Dyslexics tend to learn more easily when using methods that are based on whole images using real world examples and connecting these images to the abstract skills and concepts that are needed to succeed in a school environment.
Our teaching approach was created when we realized that dyslexic students think in whole concrete images and can have great difficulty with sequential learning and decoding. The sequential learning style typically used in schools particularly when learning reading and spelling is what causes their academic challenges. Their right brained strength of thinking in whole concrete images is what determines the teaching solutions they need for learning.
Making the teacher part of the solution to teaching the dyslexic student begins with understanding that these students think in whole concrete images, not in words and numbers.
Changing whole concrete images into printed words requires a totally different teaching approach for the dyslexic student in which even the obvious learning tasks must be pointed out and demonstrated. This is because dyslexics think in complete wholes and cannot see the parts, represented by words and sentences.
Also these students are intelligent and intuitive which means they can often unexpectedly fill in the blanks in an assignment. This fools teachers and psychologists into thinking the students are doing well enough not to warrant special training that accommodates their needs.
Five important teaching factors that help dyslexics learn:
1. Thinking in concrete images means dyslexics see everything in wholes, for example a whole page of printed words. Using concrete images when teaching dyslexics helps them to see and remember what they're learning.
2. Many dyslexics may not be able to read, spell, write or do mathematics using the traditional methods taught in school to express their thoughts and answers. We can help them to use their visual learning strengths to develop the appropriate skillsets.
3. It is important to help dyslexics learn how to distinguish the individual parts within each whole image. For example, they see a word as one image and have trouble seeing the individual letters that make up the word. You may have found that they can't understand how to spell simple words like "cat". They may be able to spell it out loud or write it down but they can't identify it when looking for it in a sentence or paragraph. This is because they've memorized the word as an image and then they can't see that image in the "whole picture" of a story or paragraph which is also a whole image. This can be really hard to understand for people who are not dyslexic. Until dyslexics can be taught to see individual letters and individual words and know what they represent, they will have difficulty reading material and locating information in any of their schoolwork.
4. Dyslexics have difficulty understanding abstract concepts like numbers, the alphabet, words or parts of words and the sounds attached to them because these concepts not visual and don't easily translate to whole images. There are ways to make abstract concepts more visual for dyslexics like fractions which can be taught to dyslexics by using physical objects that can be manipulated like modeling clay or fruit that can be cut into quarters, halves etc. If you can physically demonstrate an abstract concept, they generally get it and tend not to forget it.
5. Learning to sequence letters, words, numbers, sentences, ideas, lessons and instructions are a major learning issue for dyslexics. They have great difficulty sequencing and decoding. (Decoding is an ability that is essential to learning phonics for example.)