Overcoming Dyslexia

Many people experience difficulty with reading. Reading has proven to be hard for some people, not because they are lazy or not smart enough. For example, a person can have trouble reading but be good in handiwork. Reading requires the brain to identify patterns of characters and be able to interpret their meaning. This is a simple yet unique process that links the eye (or finger for Braille reading) and the brain but might seem like a complex task for a dyslexic person. This might be because of dyslexia which is basically a learning disability that changes how the brain processes graphic symbol. As much as it might take time for a person with dyslexia to develop good reading skills, it is not all hopeless. Here are few tips to kick-start you to vocabulary:

• ·         Start small: At this time, put that Stephen King novel you’ve been dying to read - you do not want overwhelm yourself. Find a newspaper article, children’s book (get free books here), or short story to read.

• ·         Picture makes for Imagination: News articles and children’s’ books normally have pictures to accompany the story. Start by looking at the picture and try and interpret the story behind the picture without reading the words first. This will help in seeding curiosity in your mind to find out the ‘exact’ story as it uses what is called critical thinking.

• ·         Read + Sound make a Word: Read out loud. At first it might seem awkward and uncomfortable but the more you read sound loud the words the more you hear a recognisable word coming from your mouth.  Try to sound out each letter of the alphabet and letter combination – each letter has its own sound. There are many programs such as Time 4 Learning, Nessy Learning Programme and SEN Teacher that teach reading comprehension, phonics, grammar and punctuation.

• ·         Simple is the Best: Read the book title, the story heading first as they are usually written in larger print than the content.

• ·         Slow does it: We do not want you to get frustrated remember? Take your time with each word – don’t rush. Reading quickly or simply put, skim reading (link to Wikipedia) would not help you to understand the content meaning as you more likely to skip some words and up with story that does not make sense and this on its own is a recipe for frustrated mind. Rather savour each word as you read it, leave the Marathon to Wilson Kipsang (Current Marathon world record holder) – it does not matter how long it takes, what matters is how much you understand from the content.

• ·         The silent yet ‘vocabularious’ (seriously this word doesn’t exists in the dictionary so stop scratching your lovely head) companion: Use the dictionary to check for meaning of words you don’t understand.

• ·         Word Meaning: Sometimes words or phrases can be difficult to understand so rather use the dictionary or Word programs such as Microsoft Word to check for the other available word or phrase. This word or phrase is called synonym, it shares the same meaning as the other word/phrase e.g.  shut is the synonym of close.

• ·         Reread: If the word seems to difficult or after finishing a sentence you still don’t grasp the meaning of its content, read the word or sentence again until you can manage to read it without stuttering or better you get its meaning.

• ·         Jiggle words: If you keep skipping words or lines then it’s better to use your finger as a pointer so your eyes can focus on the line you are reading.

• ·         Double Meaning: Some words may be written the same but with different meaning. This will require you to use context clue – figuring out the meaning of a word looking at how the word was used in a sentence. E.g. 1. They were accommodated by our neighbour in her vacant backroom.  2. She accommodated his rude behaviour for the sake of peace.   In the first sentence the word accommodated means to provide lodge or room whilst in the second sentence it means to compromise one’s position or feelings or well-being.

• ·          Read and read and read some more: Now that we have finished reading our article/book, take another article/book and read. Remember practice makes perfect. Once you are able to read a whole sentence without difficult you can move to the next level this include high school novella (short novel or narrative story) and before you know it you’ll be reading your Stephen King and there will be no stopping you.

Tips:

• If you get tired whilst reading, take a break then come back when you feel relaxed.

• Look for a quiet place with less or better yet no distraction; a good candidate will be a school or public library.

• Remember; reading is meant to be fun so have as much fun as you can.

• Never ever be embarrassed to ask for help from a caring relative or your local librarian.

Next Topic: Famous People with Dyslexia