This page contains the following articles by Dan Kirk:
Dyslexia and It’s Sypmtoms
Improving the Self-confidence of a Dyslexic Child
Teaching Strategies for the Dyslexic Child
Helping Your Dyslexic Child Learn
Technology at Work for a Dyslexic Child

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Dyslexia and It’s Symptoms

By Dan Kirk

What is dyslexia? In order to understand it’s symptoms we must first determine what it is. According to The International Dyslexia Association: “Dyslexia is a neurologically based, often familial disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language.” Simply put dyslexia is a learning style with strengths and weaknesses where the weakness lies in the difficulty in dealing with text. Those who have dyslexia will have varying degrees of the learning style which is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language including phonological processing. This means a dyslexic person may have trouble in reading, writing, math, and spelling.

Dyslexia is not based on environmental factors. It is not a result of a poor upbringing. It is not a result from lack of motivation. It is not a result of inadequate teaching or an unwillingness to learn. Those with dyslexia do not have impaired intelligence. It is a neurologically based condition that often occurs in families. It’s a trait that can be handed down from generation to generation. It also has been associated with hearing loss at an early age. Also, dyslexia is equally common in girls and boys.

Because every student is different and everyone with dyslexia differs by having their own unique learning style, it is important to know the symptoms that would help you to recognize possible dyslexia in a teenager and child.

One of the biggest clues that shows something may be wrong is when you notice a child who appears to be average or even above average in intelligence when they are talking to you but is having a hard time reading, spelling, or coping with mathematics. Being creative or having abilities in the arts, or having great physical coordination are often very common strengths for dyslexic children. The difference lies within the brain. The neural links in the brain of a dyslexic person makes it hard for them to deal with text and/or numbers without extra help.

The most common difficulty among dyslexic children is with phonological processing. Phonological processing is the ability to match the letters to the sounds they make, both on their own and in pairs or groups. If a child has a problem spelling short, simple words, that would be a strong symptom. For example; writing the word “tu” for “to”, or “nee” for “knee”, or “sed” for “said”.

Another symptom is with jumbled spellings. Often a dyslexic child will get all the letters correct but will put them in the wrong order. This shows that the child is having difficulty with visual memory.

Having difficulties with reading is another symptom. The dyslexic child may have a hard time following the lines of text on a page. This means they are having a hard time with visual tracking. Sometimes a line will be skipped or words will be missed. Or the child may read the same line twice. They might even move their head rather than their eyes. You may notice difficulty in reading aloud.

If children are writing numbers and letters backwards this is another symptom that the child may be dyslexic.

Another symptom is having difficulties with math. Having difficulties with sequencing could cause great troubles with math. It’s very common for dyslexic children to experience huge difficulties in remembering multiplication tables.

Having weak visual memory skills and problems with tracking would cause a dyslexic child to have problems copying school work from the board.

Keeping organized might also be a problem. Planning and thinking ahead are difficult enough for children but even more so for a dyslexic child. They could have a hard time following two or three step instructions as well.

Few children will show all the symptoms listed. And there are more symptoms not listed. However, if a child is having difficulty in spelling, writing and reading, it would be a wise decision to talk to the parents and the child about having a professional assessment so the child can learn and thrive like everyone else.

Improving the Self-confidence of a Dyslexic Child

By Dan Kirk

Once you have determined that a child is dyslexic, it is important to realize that the child has been, in most circumstances, failing repeatedly in school. It appears as though the other children can easily do the work that the dyslexic child can not do. Why can’t he read? Why is spelling so hard? Why can’t he grasp math and/or writing skills? Because of these constant failures the dyslexic student will often come to the conclusion that he or she is stupid.

If you notice the dyslexic child acting shy or withdrawn, being the class clown, doing attention seeking activities, having behavior problems, avoiding “fun” activities, often being sad, etc. Then it’s a safe bet to say that that child has low self-esteem and low self-confidence. Even if you’re unsure about the self-confidence level of your child or student you can safely bet he hasn’t been praised very often in school. It’s up to you and up to me to change this.

Reward children on a regular basis. Give the child a fancy sticker for doing a good job sharpening the pencils. Did Jimmy figure out a new word? Then praise him in front of the class. Tell your student what he is doing right. Give out personal certificates for a job well done. Put their name on a special list at the front of the classroom. Praise them in front of their parents or friends. Pause for applause. Have the class clap for the student. There are many more things that could be done.

Children will often focus on what they can’t do and what they aren’t good at. It’s time to change the focus. Everyone is gifted in more than one area. Take the time to make a list with your student or child of “Things I am good at” and “Things that have been difficult up to now”. Encourage the child to tell you what they are and you can write them down. You’ll find the list of “Things I am good at” will be much longer than “Things that have been difficult up to now”. By doing this you’ll easily be able to show that he is a successful person in many ways.

It’s important to find out what he is good at. Focus on his strengths and find the areas of his talents. Focus and observe your student. Notice areas of interest. Provide a variety of activities. Talk with your student about what he likes to do. Does he enjoy soccer? Maybe working in the garden is his thing. Then take a few minutes each day to talk about what they are good at and enjoy. Knowing that someone cares is a great confidence booster.

One of the most important things that you can do for a dyslexic child to improve their motivation and self-confidence is to provide appropriate instruction. The most effective way to help a student develop positive self-esteem is to provide experiences where he can achieve real success. Success, no matter how small, will still provide a different emotional experience. They tell the student that he can learn, that he can achieve the proper results, and that he can have a reason to celebrate!

Teaching Strategies for the Dyslexic Child

By Dan Kirk

One of the most important things that you can do for dyslexic children is to provide appropriate instruction. Not only will they be able to learn and learn well but they will have improved motivation and self-confidence.

How can one give appropriate instruction? Fortunately one doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Studies have shown that a multi-sensory teaching method is the most effective teaching method for children with difficulties in learning to read. Unfortunately most schools only teach by using two senses: sight (visual) and hearing (auditory). A child’s sight is used in reading books, papers, the chalk board and looking at diagrams and pictures. The sense of hearing is used when listening to instruction, direction and information. Of course dyslexic children often have weaknesses with both of these areas.

The key is to involve the use of more than one sense during teaching. The sense of touch combined with movement will give a child’s brain tactile and kinetic memories to grasp, as well as auditory and visual ones. A few examples would be to use large letters of the alphabet made out of sandpaper or carpet. Draw letters or words in the sand. Sculpt letters or words from clay or dough. Use your arms and/or body to shape letters in the air.

Along with a multi-sensory teaching method, there are many things you as a teacher can do to help the dyslexic student learn:

1. Provide an outline of what will be taught at each new lesson

2. When writing on the board, print in upper case letters the important points. Use colored chalk to separate lines. Keep the materials on the board long enough.

3. Provide a copy of an assignment sheet instead of having students copy assignments from the board.

4. Provide hand outs of material presented on an overhead projector.

5. Don’t mark down or take off for spelling or handwriting errors.

6. I believe in KISS! A teacher of mine once said, “KISS.” Keep It Simple Sam. It’s a great way to teach. Break things down into small steps that can easily be repeated and learned. 7. Avoid embarrassment. Do not ask a dyslexic child to read aloud in class.

8. Allow the use of calculators, word processors and spell checkers.

9. When testing, use short answers, true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, sentance completion, or matching, whenever possible.

10. Focus on your student’s strengths and design lessons around them and their interests.

11. Create creative phrases or a “trick” so pupils can memorize things like the planets or direction. For example use: Never Eat Shredded Wheat to remember North, South, East, and West.

12. Provide worksheets and exercises that are “failure free”.

13. Provide games and activities that are non-competitive.

14. Provide extra support outside the class room.

15. Give awards and certificates for a good job.

16. Talk to the dyslexic child about his feelings of being different and not fitting in. Bring up famous people are dyslexic.

17. Link key concepts and constantly revisit previously covered areas of work, applying new materials when appropriate.

18. Ask students how they feel they learn best.

19. Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory

20. Provide pencils

In closing, a multi-sensory approach is needed to ensure that the best possible attempt has been made to ensure the fullest level of understanding. Keep things simple and straight forward. Provide encouragement and understanding. And personally, I think laughter and fun is very important. Laugh, live, love = learn! Brain training with Dan is fun and effective.

Helping Your Dyslexic Child Learn

By Dan Kirk

You’ve determined that your child is dyslexic. Now what do you do? The best thing is to learn about dyslexia. The more you know about the learning style of dyslexia the easier it will be for you to relate to your son or daughter, thus making it easier for you to help your child learn.

Once you have a reasonable grasp of what dyslexia is and isn’t, it’s important to remember a few important points when helping your child learn. Reading with your child at home can easily become very difficult and stressful if it isn’t handled correctly. First, keep in mind that reading at home is to be enjoyed. It is not the time to dwell over difficult words and try to work out what they say from the letter sounds. Although this goes against most parents instincts, tell your child the word if your child can’t read it within a few seconds. This way your child will build confidence to read what they can all while knowing that reading will be fun when reading with you.

Always remember the Golden Rule when reading with a child: Tell the child the words they do not know right away. Keep in mind that some words simply can not be guessed or sounded out. Eventually your child will be able to read the words you had to help them with.

Another thing you can do is the moment you feel yourself tensing up, switch over to you doing the reading for the next few paragraphs or pages until you feel more relaxed. This alone is a good method to make things easier for both of you. Share the reading. Read one sentence each (while still coming in straight away with any difficult words for your child). This will teach your child to look out for the next period or full stop, and will help them get an idea of what a sentence is.

Here are some other helpful ideas:

• Find your child a supportive friend in the same class who is able to have a clear picture of what the homework is for the day. When in doubt, call the friend.
• Play sequencing games. Often dyslexic children have hard times keep things in order such as: months of the year, days, numbers, multiplication tables, etc. Make up counting activities or practice saying the alphabet.
• Learn Brain Gym movements. Brain Gym movements awaken the mind to promote learning. Check them out www.braingym.com.
• Practice juggling skills. Juggling improves tracking skills and makes the left brain right brain connection. Contact www.dankirk.com for juggling information.
• Teach your child how to use a spell checker. Note that your child will need to have a spelling level of around 4th grade or their guesses will be too inaccurate for the spell checker to work.
• Encourage your child to sketch things as he is talking about them. This makes a visual connection in the brain to improve learning.
• Take part in weekly brain training classes with Dan Kirk: Brain Training With Dan
• Hire a private tutor to help build skills in reading, spelling, writing and math.
• Use teaching aides made for dyslexic students. Many books can be found at www.amazon.com or www.bookshop.blackwell.co.uk. Search these ISBN numbers for Early Spellings Book 1, 2, and 3. 07217 0667 3, 07217 0668 1, 07217 0840 4; Key Spellings Book 1, 2, 3, and 4, 07217 0751 3, 07217 0752 1, 07217 0753 X, 07217 0754 8; All Around English Words 1, 2, 3 and 4, 0582184908, 0582184916, 0582184924, 0582184932; and Basic Joined-Up Handwriting Book 1, 0582 23596 0.
• For the left-handed child, check out www.thelefthand.com
• Have your child draw really large letters in the air, on the wall with their fingers, in sand, etc. This practice will help your child with reversals by giving them tactile memory.
• Create a reading time for the whole family.
• Play rhyming games.
• Have your child help you make the shopping list. Create lists for a fun activity.
• Make math part of day to day life.
• Establish a regular time and place to do homework.
• Enjoy a special activity just for fun with your child each week.

A great way to learn a lot about dyslexia is to take a course or use the many resources available on line. Direct Learning Ltd has a complete course called “Certificate in the Teaching of Children with Dyslexia”. It’s a complete course that provides many practical activities and good advice. Visit www.dyslexia-teacher.com. If you’d like to be a part of a group, you can check out the International Dyslexia Association and find a branch near you at www.interdys.org.

Technology at Work for a Dyslexic Child

By Dan Kirk

Good news! Technological advancements benefit everyone! Dyslexics are not left in the dark when it comes to new gadgets and gizmos. From talking pens to pocket spell checkers there are many devices that will improve the self confidence of a dyslexic person by helping them in school, at home, with friends, and at life in general.

Computers are just wonderful tools. Using a word processor can greatly help and improve writing and spelling. Once a child is in around the 5th grade or has a reading level of a nine year old, using a word processor on a computer can be a great benefit. Spelling levels really do improve with the use of a word processor so parents need not be concerned about their child not learning to spell if they are helped all the time.

Some dyslexics may experience visual difficulties when staring at a monitor. When using a word processor, this can be helped by changing the background color, the type color, or by lowering the brightness on the monitor. Increasing the font size and using fonts without serifs may also help.

Along with word processing programs there are voice recognition programs as well. This is a program that will write what you say. This type of program takes some time to set up and learn your voice. Once the program has learned your voice it can free you from many spelling difficulties. It’s recommended for age 14 through adult. Dragon Naturally Speaking is a very popular program used by John Bradford.

Children’s encyclopedias on CD-Roms are great fun for children of all ages. Fun equals learning. A dyslexic child can use a children’s encyclopedia on CD-Rom rather than thumb through books to find information on topics being studied at school.

Children sure love the internet. It’s a great place to go to research information about any topic for school. However, for the dyslexic the internet might be very intimidating. Pictures are fine but what about all that type? Do you know there are talking browsers available? Web Talkster is available as a free download. Just type in “web talkster” on your search engine to find available download sites. Keep in mind other talking tools are available.

Have you noticed that dyslexic children’s writing can be somewhat dull? This is due to the fact that often a dyslexic child will substitute an easy to spell word for the word they originally thought of using. Using a talking and spelling word processor can eliminate this effect and liberate a child’s writing. A talking and spelling word processing program will try to guess the word as it is being written and it can also read out what is written. Way cool!

Pocket spell-checkers are great devices for spell checking hand written homework or notes. Children need to have a reading level of around 9 years of age or older to achieve the best success with a spell-checker. Often if the child can predict the first two letters of the word correctly, the spell-checker will guess the word by showing a list of choices.

The talking Quicktionary ‘pen’ can be helpful with long words. Just roll the point of the ‘pen’ over the word and the word appears on the small screen. It is then read aloud through earphones. Definitions can also appear on the small screen. No need to put down your reading material to look up a word! Find a variety of ‘pens’ at www.shopzilla.com.

It is estimated that 90% of dyslexics have problems in some areas of math. One tool that has been around for many years already is the calculator. When used appropriately the calculator can remove anxieties about having the correct answers on homework. First, one should work out the problem on paper using the method taught in class. Once an answer has been reached one can do the sum on the calculator to check the answer. If the answer is not correct, then they can work back through the problem to find the correct answer.

Technological advances are amazing, helpful, easy to use, ever changing and improving. With the proper tools and teachers all dyslexics can live full, rich, happy lives.