About SLD
Dyslexia and dysgraphia is a neurological disorder that affects the development and structuring of certain parts of brain. It affe FCcts how the brain develops and organizes information. They make it hard for people to understand letters, sounds, and how they fit together. Learning to read and write becomes tricky because many languages use letters and sounds in ways that don't always make sense. A common argument against focusing on logic or phonics in learning to read is that many people learned through rote memorization and succeeded.
While this may be true for neurotypical individuals, dyslexia primarily affect auditory, visual, and spatial processing abilities, leading to difficulties in working memory. Auditory short-term memory records what you’re hearing and is important in both reading and spelling acquisition and can also impact upon memory for verbal instructions. Visual-spatial memory captures what you’re seeing so is also important in reading, particularly for reading comprehension or when reading ‘problems’ such as written math problems.
For individuals with dyslexia, challenges with rote memorization highlight the importance of logical thinking and clear, step-by-step phonics instruction. Addressing auditory processing issues affecting phonics retention and visual-spatial processing issues impacting rote memory is key.
That is why only practicing reading every day might not help and you need to address the core issues rather than fixating on spellings and handwriting.
Solutions involve incorporating exercises to enhance directional awareness, auditory skills, rhythm comprehension, and spatial navigation to rewire the brain's understanding of direction and tackle challenging situations effectively. These exercises should involve children using multiple senses. They need to learn how to use their hearing, sight, and sense of touch together. These activities might not seem like traditional educational activities, but they're crucial for learning how to sound out words(decode a word) and write letters correctly.
Using a dyslexia-friendly font can be less confusing for individuals with dyslexia compared to traditional print script or cursive handwriting. Given this, it doesn't make sense to impose unnecessary pressure on individuals to improve their handwriting when a more accessible option exists. It's important to prioritize clarity and understanding over adherence to traditional handwriting styles, especially when accommodating individuals with specific learning differences like dyslexia. Using dyslexia-friendly fonts can help alleviate unnecessary challenges and support better communication and comprehension.
Advocate for your child
SLD (Specific Learning Disability) is acknowledged as a disability, and the government offers several accommodations for it. These include disregarding spelling errors, granting extra time, and not focusing too much on handwriting. While these accommodations are typically available for students in 10th and 12th grades, it would be beneficial if children from 1st grade could also benefit from them. Both parents and schools need to collaborate to support children's progress without placing undue pressure on them.