Brighter Futures – November 2020

As promised I am continuing my focus on Dyslexia this month. If you haven’t already been to www.dyslexiadaily.com, I urge to you do so. Liz Dunoon’s article called ‘What is Dyslexia?’ is worth a read.

In this article, she outlines Dr. Sally Shaywitz’s 5 critical components of a reading program that all readers must master. These critical components are in strong alignment with how we teach reading here at Kip McGrath Hunter.

Another article written by Liz called ‘7 Things You Won’t Know About Dyslexia‘ is also worth reading. She shares the story of a very successful Dyslexic young man.

Christine Hawkins
Owner KMEC Hunter

She also mentions many lines of work that Dyslexic people excel in; for example: Scientific Researcher, Medical Professional, Business Entrepreneur and the list goes on.

Here at Kip McGrath Hunter we pride ourselves in being those special someones who are there to help support children and their families in their quest for success.

I also suggest you look up famous Dyslexic people; the list is inspirational. All of these people mention having a special someone: a parent, a teacher or a coach, who truly believed in them and who helped them to develop a passionate interest in an area in which they could find success.

Dyslexia – Helpful Tips and Resources

In addition to direct instruction, the following considerations may assist in school success so don’t be shy to ask your school for some or all of the following:

extended time and/or oral exams;
modification of assignments;
reduced course load;
major course of study in areas of individual strength;
small classes; and
technology aides such as text readers, smartpen, and spelling and grammar checks

For lots of practical hints and tips on things not to say or do, how to foster your child’s social-emotional health, how to help them with their homework and getting organised and many other useful topics, visit the website Tips for Parents and Families of Children with Dyslexia- IDA Hawaii which supplies a downloadable PDF file. The information is in point form so it is easy to read.

At home, you may also find the following websites useful: http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/brain-games.html, http://www.spellingtraining.com/, http://www.freetypinggame.net/ and http://www.roktalk.co.uk/. ROKTalk is a web-based application that allows you to hear any web text read out loud. I haven’t looked into this one in a lot of detail, but it sounds good.

Programs and devices, such as talking word processors, word prediction programs, child-friendly voice recognition, and portable note-taking devices may assist with writing. The following website provides a great list of these devices: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-tools-writing.

Whatever resources you are considering, it is important to give your child options and then decide which systems work best for them.