How should teachers treat children with dyslexia?

Almost every class contains children suffering from dyslexia. In general, especially in daily school life, these children don't need to be treated very differently than other children. It is useful, however, to know that in some situations children with dyslexia do need to receive a bit more attention than other children. What are the best guidelines to do this?

Recommended

If you're a teacher it is useful to read the following guidelines. Of course not everything has to be applied, but in some cases it is useful to know what is the best way to deal with children suffering from dyslexia.

Communication

• Articulate extra clearly and always give concrete examples

Pedagogical 

• Tell the pupil emphatically what he/she is doing right and what he/she is doing wrong
• Make it possible for everyone in the class to talk about dyslexia
• Motivate the pupil as much as possible

Didactic acting

• Hand out extra explanations on paper
• Give clear grammar rules
• Allow all tools that make reading and writing easier
• Give pupils tips on what is the best way to study, for example by repeating certain material every day
• Have the pupil work together with another, well-reading, pupil
• Teach the pupil techniques to check himself/herself, for example when a verb ends with an -s and when not
• Explain material from a foreign language in English
• Help the pupil with making a planning for their homework
• Distinguish between mistakes due to insight and mistakes due to seeing the wrong word 
• Alternate regularly between written tests and oral tests
• Make a selection of questions from the test if you can't give 20 percent extra time
• Use spelling grades in modern foreign languages, for example don't count repetitive mistakes

Avoid

Some situations are best avoided by children with dyslexia. These are only specific situations, so there is no need to treat pupils with dyslexia in a completely different manner.

Communication

• Avoid using difficult words
• Avoid using abstract language
• Avoid long explanations

Pedagogic acting

• Don't compare the pupil's results to the results of his/her fellow pupils
• Prevent the pupil from becoming isolated from other children
• Avoid setting goals the pupil can't reach
• Avoid negative experiences as much as possible
• Avoid putting too much emphasis on what the pupil is doing wrong
• Don't announce test results in front of the class

Didactic acting

• Never have the pupil read out loud in front of the class without giving time to prepare
• Don't expect the pupil to understand the assignment immediately, teach him to read the assignment twice and then to repeat it in his or her own words
• Avoid planning multiple language tests on one day
• Don't always count all spelling mistakes made in tests
• Avoid giving unexpected tests

Sources: www.todio.nl