What is Dyslexia?
According to Cambridge dictionary; dyslexia is a condition affecting the brain that makes it difficult for someone to read and write.
Then again, we see is a condition that affects the student in their school needs, such as reading and writing. I’ve found that students with dyslexia are vehement when applying knowledge, because is easy for them to apply their understanding in practice than to explain it on paper. Also, since they have difficulties to read, they will also have problems with grammar structures. But, because they are used to this condition, they develop other skills that work perfectly in classes.
I’ve observed in between my students with this condition, that in fact their problem is more like a fast ability. They are in a conversation or they have an idea, but at the moment of express it, they are already in a different topic; therefore they feel that their other classmates are staying behind. So they have the same problem when reading and writing; their sight is slower than their brain processing the data for example.
Recognize and identify
This is the student that will have the worst hand writing in the class, and will also have problems when reading out loud. This student will also avoid any kind of activity that involves reading and writing. This student also will pay more attention when you speak or present a video than when writing or explaining something on the board. Students with dyslexia are extremely receptive to emotions and they can easily read people’s mood and are usually quiet but intellectual because they are used to absorb all they can since reading is pointless for them. Some of the students with this condition develop a low voice speech that you can barely understand if they don’t articulate on purpose.
This is the student that will pay the most attention to your open class because they want to be sure they understand what’s going on. They are usually shy and try to hide their condition or don’t make a big deal out of it. Some of the students with dyslexia also have ADHD, since is a derivate of the brain.
These students need to practice writing as if they were in kindergarten throughout their entire lives. Also, don’t expect the best of grammar from them or speech structure either.
Pros and Cons
As I mentioned before; these students are very sensitive to people’s feelings and can easily tell if you are having a bad day. They try to understand people by observing their behavior and they like to be assertive in their predicament. Also, they team up very easy with their classmates and receive support from them. They need to understand everything to the maximum in order to be able to apply in practice. You can easily enjoy conversations since they have developed their social skills very well.
Sometimes they get discouraged due their condition and it’s very difficult for us as teachers to change their minds into something positive. They tend to feel that they will never succeed in the school system because all they see are books and more books. Sometimes they have traumas of psychological abuse from previous educators or schools who told them that she/he will never make it in life because of their bad reading and writing. They immediately eliminate the humanity careers from their future projects because they don’t feel capable of handling so much literate structure. Most of these students have great potentials and could be great leaders but due lack of acceptance and support from the school system they get lost in the crowd.
LIDIA AVILES 