Dyslexics in Education
Often, there is a marked discrepancy between a student’s intellectual potential and their academic performance, and between their oral and written performance. This unusual discrepancy is evident from as early as primary school. Despite adopting strategies to mask or minimise the difficulties, this marked discrepancy persists, primarily as a result of an inherent short-term memory deficit and the impact of this on the thought processes.
The specific learning difficulties of the dyslexic student are as individual and diverse in nature as the individuals who are experiencing them. The type, degree and level of these difficulties are also specific to the individual, meaning no set pattern can be attributed to all.
Some common manifestations of dyslexia
- Self-confidence/self-esteem
- Reading
- Written work
Self-confidence/self-esteem
Low self-confidence/self-esteem is often one of the forgotten manifestations of dyslexia. Yet, it is one that impacts on every facet of the dyslexic individual and their educational experience, and is often the influencing factor in how they approach their academic work.
Many dyslexics in education carry around the extra baggage of a ‘stigma’ associated with their particular difficulties and from less than positive educational experiences. Dealing with low self-confidence/self-esteem is perhaps the most defining challenge in the dyslexic’s academic life. It can lead to frustration, stress, anger, despair, and poor motivation because of persistent difficulties in accessing and conveying written language information.
Reading
For many dyslexics, reading is a tiring and stressful experience. They have difficulty with different aspects of the reading process for different reasons. Some of the main difficulties are speed, comprehension, copying information, and visual stress.
Dyslexics are often slow readers because
- slow information processing skills mean they require time to process, assimilate and absorb information
- their short-term memory deficit means they often forget what they have just read, and so require time to re-read and absorb text
- they often misread, add or omit words, and so require time to
re-read to ensure comprehension - the difficulties they have scanning or skimming texts for key information, means they take more time than the average student to work through reading material
- they need time to process new words and terminology
Reading comprehension:
Precise contextual comprehension is often difficult for dyslexics. Their short-term memory and information processing deficits can affect how they perceive and understand text. They often misinterpret essay/exam questions or instructions and so produce inaccurate responses, particularly in timed conditions. It is not uncommon for dyslexics to spend a great deal of their exam time writing the wrong answer.
The problems with basic reading skills and the energy they use on the reading
processes mean that dyslexics can both tire quickly and experience a reduced
concentration span. They require time, therefore, to assimilate meaning
and ensure comprehension.
Copying information:
Part of the dyslexic reading difficulty also means they have problems copying information. The demands on the short-term memory make it difficult to reproduce accurate references in assignments, or other important information. Most notably, their reading deficit affects their note-taking skills both in class and when gathering information for homework and written assignments.
Visual stress:
Although it is generally associated with dyslexia, Mearles-Irlen Syndrome,
commonly known as Scotopic Sensitivity or Visual Stress
is not necessarily dyslexia-related. That is to say, individuals suffering
from visual stress are not necessarily dyslexic. However, when a dyslexic
also suffers from visual stress then their dyslexic difficulties are further
compounded.
Some difficulties associated with visual stress are
o text moves around on the page and is distorted
o visually, certain words are not there
o visually tracking on the same line is arduous; many students use a tracking
device to help keep their focus, such as their fingers, a pen or reading
ruler with a tracking line
o forgetting text, losing the place or missing out words or lines of text
An additional aspect of the dyslexic’s reading difficulty is being
asked to read aloud in class. As a result of their specific reading difficulties
coupled with their less than positive educational experiences, it is not
uncommon for dyslexic individuals to feel overwhelming panic at the thought
of reading aloud in front of others. Stumbling over words, adding or omitting
words, skipping lines, jumbling words in the same sentence are just some
examples of their difficulties.
Written work
Dyslexics find that long pieces of written work are hard to organise and
structure. They have problems with expression, grammar, sentence structure,
spelling, punctuation, sequencing and getting started. Additionally, their
working memory deficit and slow information processing speed add to the
complexity of dealing with words.
Getting their initial thoughts down on paper can often be difficult. While they have all the ideas in their head and know exactly what they want to say, their work often shows
- a lack of logical progression of an argument
- erratic sequencing and structure
- irregular and inappropriate use of punctuation, or lack of this
- poor grammar and sentence structure
- erratic and irregular spelling errors
- jumbled thoughts, even in a brief sentence
Writing simple sentences can be hampered by the problems they have with basic spelling and grammar. Dyslexics spend a long time trying to get the spelling right and so have a tendency to use the words they feel they can spell rather than the vocabulary they know. They can also have a tendency to add or omit words, or modify the meaning of words or sentences by imposing their own idiosyncratic spelling pattern.
The complexity of difficulties experienced by the dyslexic in dealing with the printed word makes the writing of essays and other academic tasks longer to complete than the average student. Despite spending a long time on written coursework, and checking and re-checking the content, the discrepancy between what the dyslexic student intended to write and what they actually wrote only comes to light when their work is examined by a third party. All of these difficulties can give the impression of poor quality work produced by someone of low academic ability, and can detract from the student’s actual ability and potential. Their experience with written work can often be a source of frustration for them.
Handwriting
A dyslexic individual’s handwriting can sometimes appear messy, immature
and illegible. Their work can contain irregular word spacing and poorly
formed letters. Some dyslexics can also have difficulty gripping and controlling
the pen, and can tire easily as a result. Additionally, the impaired information
processing skills of the dyslexic mean it can often take longer for them
to produce handwritten work.
Their poor handwriting skills are most evident in work produced during timed
written assessments/exams.
Spelling
Spelling is one of the key areas where dyslexics have most difficulty. Not
every dyslexic produces the same type or pattern of spelling errors. This
is influenced by their management of phonetic sequencing and the degree
of their dyslexic difficulty.
As dyslexics worry about ‘getting the spelling right’, stress
levels can also influence the type of errors made, particularly in exams
or when under pressure to perform. Often, the same word can be spelt in
a variety of different ways, even in the same sentence or paragraph. At
times, some of these errors can change the grammatical sense or meaning
of a sentence
Some examples of spelling patterns
- phonic sounds – ‘set kit’ for ‘circuit’; ‘asleap’ for ‘asleep’
- word transposition - ‘saw’ for ‘was’
- word elongation - ‘exceckutive’ for ‘executive’
- letter omission – ‘intresting’ for ‘interesting’
- letter transposition – ‘saftey’ for ‘safety’
- digraph confusion – ‘nessecary’ for ‘necessary’
- homophonic confusion – ‘weather’ for ‘whether’
- word ending omission – ‘mention’ for mentioned’
Although many dyslexics have an extensive vocabulary knowledge, their inability to spell correctly results in the use of simpler, more familiar words. As a result, teachers have a poorer impression of the work produced, which detracts from the student’s actual academic ability.
Numeracy
Working with numbers causes many different and varied problems for dyslexics.
The short-term memory deficit of the dyslexic makes remembering numbers
almost impossible. It is not unusual for them to reverse, jumble or incorrectly
annotate numbers when reading or writing. As well as dealing with numeracy-based
tasks in their class or course, working on a daily basis with bus numbers,
phone numbers (even their own), or money can be affected.
As dyslexics find it hard to rote learn, they invariably have difficulty
learning their times tables or simple arithmetical calculations. Additionally,
the demand on the short term memory makes it difficult for them to translate
worded problems into a numerical task, to retain even a small amount of
numbers, or to understand and retain mathematical signs during calculation.
Dyslexics, therefore, can lose the place and forget key information during
the arithmetical process.
Misreading, miscopying or misinterpreting one figure or symbol can result
in an incorrect answer. In courses where calculations are a core element
competency, it is often easier for dyslexic students to see a visual tactile
representation of the item being calculated, such as medication in a drugs
calculation exam.
Despite the difficulties dyslexics experience with basic numeracy skills,
many may be competent mathematicians.
Note-taking
The multi-task of listening, processing information and writing in lectures
is almost impossible for the dyslexic student.
They have great difficulty retaining the information they have heard long
enough in the working memory to process and re-produce in written format.
During the note-taking exercise, many dyslexics grapple with ‘getting the spelling right’, picking out key information, grasping new terminology, as well as writing legibly. Copying things down accurately from the board/overhead projectors can also be difficult. The heavy demands placed on the short term memory and the dyslexic’s inability to multi-task can heighten their stress levels. The end result, therefore, is often incomplete, illegible and unusable notes, as well as a general feeling of having missed the lecture. Many dyslexic students leave lessons with a great sense of frustration.
Minor speech difficulties
Some dyslexics can experience pronunciation or word-retrieval difficulties.
While they know exactly what they want to say, many often have difficulty
retrieving the correct word. They can stumble over words, mis-sequence multi-syllabic
words, and reverse or jumble words in a sentence. They need time to process
information and access answers.
Their lack of confidence in oral presentation can result in disconnected and disorganised language output, particularly expressing ideas logically and sequentially.
Organisation and Time Management
Most dyslexics have poor organisation and time management skills. These
can result in a general disorganisation of life, and of academic work. Dyslexics
find it hard to juggle and keep track of several coursework assignments.
The slow information processing skills they possess mean they find it impossible
to complete all the reading required, to prioritise information, and to
complete tasks within the given deadline. As a result, dyslexics can often
fall behind in assessed work.
There is often no systematic organisation in a dyslexic’s lecture
notes, other academic materials, or in their written work. Additionally,
their work stations can appear messy.
Their short-term memory deficit means they often confuse dates, times, names and meeting places, as well as forgetting appointments, lectures, tutorials, meetings and timetables. The dyslexic with poor organisation and time management skills can often turn up late for appointments, lessons, lectures, tutorials, meetings.
Proof-reading
Dyslexics have great difficulties in seeing the whole/gestalt and identifying
any missing pieces or errors. Their ability to proof-read their own work,
therefore, is impaired.
Dyslexics can spend many hours drafting and re-drafting written work with little positive results. Unable to see their mistakes, even after using a spell-checker, much of the work submitted by dyslexics still contains errors. A common example of this is homophones, where two similar sounding words are incorrectly used and not picked up by the spell-checker. Dyslexics often read text in the way they think they have written it rather than how it actually has been written. The time spent on the proof-reading exercise often can have an impact on their time management skills.
Sequencing
Sequencing tasks, which for most of us are usually automatic, are problematic
for the dyslexic. Simple, everyday tasks such as looking up a phone book,
reciting the days of the week, months of the year or even the alphabet cannot
be mastered by the dyslexic.
The sequencing difficulties experienced in these basic tasks are even more evident in written work such as essays, reports or letters. The difficulties can often affect the structure and organisation of written work. These difficulties are most evident in the sequencing skills required for spelling, for sentence structure and for the logical presentation of ideas and arguments. Additionally, dealing with abstract concepts such as sequencing past, present and future events or pieces of information can be problematic.
Laterality/direction
Many dyslexics literally do not know their left from their right, without
thinking about it first. While many use an identifiable visual aid, such
as wearing their watch on the left arm, others find it easier to make an
‘L’ shape with the forefinger and thumb of their left hand.
Following instructions that contain left or right, or indeed, north, south,
east or west directions can cause confusion. Dyslexics, therefore, need
time to process directional instructions.
Index
Introduction
Sub-types of Dyslexia
Common manifestations of dyslexia
Dyslexics in Education
Teaching the dyslexic