The invisible disability

Dyslexia Friendly Schools

/2023-1-ES01-KA210-SCH-000150542/

Daniela Boneva

Dyslexia Association - Bulgaria

Slatina, Romania –22nd April 2024

Let’s start with some questions?

When did you first hear about dyslexia?

Under what circumstances?

What do you know about dyslexia?

Have you ever had a student with dyslexia?

You may never had a student officially diagnosed with dyslexia?

But you definitely have had students with reading and writing difficulties

What manifestations you have observed in the classroom?

All these difficulties your students experience

might be due to dyslexia

Have you ever been trained to recognise dyslexia?

It is time to learn more about this condition, as between 8 and 15 % of world population have dyslexia

It means that in each class there are students with dyslexia, even if they are not officially diagnosed

Brief historical overview

Initially our brain was not design to read and write

For many centuries people perceive the world only through seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting and … doing

Adults were teaching children how to look for food, how to build homes, how to treat animals’ skins, how to cultivate land ...

and were telling them stories about the past, about their ancestors, about glorious victories, about disasters ...

But then it came a time when the accumulated information and knowledge became so much that it was impossible to store it only in one’s memory and to orally pass it on from generation to generation ...

That is when the literacy era began ...

But the mankind needed many more centuries until the reading and writing became a must…

When it happened (at the beginning of XXth century), people started to notice that for some children learning to read and write is a real challenge.

And the research began.

1877

timeline

Adolph Kussmaul, a Professor of Medicine at Strassburg, was the first to identify the kind of difficulties, that prevent people of learning to read and write. He called the condition “word blindness”.

Rudolf Berlin, a German ophthalmologist and professor from Stuttgart coined the term “dyslexia”, from Greek words “dys” (meaning “without”) and “lexis” (meaning “words”)

1877

timeline

1881

British physician W. Pringle Morgan published a case study about a boy who had severe reading difficulties. It was the first documented case of dyslexia.

1917

Samuel T. Orton, a neuropathologist from the State University of Iowa, presented his first paper on word-blindness, according to which the roots of reading disability could be located in the angular gyrus and reading disorders might be due to a lack of cerebral dominance.

1917

1925

Researchers discovered that dyslexia is not related to vision problems but rather to difficulties in processing language. This finding shifted the focus from ophthalmology to psychology and neuroscience.

1960s

The concept of dyslexia expanded to include not only difficulties with reading but also with writing and spelling.

Some specialised teaching methods and interventions were developed.

1960s

1970s

Start of modern research and advocacy (in the UK), which resulted in recognition of the condition by the government and protection for people with dyslexia under legislation.

1960s

1970s

2000s

The final report of the Rose Review, appointed by the government as an independent group ‘to make recommendations on the identification and teaching of children with dyslexia’ was presented in the British Parliament.

1960s

1970s

2000s

2009

The final report of the Rose Review, appointed by the government as an independent group ‘to make recommendations on the identification and teaching of children with dyslexia’ was presented in the British Parliament.

1960s

1970s

2000s

2009

In recent years, advancements in brain imaging technology have provided further insights into the neurological basis of dyslexia. Studies have shown that individuals with dyslexia have differences in brain structure and function, particularly in areas related to language processing and phonological awareness.

Let’s summarise:

Dyslexia is…

• Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin.
• It is a lifelong condition, often inherited.
• It affects the way the brain decodes and processes both reading and language. Most people with dyslexia have average or above-average intelligence and normal vision. Some of the challenges a person with dyslexia might have are the ability to read, spell, define, and pronounce words, learn a foreign language, and solve mathematical equations.
• It impacts 10-20% of the global population, meaning more than 1 billion people worldwide.

Dyslexia is not…

• Dyslexia is not a disease and cannot be cured.
• Dyslexia is not a vision problem
• Dyslexia does not affect intelligence
• Dyslexia does not affect only learning skills

For more than a century, scientists have been trying to explain the causes of dyslexia…,

while teachers, professionals and parents have been looking for ways to help children overcome difficulties caused by the condition.

​

Reading and writing are some of the most complex processes that the human brain has to master.

At the same time Reading and Writing are some of the most important, useful and needed skills for any human being.

At first

we learn to read,

then

the whole our life

we read to learn

Let’s make a step back

During the first months after the birth, a baby perceives the environment through his senses: mainly through sounds, smell, touches.

The baby recognises mom’s voice and voice of people who were around even before the baby was born, so their voices sound familiar.

The baby learns to recognize and react to the intonation, not to the meaning of words.

The second sense baby learns to use actively to perceive the world around is vision. With the time the child will be able to see further and clearer.

The baby will start reach to the movement of objects and to try following the movement with his eyes.

Babies are very responsible to touching, that’s why it is important to hug them a lot.

Babies like to touch everything and put everything into their mouth – this is their way to explore the world and things.

Using sight, hearing and tactile sensations is the natural way to explore the world and learn basic skills.

Understanding the meaning of words and using words as a tool to communicate one’s needs and thoughts, and ideas come much later in person’s life.

There are two main ways of thinking:

Verbal (with the meaning of words)

Non-Verbal

(with images)

dog

By the age of 5 most of the children think mainly in images. This is the age when the passive an active vocabulary of children dramatically increase and they are ready to “move” to verbal thinking.

But there is a certain percentage of children that can not make this step from one to another way of thinking.

Most of them will turn to be dyslexic.

Some definitions

“Dyslexia is one of several distinct learning disabilities. It is a specific language-based disorder of constitutional origin characterized by difficulties in single word decoding, usually reflecting insufficient phonological processing. These difficulties in single word decoding are often unexpected in relation to age and other cognitive and academic abilities; they are not the result of generalized developmental disability or sensory impairment. Dyslexia is manifest by variable difficulty with different forms of language, often including, in addition to problems with reading, a conspicuous problem with acquiring proficiency in writing and spelling” 

Orton Dyslexia Society (1994)

Some definitions

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

International Dyslexia Association (2002)

Some definitions

“Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities. 

British Dyslexia Association (2009)

Differences in understanding dyslexia

• In some countries (e.g. the USA and Australia) dyslexia is defined as Learning Disability
• In other countries (e.g. the UK) it is considered Learning Difficulty (clear distinction is made between the concepts “learning disability” and “learning difficulty”)

• In some countries dyslexia includes only reading difficulties
• In other countries it includes also difficulties with writing and spelling (although terms “dysgraphia” and/or “dysorthographia” are also in use…

Don’t be wrong!

Wrong assumptions about dyslexia

• Dyslexia can be “outgrown”
• Dyslexia can’t be diagnosed before the child is in third grade
• There are more boys than girls with dyslexia
• Dyslexic children are lazy and immature
• People with dyslexia will never read well and write correctly
• ​

Invisible disability? Why?

Why dyslexia is called “invisible disability”?

• Physically and mentally healthy;
• Considerable discrepancy between potential and results;
• Apparent intelligence and inability to master seemingly easy skills such as reading and writing;
• Might be highly skilled (talented) in other areas – 2E;
• Creative thinking (out of the box); problem solving; imagination…

Another step back

SUPPORTING CHILDREN AT RISK OF DYSLEXIA AT THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM PRE-PRIMARY TO PRIMARY 2019-1-ES01-KA201-065691

​

At first

we learn to read,

then

the whole our life

we read to learn

Every child, in order to learn to read, must pass through a series of successive steps deployed in time.

At every stage he has to acquire a new skill which would facilitate him in achieving the ultimate goal associated not only with formal recognition of letters and words, but with consolidation of the ability to understand and interpret the information he is reading.

We succeeded to teach a child to read if:

• He reads independently, correctly, and without effort;
• Understands the text;
• Can extract information;
• Can compare the new information with the previous knowledge;
• Can apply the new knowledge in every day life.

• What is reading?
• How it happens?
• What should we know about the process of reading acquisition?

Reading is one of the most complex skills a person needs to acquire during his life-time, and usually at early age.

Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation.

Have you ever considered what your brain must do to process a printed word?

No matter if it is your native language or a foreign one!

• First your eyes need to perceive each symbol (letter) one by one
• Each time sending information to the brain
• Brain needs to recognize the symbols comparing it to the previously stored information (knowledge of letters)
• Each recognized symbol is stored in the short-term memory until the next piece of information “comes”
• It continues until all symbols (letters) in a word are perceived, recognized and stored

• The next step is your brain to recognize the perceived (and stored) sequence of symbols (letters) as a pattern;
• To convert the image of the written pattern (word) into a sound;
• To search and to find in its semantic memory storage this pattern and sound so to match them to the meaning

[ di ]

dog =

This whole process must occur in the blink of an eye, just a few hundred milliseconds, for you to fluidly read a written word

But what is you have dyslexia?

Why it happens?

Risk of Dyslexia

There are some signs in the period before the official start of the literacy acquisition process that may be noticed and that put the child at a significant risk of dyslexia.

How to recognise Dyslexia?

Symptoms?

Early markers – pre-school age

• Delayed speech development;
• Difficulty to define sounds in a word (including the first and the last sound);
• Difficulty in remembering the name of the letters;
• Difficulties following instructions, understanding questions or morals in a story;
• Poor balance and coordination (including eye-hand coordination);
• Problems with spatial and time orientation;
• Difficulty to sustain concentration, easily distractive

School age - General

• A discrepancy between a child's apparent intelligence and his or her school performance and academic achievements;
• The child has difficulty holding attention; and often is considered hyperactive or a daydreamer;
• Has difficulty to complete a task, needs more time and/or instructions;
• excellent memory for experiences, places, and persons; and poor memory for sequences, facts, and information;
• extremely disorganized, often lose or have difficulty finding their belongings;
• have a strong sense of justice and good intuition.

​

School age - Reading

• Reads slowly; many fault-starts; big pauses; doesn’t respect punctuation;
• Tries to guess the words instead of decoding them
• Many specific mistakes - omits or inserts letters or small words; changes the end of words
• Reads the same text several times with very little or no improvement; each time may make different mistakes;
• the level of reading comprehension is low; listening comprehension is considerably higher;

School age - Writing

• Dictations are a big challenge
• A lot of spelling mistakes
• difficult-to-read handwriting; lack of capital letters and punctuation marks;
• poor organization of the written production on the page;
• difficulty to put thoughts and ideas in writing; limited vocabulary;
• better results in oral examinations than in written tests.

School age - Maths

• can replace similarly looking digits like 6 and 9; or write reversed numbers (e.g. 52 instead of 25); can perform addition when it is necessary to do subtraction;
• difficulties in solving word problems;
• difficulties in performing arithmetic operations in the correct order;
• difficulties in memorizing the multiplication tables, formulas, and concepts, and to operate with them;
• may have difficulties to deal with money;

School age - More

• Difficulties in organizing and planning activities;
• Difficulties telling time and time management;
• May have underdeveloped social and communication skills;
• Low self-esteem and self-confidence;
• Emotional and behavioural problems.

But also…

• Creative – thinking out-of-the-frame;
• Good problem-solving skills;
• May be good at sports, art, and music (not note-reading though);
• 3D-thinking ability which – if developed and supported can turn them into very successful engineers, architects, designers

What is necessary?

• Work towards improving child’s vocabulary;
• Provide different opportunities for learning;
• If you are a parent – look for specialised help;
• If you are a teacher – find out which is the most effective learning style of the child, and adapt your teaching style to it;
• Focus on the progress of the child, not at the absolute results.

Comorbidity

• Around 60% of those with dyslexia have at least one other learning disorder;
• Dysgraphia – between 30 and 47% (Chung et al., 2020)
• ADHD - between 25 and 40% (McGrath & Stoodley, 2019);
• Dyscalculia – around 26% (Ashraf & Najam, 2020)
• Developmental language disorder – 58%;
• Around 50% of those with dyspraxia have also dyslexia

A key for success

Can a dyslexic be successful?

What is necessary?

• Prerequisites for developing good study skills – parents need to observe the child’s development closely, be careful about early signs for possible difficulties, skills should be developed explicitly;
• Early identification - a long wait can be disastrous for the child;
• Define the areas in which the child is good and encourage him/her to develop their strengths;
• Provide understanding and supportive environment.

What is necessary?

• Work towards improving child’s vocabulary;
• Provide different opportunities for learning;
• If you are a parent – look for specialised help;
• If you are a teacher – find out which is the most effective learning style of the child, and adapt your teaching style to it;
• Focus on the progress of the child, not at the absolute results.

DAP: DYSLEXIA ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL

https://hidrive.ionos.com/share/cotnh0.12v#$/Public

DAP - structure

7 areas of assessment:

• auditory memory
• visual memory
• visual-spatial memory
• phonological skills
• spatial orientation
• time orientation
• decoding/reading

Questionnaires for teachers and parents

A Help Book with exercises for each area

AUDITORY MEMORY

• the child hears several words (the number depends on the child's age), then sees several pictures (the number is greater than the number of words heard); the child must point to the pictures that correspond to the words he has memorized

VISUAL MEMORY

• The child sees 7 pictures and should try to remember what is depicted and in what order the pictures are.

• The child's task is to find among the 12 pictures the ones he saw at the beginning and arrange them in the same sequence.

VISUAL-SPATIAL MEMORY

• the child is shown shapes (of increasing complexity).

• The child has to find among the four similar shapes the one which is identical to the one shown at the beginning.

PHONOLOGICAL SKILLS

• Defining the initial sound in a word

• Defining the sequence of letters in a word (spelling)

• Defining the number of syllables in a word

SPATIAL ORIENTATION

• Ex. 1: Place in correct position (in/on/behind…)

• Ex. 2: According to the instruction, the child must determine the number of objects pointing in a certain direction

• Ex. 3: Graph dictation

SPATIAL ORIENTATION

• Ex. 4: Place the objects at correct place

• Ex. 5: Place the objects in correct order – logical thinking is also tested here

TIME ORIENTATION

• Ex. 1: Reading the clock (three levels of difficulty according to the child’s age);
• Ex. 2: Days of the week and months of the year and their sequence (only for 1^st and 2^nd grade pupils)

• Ex. 3: The child hears a sentence and has to arrange 2 or 3 pictures depicting different actions in the order in which those actions happened.

decoding / reading

• For children at the beginning of the literacy process: there are several pictures and words on the screen; the child has to "match" the word with the picture

• For 1st and 2nd grade pupils – to check :
• Reading technique (individual words with increasing difficulty; and pseudo words)
• Reading comprehension (a short text and questions on the text)

E-Dys-Learn:�Improving Teaching Competency of Pre-Service Primary School Teachers on Learning Disabilities

/2020-1-BG01-KA203-079118/

https://www.edyslearn.com

• Lecturer Handbook: can be downloaded as a pdf file
• Part 1 – About Learning Disabilities – concepts, causes, early identifications, tips for teachers
• Part 2 – Use of Technologies to help students with specific learning DYS-abilities

• E-Learning Course: beside the theoretical knowledge were presented 11 Applications and provided step-by-step instructions on how to use them to prepare educational materials.

* Registration is required

CoTIC:�Collaborative Teaching�in the Inclusive Classroom

/2021-1-BG01-KA220-SCH-000031633/

https://inclusiveclassroom.co

Screening Tool

• Component 1: for identification of the level of development of pupils’ study skills at the end of the 1st grade

• Component 2: A set of 7 individual tests to assess the development in key areas:
• PERCEPTIONS
• MEMORY
• ATTENTION
• PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS
• SPATIAL AND TIME ORIENTATION
• THINKING
• READING

e-learning course

• Four modules:
• Inclusive Education – Principles and Benefits
• Collaborative Teaching – Models and Strategies
• COTIC Assessment Tool
• How to help

COTIC - e-learning platform: Log in to the site (rta.lv)

Help Book

• If you don’t want to take the course, but still would like to use some resources, you can download the Help Book. It contains:
• two theoretical chapters (similar to Modules 1 and 2 of the course)
• all worksheets developed by the project teams (more than 160) – covering the school programme for 2^nd grade in Maths, Science, English and first language)

​

• Link to the English version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z9qDiZDA8yX0SpZGg6r1R7be3W2_jCaX/view?usp=share_link

TutoDYS project

/2020-1-FR01-KA220-080623/

https://tutodys.eu

Fields:

• Three modules

• Module 1

• Module 2

• Module 3

Literacy

General Knowledge

STEM

Fields:

• M1: Literacy

• M2: STEM

• M3: General Knowledge

Reading

Writing

Speaking

Math

Science

History

Geography

English

• In each section 18 learning paths: 3 for each grade

divided into Basic, Intermediate and Advanced level of difficulty

• In each learning path between 8 and 15 exercises
• Which means more than 200 exercises per section, or more than 1500 exercises altogether.

Content:

for your attention!