20 Dyslexia Tips From a Learning Support Teacher

I received this message from Rachel, a subscriber, requesting tips on how to talk with teachers about dyslexia.

“Dear Beth, please, can you write a post on how best to talk with my child’s school? I’m having a terrible battle getting them to understand the needs of children with learning difficulties.”

To do Rachel’s question justice, I approached Maureen Page to ask for some dyslexia tips. Maureen has worked as a Learning Support Coordinator for over twenty years and is a Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) with oversight of students from Y1 – Y13. She has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary) and a Post Grad Diploma in the Education of Students with Special Education Needs.

Maureen, tell me about your work in special education.

I work in a small school giving learning support to students at every year level.

Over the years, I’ve seen the change from a medical model that asks what is wrong with the child and how we can fix them to an inclusive ecological model.This approach asks what can we change in the child’s learning environment to remove the barriers to learning. I think this view is much better.

Is there one particular way to help a child with dyslexia in the classroom?

No, unfortunately, there isn’t just one way.

Our children need the support of a strong team – caregivers and educators working together.

Every child is unique. A ‘one size fits all’ approach is not a successful or sensible model.

However, over the years, I have seen strategies that are useful for most students with learning challenges.

What are your top tips for teaching modifications that parents can discuss with their child’s teacher?

The list that follows is not exhaustive but could be used by caregivers advocating for their child and by teachers seeking to support diverse learners.

These points are in no particular order. Not all will apply to every child or young person; instead, these tips are a foundation for conversations between caregivers and teachers.

Some suggestions are more applicable to secondary students and others to primary pupils.

20 Dyslexia Tips From a Learning Support Teacher

1. Teachers should chunk tasks – set work as small steps with due dates and progress checked regularly.

2. Bullet points on the whiteboard should support oral instructions from the teacher.

3. Work in class should be scaffolded – supported with intentional teaching and pro formas as students learn something new.

4. Parents can request that electronic assessments such as e-asTTle tests be provided as a paper-based test.

5. If helpful for the student, teachers should use buff coloured paper as opposed to white.

6. The child should have the freedom to ask their peers for clarification – ask three before me (Ask 3B4 Me).

7. The teacher should check in with the student on the first sweep of the classroom after instruction to make sure they are on track.

8. Teachers need to ask directed questions such as, ‘What will you do first, next?’ to help the student get started.

9. Teachers should adjust the amount of work requires for dyslexic students e.g., the teacher can highlight ‘must do’ and ‘can do’.

10. Repetition of new concepts is essential – provide practice time.

11. Provide the student with essential word lists, times tables, and charts, as necessary.

12. Focus on ideas rather than the surface features (concepts not spelling when writing).

13. Students shouldn’t copy from the board – supply all notes – either hard copy or electronically.

14. Parents should be able to access their child’s electronic platform e.g., google classroom to keep track of assessment due dates etc.

15. Teachers should provide extra time for assessments.

16. The teacher should provide choice concerning how work is presented.

17. Dyslexia friendly fonts can be helpful. Dyslexia Friendly Fonts

18. Where possible, teachers should avoid timed assessments for students with dyslexia. See this post for more.

19. Parents should investigate Special Assessment Conditions for Years 11-13 – beginning the process in Year 9 is best.

20. Teachers should encourage work attempted and provide specific, positive praise so that students know what they have done well so they can repeat it in other contexts.

Great tips Maureen. Could you expand on point 4, please? Why do you think it is best for students to take tests on paper?

Paper-based testing is better for some, but not all students with learning disabilities.

Many of the children I teach are impulsive and are likely to navigate an electronic test randomly.

This means they fail to read what they need to read; they attempt to answer questions without checking the instructions and click out of the assessment before they have finished.

Another challenge is that the text is not always available on the same screen as the questions, which means students need to flick between screens or scroll up and down.

If a student has tracking issues, this isn’t easy. Also, the light/reflection from screens is not good for some students, plus black text on a white screen may be a problem.

There are dyslexia-friendly fonts, but I am not sure if teachers can adjust fonts on on-screen texts.

I usually work with up to six students and carefully monitor how they are sitting the test to optimise their results. I adapt paper-based tests in the following way and make sure I know what each child requires.

• The text may need to be enlarged.

• Sometimes I print the test onto buff paper.

• The text and questions may be put onto separate pages and given to students one page at a time to prevent them from gettting overwhelmed. Doing this also makes it easier for me to check they are on staying on track.

Thank you for your 20 dyslexia tips, Maureen. By the way, did you enjoy my book?

It was my pleasure.

Yes, I did enjoy your book. I encourage parents to use all the tools possible to support their child, and ‘Dyslexia Wrestling with an Octopus’ is certainly a valuable tool I recommend.

Maureen Page

What classroom accommodations help your child the most?

To read how to teach spelling and reading in 30 minutes a day, click here.

Speechify is an app that can help dyslexic children as it reads online text. Here is my affiliate link.