Many parents ask the important question: Should my child attend a regular school? Or should they be sent to a school that caters to students with special learning needs? It is important to remember that there is no correct or wrong answer. Because no two dyslexic children will be the same, and there will never be a single solution that works for everyone.
School Dyslexia
All school programs that support children with dyslexia must aim to prepare them for success. This includes teaching coping strategies and providing accommodations for students with learning disabilities. However, it also recognizes a student’s potential and provides opportunities to enhance them. Dyslexia may impact a student in many different ways.
Is Dyslexia A Disability?
It is possible to learn a lot from a school’s approach toward learning differences through their language when raising awareness among students, staff, and the public.
Dyslexia can still be called a disability. However, schools, agencies, and universities have adopted the learning challenge term and the learning distinction terms, which have slightly differing meanings. A disability suggests that someone is less competent than others. A learning challenge indicates that some obstacles can be overcome. A specific learning difficulty refers to the child being non-neurotypical. Learn more in this article about learning difficulties.
Things to Consider when Searching for a School
Teacher Qualifications
Although dyslexic students can be extremely smart, they may also have trouble with comprehension, copying, and keeping track of information in their short-term memory. This can be a problem in school and requires a different approach to dyslexia education. It’s helpful to have staff trained in dyslexia-related remediation. They can empathize with students and adapt their lesson delivery accordingly. Printing handouts using a dyslexia-friendly font may be possible. This includes being aware of how not to make a child feel pressured when reading out loud to the class or having them take turns writing on paper.
Teacher Training
Many teachers have not been trained to work with dyslexic learners. Teachers should also be trained regularly to stay abreast of new research findings and their implications in the classroom. In some cases, local dyslexia groups can subsidize the costs of such training.
A school with many students may find it easier to disappear into the background than to draw attention to any skills lacking. Teachers must also be more flexible in teaching methods and adapt to the learners’ needs.
Assessment Policies
A dyslexic child might understand a topic well and be able to deliver an excellent oral presentation. However, this knowledge will only sometimes translate to a written essay. Do you expect your child to be evaluated in such a way as to allow them access to acquired knowledge? In certain cases, work can be submitted in audio format if there has been an assessment of your child’s dyslexic ability. Are there any time limitations for standardized school exams? Or can written responses be done using a word processor and computer? If needed, the student can dictate answers to an editor.
Read Academy employs a structured program for phonics so that students can develop decoding and sight reading skills while they progress through the course. The course automates spelling by codifying it as a sequence of muscle movements. The course is designed so that students feel confident as learners and have higher self-esteem.