At the launch of the HMIE document Education for learners with dyslexia I listened with interest to the PT of Support for Learning at Barrhead School, Carol Cutler. She suggested a wealth of practical ideas for supporting young people with dyslexia which I’d like to reproduce here:
· At Transition times, pupils from S1, S3 and S6 meet with P7 pupils informally with juice and cake, but no members of staff, to explore fears and facts about entering high school.
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Pupils have permission to email the PT SfL with concerns. Carol assured the audience that this is used by pupils with genuine concerns about their learning or school experience. It means she and her staff can focus on potential difficulties before they became overwhelming.
- An ‘ASN year group’ took responsibility for the décor of their room and persuaded the HT to provide comfortable chairs.
- Pupils have the option of carrying a laminated ‘credit’ card stating ‘I am … and I have dyslexia’. This avoids a public declaration.
- Young people contribute to the confidential information about themselves for circulation to staff.
- Senior pupils support younger ones socially and with reading.
- Parents are invited to study skills evenings where they were taught techniques such as Mind Mapping.
- English teachers ensure that pupils are given warning of passages to be read aloud in class for the next day. Some pupils prefer to be seen to be like everybody else rather than be made to stand out.
- The department is open over exam leave for independent study in a quiet area.
- ICT is used extensively
- A drop-in lunchtime homework club and the opportunity to check in 15 minutes before the start of the school day supports personal organisation.
I have seen many of these working effectively in schools and am grateful to Carol for sharing them with us.
Hilery Williams 
Nov 17, 2008 @ 16:14:25
Someone else has suggested to me that a yellow-tinted plastic sheet can also be utilized to place over the reading passage, and that for some reason this helps students with Dyslexia. Something about the black and white patterns…
Nov 18, 2008 @ 00:02:29
Yes – some people have what’s called scotopic sensitivity – an adverse reaction to glare. Black text on white paper/ screen is especially stressful and can cause the print to move about. Yellow is traditionally a good colour for those with this difficulty: either a coloured overly, tinted lenses or text copied on to coloured paper. I always change the background colour to a pale yellow and the font to a dark brown when I am typing a long piece. Some people prefer a dark background with a light text. As in everything to do with dyslexia it depends on the individual. I don’t have scotopic sensitivity or dyslexia but I certainly find that a gentler contrast relieves eye strain.
If people find their reading difficulties diminish with such interventions, then dyslexia is not the major problem. However, I always suggest to parents that children have an eye (and hearing) test if only to eliminate the possibility of such sensitivity.
I spent a long time trying to locate a dyslexia friendly theme for this blog. To no avail. I have to be content with changing the text colour; although it doesn’t always work, frustratingly. I haven’t yet found how to alter the background colour. And sometimes the font refuses to become Comic Sans rather than Times New Roman. I’ll keep working on it.