Frequently, children are only diagnosed with dyslexia in the first few years at school when they are learning to read and fall behind their peers. Dyslexia isn’t caused by a lack of intelligence- children simply can’t develop the skill to decode written language.
Because some children find ways to compensate for poor reading skills, the difficulties they experience aren’t recognized as dyslexia until they are older, as the demand for reading and processing more material becomes too hard to work around.
Building skills and confidence with Systematic Phonics Instruction
Children with dyslexia can learn to read but need a specific type of reading instruction. Schools often don’t use the method of instruction geared towards teaching children with dyslexia to read.
Until the right method of instruction is used, students with dyslexia won’t become proficient readers. Some may also need more support than others.
To establish whether your dyslexic child is getting the instruction they need it’s necessary to understand the best way for a dyslexic or any other child to learn to read. Here are some basics to help understand the way the brain operates in reading:
Reading basics
Reading development starts with phonemic awareness, an awareness of the littlest, individual, and different sounds ultimately combined to comprise language. Called phonemes- the word “run” for example has three phonemes (three separate sounds), and everyone is familiar with many of these sounds.
To recognize words by sight, children need to be able to connect the sounds heard to the letters they see written. This is a process that is called phonics. Sight words- larger units of sound recognized as words, will be recognized over time, but skilled teaching can minimize or prevent struggles with reading and writing.
Although the younger children start, the better, these are skills that can be developed at any age.
Things That Work For Children With Dyslexia
Systemic phonics instruction- as the name suggests, means the child moves step-by-step (systematically) through a progression of phonics skills. It starts with the most common and consistent letter-sound patterns and then moves on to harder and less consistent letter-sound patterns.
Not every instruction method with the name systemic will work for kids with dyslexia. The word “systematic” could also refer to other kinds of instruction, for example, some programs that are called “systematic” are instead based on doing error analysis- basing instruction on mistakes kids make, rather than teaching them through a structured sequence of phonetic skills.
Things That Don’t Work For Children With Dyslexia
Experts have indicated that “whole language” or “balanced literacy” approaches are ineffective for children with dyslexia.
“Whole language” approaches assume kids can best learn to read “naturally” by exposure to written language relevant to them that is motivating.
When faced with new words, they are taught to look for clues to their meaning in the context of the story or the pictures instead of sounding out the new words, making reading mastery far more difficult The process draws attention away from what should be focused on- the letters and the sounds.
“Balanced literacy,” a curriculum combining five different components of reading instruction- phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension does not contain enough phonics or phonemic awareness instruction for many children to learn to read proficiently, especially those with dyslexia. Word identification should be the focus in the early K-2 years before moving on to comprehension.
Importance Of Phonics Practice
Intentional practice is key to an effective phonics curriculum. Once a phonics pattern is introduced in a lesson, children should be given reading materials containing the same phonics patterns.
If, for example, children are learning that the letters ai together say ‘A,’ they will need to practice applying their knowledge, first by reading isolated words that contain ai, followed by a longer text with the same pattern.
In a whole language or balanced approach curriculum, leveled readers are often used which don’t necessarily contain the phonics patterns just taught to the students.
If reading is not connected to the phonics lesson, children don’t get the practice that will enable them to absorb the material and apply their knowledge. A systematic program should incorporate phonics practice so children can carry the taught lesson over to reading.
Decodable texts are reading materials that are matched to specific phonic lessons. Decodable books are books in which at least 98% of the words contain the phonics patterns taught so far.
Effective reading approaches, often described as multisensory phonics-based approaches, reinforce learning by letting the child hear the words, see them, say them, write them in a sentence, and incorporate gestures and movements.
Increasing the time spent on the task or making the phonics practice a bit more engaging for children helps with memory and consolidation, but this is limited to the phonics-based component. There is no research showing that it improves other outcomes.
Things To Look For In A Reading Program
To see if the reading program in a child’s classroom is phonics-based, the experts give these tips:
- If the child is being told to guess it isn’t a phonics-based program, as these don’t encourage guessing based on the context or picture or the context. The child is rather encouraged to look at the letters and produce their corresponding sounds.
- When you look at the words that the child is being asked to learn, establish whether they all are in the same word family or they all sound the same, such as cat, bat, mat, and sat. This indicates the teaching is phonics-based. Groupings of high-frequency words such as the, have, of, and that, indicate it isn’t a phonics-based program.
- Children should be practicing as phonics requires a lot of repetition which may include a child learning to decode and then the word before using it in a sentence. When asked to do repetition in multiple ways, learning is reinforced.
- If are instructed and directed- and not expected to learn to read just because they’re exposed to a lot of books, it’s likely a good program that takes direct, systematic instruction and intentional practice.
Effective Programs For Children With Dyslexia
Compelling research indicates that the brain regions and pathways used in reading normalize in children with dyslexia after being exposed to systematic phonics-based instruction.
The EdReports website evaluates reading programs based on evidence and efficacy. If you know the name of the curriculum your child’s school is using, the rating of the program can be found on the website.
Where the above type of instruction isn’t used in your child’s classroom, a reading specialist or outside tutor may be able to help if they are using a phonics-based program. With specialized instruction, children’s progress should be monitored consistently and measured to ensure that the child responds well.