Read and Spell Blog

A guest post from the authors of ‘The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and Its Amazing People'

Dyslexia is a specific learning difference that can affect both children and adults and cause difficulties with reading, spelling and math. It’s important for parents and teachers to understand that dyslexia does not affect intellect. Rather, it is a different way of processing language in the brain.

Often individuals who are dyslexic struggle to split words into their component sounds. For children who are learning how to read and write, this can cause frustration and poor performance in activities involving literacy skills. Because reading is required across the curriculum, students may quickly fall behind their same-age peers and lose confidence in the classroom.

That’s why it’s important to recognize the symptoms early on so children can gain access to appropriate coping strategies and accommodations that can help them achieve their full potential at school.

In the UK, the definition of disability is covered under the Equality Act of 2010 and hinges on how “substantial” the effect of the disability is deemed to be. It includes provisions for people with dyslexia who implement coping strategies but also considers workplace contexts and situations in which said strategies cannot be used.

In the US, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discusses how a disability affects the individual, specifically if it interferes with their “life activities.” Dyslexia is currently evaluated on a case-by-case basis and most dyslexic individuals are considered to have some impairment in learning, reading and/or writing.

Being able to spell correctly depends somewhat on an individual having phonemic awareness. This is the ability to hear the sounds that make up words.

However, English words are not always spelled in the way they are said, which means there is sometimes memorization involved too.

The significance of spelling derives mainly from its communicative function. It provides a standardized guide for written language to ensure everyone can read and understand each other’s writing. Before there were dictionaries, people tended to invent their own spelling and literate individuals were often taught different forms depending on where they lived.

This made it hard to know which word someone was referring to! It's also still evident in the way certain English words are spelled in the UK vs. the US, for example colour/color, favourite/favorite and licence/license.

When spelling becomes a source of difficulty or stress at school, it’s important to remind students that spelling is just one aspect of knowing a word.

Computers and mobile devices can help increase accuracy in writing, and phonics-based instruction, spelling programs and apps can boost spelling skills and knowledge of rules and exceptions.

Additionally, learning how to touch-type is useful, particularly when specific learning difficulties like dyslexia are present. This is because typing harnesses muscle memory in the hands to encode spelling as a pattern of keystrokes.

A guest post by Cigdem Knebel.

Many dyslexic students experience challenges when it comes to language skills development, including reading, writing and spelling. Dyslexia is often referred to as a “learning difficulty” because dyslexia makes it harder for these individuals to reach their full potential in a traditional school environment.

Nonetheless, phonics-based, multi-sensory and evidence-based reading instruction has been shown to improve the language skills of dyslexic children. So while dyslexia may still be classed as a learning difficulty, the terminology “learning difference” may be more appropriate. And fortunately, with the right classroom accommodations, most students can achieve academic success alongside their peers.