5.1 Introduction
Most people associate dyslexia
with reading but the truth is that those with this condition tend to also have
difficulties with writing and spelling.
It is assumed by most people that
the ability to spell and write follows a series of developmental stages that
are based on biology. However, writing is a human creation - it is not part of
the development of our brains - and therefore is not something that we are born
knowing or understanding.
The philosophy that the brain can
automatically learn this is also skewed, as it expects that children can learn
to spell for themselves. However, this does not work, as there is no correction
when things go wrong. Thus, it is highly unlikely that children can learn to
spell with accuracy. Instead, when they practise, they learn these errors again
and again and this only produces a poor quality of writing.
This module will focus on the
ways of writing and spelling that can work for those who are dyslexic and why
those with this condition have such difficulty with something that comes rather
easily to many people.
5.2 Dyslexia and Writing
As you know at this point in the
course, dyslexia is a condition that is categorised as a language-based
learning disorder or disability and, because of this, it can often, although
not always, impact the way an individual writes.
With most people with dyslexia,
you will find a great discrepancy between what they can communicate to others
verbally and what they can write down on paper. Frequent spelling errors are
the norm, but there are other ways in which dyslexia can affect writing skills.
These include:
Writing long essays as a single
paragraph that contains multiple run-on sentences;
Using very little punctuation or
not capitalising the first word of a sentence;
No spacing between words or
spacing that is odd or irregular;
Attempting to cram information
onto a page rather than spread the information out;
Signs of dysgraphia, a similar
condition to dyslexia, which include having handwriting that is illegible and
taking too long to form letters when writing.
Individuals who have dyslexia put
so much time and effort into writing their words that the meaning of these
words can be lost. To make things more difficult for these people, they often
have problems writing paragraphs, sequencing, and organising their information.
This makes writing reports and essays frustrating and time-consuming. The
writing of people with dyslexia might jump around, with no obvious order.
However, since not all individuals who have dyslexia have the same symptoms,
difficulties with writing can be hard to spot. Some people might only have
minor problems, such as a misplaced sentence here and there, but others'
written work is impossible for a reader to understand.
Grammar and Conventions When
Writing
Individuals who have dyslexia put
a lot of effort into studying each word that they come across and then attempt
to understand the meaning behind those words. Because of this, grammar and
other writing conventions do not often seem to be important to them and this is
often apparent in their writing. Without proper grammar, the writing does not
make sense.
To combat this, teachers will
often take some extra time to teach dyslexic individuals grammar skills which
include standard punctuation, sentence fragments, run-on sentences and
capitalisation.
Although dyslexic individuals may
struggle with these aspects, focusing on the rules of grammar can certainly
help, and it is best to teach these students one or two grammar rules at a
time. This helps them to master their skills and practise before moving on to
learn other skills. It can also help for students who have this issue to be
graded on content instead of grammar.
For example
Many teachers will make certain
allowances for dyslexic students, as long as they understand what is written,
even if there are grammatical or spelling errors. These students might also
find more success when using grammar or spelling checkers; however, many of
these errors might not be picked up by a spell checker, as some words are
actually spelt correctly, they are just not the appropriate words. At other
times, these writers will place words in inappropriate places in the sentence,
and, again, these will not be picked up by a spell checker. However, there are
specific programs, such as Co:Writer, which are specifically made for dyslexic
students.
Sequencing
It is quite common for people
with dyslexia to show issues with sequencing when learning to read. This is
often when parents notice that children could be dyslexic. Sequencing means
that the individual places letters in the wrong place when writing words.
For instance
Writing 'rihgt' instead of
'right'. Those individuals who have issues with sequencing may also mix up the
order of events when writing a story. Even when writing papers, a student must
organise the information they are trying to convey into a logical sequence, so
that it makes sense to others. Think of it like this: if you asked a student
with sequencing issues to tell a story verbally, you could usually follow the
story, as they do not tend to have issues verbally. However, when you ask the
same student to write the story down, they would write something that is
jumbled and senseless; something that is difficult to follow. Some teachers
suggest speech to text software for those who have sequencing issues, and, in
some cases, it is appropriate for family members or friends to transcribe for
the individual.
Dysgraphia
Though technically not dyslexia,
dysgraphia is a disorder that affects the way a person expresses themselves in
writing. This disorder often accompanies dyslexia and individuals affected by
it have poor, illegible handwriting, sequencing issues, grammar issues and spelling
errors. Where it differs from dyslexia is that those with dysgraphia often use
letters of a different size, type, such as print versus cursive, or letters
that are slanted differently throughout the written piece. These people also
tend to have unusual grips when they hold a pencil or pen. These students have
the potential to write neatly, but it takes significant effort and a lot of
time, as they have to take extra time to form every letter and, because of
this, they cannot process what they are writing.
Regardless of the reason why a
person has issues with their writing, teachers can often help them to improve
their skills by working together to not only edit the writing they do but to
also make corrections.
For instance
A school-aged child with dyslexia
that affects their writing should read each paragraph out loud with a teacher
or other assistant and discuss the missed grammar, fix any spelling errors and
talk about sequencing errors. This interaction allows the student to understand
the mistakes in their work as, in most cases, when simply reading it, the
student will only read what they meant to write.
FACT
For children with dyslexia, it is
recommended that they learn to write in continuous cursive. The reason this
works is because a child's hands develop a 'physical memory' of it, making it
easier to produce the correct shape.
Source: British Dyslexia
Association
5.3 Spelling Issues with Dyslexia
Spelling is a difficult task for many people,
but those with dyslexia find it more difficult.
There is not a lot of research on
spelling, or at least not as much as there is on reading issues. This is
basically because there is no test that is given to all students to test
spelling, and, although a student may have spelling tests in school, the test
is not universal.
However, almost everyone with
dyslexia struggles with spelling, and they face a number of obstacles in
learning to deal with this learning disability. The actual definition of
dyslexia states that those with the condition have 'conspicuous problems' with
writing and spelling, although they are generally capable in other areas of
learning. Most people with dyslexia do learn to read well after several years
of intervention, but these 'conspicuous problems' with spelling tend to last
throughout their lifetime.
What Causes Problems with
Spelling?
One of the most common, but
incorrect, beliefs about spelling issues is that it stems from a poor memory
for sequences. However, recent research has shown that visual memory plays only
a very minor role in the learning process of spelling.
Spelling issues actually
originate from weaknesses in learning languages. Therefore, the common mistakes
that these people make, such as confusing similar looking letters, such as 'd'
and 'b', or mixing up letters, such as 'lfet' for 'left', are actually manifestations
of a weakness in learning languages, as opposed to a visual memory issue.
Most people know others who have
excellent visual memory and can remember pictures, maps, colour schemes or
design elements, but they spell rather poorly. This is further evidence that
issues with spelling cannot be connected to visual memory.
Those who have trouble spelling
often have issues remembering which letters are in a particular word because
they have difficulty remembering or noticing the features of language and what
each letter represents. It is common for poor spellers to also have other
weaknesses in their language skills, such as the ability to remember or analyse
sounds in language.
Specifically, they have issues
with syllables such as 'mem', 'la' and 'pos'. These are generally noticed in
both the written and spoken communication of these individuals. As with other
characteristics of dyslexia, the ability to spell is also inherited. Some
people are naturally better at spelling than others, but, even those who are
poor spellers can improve with proper instruction.
Diagnosing Spelling Issues
If a person is suspected of
having dyslexia, and they are young enough, such as between four and six years
old, there are tests that can be done, to find out if they can differentiate
between phonemes and the names of each letter. These tests can not only predict
future problems with spelling, they can also predict future reading issues.
If students struggle to remember
how to spell words, a standardised test to measure their level of understanding
should be given, to see how serious the issue is. On top of this, a spelling
diagnostic exam should be given, so that educators can identify the sounds,
meaningful parts or syllable patterns that the student does not remember or
understand.
This type of exam will allow
teachers to find out exactly which vowels, consonants, syllables and words that
the student struggles with, and the student should also be tested on their
knowledge of commonly used words, as some specifically struggle with these yet
do not have difficulty with unique words.
5.4 How Are Children Taught to Spell?
To fully understand how spelling
disabilities work, it is essential to understand how a child learns to spell.
Generally, a child learns their
letters in their nursery or pre-school. These students tend to learn as a
group, and this pace might be too quick for some students, especially if they
are having difficulties with spelling. However, research has shown that the
process of learning to spell is much easier for everyone, if the instructions
are structured and systematic.
The process of teaching spelling
generally focuses on the whole word, but this is done when children understand
that all words are made up of one or more different speech sounds, and that the
letters represent the sounds. As children begin to grasp these concepts, those
who are typical spellers notice that there are patterns in the way in which the
letters come together, and they will also notice that these patterns form word
endings, syllables, prefixes, roots and suffixes. Once children have a sense of
this, they will begin recalling words more easily and forming words much more
quickly. However, those individuals with dyslexia will often be unable to do
this.
5.5 The English Spelling System
When compared to other languages,
the English spelling system is not unpredictable or crazy, and it can be
introduced to learners in a way that makes sense.
Approximately 50% of all English words
are predictable, such as pitch, slap and boy, based on the relationship of the
sound to the letter. In addition, approximately 37% of the most common words in
the English language are almost predictable, but there is one sound that does
not quite fit, such as knit.
Other information, such as the
origin of the word, such as Latin, Old English, French, or Greek, along with
the meaning of the word, also helps people to spell words.In fact, only about
4% of words in the English language are truly irregular. This means that they
have to be learnt in other ways, such as memorisation or tracing.Thus, it is
possible for almost everyone to learn the spelling system, even those who have
great difficulty with it, but they will not completely master it because, as
previously mentioned, spelling issues often last a lifetime.
5.6 The Implications for Teaching
In order to be effective,
spelling instruction should explore word origin, structure and meaning,
although those individuals with dyslexia may still struggle.
Instructors can encourage them by
suggesting memorisation. One way to do this is to ask a student to close their
eyes and imagine the word. Another method is to ask them to write a word
multiple times, until they memorise how to spell it. Keep in mind, however,
that those who have learnt that there is a connection between the sound of the
word and the letters of the word are better at remembering the whole word. When
spelling is taught in the classroom, the instruction should be delivered in order
to teach the regular spelling patterns that are used universally.
As children move up in school,
the spelling instruction should complement and follow the specific rules as
they learn to read. When a child is engaged in a spelling lesson, they should
be able to read the words, and most students can read more words than they can
spell, as so many words are predictable. Children should be able to understand
how sounds and letters combine to form words, before attempting to learn
anything else, which is why many people with dyslexia struggle.
Generally, a student should learn
like this:
Firstly, they should be able to
take the sounds of the words apart verbally, into their specific syllables.
Secondly, they should recall the letters that make the sounds, i.e. 'ah' would
be 'a'. Thirdly, the child should be taught the basic types of syllables in the
English language because these syllables represent sounds in a predictable way.
At this point, students are taught rules, such as how to add endings to words,
when to double letters when spelling, when a 'y' changes to an 'i' and when
silent letters, such as 'e', are dropped.
As children learn more over the
years, they will learn about irregular words and this should be practised
regularly. These include words such as they, who, and come. It can help to
trace and say the letters at the same time or copy written sentences to learn
these words. Using letter tiles to create words can also help. Students with
dyslexia might only be able to handle a few new words at once, and they might
need time to practise before they can write and spell them accurately.
Supervision and assistance from a
teacher can also help a student remember words. As these words are learnt,
students should then practise using exercises to build up their fluency. Some
experts have had great results by having dyslexic students identify their own
spelling issues, as, once they can identify these issues, they will know where
to focus their efforts.
It is important for students to
learn how to spell words for general writing and not just to pass spelling
tests. Some students have a difficult time making the transition from spelling
a word to actually writing full sentences and paragraphs. Some may also rely on
spell checkers, which can be effective but only after a child already has an
understanding of basic spelling, which generally does not occur until about
year five.
Conclusion
Writing and spelling skills can
both be affected by dyslexia, but there are ways in which both of these skills
can be enhanced, even if the individual struggles.By understanding the severity
of the individual's issues with writing or spelling, which is usually
discovered by taking exams and a series of tests, a treatment plan, which will
involve specific intervention through the school, can work to improve the way
they write and spell. Spelling and writing do not have to be difficult, even
though many individuals struggle with these skills.
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