Dyslexia and Dysgraphia

1. Assess and discuss misunderstandings and inaccurate perceptions about the characteristics of Specific Learning Disorder diagnosis and its’ impact on student performance.
2. Use music and physical movement to prepare the brain for learning and to enhance retention and recall.
3. Choose appropriate interventions for letter formation, spacing, capitalization, punctuation to improve treatment outcomes.
4. Implement techniques to boost reading comprehension and enhance critical thinking skills.
5. Apply strategies related to the seven foundational skills of reading to inform choice of treatment interventions.
6. Create effective methods to support students’ written language abilities and to reduce anxiety about written expression.
7. Formulate plans to improve student outcomes in reading and written language through applying learned strategies and resources.

Dispelling Myths about Dyslexia and Dysgraphia

• Dyslexia/Dysgraphia can be diagnosed
• Students will not just “get over it” or grow out of it
• Students won’t do better if they just “try harder”

Preparing the Brain For Learning

• The benefits of music and movement for the reading/writing brain
• Engaging positive self-talk
• Resources for implementing movement in the classroom

Foundational skills for proficient readers

• Phonemic Awareness
• Phonological Awareness
• Visual Tracking
• Blending
• Segmenting
• Multi-syllable Words
• Fluency

Boosting Comprehension

• Identifying unknown words
• Thinking and remembering in categories
• Creating meaningful, memorable definitions
• Inference and prediction, Idioms, Multiple-Meaning Words
• Literal vs. Figurative language
• Fact vs. Opinion

Strategies for Written Expression

• Improving letter formation, spacing, capitalization, punctuation
• Overcoming spelling difficulties
• Choosing words to write with
• Building Sentences
• Writing from Pictures
• Collecting and using ideas for writing

Assistive Technology, Accommodations and Supports

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Teachers
• Paraprofessionals
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Other Helping Professionals that Work with Children