Treatments & Support Systems for People with Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that makes linguistics harder to master. We know that dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence, but it can still make learning a challenge for children and adults.

There is no one treatment for dyslexia, because of its genetic basis, and every dyslexic person faces different challenges. Personalised learning assistance, therapy and emotional support make dyslexia easier to handle.

People with dyslexia learn reading, writing and speaking differently. Because mainstream education is based around non-dyslexic learning, it can take some time to work out how best to teach different children with dyslexia.

As well as extra time working out how to learn, learning itself can take longer for people with dyslexia. Sometimes, the way that a dyslexic brain memorises and picks up new linguistic skills is a longer process than it is for others.

So, to wrap up our focus on dyslexia, here are some of the ways that adults and children with the diagnosis can accelerate learning.

Learning assistance

Children with dyslexia can complete school easily, but they might need additional support. Often, people with dyslexia learn differently from others, so matching that with a teaching style can be very helpful.

Sometimes, that means extra training on word structure; sometimes, that means extra practice understanding passages. Research on dyslexia interventions has developed suggestions for extra training, including:

·         Phoneme awareness

·         Linking letter and phonemes

·         Letter sounds

·         Comprehension

·         Oral language skills

·         Reading practise

Dyslexia experts recognise that the disorder’s variability means that one size does not fit all with learning assistance programmes. Your school or an educational psychologist will be able to also recommend the “diet” of interventions that are best for you.

Whatever the training covers, research agrees that it should be “systematic, well-structured and multi-sensory”. That means children should be taught in a variety of ways – using visual, audio and kinaesthetic stimuli, but every method should be quality.

The Department for Education in South Australia has some useful learning resources for children with dyslexia.

Learning assistance for dyslexia include Phoneme awareness, Linking letter and phonemes, Letter sounds, Comprehension, Oral language skills and Reading practise

Support Systems

Children with dyslexia are often in an environment that can support them simply by being at school. Adults with dyslexia don’t automatically have that, so it is normal to feel confused about where to go for general support.

The Australian Dyslexia Society have a list of dyslexia support groups that parents and teachers have found useful. Finding a support group in your local area is a great way to lessen the burden by sharing your experience with other adults with dyslexia.

As well as casual support systems, you might find it useful to see a therapist. Therapy is supplementary as dyslexia is not a mental health disorder, but sometimes anxiety and depression are related to a new diagnosis of any type – especially in adulthood.

Therapy for anxiety and depression – or any other worries that you want to talk through with a professional – are usually based around cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

CBT involves examining the way you think about and respond to situations and changing your behaviour to make these more positive. It is useful for everyone – even if you don’t think you have any mental health problems at all!

CBT involves examining our beliefs and changing them to improve our thoughts and behaviour.

Living with dyslexia

A new dyslexia diagnosis is in no way life-changing or dramatic, but it can be confusing, especially for an adult. It is such a common learning disorder that treatments and support systems are established and well-developed.

For children, schools are now much better at identifying the first signs of dyslexia, meaning children can get the learning support that they need.

As well as additional learning and therapy, finding other people with dyslexia of your child’s age or in your local area can help. Having friends in a similar situation to you allows you to share resources and offer and receive the peer support that a professional cannot provide.

If you think you or your child might be dyslexic, reach out to your doctor who can refer you to the appropriate specialist.

Felicity Thompson

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