seeks out a multi-sensory approach to learning. It makes sense therefore to teach in a multi-sensory way in order to achieve the best results.

With my teaching methods I use a combination of Initial Word Mnemonic Chants alongside a set of graded phonic flashcards with their accompanying structured worksheets. The mnemonic chants which are used to teach the reading and the spelling of both High Frequency words and also the Homophone are highly multi-sensory. They have the auditory element as each chant is learned by out loud repetitive chanting. There is the visual element involving the drawing of the appropriate cartoon pictures and also understanding the meanings of the words. As I was creating the chants, limited of course by the letters in the word itself, I tried hard to capture some essence of the word in the chant in the form of a story.

Brains respond well to stories because they have meaning and they can be further pictured in the imagination like a mini film show. This adds to the visual element of the learning process and makes them very memorable. They are also kinaesthetic because the action and involvement of creating the drawings and colouring them in, involves bodily movements.

The phonic flashcards are equally multi-sensory because they are seeing them, saying them out loud, adding drawings to the backs of the ones that are causing difficulties and handling them like a pack of cards, shuffling them, dealing them and timing them with a stopwatch. Follow this up with the structured worksheets, which have to be visually analysed, read back and spelled, then this really does consolidate the learning process. Pupils thrive on this multi-sensory approach to the whole course and very quickly gain confidence when they observe their improved reading and spelling levels. This method has taken non-readers and turned them into “bookworms” and as an added bonus, it is easy to administer and fun to do.

Dyslexia is a short term memory problem that is particularly evident when it comes to reading and spelling words. Originally it used to be  called “Word Blindness”. It is believed to be a genetically inherited condition in which insufficient chemicals called neurotransmitters are present in the linguistic area of the brain. Neurotransmitters are specific chemicals that enable memory to take place and when they are in short supply, memory is poor. There is an area in the linguistic part of the brain called the Angular Gyrus which is responsible for recognising the letters of the alphabet and attaching the appropriate sounds to them. When this area is not working to its full capacity letters merely appear as meaningless shapes. This happens with dyslexics. In order therefore to get a strong enough memory bank of letters and their sounds, the teaching process for a dyslexic has to involve a great deal of repetition. Words are made up of combinations of consonants and vowels. When we look at a word we do not look at every separate letter. We tend to group letters into certain recognisable patterns or chunks. These are the building blocks of words on how to help a child with dyslexia. We see combinations of consonants which are known as Consonant Blends. There are also combinations of vowels which are known as Long Vowels. On larger words there are word-beginnings and word-endings that we recognise, called Prefixes and Suffixes. There are 5 sets of flashcards in the system that I use. Along with the basic Alphabet Pack itself, there is a pack for each of the categories mentioned above. Often the mere mention of the term “flash cards” to pupils makes them immediately assume they are being regressed back to their first year at school. I have to re-educate them against this form of resistance thinking. I prefer to call them the “Angular Gyrus Activators” which instantly makes them sound much more sophisticated. In actual fact though, that is precisely what they are. Each card has on its front the specific symbols, and on the back a key word containing those symbols. Next to that is the phonic sound symbol in brackets. The card is held up. If the right response is given instantly, that card is placed in one pack. If there is hesitation or silence or an error in response that card will be placed in a different pack. The cards in this pack will be illustrated. A drawing will be made of each keyword and the cards will be learned by saying the keywords followed by their appropriate sounds. The pack is then worked on as a whole until all the symbols and their sounds are said accurately. Then the stopwatch comes out and the pack is timed many times until the cards are being said as fast as is humanly possible.  This has wakened up the Angular Gyrus. Memory has been laid down. Consequently, after this amount of work has been done on each pack and all the building blocks have become familiar images, when words are then presented containing these they no longer pose a problem. A pupil came to me at the age of 5, barely able to read even the simplest of words. By the time she was 7 she was reading words like “electromagnetism”. This skill was entirely down to the regular flashing of the flashcards into her brain; Angular Gyrus Activators..! This is a guide on how to help a child with dyslexia.

Mnemonics; a rather unfortunate word to have to remember in itself.  It comes from the Greek meaning “of the memory”. There are numerous forms of mnemonics but they all have one thing in common. They help recall. They are very powerful and can be retained in the memory sometimes for a lifetime. My elderly mother, who is 94 years old, is a wonderful example of this. She has Dementia and yet she can still recite the mnemonic which she learned at school in the 1930`s for the succession of British Kings and Queens in the order they were on the throne!! We learn the colours of the rainbow with a mnemonic as well as knowing the numbers of days in each month of the year. I can still recite a mnemonic that I learned in the 1970`s for the hardness scale of rocks in Geology. Basically a list of just about anything can be converted into a mnemonic to improve its recall.

Having used them myself at university and found them extremely effective, when faced with a dyslexic pupil struggling to spell common words, I decided to try this method. I knew that there were mnemonic chants in schools used to spell words like “because”. I knew the chant for “because”. It was;

“Big elephants can always understand small elephants.” By taking the first letter of each of the words in the chant in exactly that order, they spell “because”. I quickly realised a problem with this though. It was very useful for spelling the occasional word, but this pupil had hundreds that she couldn’t spell. Since this style of chant had no reference to the word in the chant itself, I could see confusion setting in if many had to be remembered. Then I had a “light bulb” moment! If you BEGIN the chant with the word that is to be learned, there would be no confusion. I tried it out. My very first Initial Word Mnemonic Chant, made up in the car on the way to school was;

“Because elephants can add up sums easily”

The word “because” was written on the front of a strip of card. On the back of the card I wrote the chant out. I told a brief story of elephants in a maths lesson to get the imagination going and then asked her to draw an appropriate picture. The chant was then “chanted” out loud 10 times. She used her fingers to keep count. Her eyes widened with delight when she knew she could remember this chant and more importantly could use the chant to spell the word correctly. It was a huge success. Over the next few weeks I made up over 200 different chants for High Frequency words. She learned them all. She could now spell over 200 common words that she couldn’t do at all. She was able to write sentences that were not full of spelling errors. She became energised and excited at her success. Her confidence grew. She learned other methods in my literacy lessons but nothing was as dramatic as the effects that these chants had on her. She is now an adult. At school she was considered an underachiever. Last year she completed her Ph.D. having gained a 1st at the end of her degree course. The mnemonics kick-started her off on to the path of success. I have used this method now for over 20 years. My book Spelling Success, a Mnemonic Dictionary has been sold all over the country. Presumably there will be lots of children, all strangers to me, reciting my Initial Word Mnemonic Chants. I wonder if there is anyone out there who has beaten the record of one of my other pupils who could say 545 out loud in an hour! I would love to know. This is how to help a child with dyslexia.

It is always an interesting debate when it comes to deciding how important it is to teach handwriting. Why bother now when everyone uses computers with spell checkers. At least that is the argument I receive whenever I mention the word “handwriting” to many of my dyslexic pupils. Let`s briefly look at both opinions on how to help a child with dyslexia.

The argument in favour of teaching handwriting implies that although we all use our computers now to do just about everything, there are still times, obviously, when computers are not available. On those occasions we clearly have to be able to write. For example: filling in forms, writing out cards, taking down notes in meetings or in lessons, sitting exams etc. However, there is a much more significant advantage to people who are dyslexic. Research shows that handwriting is an important stage in the multi-sensory process of learning to read and particularly to spell. It is kinaesthetic. Cursive, or joined up, writing is especially relevant in helping to create a stored memory of the appearance of a word. The fact that the pen starts writing at the beginning of a word and is not lifted off until the end of the word is reached is important. This creates a muscle memory of the shape of that word and therefore helps in remembering its spelling. Printing is not as effective. The pen is lifted after every letter and this has the effect of breaking the image of the word up in the brain and therefore making it more likely that the spelling will be forgotten. Handwriting is also a very natural and instinctive way of expressing our thoughts. It organises and clarifies them and it also involves energy and time. It concentrates and focuses the mind. A bit like a mental workout. This is probably why there is often so much resistance among my pupils when handwriting is mentioned. It takes effort, much more effort than sitting at a keyboard stabbing away at keys. I have observed a calming effect on many hyperactive pupils though when they have carried out the handwriting programme and have developed a style that is pleasing to the eye. It is almost as though they have matured a little overnight.

The argument for not teaching handwriting however is compelling too. If dyslexics have so much stress associated with writing that it causes resistance, tantrums and negative emotions then obviously this is going to shut down their activity. There will be no enthusiasm for their work and this will have a knock-on effect on their grades. Being at the keyboard means that they don’t have to consider the appearance of their work, they can express themselves more freely and all their spelling errors are corrected. Other people can read it, there are no red pen marks across their work and basically it would appear to be a win-win situation for everyone. My feelings on this are quite clear. Do both! Take advantage of all the benefits from cursive handwriting and being on the computer. Unless a pupil has distinct physical difficulties that makes handwriting almost impossible I believe it is worth pushing through the barriers of resistance. I have seen the most ghastly illegible handwriting transform into something that could be entered into a competition. More importantly I have seen the transformation in the character of the child that looks at a piece of written work with pride and satisfaction and the feeling that “I can do it”. The pleasure in realising that what is written from now on can be read and appreciated for its content rather than be critical of its presentation.

It is important for the parent to talk and explain how to help a child with dyslexia as simply as they can what they have learned about dyslexia. To talk about it in positive terms and to remove the fear and depression that often sets in when a child is given that label. Often dyslexic children experience feelings of alienation amongst their peers in class and it is essential that their home provides them with a safe haven where the family at least understands and can give support. It must be a place where they can talk freely without criticism and without ridicule. A place where they can express their feelings and emotions and be given guidance.

How to help a child with dyslexia? 

Even though reading may be an issue, the process of reading with their child should be made a special time. This is a time when parent and child can bond and share experiences based around the book that is being read. To begin with it may well be that the parent has to do all the reading, with the child looking on.

This is still a very valuable experience because the story can be talked about. The child can be encouraged to give his or her interpretation of what has just been read. Words can be focused on and their meaning discussed.

Even though the child has not been contributing to the actual reading, the words will have been looked at and that will have made some impression on the brain. The fact that their meanings have been discussed will help build up a basic vocabulary.

Reading should become a time of enjoyment, a time of excitement, wanting to hear the next chapter or find out how the story ends. It is an opportunity to join a library and maybe find specific authors that appeal, especially those authors who have written great series of books.

Paired reading

If a dyslexic child is getting some appropriate tuition and their literacy skills are improving, there will come a time when the reading experience can be in the form of ‘paired’ reading. This is where both parent and child contribute, maybe alternating the pages, or maybe the parent just filling in for every word that the child can’t yet read. It is still important to converse about the story and to encourage the child to talk about their feelings surrounding what has just been read.

Love affairs

Eventually when the child is competent enough to read out loud independently the parent may just sit and listen or may oversee the whole reading just to check the accuracy. Parents that can carry all this out may be rewarded with their child eventually associating reading with so much pleasure that they develop a lifelong love affair with books and the written word.

One parent has told me of walking past her daughter’s bedroom door late at night and seeing the light coming from her room. She would call out “It’s time you were asleep now”, and the reply would come back “Not ’til I get to the end of this chapter. If I don’t, I’ll lie awake wondering about it, so I may as well just read it”. She was a great success story, barely able to read anything at the age of 7 years old. Now she reads great volumes one after the other and never goes away anywhere without filling her kindle.