Dyslexia or learning difficulty in reading and writing is a serious and common disability that affects millions of people worldwide. People with this disability struggle with their ability to read and write all the time, and it can be embarrassing and frustrating at times. Dyslexia, however, is not a mental disorder but rather just a learning disability that affects how the brain processes information. Like other learning disabilities, people with dyslexia have problems recognizing and relating to the direction of a written or spoken word and then following it through the text or sound. Dyslexia affects many people, and if you have been Dyslexic, there are dyslexia reading programs and dyslexia typing programs available for you.
The American Dyslexia Association estimates that one out of every seven Americans has some form of dyslexia. Dyslexia affects people from all ages and walks of life, including teenagers and adults. Some of the most common symptoms of dyslexia include poor spelling, poor pronunciation, poor grammar, and/or sentence fragments. Dyslexics must develop effective reading and writing skills to compensate for the problems they may encounter when reading or writing.
While there are many different dyslexia reading programs available, the most effective reading program is probably the one that is based on the method of cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT. The Dyslexia Institute at the University of Minnesota provides a variety of different dyslexia reading programs based on the works of Dr. William Horn, a psychologically-based, CBT-based therapy program. If you are considering a dyslexia reading program at the University of Minnesota, you may want to consider the following complimentary courses based on Dr. Horn’s work, Special Education and Planning; Multicultural Education; Foundations of Literacy; and Dyslexia, Language, and Communication Development.
Other Dyslexia reading programs incorporate phonics instruction into the curriculum, which provides students with phonemic awareness, which is the basis for phonemic understanding. Phonics instruction can be a challenge for visual learners, so you may want to choose a phonics-based reading program that incorporates pictures into the teaching process. These instructional dyslexia reading programs, such as the M-step approach in the National Reading Plan or the N-step approach in the National Phonics Competition, both incorporate phonics with pictures or text.
Another option for dyslexia reading programs is to add instructional music as a learning tool to the home environment. This option, however, should be combined with a homeschooling curriculum that is consistent with the child’s learning style. One of the difficulties in using music as a teaching tool for dyslexics is that the child is using the music to identify the letters and not just absorbing the sound.
While many people assume that teaching reading to dyslexic students is difficult, nothing could be further from the truth. A Dyslexic student has the potential to become a successful reader. With some help and effort, a teacher can make reading more approachable. Using innovative teaching methods can truly assist in building a better foundation for a Dyslexic student.
