In the UK, it is estimated that 1 in 10 people have a degree of dyslexia, so it is almost certain that at some point in your tutoring, you will work with a dyslexic student, whether that’s in a classroom setting, or one-to-one at home. Though it comes under “Special Education Needs”, dyslexia is not a disability, it’s just the brain working in a different way. Unfortunately, school curricula are not made with the dyslexic brain in mind, which can make life tricky for some students. However, this is a difficulty that can be overcome with the right attitude, the right skills, and the right tutor.

DYSLEXIA: WHAT IS IT? 

Most of us take reading for granted: we learn it at a young age and rarely think about how we actually do it thereafter. However, it is actually a very complex process that involves matching sounds to the groups of letters we see on the page, stringing them together into words, and putting those words into the context of sentences and paragraphs. For a person with dyslexia, a difference in brain connectivity makes matching the sounds to the groups of letters much more difficult, and thus the whole process becomes much more difficult as well.

SIGNS OF DYSLEXIA 

Many areas of learning and life can be affected by dyslexia: outside of the classroom a dyslexic person might have difficulty remembering names, phone numbers, and dates. Similarly, they might struggle to think of a specific word they are searching for, and end up using vague language like “stuff” or “thing”.

In the classroom, signs are slightly more marked. Dyslexic students will likely avoid reading aloud and, if forced to do so, will seem to have no method for sounding out complicated or unfamiliar words, instead making wild and inaccurate guesses. When questioned in a learning environment, a dyslexic pupil may take longer to respond, and will struggle to put their answer into words. Dyslexic people tend to use more “filler words” such as “um” or “like” to buy time so they can order their thoughts. This also applies to a test environment, so dyslexic pupils will struggle to complete exams within the given time frame.

MYTHS: BUSTED! 

“Dyslexic people are less intelligent.”

Nope. Dyslexia is actually characterised as a difficulty in reading and writing that is at odds with the general intelligence of the person in question. People with dyslexia are often very creative thinkers with sound reasoning and logic skills. Richard Branson, Agatha Christie, and even Albert Einstein are just a few examples of well known people with dyslexia.

“Dyslexic people write letters and words backwards.” 

Ding-dong, that’s wrong! Many children write their letters backwards while they are still learning to write, and this is actually less common in dyslexic children. While dyslexic people can sometimes get the letters in a word jumbled up, or mistake one letter for another, that’s not the same as writing or reading a word backwards.

“Dyslexia only affects words and letters.” 

Wrong again! Any Maths and Science tutors reading this thinking “I don’t need to know about dyslexia” – think again! Just like letters can get jumbled, numbers can as well. For example, some dyslexic people might read 29 as 92 – you can imagine the sort of difficulties this could cause with even basic Maths. (And it’s worth bearing in mind that the issues with Maths that are caused by dyslexia are different from those caused by dyscalculia – but that’s a blog for another time).

BUILDING CONFIDENCE 

I’m going to use a personal story here: my step-mum is dyslexic, and has often referred to herself as “stupid”. Anyone who knows her can tell you this is absolutely not the case, but low grades in school (as well as some less than understanding teachers) left her with a very skewed image of her own intelligence. But thanks to a lot of hard work, she’s now the proud recipient of an MSc as an Advanced Mental Health Practitioner, so I think it’s clear how much dyslexic learners can underestimate themselves!

The treatment of dyslexia in schools has come a long way from when my step-mum was learning, but students can often still struggle with low self-esteem. The pace at which students are expected to take in new information is at odds with the way a dyslexic brain functions, so even very intelligent dyslexic students can be left behind. This is especially true at the infant and primary levels, where confidence is built and key skills are developed (and many children have not yet been diagnosed). As a result, dyslexic students can have mental “blocks” where they think they just can’t do certain things, and these self imposed boundaries are often much harder to navigate than the dyslexia itself.

Little things go a long way in terms of combatting this self-doubt:

1. BE PATIENT: a lot of what seems like laziness (and may well be in other students) is simply a symptom of a student’s dyslexia. A student may have trouble remembering certain spellings or pieces of information, even after having it explained multiple times.
2. BE ADAPTABLE: the little things go a long way for dyslexic pupils, so even something like printing your worksheets on coloured paper will make all the difference to them.
3. BE SUPPORTIVE: frequent feedback and positive reinforcement is key for working with dyslexic students. They don’t need to be coddled, they’re not babies, but struggling with school work can lead to low self esteem, and you’ll be amazed by how much more can be achieved once you start pointing out where they’ve done especially well.

TEACHING TIPS

It’s important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” for teaching dyslexic students. Each learner will experience their dyslexia in a different way and may already have their own methods in place to help with their studies, so always be prepared to be flexible. Having said that, you can’t go far wrong with these basic principles:

1. Dyslexic pupils are often BIG PICTURE THINKERS, and can struggle to concentrate on details if they don’t know where they’re headed. Make sure you lay out your aims and your plans at the beginning of each session as well as each new area of study, this will help to focus your pupil’s mind and stop those wandering thoughts. For example, if you’re an English tutor teaching a particular text, it will help to offer a little “introduction” to the text before you begin reading. This might include an outline of the plot, themes, and author’s aims.
2. BREAK DOWN TASKS into smaller chunks. Studying can seem overwhelming to a dyslexic student, especially if there is a large task to complete. Presenting such a task as several small things rather than one big one provides STRUCTURE as well as making the task seem more manageable.
3. Dyslexic students tend to be VISUAL rather than auditory learners. Sitting them down and talking their ear off for an hour isn’t going to do much good! You will have to be a little more prepared for these sessions and make sure you arrive armed with some interesting worksheets or an informative video/presentation. Don’t be surprised if your student uses hand gestures or symbols to help with something like poetry – having an action or symbol associated with a given word or line can help to spark memory.
4. REPETITION, repetition, repetition. Don’t expect to explain a concept once and have it be instantly absorbed. Keep going back to problem areas and practicing; it will take some time, but once a dyslexic pupil learns something it’s locked in!

Ultimately, dyslexic students can achieve just as much as non-dyslexic students, even if it takes a little more hard work. Help and understanding from teachers/tutors and parents is vital, but each student will also be a smart and creative thinker in their own right. More than anything else, the aim with dyslexic students is to build a positive relationship with learning, so they can work independently towards their goals.

For more in-depth information on dyslexia, including tips and stories from experts, parents, and young dyslexic people, visit The Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity