37 Dyslexia Interventions: Identifying and Supporting Students

You work so hard on implementing dyslexia interventions in your classroom. You’re dynamite with your students. You spend hours preparing your classroom activities.

And yet, your hard work isn’t paying off for all of your students.

You’re not alone.

Most classroom teachers have a small handful of students who misspell words, struggle to memorize math facts, or hate to read out loud. Sound familiar? Chances are good that some of these students have dyslexia.

Understanding Dyslexia

The Myths and Misconceptions

Dyslexia is a loaded word. There are lots of misconceptions and misunderstandings about this condition. Maybe you’ve heard a few of these myths?

  • People with dyslexia see words backwards.
  • Only boys are impacted by dyslexia.
  • People with dyslexia are less intelligent.
  • Dyslexia is caused by bad teaching.
  • People with dyslexia can’t learn to read.

The Truth About Dyslexia

Here’s what we know to be true. Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that can impact reading, writing, and spelling. People with dyslexia struggle to match up letters with their sounds. Typical learners use the temporal-occipital lobe to read. Individuals with dyslexia use different neural pathways and different areas of the brain to read. As a result, reading is often slow and inaccurate.

Dyslexia Interventions: What You Can Do

I’m going to be honest with you: dyslexia interventions are time-intensive. As an educational therapist, I frequently schedule over 100 sessions per year with individual students. You probably have 25 other students in your classroom, lessons to plan, and homework packets to correct. So, the question is…

Strategies for the Classroom

What dyslexia interventions can you do right now to reach the students in your classroom who struggle? Thirty-seven things, actually. Well, you don’t have to do all of them at once! But seriously, I hope that as you read this list, a few items pop out at you, and you’re able to add one or two more instruments to your toolbox.

Explicit Instruction

  • Make directions clear. Kids with dyslexia often can’t remember multi-step or complex directions. Speak briefly and clearly, and always provide written directions. Try this: Video yourself for an hour and see how you can tighten up your delivery.
  • Get students interacting! To ensure that all of your students are engaged, require frequent responses from students. Kids with dyslexia have perfected how to fly under the radar. This will also allow you to provide immediate corrective and positive feedback.
  • Build in review. To help students retain information, check for mastery before jumping into a new topic.

Reading

  • Use an Orton-Gillingham-based reading program. Orton-Gillingham is explicit, systematic, and multi-sensory. It works. Other good programs: Lindamood-BellRAVE-OSlingerlandWilson, and Barton. Many classroom teachers successfully use Fundations for whole class instruction.
  • Act on your suspicions. If you have concerns about a student’s reading progress, refer him or her for appropriate services. Kids don’t outgrow dyslexia! Early intervention can change the way the brain reads, preventing decades of struggle.
  • Use audiobooks, too. Audiobooks are dyslexia interventions that allow all students to access the curriculum. They help students build background knowledge, comprehension skills, and vocabulary. Audio books can be found at Learning Ally and Bookshare.
  • Teach phonemic awareness. All students in kindergarten, first, and second grade need daily phonemic awareness instruction. Phonemic awareness creates the foundation for long-term success in reading and spelling. Here are two fantastic programs: Phonemic Awareness in Young Children and Road to the Code.
  • Read aloud to students. This is the perfect way to develop vocabulary and explicitly model reading comprehension strategies. Even better, you can demonstrate your love of books.
  • Teach phonics. New readers and older students who struggle to decode need help. Make sure students know their letter sounds and can blend sounds together.
  • Teach reading fluency. Once students have mastered basic phonics and decoding skills, make sure they can read with grade-level speed and accuracy.
  • Monitor reading progress. One straightforward way to monitor progress and spot problems is the DIBELS program.
  • Use speech-to-text software. With headphones and a computer, students can “read with their ears,” regaining independence. Here are two videos on how to set this up for PC and for Mac.
  • Don’t require students to read aloud. Many adults with dyslexia vividly describe the shame they felt when they read in front of the class as children.

Writing

  • Teach specific strategies. Decades of research have demonstrated that one method, Self-Regulated Strategy Development, produces significant improvements in students’ writing. (Graham & Harris, 2005). This book will save you hours preparing your writing lessons.
  • Give credit for graphic organizer use. Do you have students with great ideas, but their writing is unclear? Graphic organizers are great dyslexia interventions. If you give credit for thoughtfully filled out graphic organizers, your students will buy in!
  • Use speech-to-text software. Make sure handwriting and spelling challenges don’t get in the way of students expressing their ideas. Say goodbye to resistance to writing.
  • Teach handwriting. Research has shown that elementary students who write legibly automatically write longer and better compositions (Graham, Berninger, Abbott, Abbott, & Whitaker, 1997).
  • Teach spelling. Spelling instruction needs to continue through seventh grade, according to researchers (Joshi, Treiman, Carreker, & Moats, 2008).
  • Use Ginger or Grammerly. Students with dyslexia sometimes can’t effectively use the built-in spell checker because spell checkers are designed for fixing typos. Programs like Ginger  or Grammarly correct severe spelling mistakes.
  • Help students with persistent letter reversals.  In my article, What Tigers Can Teach Us About Letter Reversals, I explain why letter reversals happen and how to help students avoid them. I also offer a free workbook of activities for eliminating letter reversals in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Math

  • Teach with manipulatives. Kids with dyslexia don’t always understand symbols immediately. You can use manipulatives like base-10 blocks to teach basic math operations. Avoid rote learning like the plague.
  • Write accessible word problems. Use straightforward language with simple vocabulary and short sentences.
  • Spend more time teaching math facts. Mastery of math facts frees up working memory for other cognitive demands.
  • Use graph paper. Sometimes kids with dyslexia have a hard time lining up their numbers.
  • Try alternate methods for teaching math facts. Many of my students finally learned their math facts with the Schoolhouse Rock songs.
  • Avoid timed math drills. Timed tasks send anxiety levels skyrocketing. You can use the same tests and turn off the timer. Some kids prefer to be tested privately so they can’t compare themselves to others.
  • Provide calculators. I recommend allowing students to use calculators as a dyslexia intervention once they’ve demonstrated conceptual proficiency and fact fluency. This will free up working memory so they can do higher-level work.
  • Invest in programs designed for all kinds of learners.

Social-Emotional Support

  • Teach to strengths. Students with dyslexia often have pronounced strengths in big-picture thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and design. Check out the Clifton Youth Strengths Explorer from Gallup to find out where your students shine.
  • Emphasize problem-solving and critical thinking. Try some of Rachel’s fabulous tips about critical and creative thinking.
  • Read books that feature characters who learn differently. Here are a few of my student’s favorites: The Dunderheads, Tacky the Penguin, Thank You, Mr. Falker, Percy Jackson, Two Minute Drill.
  • Build rapport. Students with dyslexia are hungry for approval. Make a point to greet students daily and connect about their personal interests.
  • Call home with good news. This is powerful reinforcement that students with dyslexia rarely get.
  • Feature all student work. Some of my students have never had their work displayed or held up as an example of good work.
  • Be on the lookout for bullying, and stop it.
  • Help students build community. Kids with dyslexia need to know that they are not alone.
  • Empathize. Motivate your students by helping them feel understood and respected. On my website, I share my favorite strategies for building empathy.

How many of these dyslexia interventions can you add to your teacher toolbox?

Dyslexia is an incredibly frustrating and often misunderstood learning disability. By implementing these dyslexia interventions, you can help dyslexic students find more success in the mainstream classroom. Remember, the goal is to provide support and build confidence, allowing each student to reach their full potential.

P.S. – If you found some of these dyslexia interventions on this list helpful, you may also enjoy using my free resource book on letter reversals, The Eliminating Letter Reversals Workbook for b and d. Each activity in the book includes concise teacher instructions and full-color worksheets. Please enjoy!

Our Guest Expert

Anne-Marie Morey provides tools and strategies for educators who teach kids with learning differences at Bay Tree Blog. A Board Certified Educational Therapist, she runs a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. She loves to help students with learning disabilities build foundational academic and life skills.

Does My Student Have Dyslexia? A guide by Dr. Erica Warren

Dyslexia Interventions: Identifying and Supporting Students in the Classroom

When considering the estimates that 1 in 10 people have dyslexia and that there are successful teaching methods available for this population, one might wonder why our education system does not have standard practices to identify and help these students.

In addition, with the new research suggesting that students with dyslexia also exhibit cognitive-based strengths compared to those without dyslexia, perhaps one might consider it to be a learning difference and not a disability.

Sadly, without a diagnosis in hand, our current education paradigm dooms these struggling learners to maintain the same ill-instruction.

With a Whole Classroom of Students, How Can I Help?

Recognizing Dyslexia in the Classroom

Have you ever come across a bright and creative student that is struggling in class?

Reading is labored, decoding is difficult, spelling is poor, writing is challenging, and their grades just don’t reflect their abilities? Did you ever wonder whether he or she may have dyslexia? With a large classroom of students, it can feel overwhelming to assess and address the needs of a single student.

However, you can help all your students receive the needed attention and accommodations so that they can reach their true potential.

Using a Dyslexia Screener

Are you concerned that a student in your class has dyslexia?

Our guest blogger in this post is sharing a free dyslexia screener that will help you determine if your student or child needs to receive a formal evaluation. Click through to get more details about the screener and to learn more about supporting students with dyslexia.

What are the Steps?

  1. Use the Free Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener The Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener is a quick 20-question assessment that can be administered and scored by a parent/guardian or a teacher, or it can be taken by the individual who may have dyslexia. This will help to determine whether there is enough symptomology to warrant formal testing.
  2. Request Formal Testing Ask the parents to request formal testing through the local school district for students 18 and under. For older individuals or when testing outside the school system, local professionals can administer the needed tests. One place to find these experts is through the International Dyslexia Association provider directory. If the individual in question does not require educational or workplace accommodations of any kind, then the Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener can be used as an informal evaluation.
  3. Request Reasonable Accommodations After a formal diagnosis has been made and properly documented, one may contact one’s school or workplace and request a meeting to determine “reasonable accommodations.” Please note that the DSM-5, published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), is the manual that is used to diagnose disabilities. It includes codes for all mental health disorders. At present, dyslexia falls under the category of Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in reading.

The Free Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener

The Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener is a 20-question screener that offers a simple Likert scale assessment that addresses all the common symptoms revealed in the research. It is an informal evaluation and is best used to indicate whether formal testing should be pursued. CLICK HERE to download your free copy.

Once Diagnosed, How Can I Help a Student with Dyslexia?

If you would like to learn about products that can assist with the remediation of dyslexia, then CLICK HERE.

Conclusion

Identifying and supporting students with dyslexia is crucial for their academic success.

By using tools like the Good Sensory Learning Dyslexia Screener and following up with formal testing and accommodations, educators can make a significant difference in the lives of these students. Understanding dyslexia as a learning difference rather than a disability can shift the educational approach to one that leverages the strengths of these students.

Our Guest Expert

Dr. Erica Warren is a learning specialist, an educational therapist, and an author of multisensory and mindful educational materials. She resides in New York, where she works one-on-one with students as a “personal trainer for the brain” and as an educational consultant/teacher trainer. Dr. Warren offers multisensory materials at GoodSensoryLearning and Teachers Pay Teachers, as well as courses for tutors, educational therapists, and learning specialists at Learning Specialist Courses. You can read her popular blog here.

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