MNEMONIC TECHNIQUES

As I have mentioned in other dyslexia blog articles dyslexic children often have problems with memory. As your child progresses through school they will be required to know more and more facts… Mnemonics ( memory aides) are useful devices that can be used to help children remember information that they need to know…

ACRONYMS

Take the first letter of each item you are trying to remember, then re-arrange the letters so that the acronym makes a new word. This is particularly useful when remembering words in a specified order. Remember that mnemonics are useful for rote memory, but do not aid comprehension. They also can be difficult to form in some cases…

The order of operations : BEDMAS – The sequence in which you tackle any maths problem with multiple calculations.

Brackets
Exponents
Division
Multiplication
Addition
Subtraction

ACROSTICS

Use the first letter of each word you are trying to remember. Instead of making a new word, though, you use the letters to make a sentence. Here are some examples:

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets (Planets)

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto

Eat An Aspirin After A Nighttime Snack ( Continents )

Europe
Antarctica
Asia
Africa
Australia
North America
South America

See David Wilson’s site – special Educational Needs.com for more examples…

http://www.specialeducationalneeds.com/

After go to : Subject to recall : memory activities across the curriculum

MUSIC

Songs and rhymes can all aid memory. You could teach your child for example ; the months of the year/ alphabet etc by using a tune you both know well and adapting the words..

CHUNKING

This is a good technique to use to help remember numbers.
The brain prefers information to be broken down into small chunks. The mind can hold about six (plus or minus three) pieces of information consciously at any one time – three to nine pieces.
In remembering the number string 3235877865 , instead of remembering each number individually you break the number into chunks.

eg 323 587 78 65


Dyslexic children will often struggle with spelling words correctly. Spelling mnemonics can be used to help teach children difficult spellings such as:

Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants. (BECAUSE)
A real friend is there till the end ( FRIEND)

There is a really good powerpoint presentation from ICTeachers site about mnemonics which gives lots of examples of how to learn difficult spellings.
Go to ICTeachers site – after resources , literacy , spelling..

www.icteachers.co.uk/resources/literacy/mnemonics.ppt

CURSIVE WRITING AND DYSLEXIA

I have read quite a lot in the Turkish newspapers recently about parents and teachers discussing how children learn writing in schools.Since 2006 all primary children have been taught cursive writing from the first grade. Some teachers and parents complain that this style of writing is difficult for children to learn and also perhaps unnecessary in the age of the computer !!

Cursive writing can initially take children some time to learn. It is however generally recognized that for children who are dyslexic or have dysgraphia the continuous cursive style is the recommended method of writing.Both the BDA ( British Dyslexia Assoc) and the IDA ( International Dyslexia Assoc ) on their websites advise that cursive writing should preferably be taught to dyslexics and those with dysgraphia.

Reasons

It helps childrens’ writing to be clear, fluent,legible and fast.

All letters start on the line so there is no confusion about where to begin the letter.

Children are less likely to reverse letters which are typically difficult (like b/d ).

There is a clearer distinction between capital letters and lower case.

Dyslexics actually benefit from cursive as it flows .In cursive writing each letter is formed without taking the pencil off the paper – and consequently, each word is written in one, flowing movement Unlike in printing where they have to stop, and lift the hand for the next letter. Stopping can throw a dyslexic off track.

As the pencil does not often need to be lifted from the page this re-inforces phonic and spelling patterns.

Children can learn print through reading, so it's not essential to have them print.

Some Helpful Tips

Don’t give up – it may take some time..

Get your children to practice for short 15 minute intervals.

Begin with small/lower case letters first.

Print large cursive letters on a piece of paper and cover them with sticky back plastic.. Now have the child roll out playdough in a snake and have him or her trace over your letter, learning how to form the letters with the playdough.

You can get your child to use big fat felt tip pens on large paper to write on.

Fill a tray with wet sand and ask your child to write individual letters in the sand. Alternatively you could use rice or beans.Another fun thing to do is buy a can of shaving foam and spray it on your kitchen table – after get your child to write the letters you wish to practice. You can also use carpet squares ( with thick pile ) to write letters on.

In order to practice letter formation use dotted cursive letters which children can trace over.First of all make the letters quite big until they have become competent at forming the letter.

Writing in the air or writing the letters on the childrens backs helps the pupils internalize the motions involved in making the letters. Saying the sounds aloud reinforces the letter sound relationship and will help them as the learn to read and spell words.

Remember to be patient.

For an excellent video about teaching cursive handwriting see Teachers’ TV
Primary Special Needs - A Passion for Handwriting

http://www.teachers.tv/video/5416

YOUNG DYSLEXIC ENTREPRENEURS

More than often we tend to dwell on the negatives aspects of dyslexia.Here we give two examples of young dyslexic people who have gone on to be a success in their own unique way, despite struggling at school.

A 12-year-old boy started his own company, Spice Thyme after becoming fed up with suggestions that his dyslexia might affect his chances of a good job. Tom Sweet borrowed £200 from his parents to buy foreign herbs and spices which he now sells at markets "There seemed a gap in the market for herbs and spices," added Tom, who imports products from China, India, France and Italy.

Both Tom and his parents believe that the business has helped his dyslexia., especially with his maths.Tom's father said his son had worked hard to develop his business and added that his experience had given him confidence in dealing with people.

Louis Barnett, 21st century Willy Wonka.

A dyslexic teenager became a real-life teenage Willy Wonka by opening his own chocolate factory aged just 16 !!

Louis Barnett began making chocolate at home as a hobby. He was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia. After this he was taken out of school to be home educated. He set up his own company called Chokolit. He gave it this name because this was the way he phonetically spelt the word chocolate. His business has landed contracts with supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Waitrose who stock his luxury chocolates . Companies in Russia, Sweden, India and Japan are also expressing an interest in his products.Louis's chocolates are unique as they come packaged in an edible boxes, bags etc.

His mother said that no one understood him at school and that while his reports said his vocabulary and general knowledge were excellent, to her disappointment they focused on negative points like maths and written work.

He received the Lord Carter Award for excellence in the food industry and was nominated for a Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007. He was also a finalist in the teen category of the 2007 Enterprising Young Brits Awards.

www.chokolit.co.uk/

NATIONAL POETRY DAY UK

Its National Poetry Day in the UK today and the theme is hero and heroines...

I am sure parents of dyslexic children would agree with me, when I say that our kids, are certainly heros and heroines in their battle with dyslexia on a daily basis and their effort to overcome their difficulties in the classroom.

Here are two really nice poems I found written by dyslexic young people about dyslexia :

I was born with it
But because of it
I got hit for it
I cried about it
Fought because of it
Tried to get rid of it
Albert Einstein had it
Sulked about it
Called names becasue of it
I didn't like it
Mum had enough of me because of it
Couldn't be bothered to live with it
Do we really have to have it?
Mum thought I was lazy because of it
I thought I was crazy because of it
Punched walls because of it
Got in trouble over it
Disrupted class because of it
Walked out, away from it
Embarrassed because of it

By John Rogers and Lea Bourne
from :

http://www.dyslexichelp.co.uk/

Dyslexichelp UK is a website for parents of dyslexics.

I’m Not Marking This Mess

I can see his face ready to blow

he shouts so the whole class will know

‘Sir, Sir I’m stuck, I need more time.

’‘I told you what to do, don’t step out of line’.

I find it hard and embarrassing with him yelling

about my reading writing and spelling.

‘Hurry up, get on with it, I’m not marking this mess

’I say, ‘I need more time, I’m doing my best’.

He tells me little kids can do better than me

‘I’ve seen better from my daughter, she’s only three

where’s your full stops and capital letters?

now go and sit down until you do better.

’It’s hard to do my work I find

I never rest, it’s always on my mind

then I get frustrated, rude and angry

because he doesn’t understand me.

By Mark Chivers (12 )

http://www.dyslexiaa2z.com/


Many dyslexic children do find it very hard to memorize poetry and other prose .If your child has to learn something try to break into manageable chunks and practice for a short length of time over a regular basis.

A team of researchers got a group of six-year-olds with dyslexia to memorize a lengthy poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." It was found that the children made progress in both reading comprehension and fluency after reciting the poem daily for several weeks. You can read more about this research project in an article in the Additude Magazine ( July 2007 )Headed Update on Dyslexia.


www.additudemag.com/addnews/41/2507.html

LEARN HOW TO LEARN PRESENTATION

There is a lot of useful information on the internet concerning dyslexia but sometimes it takes a long time to find.In my dyslexia blog I am trying to provide parents with useful and helpful links. Here is one such link...

The LDA ( Learning Disabilities Association ) of Minnesota has a very good interactive online presentation called 'Learn how to Learn'.

It gives information on what problems prevent children with learning disabilities from learning.It graphically illustrates what is going on in the brain in a straightforward way which parents can understand.It covers problems in reading, attention, maths and testing.


You need to give an email address to access the presentation.

Also on this site there is a useful home and school checklist which could be adapted by parents.

For further details see :

http://www.ldaminnesota.org/

STROOP TEST

The Stroop Test is a psychological tool which is often used to assess attention problems.

Children with dyslexia often have accompanying problems with concentration and attention .In fact,researchers suggest that at least 40% of children with dyslexia also have ADD/ADHD.

The”Stroop Effect" is named after J. Ridley Stroop who discovered this in the 1930’s.

The test involves identifying colours from a list of words which are displayed in a colour ink different from the colour it actually names.

Eg GREEN ( the word green is printed or displayed in red ink).
You would give the answer ‘red ‘.

The test involves focusing on one particular feature of a task ie identifying the colour of the word, while ignoring other information ( ie reading the word ).This makes it a hard exercise to do and involves a lot of concentration.If GREEN was written in green ink it would make it a lot easier to give the correct answer.

Animal Stroop : If children are younger and can’t read then they are given animal pictures to look at. Pictures are used where the head of the animal has been swapped with another animal. The child is asked to give the name for the “body” of the animal

The Neuroscience for Kids site has mini stroop test flash cards which you could print out and test yourself or your child.

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html

http://www.adhd.org.nz/stroop1.html

The One Show on BBC talked about the Stroop Test :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theoneshow/onepassions/2009/02/body-tricks-stroop-test.html

For more information about animal stroop look at the Open University site

http://www.open2.net/healtheducation/family_childdevelopment/2005/animalstroop.html

BACK TO SCHOOL ANXIETY

Here in Turkey its the first day back to school after the long school holiday !! In this dyslexia blog article I want to talk about the anxiety and stress children can endure when they return to the classroom...

Its normal that most kids will be anxious about returning back to school ( or starting school ).Some children however may even develop sleeping problems,or wet the bed or have stomach aches and pains, even nausea as a result of their anxiety.

Those children with dyslexia and learning disabilities will also be more prone to suffer from anxiety and stress when returning to school.As a result parents need to be more understanding and patient.

Children may try to stay off school in order to escape their worries. As a parent it's best not to encourage them to miss days ; however you do need to listen to your child's worries and try to empathize with them.If possible,try to discuss with your child practical ways to alleviate their problems at school.

Make some time each day to talk with your child about how things are going at school. I often find that my child doesn't want to be quizzed about school when he first comes home, he needs some time to chill out for an hour or so .

Make sure your child knows you are always ready to listen to his worries.Remember you can't always solve his or her problems completely but sometimes just being a good listener is enough to help them !!

Neil Alexander-Passe from South Bank University undertook a study in 2008.It investigated whether dyslexic children, by way of their educational and social difficulties, experience higher levels of stress at school. Dyslexic children in Grades 3-5 were found to experience high levels of stress, particularly with regard to interacting with teachers and school tests.

See Neil Alexander-Passe's web site with useful information :
(The article on dyslexics, stress and anxiety)



http://www.dyslexia-research.com/


Heres a useful article about 'How to Relieve School Anxiety'.

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/specialeducation/ht/anxiety.htm

Good luck to all dyslexic children and their parents with the start of school !!