These are strange times and even if you’re not accustomed to helping with homework (including different types of homework), it may help a lot if you can help. Even pre-pandemic, when parents were surveyed about their helping with homework and trouble lending help, about 50% said they had difficulty… so you’re not alone. […]
Dyslexia and Social Studies [Premium]
Many dyslexic students are natural storytellers and may even have a passion for history and analyzing various aspects of society and social change. As a subject Social Studies can be difficult for dyslexic students, so the question is how to build on strengths, but bypass challenges due to extensive reading and writing demands, and […]
Answer Apps and the Benefits of Learning in Reverse [Premium]
Conventional lecture courses for subjects with problem sets can be inefficient. For dyslexic students if the information comes in too quickly, they can’t follow steps as a teacher works through problems in real time. A recurring scenario for many students (and not just the dyslexic ones) is that to truly understand, the students must […]
Learning with Dr. Sara Renzulli [Premium]
“I was identified as dyslexic and having ADHD in the fifth grade. I struggled quite a bit academically…” — Sara Renzulli, PhD, Visiting Professor, U Conn Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Sara Renzulli, a teacher in the Counselor Education department at the University of Connecticut, and daughter of illustrious […]
Interconnected Multisensory Learning [Premium]
“My mind isn’t a train track. It’s like a web browser with lots of hyperlinks…” – Honors College Student with Dyslexia What is interconnected multisensory learning? INTERCONNECTED MULTISENSORY LEARNING Part of the educational challenges of growing up with dyslexia is learning how to harness the tremendous power that comes with interconnected and multisensory […]
Preparing with Templates and Posters [Premium]
When interviewing accomplished people of all sorts who are also dyslexic, there are some recurring themes – and one is, “I learned how to do the ‘dyslexic thing,’ you know, overprepare.” In some cases that means committing more hours to something – whether it was oral presentation or final project or job rotation. […]
Creating An Environment That Works [Premium]
Sunlight, air, water, nutrients…we know these are the things that allow plants to grow and flourish, but what are the same essential factors for dyslexic students or employees? FLEXIBILITY AND SOME CREATIVITY Good environments for dyslexics tend to be those that have some flexibility. Flexibility might take the form of how you may […]
Here We Go: Back to School
A survey by Decoding Dyslexia of California found, not surprisingly, that many parents reported that school closures had a negative impact on their children's education. Interestingly, about 1 in 4 said that school closures either had a positive effect or...
Learning Irregular Words: Activities and Games [Premium]
Irregular words don’t fit the standard sounding out convention, but because they can occur commonly in text, they need additional practice to be recognized quickly. How do you help students practice, but not be guilty of “drill and kill”? Rote memorization is also difficult for many dyslexic students so that not only is repetition […]
The Late Bloom [Premium]
The cognitive profile associated with dyslexia is the quintessential “late blooming” profile. There can be a lot of stress and angst that comes with late blooming, but the good news is that the bloom is a gift when it arrives. Here are some facts that are helpful to know about late blooming and […]
Best Apps for Subject Knowledge [Premium]
Because of the work of reading dense text and the fact that skimming can be difficult (if not impossible) for students, reading and re-reading alone are often not the most efficient ways for students to study for exams or file information into their long-term memories. FLASHCARD APPS Many students know that […]
Multisensory Learning – Listen, Watch, and Do [Premium]
Multisensory learning is often considered the gold standard for dyslexic students. Technology can help by converting text to speech, adding pictures, or adding some action to what otherwise might be a passive task. READING When it comes to reading, early readers need to reliably hear sounds and associate them with letters, letter […]