Coping strategies and aids
Alongside the Dore Programme, the following coping strategies and aids for dyslexia can be used to make the learning process that much easier.
Handouts and materials
- Use of coloured ink or coloured paper (black ink on white paper can be difficult to read)
- Use text in lowercase (block capitals are difficult to read)
- Use 'plain English'
- Use of plain, clear fonts
- Use of graphs, pictures or charts to break up reading material
- Make information available in a variety of ways: reading, audio, visual
Visual aids
- Hand held magnifiers for reading/writing
- Highlighter pens for reading small areas of text
- Card/ruler, to keep to the line while reading
- Intuitive (coloured) overlays
- Coloured rulers
- Coloured screens, used on computers
- Computer default settings to plain type
- Set computer icons to larger size
- Use of computer magnifying tool
Assistive technology
- Computers
- Spellcheckers and Autocorrect (on computers)
- Screen reading software
- Voice recognition software
- Word prediction software
- Calculators
- Spellmasters
- Dictaphones
- Audio tapes/CDs
- Special keyboards or mouse
- Audio books are useful for engaging dyslexics with literature
Additional learning support
Good schooling, specialist one-to-one tutors and other learning schemes can be very beneficial to assist those who have fallen behind academically. Remember, all schools have a responsibility for supporting children with educational needs. Speak to your school if you want more information.
The Dyslexia Foundation www.dyslexiafoundation.org.nz has valuable informatuion to complement that provided by the Dore programme.