I like observing and appreciating how a student positively uncovers his unique learning style, which is a great motivator (by retaining learning) and a structured support for him, no matter what age. And how does he learn? He learns through a multisensory reading approach such as Orton-Gillingham or Wilson Reading System.
A multisensory approach to reading is just that – a student engages his senses. He learns to read by using his auditory, visual, tactile and kinesthetic sense, reinforcing each other for optimal learning. At times, I help a child learn through his stronger mode of reception. For example, I may be working with a younger child who initially comes to understand that he remembers a sound by first seeing its letter (visual reception) whereas another child will have to hear a sound before he can name its corresponding letter (auditory reception). In another situation, if I find a child has difficulty printing (fine motor expression), I will engage his stronger tactile sense, and have him spell using letter tiles or blocks to support his learning style. An older student may use assistive technology.
“This is how I learn” ultimately becomes a positive affirmation and consequently, self-esteem improves. Progress, of course, is always a reward unto itself and is brightly highlighted within the child because grades, peer comparisons and timelines never enter the picture!
Margaret Byrd Rawson, a former President of The Orton Dyslexia Society (the precursor to The International Dyslexia Association), said it well: “Dyslexic students need a different approach to learning language from that employed in most classrooms. They need to be taught, slowly and thoroughly, the basic elements of their language — the sounds and the letters which represent them — and how to put these together and take them apart. They have to have lots of practice in having their writing hands, eyes, ears, and voices working together for the conscious organization and retention of their learning.”