Being Dyslexic

Time to Move!

Children are meant to move and be active, it is part of their natural development.  Movement has a purpose, it helps their muscles grow and bodies develop.  Movement leads them to explore their environment and learn through all their senses.  This is the very foundation of all our future learning.

Just because a child can sit still and inhibit their movement, it doesn't mean that they should. Of course as children get older they have to realise that different behaviours are expected in different situations. When you travel in a car it would be dangerous to be jumping around.  On a plane there are other passengers to consider and you should try not to move around. But in a park you are free to move and should do exactly that.

Schools should be mindful of the important role of movement in learning.  As there is pressure for children to achieve academically at a younger and younger age, it is the practical, active learning that seems to be lost. Schools should be the places where children can move and learn in a way that it natural to them.  Children should learn largely by doing and exploring. These experiences are often much more memorable and meaningful than simply being told the information by the teacher or reading it in a book.  As parents we know that some the best learning experiences for our children arise when they are playing, exploring or visiting a new place.

As adults we know there are many skills that can only really be learnt through experience. When we learn to drive we all know that we can not do it by simply reading a book or being told how to do it. Of course we have to know the highway code but we can not learn to drive a car without getting into a car and trying to drive. We also know that it takes practice and we need practical, hands on experiences again and again to master a skill.

Yet both teachers and parents try to by pass these practical, hands on experiences because of the pressures of modern life.  Teachers are under pressure to deliver an overloaded curriculum and are judged by their children's achievement in certain areas.  Very often there isn't time to find interesting objects to look at to trigger discussion, questions and observation.  Instead to save time we use a picture or a video clip and tell the children the answers. As parents, limited time and tiredness mean we let an ipad entertain our children rather than playing a board game with them or encouraging them to use their imagination make something from junk materials.

Having a more active curriculum would have huge benefits for everyone.  Movement is important for all children and but perhaps even more important for children with learning difficulties.  Children with ADHD may be constantly moving and interventions are often focused on controlling the movement. We often think that the movement is distracting and will stop the child from learning. However current research by Michael Kofler suggests that the excessive movement does in fact have a purpose. It is the body's way of trying wake the mind up to be alert and focused enough to learn. Any strategies that we employ should not be about inhibiting the movement but encouraging it. Very often when we ask a child to stay still, they put all their energy into not moving  and as a result they are not able to listen to content of the lesson. If we allow them to move they are actually more likely to listen and participate in the lesson. As a teacher I have observed children who read better when they are allowed to fidget and move than when they are made to sit still.

Movement is particularly necessary for tasks that require working memory, which is known to be a deficit in many children with ADHD (and other learning difficulties).  Studies have shown that more demanding the task in terms of working memory the more movement is observed.  If we want children with ADHD to perform well in school we need to look at ways of incorporating movement into lessons. In my opinion this should be more than allowing the use of fiddles or wobble cushions (which are helpful strategies.)  It should be more about planning activities which allow children move and explore resources and record their understanding in a range of ways. 'Seating arrangements' should be flexible there should be opportunities for children to stand and sit while listening to the teacher or working on tasks.

Again if we think of our adult work lives we naturally find ways of of incorporating movement into our day even if it is just going to make a coffee when we feel our focus waning or asking a colleague in another office a question to take us away from our desk.  Also think about what you would prefer, to listen to art lecture for an hour or go to an art gallery and wander around observing and discussing the paintings with a friend or guide and then maybe using this inspiration to do your own sketch. As adults most of us prefer active learning and we should encourage the same for our children.

Below the surface - the Hidden difficulties of Dyslexia

I sometimes read articles about Dyslexia being a "Hidden Disability" and then there are many angry comments from parents of dyslexic children saying that there is nothing hidden about not being able to read! Which of course is true, but they are missing the point.  While struggling to learn to read and write are the most obvious signs of dyslexia, underneath it are many other difficulties that are not so obvious and cause many of the stresses that dyslexics experience day to day.  I really like the analogy of an iceberg and the infographic above shows perfectly that while the Literacy Problems are the part we all see, there is so much more going on below the surface.......

While teachers and parents focus on literacy skills, there are many other issues that are over looked.  Being dyslexic can be exhausting, many everyday tasks which others consider simple or straightforward require significant additional effort. Some are almost impossible. It is these things that frustrate parents and teachers and cause classmates to laugh or tease you.

Why have you lost your coat and have no recollection of where you left it?

Why have you no idea what to do when your teacher has just spend 10 minutes explaining the lesson?

Why do you turn left when your teacher asked you turn right?

Why did you miss the punchline of the joke your friend told and have no idea why everyone is 
laughing?
 
Why did you not give in your homework even though it was in your bag?

Why did you forget the message the teacher asked you to deliver by the time you got to the person the message was for?

Why does it take twice as long to complete a jigsaw puzzle compared to your friends?

Why did you not notice the sentence starters on the worksheet that everyone else is using to complete their writing?

There is often sympathy and understanding from adults about how difficult reading is, particularly if they know you are dyslexic. Teachers and parents will work patiently and carefully with you. They will give you more time to work out a word, they will give you easier texts to read, they will read tricky words or texts for you, they will let you read with a partner.  They praise you when you try to read a word even when you get it wrong.

However, there is no sympathy for the situations above. People think you are being careless or lazy or you are not paying attention.  Very often the teacher will be annoyed or cross and will tell you off for not trying hard enough. They do not realise these difficulties are also part of Dyslexia. Unfortunately, they can not see what is going on inside your brain. They can not see the level of effort that is required or that this level of effort is not sustainable throughout the school day.  They can not see that in fact some of the things they ask are actually unreasonable as they are almost impossible for you.

We would not ask someone in a wheelchair to climb stairs, but we will ask someone with a working memory impairment to remember an instruction that is beyond their memory span.  And then we blame them when they can not do it... 

There are many hidden difficulties which many people are not aware of including working memory, auditory processing, visual processing and coordination difficulties which impact students with dyslexia. These need to be better understood by teachers and parents so that the right support and strategies are provided.

Early Signs of Dyslexia and Effective Early Intervention

 I will be speaking on the "Early Signs of Dyslexia and Effective Early Intervention" for the Dyslexia Association Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Football club on Thursday 23rd May at 7.15pm.

This will a very practical and informative talk for both parents and educational professional about this important subject.

The signs of  dyslexia can be seen from a very young age but many parents and teachers choose to "wait and see".  In the meantime children lose their confidence and the gaps widens.

There are many fun and practical ways to intervene which benefit all children.  First we need to strengthen a child's 

pre-reading skills then we need to use dyslexia interventions to help them learn to read and write.

None of these activities are harmful so why wait?

For tickets please use this link

https://www.ticketflap.com/earlysignsofdyslexiaandeffectiveearlyintervention

Visual Perception - what is it?

Visual perception is the term used to describe the way in which the brain processes visual information. There can be differences in the way that visual information is perceived, processed, organised and understood.  This is different from the idea of 20/20 vision and being long sighted or short sighted.

We assume that when we show someone information visually on an interactive white board or a page in a book or a poster that they are seeing what we are seeing.  We also assume that they will be able to readily pick out the information that they need from a visual source. For many children and adults this is not the case.

Good visual perception is important for all aspects of life. We need the ability to process visual information to make sense of the world around us. We need to be able to understand shapes, colours and distance. We use visual perception to develop our understanding of everyday concepts.  For example: to know what a cup is, we need to see many cups and remember what are the key features that make a cup, as not all cups are the same.  This understanding and visual memory will help us see that while a jug is similar to a cup it is not the same. We can mentally compare and realise that a jug has a lip for pouring that a cup does not.

Good visual perception is vital to learn to read and write. We need to distinguish letters and spaces between words. We need to remember spellings and organise words on a page.  Visual perception should be one of the first things that is checked if a child is having difficulty learning to read or write.

It is not always easy to identify children who have difficulties with visual perception.  Children usually don't realise that what they see is not what others see. It is also very hard to verbalise what we see or explain exactly what the problem is.

Some of signs to look out for are:

- difficulty remembering visually presented information
- difficulty with the order of letters and objects
- difficulty picking objects out from a busy background
- difficulty organising themselves or materials in space
- they may not realise that an object orientated differently is actually the same
- they may not notice big or small differences
- they may appear clumsy

Visual perception is complex and is made up of a number of skills. 

• Visual memory
• visual sequential memory 
• visual closure
• visual discrimination
• visual form constancy
• visual figure ground
• visual motor intergration

Children do not usually have weaknesses in all these areas,  a weakness in just 1 or 2 of them can cause significant difficulties both at school and in every day life.

www.eyecanlearn.com is a very useful website for parents that explains both visual efficiency and visual perception clearly.

If you have any concerns use should consult a behavioral optometrist who can test these areas using standardised tests. Check these websites to find a suitably qualified professional  http://www.babo.co.uk or https://www.covd.org

Over the next couple of weeks I will explain some of these areas in more detail and some strategies that can be used to help.