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Dyslexia

This ebooklet provides a brief overview of dyslexia and a wide range of strategies teachers and other school professionals can use to assist the child in the classroom. Relevant strategies can also be easily adapted to be included in student’s Individual Learning Plans and in the recommendations section of psychologist’s reports. These strategies are designed for use with students in primary

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March 6, 2019

Technologies for students with dyslexia: Part 2 Writing

  By Jemima Hutton Psych4Schools Guest Blogger Dear teachers, This is the second of two blogs, the first related to reading, and this one to writing. Both use scenarios to help you consider ways to implement digital technologies in your classroom. I have specifically written this way in the hope that you will act, not

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February 11, 2019

Technologies for students with dyslexia: Part 1 Reading

By Jemima Hutton Psych4Schools Guest Blogger Dear teachers, At 19 years of age, I still act like a total child when it comes to writing something like this blog. I am simply overwhelmed and quite frankly, intimidated by the enormity of the task. The irony of a dyslexic writing about how other dyslexics can engage

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June 21, 2017

Dyslexia part II: Help to reduce reading difficulties

While learning to read seems effortless for many children, for some it can be challenging. As children are assessed mid-year, alarm bells can start to ring for those children who have not shown appropriate literacy growth. The following inclusive strategies, will assist early readers and help reduce the impact of dyslexia on those who have

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June 15, 2017

Dyslexia

While learning to read seems effortless for many children, for some it can be challenging. As children are assessed mid-year, alarm bells can start to ring for those children who have not shown appropriate literacy growth. A specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia can be slow to manifest or be identified. For example, a young

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Dyslexia

While learning to read and write seems effortless for many children, for some it can be challenging. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability with a neurobiological basis that affects 3 – 5 per cent of all children.[1]World Dyslexia forum, 3–5 February 2010 at UNESCO Paris. Summary for findings and recommendations. www.worlddyslexiaforum.org .For children with dyslexia reading, writing and spelling

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March 15, 2013

Helping students with dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects up to 5% of children. These children have difficulties with: Phonological processing. Problems associated with connecting written letters to their corresponding sounds (phonemes) are reflected in an inability to rapidly name letters and their common associated sounds. Hence, children struggle to decode letters and words when reading,

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April 5, 2020

Supporting parents with at-home learning

Psych4Schools thanks our nation’s teachers and school support staff who have spent weeks preparing and delivering teaching and learning packages for students and families to support at-home learning. Carefully selected physical materials will help cater for the diverse needs of learners and those without access to remote learning tools. For many there will be some

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August 20, 2018

Calm books for the classroom

A few years ago, I worked with Toby*, a Year 2 boy with dyslexia who was having trouble controlling his anger in the classroom. When he perceived tasks as too hard he would scrunch up work, throw pens, workbooks and other materials, sometimes yell, swear, and on rare occasions hit and push other students. Over

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August 22, 2016

Building student self-belief for learning

In every class there are students who struggle to learn. Over time, some will begin to believe that even if they try, they will be unable to achieve. As a result, they may give up easily, be less willing to have a go, avoid trying new things, or asking for help, further reinforcing their perception

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July 20, 2016

Word games to help prepare children for literacy at school

Children’s literacy skills begin developing long before they begin school. Some might argue that they begin in the womb, where we now know the foetus begins learning the difference between language patterns such as sounds, syllables and vowel lengths. [1]Partanen E, Kujala T, Huotilainen M, et al. Learning-induced neural plasticity of speech processing before birth. PNAS.

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April 20, 2016

The importance of taking a break

When students engage in a task involving high concentration for an extended period of time, the brain’s messenger chemicals or neurotransmitters, like dopamine and serotonin, are depleted and they can experience ‘burnout’. As a result, new memories are unlikely to be stored effectively. Observe your students whilst they are engaged in an activity for a

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Working memory difficulties

Working memory refers to the ability to hold information in short-term memory while simultaneously processing it. We use working memory to meaningfully participate in everyday activities such as conversations, to decode unknown words when reading, and to do mental arithmetic. For example, we may use our working memory to decode an unknown word when reading

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Learning disabilities

Children with learning disabilities find it challenging to learn, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy.  Despite having average to above average intellectual abilities, these children perform well below the expected level for their age and general ability, in one or more academic areas such as reading, writing, spelling, or mathematics. In Australia it

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Dyscalculia (mathematics disability)

Children with dyscalculia have a poor sense of number. They experience significant difficulties understanding the size or quantity of a number and thus the relationship of numbers to one another[1] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric … Continue reading . Approximately 3 to 6 per cent of children suffer

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September 9, 2014

Speech-to-text and text-to-speech software: Helping students with learning disabilities

I was talking with a teacher recently about the power of text-to-speech software, and the big changes she’s seen not only in the output of work of one of her Year 6 students, but also his improved attitude to writing. Using the software on his laptop he is now able to write two or more

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