Learning to read with Dyslexia

Learning to read with Dyslexia

by | Jan 16, 2018 | A PRIDE Post, Dyslexia, Multisensory Teaching, Orton-Gillingham

Learning to read in English would be so easy for kids with Dyslexia if all similar-sounds were spelled the same. They aren’t. English is so hard to learn and has so many unfair and horrible spelling rules! Ugggh!

Many of us just read naturally. We understand that letters and letter combinations create words and sounds. Our brains just naturally register the words in print and we can read three or four words ahead of time and visually scan an entire text. We are also mentally able to pull words apart, separate them into syllables and apply all of those horribly unfair spelling rules easily and logically.

In the beginning…

Reading is complicated. There are 3 major stages that a child will need to go through in their lifetime to become a strong reader. This process involves word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and most importantly… motivation.  The following outlines the key features of the reading process at each stage:

Stage 1 of the Reading Process: Decoding (Ages 6-7)

At this stage, beginning readers learn to decode by sounding out words. They comprehend that letters and letter combinations represent sounds and use this information to blend together simple words such as hat or dog.

 

Stage 2 of the Reading Process: Fluency (Ages 7-8)

Once children have mastered the decoding skills of reading, they begin to develop fluency and other strategies to increase meaning from print. These children are ready to read without sounding everything out. They begin to recognize whole words by their visual image and orthographic knowledge. They identify familiar patterns and achieve automaticity in word recognition and increase fluency as they practice reading recognizable texts.

 

Stage 3 or the Reading Process: Comprehension (Ages 8-14)

Children in this stage have mastered the reading process and are able to sound out unfamiliar words and read with fluency. Now the child is ready to use reading as a tool to acquire new knowledge and understanding. During this stage, vocabulary, prior knowledge, and strategic information become of utmost importance. Children will need to have the ability to understand sentences, paragraphs, and chapters as they read through text. Reading instruction during this phase includes the study of word morphology, roots, prefixes as well as a number of strategies to help reading comprehension and understanding.

Let’s keep it simple…

I’m not going to get too deep into the semantics of each reading phase and how it all works but Dr. G. Reid Lyon, a researcher in the field of neurology of dyslexia wrote a great article on children and the process of reading if you want to read it here.

So…now that you understand that there is a natural progression to reading, the big question is, will a child with dyslexia eventually learn to read naturally as they mature….

Will the reading come naturally for a dyslexic child at some point?

Nope. Reading does NOT and never will come naturally for a dyslexic child. A child with dyslexia does not wake up one morning and say, “I get it mom, it all makes sense now!” Nope. Unfortunately this isn’t going to happen.

This is just a fact. The International Dyslexia Association has a really good fact sheet on Dyslexia and the Brain.  You can read about it here.

Children with dyslexia read and spell everything phonetically and do not apply spelling rules. For example, if they are spelling the word “said“ they will write “sed.” When reading the word “horse,” the dyslexic child will make a mental picture of that word and every time he or she approaches the word “horse” in text, that mental picture comes to life. The problem with this strategy is that when they get to a word that they are unfamiliar with, they have no coping mechanisms to attack that particular word. Yikes!

There is GREAT news for kids with Dyslexia!!!

Even though the reading and spelling does not come naturally for a child with dyslexia, this does not mean that they can’t learn to read and spell. Kids with Dyslexia are really bright kids, that just need a different approach to reading and spelling. They need to learn the letters and letter combinations in a very very structured, systematic and cumulative approach. They need lots of repetition and practice and they need a lot of positive encouragement. Children with dyslexia need 3 crucial elements to their reading instruction:

  • Multisensory Teaching

  • Orton-Gillingham Program

  • Parent Support

What does multisensory mean?

See it – Say it – Hear it – Move with it!

When taught with a multi-sensory approach, children will learn all the letters, letter combinations, sounds and words by using all of their pathways – hearing (auditory), seeing (visual), touching (tactile) and moving (kinesthetic).

When learning the vowel combination ‘oa,’ for example, the child might first look at the letter combination on a picture of a GOAT, then close his/her eyes and listen to the sound, then trace the letters in the air while speaking out loud. This combination of listening, looking, and moving around creates a lasting impression for the child as things will connect to each other and become memorable. Using a multi-sensory approach to reading will benefit ALL learners, not just those with dyslexia.

What is Orton-Gillingham?

The other significant component in helping a child with dyslexia learn to read and spell is utilizing an Orton-Gillingham approach. In Orton-Gillingham, the sounds are introduced in a systematic, sequential and cumulative process. The Orton-Gillingham teacher, tutor or parent begins with the most basic elements of the English language. Using lots of different multisensory strategies and lots of repetition, each spelling rule is taught one at a time. By presenting one rule at a time and practicing it until the child can apply it with automaticity and fluency, a child with dyslexia will  have no reading gaps in their reading and spelling skills.

Children are also taught how to listen to words or syllables and break them into individual sounds. They also take each individual sounds and blend them into a words, change the sounds in the words, delete sounds, and compare sounds. For example, “…in the word steak, what is the first sound you hear? What is the vowel combination you hear?  What is the last sound you hear? Children are also taught to recognize and manipulate these sounds.  “…what sound does the ‘ea’ make in the word steak? Say steak. Say steak again but instead of the ‘st’ say ‘br.’-  BREAK!

Every lesson the student learns in Orton-Gillingham is in a structured and orderly fashion. The child is taught a skill and doesn’t progress to the next skill until the current skill is mastered. Orton-Gillingham is extremely repetitive. As the children learn new material, they continue to review old material until it is stored into the child’s long-term memory.

It is like learning a foreign language.

Kids with Dyslexia need more structure and repetition in their reading instruction.  They need to learn basic language sounds and the letters that make them, starting from the very beginning and moving forward in a gradual step by step process. Think of it as if your child is learning a foreign language for the first time. He or she needs to start at the very beginning, learn the pronunciation of each letter in the alphabet as well as all the different spelling and language rules related to the foreign language. This needs to be delivered in a systematic, sequential and cumulative approach. For all of this to “stick” the child will need to do this by using their eyes, ears, voices, and hands.

If you want to learn more about an Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Reading Program click on the video below:

If you enjoyed reading this post, you might also enjoy reading, My child might have Dyslexia… what do I do?

Thank you so much for visiting my Blog today!

Karina Richland, M.A., developed the PRIDE Reading Program, an Orton-Gillingham program for struggling readers, based on her extensive experience working with children with learning differences over the past 30 years.  She has been a teacher, educational consultant and the Executive Director of PRIDE Learning Centers in Southern California.  Please feel free to email her with any questions at info@pridelearningcenter.com.  Visit the PRIDE Reading Program website at https://www.pridereadingprogram.com

Does a child need Phonological Awareness to learn reading?

Does a child need Phonological Awareness to learn reading?

by | Feb 17, 2017 | A PRIDE Post, Phonological Awareness

Learning to read is a gradual and sequential process that is developed with explicit instruction and exposure.  In the late preschool years, children begin the reading process by listening to stories and chanting nursery rhymes so that they can hear the similarities and differences in the sounds of words.  Through this process, the children begin to manipulate and understand sounds in spoken language and proceed by taking the next step of making up rhymes and words on their own.

 

As the children get older, they begin to learn the names of the letters in the alphabet and the different sounds each letter represents.  Subsequently, they begin to write the letters and numbers that they already recognize by their shapes.  Finally, the children associate the letters of the alphabet with the sounds of the words they use when they speak.  At this point, they are on their way to learning to read!

 

The key to the entire reading process is phonological awareness.  This is where a child identifies the different sounds that make words and associates these sounds with written words.  A child cannot learn to read without this skill. In order to learn to read, children must be aware of phonemes.  A phoneme is the smallest functional unit of sound.  For example, the word ‘bench’ contains 4 different phonemes. They are ‘b’ ‘e’ ‘n’ and ‘ch.’

 

Some examples of phonological awareness tasks include:

1. Identifying rhymes –  “Tell me all of the words you know that rhyme with the word BAT.”

2. Segmenting words into smaller units, such as syllables and sounds, by counting them. “How many sounds do you hear in the word CAKE?”

3. Blending separated sounds into words – “What word would we have if we blended these sounds together: /h/ /a/ /t/?”

4. Manipulating sounds in words by adding, deleting or substituting – “In the word LAND, change the /L/ to /B/.”  “What word is left if you take the /H/ away from the word HAT?”

 

Through phonological awareness, children learn to associate sounds and create links to word recognition and decoding skills necessary for reading.  Research clearly shows that phoneme awareness performance is a strong predictor of long- term reading and spelling success.  In fact, according to the International Reading Association, phonemic awareness abilities in kindergarten (or in that age range) appear to be the best single predictor of successful reading acquisition.

 

Learn more about the New PRIDE Reading Program

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Karina Richland is the Founder and Director of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist.   Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications.  You can visit the PRIDE Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

 

 

 

 

Is Your Child on the Right Path to Reading?

Is Your Child on the Right Path to Reading?

by | May 8, 2016 | A PRIDE Post, Reading Skills

 

It is critical to identify a child’s reading problems before he or she fails.  Even some children whom one might suspect do not need early assessment and monitoring should have it just the same.  Some exceptionally bright children, for example, may learn to read early on and just skip over learning phonologic skills.  These children memorize a lot of words very easily and quickly build a large reading vocabulary.  Because these children are simply memorizing words without learning how to analyze them and break them apart, invariably there will come a point in time when they cannot decipher new, relatively long words, especially technical words, as in the sciences (Herbivore, Polynomial, Photosynthesis), or names of people or places in history or around the world (Picasso, Timbuktu, Kathmandu).

 

Without a foundation in phonological skills, these children will not have any strategies to deal with them.  It is therefore best to ensure that all children’s basic phonologic skills are assessed right at the beginning and that they receive early and intensive instruction if necessary.

 

 

Here is a checklist to help you determine where your child is on the path to reading by the end of kindergarten.

 

  • Knows that spoken words come apart and that letters represent these sounds.
  • Easily names the letters of the alphabet, both uppercase and lowercase.
  • Writes the letters of the alphabet.
  • Can sound out the letters of the alphabet – both uppercase and lowercase.
  • Can decode simple sound matches.
  • Can decode simple 3 and 4 letter words.
  • Uses invented spellings.
  • Recognizes some common sight words.
  • Knows about print conventions – reading from left to right, from the top of the page to the bottom.
  • Has a growing vocabulary
  • LOVES to read and looks forward to reading out loud.

 

 

First grade is one of the most important for a child on the road to reading.  This is the crucial year where hopefully your child has broken the reading code.  First grade builds on the foundation provided in kindergarten.  Most children enter first grade ready to read.  They leave first grade as “real readers.”  Keep in mind that these major accomplishments don’t occur by chance; they are only made possible by well -structured and systematic reading instruction.  If your child has the above-mentioned skills, then he or she is off to a running start in reading!

 

Learn more about the New PRIDE Reading Program

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Karina Richland

Karina Richland, M.A. is the Founder and Director of Pride Learning Centers, located in Los Angeles and Orange County.  Ms. Richland is a certified reading and learning disability specialist.   Ms. Richland speaks frequently to parents, teachers, and professionals on learning differences, and writes for several journals and publications.  You can reach her by email at karina@pridelearningcenter.com or visit the Pride Learning Center website at: www.pridelearningcenter.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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