Dyslexia

Enhancing Access at Key Stage 3

& Key Stage 4

Aims1 To facilitate participants’ understanding of what

dyslexia is;

2 To develop participants’ critical understanding of issues surrounding assessment and inclusive practice ;

3 To facilitate the process of reflection regarding the learning environment for learners with dyslexia;

Code of Practice (DENI 1998)The Code of Practice on the Identification andAssessment of Special Educational Needs identifiesdyslexia as one of several specific learning difficulties:

The word specific suggests a particular learningproblem to be remedied as opposed to slow learningacross the curriculum.

Other labels within the broad term Specific Learning Difficulties are:

• Dyspraxia• Dyscalculia• Asperger’s syndrome• ADHD

As a general rule it is the child’s working memory that is the key problem within all of these categories

Criteria for SpLD as listed in COP

• Discrepancies between attainment and ability

• Frustration and low self-esteem• “There is clear recorded evidence of

clumsiness; significant difficulties of sequencing or visual perception; deficiencies in working memory; or significant delays in language functioning”

Dyslexia is a syndrome: a collection of associatedcharacteristics that vary in degree from person toperson.

Each child should be regarded as having a uniquepattern of strengths and weaknesses which willinteract with an equally unique set of familial,experiential and school influences.

PrognosisDepends on:-

• individual’s strengths and weaknesses;

• learning style (e.g. oral-v-visual; impulsive-v-reflective);

• appropriate teaching;

• severity of the dyslexia.

The Neurological Bases of DyslexiaCognitive Characteristics of Dyslexia

• Inadequate phonological processing abilities.

• A marked inefficiency in working memory.

• Difficulties with making skills automatic.

• Problems connected with visual processing.

Other Difficulties:• Early speech and language problems.

• Glue ear.

• Word finding difficulties.

• In about 60% of cases, dyslexia affects numeracy skills.

• Co-morbidity with ADHD/dyspraxia.

• Poor organisation.

• High levels of anxiety and stress.

• Low self-esteem and frustration.

• Dyslexia fuse effect.

Inclusive Practice

1 Whole school initiatives

2 Good practice in the classroom

3 Coping Mechanisms/by-pass strategies

4 Examining the challenge - preparing for examinations.

Whole School Initiatives

1 Policies & responsibilities

2 Awareness & collaboration

3 Special arrangements for examinations

4 Support & Counselling

Good Practice in the Classroom1 Create a supportive environment

• Safe• Stress free• High expectations

2 Give learners the “big picture”• Establish lesson goals• Participative review• Prediction exercises

3 Set Targets• Learning objectives• Assessment criteria• “Chunk down”

Good Practice in the Classroom4 Facilitate learners to access the content by:

- Making use of Kinaesthetic, Visual & Auditorypreferences

- Taking account of learning styles- Oracy- Accessing all intelligences

5 Demonstrate learning– Peer presentations– Posters– Mind maps

6 Opportunities for reflection– Systematic review– Reprocessing.

By-Pass Strategies

Over-coming the difficulties of

secondary-age pupils is largely a

matter of creating & applying coping

mechanisms.

If this is to be done effectively a

whole curriculum approach should

be set up to integrate them.

By-Pass Strategies

Study Skills

Essay writing

Proof reading

Organisation & time management

ICT - supporting learners to write, record, read

- providing opportunities for learning and practising skills

Reading Skills

• taped texts

• highlighting key words

• skimming & scanning

• SQ3R

• DART

Note-making Skills

• selecting the main idea

• recording key words

• taping part/whole lessons

Spelling Skills

• segment words

• copy from a model

• use a spell check

Subject Vocabulary Skills

• personal dictionary

• multi-sensory techniques

• understanding the meaning/derivation of words

Examinations

• preparing for examinations

• tackling the examination paper

• making use of additional time.