Accommodations

Reprinted with prior written permission from Susan Barton, Founder, Bright Solutions for Dyslexia.

A dyslexic child needs accommodations in school and at home. In addition, there are many steps a parent can take to support their child in getting the help they need.

Classroom Accommodations
Homework Accommodations
What can parents do?

It is important to get Classroom Accommodations while a child is being tutored using an Orton-Gillingham-based system.

Classroom Accommodations

Accommodations allow dyslexic students to master the same curriculum as everyone else and prove their knowledge—even though they are not (yet) reading, writing, or spelling at grade level. Would you ask a child that wears glasses to take them off when taking a test? Is that fair? Fair is not teaching everyone the same, it is getting a child where they need to be successful.

Here are the most commonly requested classroom accommodations that will allow your child to demonstrate his/her knowledge even though your child is not yet reading, writing, or spelling at grade level:

Oral testing: Tests are read to the student (or provided pre-recorded on audio tape), and the student is allowed to give answers orally (or tape record the answers).

Untimed tests: Dyslexic students do not perform well under time pressure. It also takes them longer to read the questions, compose the answer in their head, and get it down on paper.

Eliminate or reduce spelling tests: Classroom teachers rarely teach spelling rules in the same way or same order as a dyslexia tutor. Many teachers will accept a spelling test given in a tutoring session as a replacement for the classroom test, or only grade a classroom spelling test on a small number of pre-determined words.

Don’t force oral reading: Teachers should never force students with dyslexia to read out loud in front of the class. If for some reason this is absolutely necessary, warn the student in advance and show them exactly which passage they will have to read so that they can practice ahead of time.

Accept dictated homework: Dyslexic students can dictate answers much more easily and quickly than they can write them down. Allow parents to act as a scribe.

Reduce homework load: Many teachers create homework assignments by estimating how long it would take a “normal” student to complete it. They may not realize it takes a dyslexic student 3 to 4 times longer to complete the same assignment. Teachers should agree to a maximum time to spend on homework. Parents should sign the end of the homework page showing the amount of time spent on the assignment.

Grade on content, not spelling or penmanship: Some teachers take spelling and penmanship into consideration when assigning a grade. For dyslexic children, this is not appropriate. Teachers should be asked to grade only on the content of an assignment.

Reduce copying tasks: It takes dyslexic students longer to copy information from the board, and if they have dysgraphia, they may not be able to read their notes. So provide lecture notes, or discretely assign a fellow student to act as a scribe using NCR paper.

Quick print shops can create NCR sets of binder paper. (NCR paper is sometimes called carbonless copy paper.) The top sheet of binder paper has a coating applied to the back of it that is pressure sensitive. When someone writes on the top sheet, the coating automatically makes a copy appear on the lower sheet of binder paper. So when class is over, the scribe just tears off the lower sheet and gives it to our student.

Alternate assignments: Teachers should offer alternative ways to show mastery of material other than a long written paper. Alternatives could include oral or video presentations, dioramas, collages, or debates.

Avoid or reduce essay tests: Use match up, fill-in-the-blank, or short answer formats for tests. List vocabulary words for fill-in-the-blank sections at the top of the exam.

Multiple-choice questions are also difficult for dyslexic students due to the volume of reading required to answer them correctly.

Conduct a class review session before the test: Also, provide a study guide with key terms and concepts to the students.

Ask the student how he/she learns best: Often, dyslexic students can explain to teachers strategies and techniques that help them learn. These are usually easy to incorporate into a classroom.

Homework Accommodations

(for greater detail find our pdf document under our side bar entitled printable resources)

Parent reads everything out loud to your child.
Ask each homework question out loud, let them answer it out loud, and you write it down.
Ask for shortened homework
Ignore the weekly spelling test

What Parents can do?

(for greater detail find our pdf document under our side bar entitled printable resources)

Develop their love for literature. This could be the single most important thing you can do at home.
- Read to your child every night – this is for pleasure, to learn to enjoy the love of a story, gain vocabulary, and an understanding of story development. Don’t make them read, guessing creates bad habits and breeds frustration. This should be fun.
- Audio Books, Audio Books – you want to develop their love for literature and you can’t always be the one to read to them. Let them listen to books at their intellectual level. Bring it in the car and enjoy the books together. Let them listen why they color, or do legos, or clean their room.
Use only one reading intervention program
Increase the frequency of tutoring during the summer
Fight for classroom accommodations.
Use Apps – Co-editor, Easy Spelling, Ace Inference
Avoid handwriting by using technology – typing tutor program, Naturally speaking dictation software, or Handwriting without Tears.
Learning Ally – audio books and textbooks resource
Find and Develop their strengths and talents
Learn everything you can about dyslexia.