Structured Multisensory Approach to Teaching Dyslexic Students - Research Paper Example

 Structured Multisensory Approach to Teaching Dyslexic Students Abstract: Over the years, dyslexia has posed as a fundamental problem that has faced many students in various educational systems in U.K (BREWSTER, 1995, p. 53). All educators and professionals in the field of teaching pupils and students know very well that it is a very difficult task to meet all the individual needs of the involved learners. This task is even more difficult in the case where a student is diagnosed of having difficulties in learning such as in dyslexia. This calls for primary instructional adjustments that must be addressed, with particular regard to the way dyslexics should be taught how to write and read if they are to achieve success in their academic environments. However, it is unfortunate that there seems to be no known and appropriate medical interventions or alternatives that can be used to alleviate effectively the various challenges in cognitive processing which are presented in many cases of dyslexia. There are a myriad of successful approaches- with the most predominant being the structured multisensory teaching- which have been attempted and developed through a number of studies and which have shown to provide eminent solutions to this contentious dilemma. This paper therefore aims to provide a concise overview of such problems as are faced by dyslexic learners as well as enumerating a number of ways through which teachers and tutors can make modifications to allow appropriate accommodation to these hardships. Introduction: All dyslexic students require quite a different language teaching and learning approach from the conventional ones applied in most of the classrooms. They should be taught their language’s basic elements thoroughly and slowly, putting emphasis on the letters and the sounds that represent them, as well as how to mingle the two and how to separate them. For conscious retention and organization in their learning, there ought to be plenty of practice in order for them to coordinate their ears, writing hands, voices and their eyes. This is basically what constitutes structured multisensory teaching approach to dyslexic students. But before we specifically discuss this approach in detail, it is imperatively important to give some working definitions and background of the dyslexia condition. Discussion: Dyslexia: definition and overview Perhaps the most important question to address ourselves to at this juncture is “what is dyslexia?” For along time, many people have not been able to distinguish between dyslexia from mental retardation. Over the decades, there have been many terminologies that have been adopted to define dyslexia. Dyslexia is understood to be a certain difficulty which is characterized by abnormal skills balance. Dyslexia influences processing of information that is receiving structuring and holding information, and the processing speed of information. Therefore dyslexia affects skills such as writing, reading, doing calculations and use of symbols (POLLAK, 2004, p. 88). The common form of dyslexia is developmental dyslexia which is inability to learn despite having enough learning skills and intelligence. Developmental dyslexia is neurologically based and inherited. Dyslexia that is acquired is characterized by lack of literacy skills which has resulted from long time suffering from neurological trauma which is a brain disease (POLLAK, 2004, p. 88). All these connotations have some facets in common, mainly the emphasis on the negative aspects and problems visual learning. This could have perhaps been brought about by the difficulties involved in the process of teaching dyslexic students. Psychologists, educators, and neurologists relentlessly collected pools of data (sometimes very contradictory) as they attempted to come up with the best empirical evidence or information regarding dyslexia. From such information they constructed psychological and educational models, but their greatest limiting factor is that their focus was almost exclusively directed towards the dyslexic student’s weaknesses, almost taking no notice of the present strengths. This often impacted negatively on the self esteem of the student (MILES, 2004, p. 5). As we can deduce from the many ways in which dyslexia has been attributed to, it is relatively a hard task to define dyslexia independently without the use of other related conditions. On its own, dyslexia as a term functions like an umbrella describing most of its definer terms, it is not a mental retardation and neither is it a brain damage. Dyslexics are as differentiated among them as they are different from non-dyslexic, and can be present both in children and adults alike. A student may for example be very good in reading but weak at math, while another may be a complete reverse of this. Neurologists interpret dyslexia to mean a condition a symmetrical type of brain (ALEXANDER, 2004, p. 745). The attorney’s interpretation is by law meaning a student who requires assistance in form of state services. Yet to the teacher learning difficulties envelops the plethora in dyslexia. Nonetheless, dyslexia took a complete turn in its investigation by psychiatrists and teachers alike when education was made universal and compulsory to all unlike before the nineteenth century when educational was more relaxed and optional (BREWSTER, 1995, p. 54). The most commonly used criteria in identification and assessment of dyslexia in a pupil is the marked disparity between the pupil’s actual achievement and their intelligence. However, there is more to find out in case a pupil seems to listen and speak normally and yet they are not able to spell and read. A variety of well identified dyslexia symptoms to consider include: Keenly observe any characteristic of the pupil confusing letter direction such as d and b, 9 and p, q and p among others History of family learning difficulties Marked difference between the student’s actual achievement and their ability Having difficulties with their general organization Presence of difficulties with right and left Spelling difficulties Directions difficulties such as north and south or east and west Missing or leaving out words both reading and writing. Math’s difficulties (BREWSTER, 1995, p. 67) Some of the common dyslexia symptoms in details: Discrepancy between the student’s actual achievements and their ability: If a student is noticed to bright or average when talking and at the same time has difficulties to spell, read or matching the requirements in mathematics, then this is a strong sign to warrant that something is wrong somewhere. It is a common feature with dyslexic students to be quite capable particularly in creativity fields such as drawing, arts, drama: as well as physical activities coordination like swimming, physical education, modeling and sports among others. However, these achievements do not account for the brains neural links that control their efficiency with text and numbers without being given some specialized support. However, it is necessary to understand that other underlying factors such as illness and lengthy school absences can lead to similar signs as those of dyslexia (VAIL, 1996, p. 82). Spelling difficulties: The most difficult task among dyslexic students especially the children is spelling. This is even worse in cases where a child may have had ear infections in their earlier years in life. The first sign for this condition is mainly spelling errors with missing letters or words. Some common words that pose this difficulty include: friend, said, many, they, any, island, enough, and because. Other commonly noticed spelling errors especially in dictation are: nock for knock, jerney for journey, serch for search, etc. furthermore, jumbled spellings is another area in which dyslexic students find much difficulty. This is where they get all the letters of a word correctly but they wrongly arrange them. The major problem in this situation is that the student is experiencing visual memory difficulties, unlike in non dyslexics who can remember difficult spellings by using their visual memory. Examples of jumbled spellings include: dose for does, freind for friend, wores for worse, bule for blue, becuase for because, and siad for said (BIRSH, 2005). History of family learning difficulties: Dyslexia is a genetically inherited condition. Similarly, with earlier ear problems and infections, children experience more hardships in distinguishing between words that have similar sounds. The prevalence of dyslexia has been shown to be commonly equal in girls and boys. Confusion or difficulties with left and right: The fairest test that can be done to identify this confusion or difficulty is to ask the potential candidate to point to their right foot with the left hand and vice versa. As a control test, ask a non-dyslexic to do the same under the same environmental conditions and sooner or later you will be able to find out if there are any portrayed difficulties. Difficulties may also be noticed with directions such as east and west, or move to the end of the classroom, turn right and then left, etc. Math’s difficulties: Sequencing difficulties is one of the prominent features of dyslexia. This means making things remain in the right order they ought to be in. Math/s poses a real challenge to dyslexics alongside with their having other difficulties with spelling and reading because math/s is dependent on sequences and series of numbers such as 3, 6, 9, 12, etc (TURNER, 1978, p. 45). Backwards writing of numbers or letters: It is common knowledge among educational and other professionals dealing with dyslexic students that letter and number mix up and backwards writing is highly frequent among dyslexic students. b for d, p for 9 and are good examples including use of b as the upper case letter, and also B which they find much easier to remember because of its unique direction (ALEXANDER, 2004, p. 736). As mentioned earlier, dyslexic persons have very different manifestations of their symptoms. The above are therefore just a list of the most common ones and as such this is not an exhaustive list. Major insights into the relationship between dyslexia and giftedness has relatively recently (within the last 25 five years). This has been further developed by Susan Baum who poses some seemingly interesting paradoxical questions. For example, she challenges the notion how a child cannot learn and learn at the same time, or even why some pupils will put little effort or none at all in their school endeavors while at the same time they devote considerable effort and time to more creative and demanding activities while outside school realms (DAVIS, 1997, p. 106). These are behaviors which have repeatedly been observed in students who are simultaneously experiencing learning disabilities and are gifted. However, giftedness and learning disabilities are terms perceived by many as being on opposite ends in any learning continuum. In United Kingdom for example, there are funding regulations that dictate identification and assistance of a student on either the giftedness or learning disabilities, but in most circumstances not both. Structured Multisensory Teaching and Learning Techniques: In layman’s language, the term multisensory means exactly what it sounds, but professionals and educators in dyslexic fields understand that there is much more to this than the face value it carries. As a general explanation, multisensory implies the use of the aural, visual, kinesthetic and tactile senses in the process of teaching, with particular emphasis to dyslexic persons. When the different senses are simultaneously tapped, a more complete and concrete learning experience and effect is created. It is technically important to note here, as we shall find out in much detail later, that this teaching technique is not strictly limited to only those students who are dyslexic. It is equally necessary to apply it among the non-dyslexic children who are below 12 years of age. Children development studies have shown that within ages two, seven, and eleven, children make different and important cognitive shifts which can be effectively enhanced by multisensory teaching techniques (GOLDSWORTHY, 1996, p. 135). Structured multisensory teaching approach therefore implies the systematic as well as use of designated tools to simultaneously incite the visual, kinesthetic-tactile and auditory senses in order to enhance learning and memory. There are automatic links that are consistently established between what we see (the visual), what we feel (kinesthetic-tactile), and what we hear (the auditory), pathways during the process of learning how to read, spell, and write. In our case about dyslexic students, it is the teacher who must adopt this approach to train the students how to link up the sounds they hear of the letters and the written symbol they see. Learners are also able to link the symbol and the sound with the feeling they get as they form the letters (GOUGH, 1996, p. 324). As a new pattern or letter such as th or s is introduced to the students, the teacher carefully shows them how to copy, trace, and write the letters while they simultaneously say the sounds that correspond to the letters. The teacher may make the sound while the students give the letter names(s). From here, the students spell and read the names or words, sentences, and phrases applying the given patterns. Students and their teachers rely on all the three pathways in learning rather than just focusing on a memory method, a sight word, a phonetic method or a tracing method alone (WESTCOMBE, 2004, p. 10). Introduction of Multisensory Structured Teaching Approach for Children with Dyslexia The hickey multisensory language course has been widely use in Britain by teachers who train dyslexia pupils and students. The hickey multisensory language course has powerful impact on the teaching skills approaches on literacy. Children in United Kingdom should thus access the Britain national curriculum. Dyslexia student should be given emphasis within an inclusive classroom mainstream. Hickey programmes thus need to be incorporated or linked to literacy hour (BIRSH, 2005). Dr. Samuel Torrey Orton is recognized as probably the earliest pioneer in the field of dyslexics’ practical teaching intervention. As an experienced psychiatrist, he started working with the Iowa psychiatrist mobile clinic as its director in 1924 where services were provided for doctors, welfare authorities and schools. Together with his colleagues, they initiated the multisensory teaching techniques, after his thoughts were influenced by grace Fernald and Helen Keller’s kinesthetic methodology (SCHUPACK, 1997, p. 117). Orton postulated that auditory and visual associations’ reinforcement by kinesthetic-tactile method could possibly correct the letters reversing tendency as well as the letter sequence transposition while writing and reading. Dyslexic students reversing b for d and vice versa for example should be taught to use different strokes consistently as they form each of the letters. As an example, to write letter b, the students learn to make the vertical stroke first and then the circle later. For letter d, they can draw the circle prior to the vertical line. This theory was further developed along with Anna Gillingham and Bessie Stillman basing their original dyslexic teaching manual (in1936) on the theories postulated by Dr. Orton. Dr. Orton, Ms. Gillingham together with their colleagues came up with the Orton-Gillingham approach (OG), the most famous sequential, structured, multisensory teaching techniques module (BIRSH, 2005). The rationale for multisensory, structured, sequential teaching technique: Visual and/or auditory processing weaknesses are often exhibited by students with dyslexia. In most instances they have weaker phonemic awareness as compared to non-dyslexics, implying that they are not aware of the sound roles in words. They have disparities word rhyming, making words from sound blending, and word segmentation into sounds. Furthermore, it is usual for them to experiences difficulties in sight vocabulary acquisition, all which are integral requirements especially in primary grades. Generally this means that the alphabetic system or code is not internalized normally (WILLEMIN, 2000). When a multisensory approach is used to teach the dyslexics, they get the advantage of understanding the words and alphabetic patterns by simultaneously utilizing the three fundamental pathways. In his postulations, Orton practically suggested that phonetic association fundamentals would effectively be taught using reproduction and presentation of letter forms in writing until such a time when correct associations were developed benefiting students within all age brackets. Evidence for the effectiveness of multisensory teaching of dyslexic students: The efficacy of this technique has continually increased and stood the test of time over the many years of its use in United Kingdom. There have been many research most of which are fully supported by the NICHD- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, converging on practicability of this approach. Students who are trained in sequential, structural multisensory intervention facilities and who receive phonemic awareness training have gained significant decoding skills (BIRSH, 2005). This is because the multisensory approach uses explicit, direct, letter-sound interactions, word parts meanings, and syllable patterns teaching. This has been shown to have similar outcomes for broad based abilities and age ranges in many clinical settings studies. Confidence building in dyslexic students is beyond no reasonable doubts a very crucial entry point if any teacher expects to make success with the student. Research and classroom experience in U.K. have shown that a large percentage of the affected students forms perceptions about themselves and others around them regarding their condition, which makes dyslexic teaching a very sensitive area warranting for high levels of professionalism and experience. Before intervention, majority of dyslexic students often conclude that they are dumb, stupid, and thick due to huge failures they encounter. They always wonder why they can’t spell and read like others. Any person may make the same conclusion when subjected to the same circumstances, which is why it requires early diagnosis and correction for teaching to be effective (MCINTYRE, 1995). Multisensory approach is imperative in the sense that it provides the students favorable environments that are good in reducing their anxiety and pressure as opposed to most of the traditional teaching approaches. When a worksheet is provided for them to complete within a limited time frame such as in an examination, dyslexic most students in U.K. have been known to sit drowned in horror because most of them feel greatly pressurized by time constraints. There are cases where some of them have come up openly and told their teachers how the ticking of the clock increases their anxiety (HUBICKI, 2001, p. 86). A good teacher in such a case removes the clock, after which the student’s mind starts functioning freely and information is readily available. Another case is where an unsuspecting teacher may get hostile to a dyslexic student without prior knowledge of the condition. This sometimes makes the student have a permanent aversion to the teacher and/or the subject in question, a situation which may not be easily reversed from the students mind even though he/she may disclaim any aversion physically. Structural, systematic, multisensory teaching approach among dyslexic children: As we mentioned earlier on, there are differentiated dyslexic manifestations among different children. Their auditory and/or visual processing is categorically differently impaired. It is possible for a child to excel in one of the senses excellently but fail miserably in one or several others. Multisensory approach therefore comes in handy due to its full inclusion of all senses and children simultaneously. The bottom line of this principle is that the brain is able to respond to kinetic (movement) and tactile (touch) memories with the presence of a difficulty with the auditory and visual memories (KARGER, 2005). To these young, dyslexic children, the effect is magnanimous if they are involved in simple activities like molding or even writing the letters on different kinds of surfaces so that they experience and feel them at the same time. When molding and singing the alphabetical sounds for the letters they are making for example, they are hearing, feeling, and seeing the letters at the same time. Proper preparations and teaching materials should be made by the teacher before commencement of the teaching session. This becomes beneficial to the students and the teacher. The following are some of the preparations that have proven effective in multisensory teaching approach in many schools of U.K. In general this culminates in providing an enabling environment for them. Lesson plan and outline: It is a superb idea to get a brief outlay of the areas intended to be covered in the lesson before it begins. Breakdown of the lesson into smaller manageable units becomes more appealing to the children and they do not get an overwhelming feeling that what they are about to go through is a tormenting experience. About the teaching materials, it is important to know that most dyslexic children have difficulties when they read from overhead transparencies and shiny, white boards. Sitting arrangements: Dyslexic students should never be sat at any location that is likely to cause them any distraction, disturbance or irritation as this lowers their concentration level. Some of these may include other noisy and distracting students, external interruptions, constant fidgeting or talking etc. Furthermore, it is prudent to avoid presence of time constraints because they already labor hard enough without such constraints as ticking clocks (SILVERMAN, 2006). Giving assignments: When it happens that it is impossible to make individual assignment copies for the dyslexic children, it is inevitable to let the assignments written on the board remain as necessarily long as it would allow the children copy them at their own individual pace. If they are forced to match with others against their capability, they may become disoriented. In a case study, one child complained to the parents that the teacher was always erasing the assignment before she could copy all of it. Where possible, it is important to write take home assignments since the beginning of the day, and usually on the same part of the board. Furthermore, teachers ought to check on a one-on-one basis whether the students have finished copying and understanding their homework before leaving school. It is also necessary to find out what they may need to take home and also to ensure they remember of any due assignments or projects (SILVERMAN, 2000). Dyslexic children often have organization problem and when this is coupled with possible memory complication, independent assignments become ogled. A good solution to this complexity can be found by assigning each of the affected children a buddy with whom they can communicate over the phone while at home and share information. This eliminates the singling out feeling and enhances inclusion. Smaller classroom size: In order for teacher to give maximum individual attention to the pupils, it is crucial that the number of students per classroom is maintained at the lowest level possible. This will give the teacher ample time to handle the various different dyslexic conditions and the students will develop a feeling that they are given equal attention when their needs have been attended to their satisfaction. Such classes should have movement, tactile, color and space learning tools everywhere. Furthermore, it is always advisable to provide a spacious Lego table at a convenient place (usually at the back of the classroom) where kids can get breaks within the lesson plan and process learned information using their fingers (TORGESEN, 1997, p. 267). This allows the mind a time to re-boot and rest preparing for the lesson ahead. This is thus important because it alleviates the difficulty involved with transition in dyslexic students. In addition, it is a professional method by which learning institutions are able to recapture and instill learning joy among dyslexic students. Structured multisensory teaching approach to dyslexic pupils and students: As is the case with dyslexic children, this technique has proved very effective when it is appropriately used for adults. Dyslexic adults also manifest specific difficulties in learning even though they may have average or excellent intelligence. This can easily be detected from a conversation with them, but they often have apparent disparities in reading voluminous texts, spellings and in essay writing (BREWSTER, 1995, p. 89). It is therefore important that the teacher make some small inclusion changes in their teaching methodologies so that these students can achieve the same level of performance as the non-dyslexic. Some of the teaching guidelines which can be effective for these adult students (with organization, auditory perception, and visual tracking) difficulties include the following: Teaching guidelines: Presentation, at the onset of the lecture, an outline of scope to be studied so that the students can appreciate the ‘larger picture’ involved. Also detail the major points in the entire lecture for them to recognize the topic frame work. Wherever possible provide for every dyslexic student hard copies of the lecture outline notes. This may be time consuming but the results are always fantastic. Many universities and colleges around the world are adopting this method including providing the entire lecture notes in their websites so that dyslexic students can access them at their own pace. Dyslexic students get embarrassed when they are asked to read aloud. Because of their visual tracking difficulties, they are not able to follow the text from one sentence to the next and it is therefore recommended that they should be asked to do this. As much as it can be avoided, use of whiteboards is distractive to them and blackboards are encouraged instead. On the same note, it is better to use print key words instead of cursively handwriting them. Specific visual difficulty is posed by use of overhead projections. Better use Power Point pages or overhead projection photocopied handouts. Always allow a few minutes towards the end of the lecture for the dyslexics to make personal consultations for any confusing points they may have encountered during the lecture (SWANSON, 2003). Assignment arrangements: It is recommended that assignments are better issued written or as printed handouts instead of making the students copy them from the blackboards. It is wise to encourage dyslexic students to hand in rough draft copies of their assignments so that appropriate corrective measures can be advised by the tutor before a final copy is submitted. In case there are any special services support programs available, the lecturer should inform the students and advice them on the best approach skills to use in order to access such support. Teachers should also be well conversant with any available technological learning aids which are beneficial to their learning like the speech recognition aids, which can assist them in dictating their work to programs such as the word processor. This reduces the taxing work they have to do dealing with the spellings. Inspiration is another program that is used in essay planning and very useful to dyslexic students (PUTNAM, 1996, p. 291-293). Academic re-adjustments (study accommodations): Due to their disadvantaged situation as compared to non-dyslexic students, dyslexic students should be allowed some extra time during their examinations in order to give them an equal competitive edge. Concerning library book borrowing, it is good to extend their borrowing loan time so that they can access the required information with ease. They should also be allowed the advantage of taping lectures so that they can revisit them later. When notes are to given as handouts, make sure that they are large text prints for easy readability It is also necessary that dyslexia stickers should be supplied for examination booklets and for the assignments. Where eligible, give assistance to dyslexic for them to acquire provisional allowances, and in case they are not eligible, then they can be advised on how to earn such assistance from charitable organizations. These students should also be allowed to use disability support facilities such as computer use and/or word processors among others. Recent studies have shown that phonics based training is very effective in changing brain activity in dyslexic adults with significant reading improvements (OAKLAND, 1998, p. 143). Conclusion: Dyslexic instruction is an area that requires further research and investigation owing to the inconsistent nature, as well as the varying differences in symptomatic manifestations among different dyslexics in U.K and many other parts of the world.. Furthermore, these studies will help multisensory teachers and instructors gain further insight into the appropriate techniques and skills using the advanced technological tools. On the same note, it is necessary to establish regular forums where tutors and dyslexic students can freely interact among themselves and with others from other institutions. This activity can go along way in eliminating such psychological drawbacks like stigmatization and denial. Fortunately, multisensory structured learning programs have really gone along way in alleviating dyslexic conditions significantly. It is therefore necessary for all stakeholders, particularly governments and charitable organizations, to device further ways of funding dyslexic individuals and institutions dealing with dyslexics. References: ALEXANDER, W (2004). Current Status of Treatments for Dyslexia: Critical Review. Journal of Child Neurology, Vol. 19(10), p. 730-745 BIRSH, J (2005). Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Retrieved May 10, 2009 from Read More