1. How students present with a
Specific Learning Disability or
Dyslexia
 Children with these difficulties present as
being quite bright in tasks and subjects that
do not require reading or writing.
 When asked to read or write they often
possess skills that are many years behind their
peers, avoid it by using work avoidance
strategies which can include bad behaviour
or produce a minimal amount of work.
 Many of these students regards themselves as
‘dumb’ and have low self esteem.

2. What is
happening for
the child?
When asked to read and write many children
become overwhelmed. Reading for them is an
arduous task.
Some have difficulty distinguishing visually
between letters, words and sentences. They see
them as back the front, upside down, blurred or
running all together into one big blob. This has
nothing to do with their sight but rather how the
brain is processing written information. This is visual
dyslexia.
Some have Auditory dyslexia which is
characterized by problems with integrating and
processing what is heard. Auditory dyslexics also
have problems with recalling sounds and being
able to put a sound with the letter it. They
therefore have phonological difficulties.
Some have both.

3. What can be
done?
Do not forsake trying to teach
sound/letter links. Do this in a way
that caters for all learning styles eg
visual, auditory and tactile.
Use structured, sequential material
such as THRASS, Spalding, Sound
Waves. Allow the children to have
individual charts of sounds and
letters to refer to and copy from.
When writing or spelling the child
should have an individual chart
nearby to refer to.
Support tactile learning by
providing lego tiles, grapheme
magnets, sandpaper letters,
drawing letters and sounds in sand
trays etc (depending on the age of
the child.)
Use computer programs such as
Phonics Alive 1 and 2 and Word
Shark to practice phonic skills.

4. Visual Dyslexia
Try visual discrimination exercises such as find and circle
all the b’s on a page of b and d’s.
Try rhymes and visual cues to help a child remember
the difference between letters e.g m looks like a
mountain, w looks like a waterslide, b is bat and ball, d is
drum and drumstick.
Try a behavioural optometrist who works with children
who have visual discrimination, perception and memory
difficulties.
See if the child benefits from having the print size
increased - full page magnifers may be helpful as may
increasing page size on a photocopier – A4 – A3
See if increasing the spaces between words helps or
taking one word at a time and blocking all other print
on the page.
Certain fonts are better than others for dyslexic children
to read – New times Roman, Papyrus and Comic Sans.
Some children benefit from coloured overlays in varying
colours – red, blue or yellow. These can be made from
transparent plastic folders. Children can then put them
over their readers or worksheets before they read them.
If coloured overlays help a child tinted glasses may also
help. The Irlen Foundation and Dyslexia Australia have
information about this.
Declutter worksheets to prevent visual overload. Use
minimal text. Use space between questions and lines of
text. Enclose sections in distinct boxes Make use of
graphic organisers.
Fold the worksheet into thirds or halves so it is not
overwhelming. Block sections of the sheet with another
sheet of paper.

5.  Auditory Dyslexia Auditory dyslexia
Teach or reteach phonological
awareness skills – these are the building
blocks of literacy. It is important the child
knows how to rhyme and how rhyming
can help with spelling, how to hear
sounds in words and represent these
sounds by using combinations of letters
and how sounds in words can be
manipulated to make other words. Love
and Reilly produce excellent material to
teach these skills such as A Sound Way.
Computer programs such as Earobics 1
and 2 can train children with
phonological difficulties. There is even an
Earobics for adolescents and adults
available which will train older students.
Allow these students extra processing
time when you ask a question or when
they are required to add to a discussion
or process a new fact or concept.
Sit the student next to a learning buddy
who they can check instructions and
answers with.
Use pictures to help with learning- visual
checklists, diagrams, step by step
instructions incorporating some text.
These children often have auditory
memory difficulties so limiting the amount
of talk in a lesson , only giving them one
or two instructions at a time, getting
them to repeat information or instructions
back and getting a peer to sum up
learning for the lesson is desirable.

6. Assistive Software
• Dragon Naturally Speaking – converts words into text. The student has to train the program in
order for it to recognise his voice. With practice a voice profile is developed so that the
program will recognise individual speech patterns. Advanced digital voice recorders can
be used with the latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking where they can record voice
files and then import the file and convert their voice into text.
• Dragon Naturally Speaking has a free IPAD application which may be useful and performs a
similar function. It is not as sophisticated as the commercial program. It is available on the
web
• There are also text readers and writers such as Text help Read and Write Gold and Penfriend
which will read text for the student which has been scanned into the computer or available
from web pages. It will also help the student write by predicting the word he is trying to spell
and showing a dictionary of possible choices. It will read the choices to the student if
needed. It will also read his own work back to him. Audio files can be stored on Ipods and
MP3 players. The programs are available through Spectronics.
• Ginger – a grammar and spell checker might also be worth using. Ginger was devised for
students with dyslexia and is very good at interpreting and correcting jumbled writing.

7. Assistive software and
some freebies.
• Free software includes a free spell checker called Word Talk – www,wordtalk,org.uk/Home/
A free program for text to speech software is Balabokla Text to Speech software. Website is
www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm
• A light scribe pen may also be of use. This pen can record the teacher’s voice and has a
special booklet the child writes in. When the student clicks a specific word the pen then
plays the corresponding message by the teacher. More information can be found on the
web. Just google Light Scribe Pen.
• More software resources can be found at http://speldvic.org.au/Software-Resources.html
• The Education Department has a teacher resource on the web. The teacher resource is
accessible from www.education.vic.gov.au/dyslexia . Advice for parents has also been
developed and includes strategies that parents can use to support their child’s learning and
development at school. See www.ecucation.vic.gov.au/aboutschool/learning/dyslexia.htm

8. What can be done –
Classroom techniques
1. Encourage students to repeat and focus on the components of words, especially for the
longer words e.g Can you say? How many syllables does it have in it? Lets count them
on your fingers. What sound does it start and finish with? How many sounds in the word.
What letters or letter combinations make this sound? All of these prompts will help
imbed the word into the student’s memory.
2. Allow for frequent practice of new learning and revision of that learning.
3. Link new information with something that is already known or something that is of interest
to the child.
4. The dyslexic student will need additional time to read, write and spell. Decoding is tiring
for them. They are working harder than the average student to complete their work.
They should not be penalised (e.g kept in, called lazy, given the task for homework )if
they do not finish it. Limit the amount of written homework a dyslexic child is required to
do too as they will be more exhausted from the school day than other students.
5. Use graphic organisers for dyslexic students to cut down and organise the amount of
writing they need to do.
6. Software such as kidspiration and Inspiration can help students to produce mind maps
of learning.
7. Think about alternative ways to assess students – can they write an essay in pairs ? Can
they draw or make something to show learning. Can they be assessed orally?
8. A teacher should be willing to read test questions to a child with dyslexia and even act
as scribe.
9. Incorporate group work into your program where the dyslexic child can take an active
role but someone else can do the reading and writing.
10. Discuss ideas for writing with the student and make a word bank together of words the
child may need for his writing. Alternatively a word bank could be made on the board
for all children to use.
11. Talk through writing ideas and scaffold where necessary. Eg child writes introduction
today, arguments for the idea next day, arguments against the idea next day etc

9. Dyslexia, self
esteem and
depression
Many students after several years of struggling to learn
how to read and write, or reading and writing at a
standard lower than their peers are disheartened.
Some can become depressed or develop low self
esteem.
Teachers should be aware of this and not put the
dyslexic student into situations that they find particularly
stressful e.g reading in front of the whole class.
Concentrate on the positives that the students display
and allow time within your classroom to celebrate all
student’s talents and expertise in a range of fields.
Celebrate the successes of famous people with
dyslexia.
Remember Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and cater
for and assess all intelligences. Use rubrix to provide
opportunities for students to display knowledge in styles
that suit them.
There is a text called Success and Dyslexia – Sessions for
coping in the upper primary years by Nola Firth and
Erica Frydenberg which is a series of lessons teaching
resilience and coping skills for the dyslexic child. It is
aimed at the upper primary years but strategies
included in it would be just as valuable for high school
years.