There is a long and diverse research history of dyslexia and documenting the auditory processing difficulties associated with dyslexia that hinder phonological awareness.
It’s why dyslexic kids will struggle in school when everyone is required to wear a mask. The sounds are muffled, but also if the teacher is masked, then students cannot look at the teachers mouth – as an additional cue to what sound is being made.
In a recent study published by Annals of Dyslexia, researchers made an interesting observation:
“those children with dyslexia who are better readers attended more to the mouth while presented with a person’s face in a phonologically demanding condition.”
More research needs to be done about this issue, be aware of helps like watching a video of sounds being pronounced, amplification with a classroom microphone and other visual supports as described in Shelley Wear’s Pandemic Classroom Hacks in our October Newsletter HERE (page 11).
While Delta is still circulating, taking off your mask has risks; as seen in the case of a California teacher who took off her mask to read and infected a dozen children (more HERE).
