Techniques to Manage Dyslexia in Children
Around 10% of the UK population is thought to have Dyslexia and 4% of that 10% are considered to be severely affected. It is estimated that there are around 380,000 pupils alone in the UK with dyslexia and a sum total of two million people (Children & Adults) who are of the severely affected by this condition.
Although there is no real set “cure” for dyslexia, there are a few “work with” techniques that can ease the challenges a dyslexic faces, depending upon how much the disorder affects the person in question.
Schoolwork will often highlight challenges that might then require some further investigation and it’s a matter of identifying the areas that they find most challenging and working with them to support that area.
You may notice that your child has delayed language development, which can be a clue to dyslexia later on. Some children or teens can accidentally mix up words or jumble the pronunciation of words by using two or more words morphed into one word or use the wrong words in the wrong context finding it tricky to string sentences together.
They may struggle with hearing patterns in words such as rhymes or with learning the alphabet but it’s important to acknowledge that all children learn at a different pace than each other and some will master these skills later than others. If a developmental milestone is not reached, it is not cause for a diagnosis yet.
They may be continuing to experience some of the difficulties mentioned above, it may also become apparent that there are further challenges with literacy and numeracy and positioning their figures and characters the wrong way around, it is important to work closely with them to discover the way they implement the problem.
Quite often a dyslexic child will know the correct answer and feel they are able to communicate it but when they come to write it, they freeze up. Their handwriting might be below average or it may take them longer to complete written tasks. Some dyslexics do report that the letters appear to move around the page and may they have a tendency to put letters in words in the wrong order.
They may have challenges in reading too, causing them to be slower than others or distracted by the way the pages are formatted or laid out. Additionally they may also find day-to-day things challenging, such as following directions or remembering the order of the days of the week.
The NHS (National Health Service) advises that if your child is experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, you should first speak to your GP to check whether your child has adequate hearing and vision as defects in these areas may also cause similar symptoms.
It is also worthwhile speaking to your child’s teachers. There could be a need for slight adjustments in how your child is taught to overcome these challenges.
If having done these steps and your child is still experiencing difficulties, it may be worth while pursuing an assessment for a formal diagnosis so that provisions can be made for the needs that they have.
It is very important that your child doesn’t believe that their dyslexia is a disability and truth be told, many of the worlds entrepreneurs are dyslexics. Plenty of famous dyslexics report that their dyslexia has provided them with the unique kind of mind that thinks in a unique kind of way, which has more than contributed to their success.
Knowing that your child’s mind works in a unique way and considering what other techniques can be used to help them work around the conventional ways that they will more than likely be taught throughout their school life will certainly give you and your child ammunition to combat the pressures it can often bring.
Some of these techniques are quite practical, such as allowing your child to use audio books instead of physical books, so that they can still develop an interest in literacy. However there are techniques within NLP that will encourage better memory skills for your child and to help them remember the words and their letters more efficiently as they spell them.
Helping children manage their internal visual data (the images they see in their mind), can be of great use to those who are dyslexic and by giving them the tools to help them access that information in the way that best suits them is a big step towards managing the symptoms of Dyslexia.
