Dyslexia

Today, the most widely accepted treatment for dyslexia is a multisensory approach. It combines the senses of sight, sound, and touch. The dyslexic learns how words sound and how they look on paper. The student also learns how the mouth moves to form the words and how the hand muscles move when the words are written.

The multisensory approach involves special exercises that help a dyslexic learn. If you are dyslexic, here are some things you might do:

• Say the sound of each letter in the alpha bet. Notice how your mouth, lips, and tongue move to make the sound.
• Listen over and over to letter sounds on tape. Then repeat the sounds yourself.
• Say each sound in a word as you trace its letters with your finger.
• Read a word on a flash card. Then look at a picture next to it that represents the word.
• Listen to a book on tape while following the text.
• Use a white card to block out everything but the sentence you are reading. It can help keep you from being distracted.
• Read a paragraph the first time for the main idea. Read it again for the details.
• Write your own story. Then read it aloud.
• Plan a daily or weekly schedule with the help of a calendar. Get used to organizing your time each day.
• Break down instructions into separate steps. Then follow the steps one at a time. Ask your teachers to help you break down their instructions on paper.