Despite all the world has learned about dyslexia over the past few decades, for most, there will be many practical roadblocks that dyslexic children or adults will have to figure out how to get around.
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Q: How Can I Modify Curricula for Dyslexic Students Without Compromising Standards? [Premium]
We were asked: How can I modify the curricula for dyslexic students without compromising standards? MODIFICATIONS VS. ACCOMODATIONS Usually, when 504s or IEPs are discussed, accommodations are mentioned more often than modifications. Accommodations refer to changes in the way students access content and demonstrate what they know. So for instance, an accommodation for dyslexic students might include extra time, the option to use text-to-speech, or a human reader for tests so that assessment more accurately reflect what students know. Modifications, on the other hand are changes in the content of the curriculum, homework, or what a student is expected to learn. Examples of modifications in a curriculum for dyslexic students might include fewer problems, an option to use spellcheck and a word processor for […]
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Using CHATGPT as a Study Partner and Quiz Maker [Premium]
How can ChatGPT be used as a study partner? If you’re just getting started with ChatGPT and study, begin keeping a list of prompts that can help you prepare for exams. STUDY BUDDY, SELF-TEST, and QUIZMAKER FOR TEACHERS ChatGPT is very handy as a study buddy, especially if working from a knowledgeable source. For most dyslexics, making studying interactive, visual, and interesting can go a long way to making information easier to remember. Here are some examples of prompts and ChatGPT answers: Me: Provide partially worked examples to help me learn how to use transition words in complex sentences. Certainly! Understanding how to use transition words in complex sentences can greatly enhance your writing. Here are some examples with explanations: Despite the rain, […]
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Don’t Do This: Dyslexia in The General Classroom [Premium]
With all the demands that teachers face regarding classroom management, and the pressures getting students up to speed in reading and math, dyslexic students may find themselves experiencing additional stress from common classroom practices. We now know that as a group, dyslexic children are more emotionally reactive than their classroom peers (UCSF research). In addition, we know that over half of dyslexic adults experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder when returning to school settings as parents. In the the Dyslexia at School study from Dyslexic Advantage, 43% of parents surveyed reported that their student was punished because of dyslexia-related challenges. What were some the punishments recorded? – given extra homework – physical seclusion (work in hallway or closet) – singled out in classroom […]
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Chat with College Coach Kara Matejka
“It is incredibly common for students to get to college and just question everything. That’s when all the wheels fall off…What am I even doing here? ” — Kara Matejka, College Coach When all the excitement of arriving at college for the first time, getting to know roommates and starting your courses begins to die down, some students may suddenly discover they are over their heads with college classes. Away from the familiar supports of home and high school, they need to find new supports and self advocate…. (almost continuously) for themselves. Good thing there are student success tutors like Kara Matejka. Kara most recently has worked as a Student Coach or Advisor at Stanford University’s Office of Accessible Education. Kara shared some of […]
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California Teachers Union Reject Dyslexia
“It is reprehensible that California is one of 10 states that doesn’t screen for dyslexia,” said Portantino. “The issue isn’t going away. Every year we don’t screen first-graders is another class lost. Shame on us.” Despite some high hopes this past year, a bill for...
Reading Beyond Level
Don’t restrict students to decodable readers. It’s a little like trying to feed an elephant one blade of grass at a time. Reading decodable books has an important place in structured literacy programs for dyslexic students, but recently some in the reading community have been calling for “phonics-only” or “phonics-first” and this is not a good idea. Recently Emeritus Literacy Professor Timothy Shanahan from the University of Illinois at Chicago has also called these policies as overreach. From his recent blog post: “The National Reading Panel report (2000) is oft cited as the major support for phonics instruction. We found (I was a member of the panel) that explicit, systematic phonics instruction helped students to become better readers – based on a meta-analysis of […]
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Question: Advice for a Student Who Does Not Want to Disclose in High School
It is very common for people to want to choose whether they want to formally disclose their dyslexia, and to whom. This may change over the years and of course depending on particular contexts. WHY DOES A STUDENT CHOOSE NOT TO DISCLOSE IN HIGH SCHOOL? Some students may choose not to disclose as they move into their high school years because they feel as if they have become successful in remediating the most difficult steps of reading and want to free themselves from supports. Others might be outgrowing their need for an IEP and not want to attend pull-out supports once they transition to high school.
It might be that students are outgrowing their need for special education as they enter high […]
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My Pandemic Hack for Classes
Shelley Wear, a long-time volunteer on our Dyslexic Advantage editorial team shared these pandemic hacks for her classroom. Thanks Shelley! “The struggle is real to make sure students understand what you are saying with a mask on. I purchased a personal amplifier (small box with microphone headset) and it has been a game changer for my classroom. Students are much more attentive and I believe it has really helped. I am also using a multisensory approach to decoding, teaching Visual Phonics. The paras have overheard students talking about how fun it is when kids are in the hallways and think no one is listening. I am relieved, because I have limited access to middle school materials to teach decoding and a large percentage of my […]
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Dyslexia Advocacy: Say Dyslexia 2.0
From Chalkbeat’s story, “NYC plans to screen nearly 200,000 students in the early grades to uncover struggling readers. Then what?” “In a massive bid to gauge reading skills following COVID-related learning disruptions, New York City’s education department is introducing literacy screening for its nearly 200,000 children in kindergarten through second grade… While the education department’s screeners aren’t designed to identify students at risk of having dyslexia, which is the most common learning disability, they are able to identify learning gaps in skills that are often associated with dyslexia, literacy experts say. But many also note that screening alone will not address systemic issues that contribute to widespread literacy deficits across the city, such as uneven curriculum and inadequate teacher training. The success of the […]
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I Never Thought I’d Be Homeschooling… [Premium]
We never thought we would be homeschooling when we started almost 2 decades ago. What our family can say today, is that looking back, we’re so grateful for our entire homeschooling journey – even though initially homeschooling chose us rather than the other way around. Today there are so many reasons to homeschool and ways that homeschooling can also be a good fit for dyslexic students, so take heart in the adventure ahead of you and may the coming year be one good surprise after another. WHY HOMESCHOOLING CAN BE A GOOD MATCH FOR MANY STUDENTS Schooling at an Individual Pace The first reason why homeschooling can be a good match for many students is that traditional schooling can be a […]
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Math: Multiple Representations [Premium]
If you have a lot of ground to cover for the coming school year, consider the use of multiple representations to improve the efficiency of learning. First, as a person who is math-challenged herself and was tasked at one time with tutoring one of our kids with similar math difficulties, I am sympathetic to people who are tasked with teaching math. The truth is, I wasn’t good at it myself, so I found myself getting frustrated when my student didn’t understand. I had little flexibility between math representations – and as a result tended to teach math the way I was taught it…rote memory of sequenced steps – which I was to find was the last thing my student should have been trying […]
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