“If children can't learn the way we teach, then we have to teach the way they learn” (Robert Buck). This is a great quote on how to approach teaching students with disabilities. The article I read was entitled “Teaching a Student with Dyslexia” by Kenneth J. Bryson. Dyslexia is a learning disability that I heard before but was uncertain what it fully meant. My definition was that it was a condition that affected a persons reading and writing abilities. It wasn’t until 2002 The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) adopted the following definition for dyslexia: Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Recent statistics from the IDA shows that about 15-20% of the population has dyslexia related symptoms, with cases ranging from mild to severe. This means in a classroom of twenty students, three are likely to have some form of dyslexia.

The author Kenneth J. Bryson does a good job by clearly identifying the problem. The article starts out by asking the reader questions such what is Dyslexia? What difficulties do dyslexics experience in everyday life? What difficulties do dyslexics face in learning music? In what ways can you adjust your teaching to accommodate a dyslexic student? The author explains how he lacked the understanding of the disability. It was not until a parent approached him asking him if he would provide vocal instruction to her daughter. The student had a severe case of dyslexia and the mother of the student felt that Mr. Bryson had the appropriate demeanor to accommodate her child's needs. Mr. Bryson conducted some brief research on dyslexia , focusing on his student's individual diagnosis. It was interesting to me that a brief research of the disability gave him enough insight to take this role on without prior knowledge or experience with any dyslexic's. His approach on how to teach the student was very thorough although he hadn't had any prior experience. He was able to sit down with the student and asked her to explain her experiences and struggles that come with being a dyslexic. Through these conversations he stated that “The insight I received from that first conversation completely changed my perception of dyslexia and the work individuals do to cope and function with it.” As we learned through our text books there are many different learning styles and in order to be an effective teacher it is necessary to understand the students style of learning and be able to adjust your delivery of the content to suit the student's needs. Mr. Bryson was taking the new information learned about the student and using it to customize a teaching method to suit her individual needs.

The purpose of this article I felt was to help inform teachers how to teach a dyslexia student by providing real world experience and researched strategies that were effective. Teachers who may teach this population without proper knowledge can ultimately cause considerable damage to the individual. Mr. Bryson believed that it was beneficial for the teacher to be exposed to various theories for cause and methods for remediation, as they can help lay the framework for a working knowledge and approach to dyslexia. I thought the article was well organized and followed a easy structure to follow.

The article started by explaining what dyslexia is after a brief history on how it was established and defined. The article then presented us the classic symptoms of the condition. In this section the author touched on how the British Dyslexia Association and Shelia Oglethorpe states that dyslexics typically have difficulties with auditory, motor and phonological processing skills, spatial awareness, visual perception, timing skill, short term memory, coordination, concentration, organization, sequencing, and working at speed. Additional symptoms include erratic behavior, low self-esteem, frustration, exhaustion, anxiety, and fear of failure. It is imperative as a future educator to understand and recognize symptoms associated with students and their potential disability. Gathering information from my students such as symptoms and traits that they may present in class will increase my chance of being an effective teacher and establishing a teaching method that will be successful. There were three different processing difficulties that were outlined in the article. Auditory Processing Difficulties, Visual Processing Difficulties, and Phonological Processing Difficulties were the three main struggles that dyslexic's struggled with. These three difficulties seemed to be the most common amongst students with the disability. I noticed that the difficulties that were explained in the article related to what we learned about the different learning styles, how some are either auditory visual or kinestic learners. Through these different styles it shows that how effective or ineffective a teacher can be when considering their approach to connecting to each style. After giving the overview of the difficulties that exist with the dyslexic students the author provided examples of tools and strategies that can be used when teaching a dyslexic student. Some of the tools that were mention included recording. The author explained by using audio recorder when teaching and then allowing the student to take it with them. This will provide good reference for the student who usually suffers from short term memory. Also, it is mentioned that repetition is key so with the recorder the student can listen to it over and over again. Another strategy used was incorporating different colors with the class material. By providing a color with certain topics and subjects allows the student to bank and process the information. This was described as the multisensory approach to learning. Lastly, he describes using flashcards help the dyslexic students learn better by breaking information down into small units. It's interesting to think that these strategies are used for students with a learning disability but can easily be effective with non-disabled students. Which brings up a key concept explained in the article discussing how dyslexia should not be seen as a disability but a “Gift.” Ronald D. Davis author of “The Gift of Dyslexia” views dyslexia as a gift rather than a curse or disability. He describes dyslexics as being multidimensional thinkers (using all senses). They tend to be more curious, creative, and intuitive than average, always aware of their environment, inventive, and good at real-world tasks. Overall, The article was a great example of how to approach and teach a student with dyslexia. I feel it is necessary for teachers to make adjustments to facilitate learning and have a positive classroom atmosphere. Teachers have the unique opportunity to really make a difference in a student's life. It's those teachers that take the extra effort to do whats necessary to help the students succeed.