“The secret life of the dyslexic child” \ stacker news ~BooksAndArticles

My professional responsibilities are overflowing, so I did the most sensible thing today: take a step back from work and just read. It was a way to address my instinct: to not be perpetually glued to my phone for a day at least.

I was drawn to this book because it seemed like an easy book to speed-read through, with bulleted points and prose inside text boxes and italicised portions. I notice that such clear organisation of information has been a mainstay of books written to educate people about dyslexia. It sure helped me get the gist of Robert Frank’s points in a fuss-free manner.

I think the main strength of this book is that Robert Frank is a college professor with a PhD and has learnt to cope with his dyslexia. The most illuminating part was his description of a typical day in his life. He confesses that he still struggles with spelling and writing and turns to his preferred modality (e.g calling someone) and support team (e.g. delegating tasks to his secretary) in order to get through the day. I erroneously thought that if a dyslexic person attains automaticity for a task, he won’t forget how to spell a word or forget a name. But it seems that he will experience brain freeze and not be able to do these - especially when he is sleep deprived, exhausted from expending so much energy throughout the day. Basically “mind blurriness”.

I think that my teaching has to be more holistically conceptualised. I just think of the material I want to teach. I should think about the time of the lesson and the rhythm of the student - when is he most energetic to tackle cognitively demanding tasks?

Reading his experience also confirmed my observation that people with dyslexia tend to unconsciously replace unfamiliar words with ones that are familiar to them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t provide any solutions. I tell my students to slow down when they read but if they are misreading words unconsciously, how do I get them to build self-monitoring and self-correcting methods into their reading so that they won’t make such mistakes? Will introducing self-monitoring methods aggravate their mind blurriness? These are questions on my mind.

Notes I took:

help him remember that it all starts with being honest with others about his disability
dyslexia is also difficulty with writing, spatial relations, directions, time management, word recall and memory
The emotional toll that stems from loss of memory can be great
Feelings of disorganisation are intensified when a child with dyslexia stays up too late and doesn’t follow a healthy bedtime routine.
Mind blurriness takes over
When I see a word that I don’t know, I unconsciously replace it with another one that’s more familiar, without even realising it.
The dyslexic child can make mistakes over the most basic things. His recurring embarrassment can keep him from pursuing things he wants to do.
By watching, dyslexic kids can often figure out what to do. Pressure can make a child with dyslexia hang back or freeze.
There are certain times of the day when he will always have trouble following directions properly or remembering certain facts
Try to carry on a conversation while leaving out words that contain one or two letters of the alphabet. Spend a day writing everything with your opposite hand.
When a dyslexic person hears a long list of items or directions to follow, the information may become jumbled in his mind.
When reading, dyslexics exhibit greater activity in a part of the brain called Broca’s area than non-dyslexics. This suggests that dyslexics may employ this brain region to compensate for deficits in the brain regions normally employed for phonological skills.
taking the surprise out of surprises not only increases the odds but success, but also helps your child keep a positive outlook. When surprises lead to failure, the dyslexic child may feel bad about himself. Limiting the number of surprises in your child’s life will help him maintain a healthier emotional balance.
Be sure to talk about anger. Locate the root of the anger and see if you can help. Find a proper venue for the anger.
Use colour-coded arrows to map your child’s path throughout the school. Use colour coding to help your kid stay organised. Using colour makes the process of organising anything more visual and less word-dependent for the dyslexic child. Using colour helps these kids make visual associations that prompt learning and memory.
Use colour to help your child remember left and right. A red scrunchie taking your daughter’s right wrist or a small red dot made on that wrist with a marker could indicate right.
Work in small spurts. Let your child take frequent breaks if he needs them. Allow breaks for physical activity or snacks.
Be sensitive to your child’s learning rhythms. Find out when and how your child works best.
Write out a study schedule in advance.
Play auditory memory games and keep a progress chart.
Encourage oral recitation. One of the most powerful memory devices is reciting out loud.
Use a double-dictation method, Ask your child to dictate as you write; then have him write as you read the work back.
Ask your child to repeat the instructions back to you so you know that he understands.
Create a spelling box: cut out pictures from magazines that represent the words your child must learn. Label the pictures and ask your child to review the pictures and words daily. This will provide visual clues that help prompt memory recall.
Ask the teacher to provide a study guide before the test or work with your child to prepare one together.
Make a Goal Chart.