Design for Dyslexia

Instructional Design with Dyslexia in Mind

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Do you long to help your students with dyslexia achieve to their potential? Do you wonder where to get started?

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The Societal Costs of Dyslexia The following is a guest post written by a high school senior with dyslexia. In spite of taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses throughout high school, she felt that a high school diploma was not worth the remaining few months of struggle. She was prepared to drop out of school 2 months before graduation thinking that since she had a job as a waitress, she did not need a diploma or college education.  After working with her to organize her workload and advocate for herself with teachers, she decided to stay in school and graduate with honors. As a class assignment, she researched the societal costs and benefits of dyslexia as part of a business plan to create an EdTech company to help dyslexic learners. The Cost of Not Responding 1 in 5 people, that’s 20% of the population, is believed to have dyslexia (Kropp, 2020).  The school dropout rate for students with dyslexia is 35%, twice the national average. (Al-Lamki, 2012) 85% of young people in jail have learning disabilities and between 48-60% of the prison population in Texas alone has dyslexia (Dyslexia Untied, n.d.) It costs on average $214,620 per year to incarcerate a youth (Justice Policy Institute, 2020). The rate of suicide among students with learning disabilities is 3 times higher than ‘typical’ students. (Daniel, et. al, 2006) 89% of suicide notes exhibit dyslexic spelling patterns (McBride and Siegel, 1997). Only 3% of the population believe dyslexia is a positive trait and 73% of workers hide dyslexia from their employer (Made by Dyslexia, n.d.; Conlan, 2021). The Bright Side for Business 35% of self-made millionaires in the United States and 20% in the UK have dyslexia. Entrepreneurs in the US are 3 times more likely and in the UK are 2 times more likely to have dyslexia than the average citizen. (Conlan, 2021). Dynamic reasoning, interconnected reasoning, and spatial knowledge and visualization are strengths of the dyslexic brain (Eide & Eide, 2011) In the 4th Industrial Revolution, the skills of dyslexics are more in demand than reading, writing, and data entry, while their enhanced creative reasoning, problem solving and social skills will help employees with dyslexia bridge the skills gaps in a way that linear thinkers cannot (Conlan, 2021). 98% say teachers need more training in how to identify and support students with dyslexia (Made by Dyslexia, n.d.; Conlan, 2021). Dyslexia was only recognized as a disability in California on August 24, 2017 (California Legislative Information Code Section, 2017). States like California estimate that economic losses due to dyslexia will cost the state $12 billion dollars this year and $1 trillion over the working lifetime of today’s students. By contrast, an investment of $880 million in early screening, teacher training, and intervention will give an 800% return on investment as the life impacts mentioned above are avoided (Kropp, 2020). References Al-Lamki, L. (2012). Dyslexia: Its impact on the individual, parents and society. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, (12)3, pp. 269-72. doi:10.12816/0003139 Dyslexia Untied. (n.d.). Why we should all care about dyslexia. https://dyslexia-untied.com/why-we-should-all-care-about-dyslexia-the-societal-impacts-of-dyslexia/ Eide, B., & Eide, F. (2011). The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. New York: Hudson Street Press. California Legislative Information Code Section. (2017). ARTICLE 2.5. Eligibility criteria for special education and related services on the basis of language and speech disorder or specific learning disabilities . https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC&sectionNum=56335#:~:text=56335.,services%20to%20pupils%20with%20dyslexia. Conlan, R. (2021, Jan. 11). The secret upside of dyslexia: Not a disability but a superpower. https://youtu.be/AMrUxxmMz8g Justice Policy Institute (2020). Policy brief 2020 Sticker shock: The Cost of youth incarceration. http://www.justicepolicy.org/research/12928 Kropp, M. (2020). The $1T impact of ignoring dyslexia. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/1t-impact-ignoring-dyslexia-matthew-kropp/ McBride, H.E., & Siegel, L.S. (1997). Learning disabilities and adolescent suicide. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(6):652-659. doi: 10.1177/002221949703000609. Daniel, S. S., Walsh, A. K., Goldston, D. B., Arnold, E. M., Reboussin, B. A., & Wood, F. B. (2006). Suicidality, school dropout and reading problems among adolescents. Journal of Learning Disabilities, (39)6: pp 507-514. [...] Read more...
Signs and Symptoms of Dyslexia Can you spot the 1 in 5 students (or adults) with dyslexia? Maybe. Some characteristics of dyslexia are more well-known than others. 10 Typical Signs of Dyslexia Do not seem to grasp that words come apart into individual sounds Difficulty learning and remembering the letters and sounds of the alphabet Seems unable to recognize letters in their own names Trouble rhyming, recognizing rhyming patterns (bat, cat, rat)  or learning nursery rhymes Repeats or omits short words like and, but, or Mispronouncing familiar words, perceived as using ‘baby talk’ or has a speech delay Reading father as “dad” or seeing an adult dog in an illustration and saying “puppy” Family history of reading or spelling problems Disappears when it is time to read, rarely reads for pleasure Becomes tired and frustrated or gets headaches when reading Although we typically think of reading and spelling challenges as characteristic of dyslexia, it affects other areas of life, as well. 15 Less Familiar signs of Dyslexia Has difficulty with directionality; confuses left and right Lacks a sense of urgency compared to peers Slower to respond in conversation than peers, seems to need additional time to process Has difficulty taking notes and copying accurately and quickly from the board Messy handwriting Has low self-esteem and negative self-talk, often in spite of high achievement Poor short term and long term memory, particularly for single-mode input (auditory, visual) Uses vague language like “stuff” or “things” and avoids saying words that might be mispronounced Pauses, hesitates, or uses “um” when speaking and gestures to skip over words when reading Seems to need extra time to process and retrieve facts and information due to a disorganized mental filing cabinet Confuses words with similar sounds such as volcano/tornado or patients/patience Needs additional time to finish tests but demonstrates understanding with extra time Grades do not reflect understanding or ability Difficulty remembering math facts and names of people or places Disorganized supplies, belongings, and backpack How about these 15 less celebrated characteristics of dyslexia? Insatiable curiosity, always asking why Great imagination, conceptualization, reasoning, visualization, and problem solving skills Enjoys puzzles, building models and finding unique solutions Able to get the gist of things or see the big picture that others do not see Quick to understand new concepts, especially when learning is accomplished through meaning not rote memorization Surprising maturity in speaking with older children or adults Creative, divergent thinker, and high level conceptualizer with original thoughts and insights Excellent visual-spatial skills and spatial reasoning in careers as inventors, interior designers, architects, and engineers Excels in visual arts, photography, and performance arts Interested in more conceptual studies such as philosophy, social studies, or neuroscience Excellent writing when the focus is on content and not writing skills Exceptional empathy, warmth, and compassion Highly articulate when expressing feelings or ideas they are passionate about Resiliency Strong social and moral compass Do you recognize the students with dyslexia hiding behind these personalities? The Pot Stirrer who creates drama to focus your attention on someone else? The Bully who lacks confidence and self-worth and picks on others instead? The Class Clown who distracts others and makes them laugh to hide from being labeled as dumb? The Silent Child who is shy, withdrawn, rarely participates and hides in plain sight? The Smart Aleck who is sarcastic, argumentative, and confrontational to focus attention on behavior and not academic skills? The Social Butterfly who talks with anyone and everyone but avoids answering questions or reading aloud? The Lazy/Unmotivated One who appears to not care or not try but is paddling harder than anyone under the surface? The Rocket Scientist who studies physics and engineering for fun, but struggles to comprehend content presented in a written format? 15 Simple Strategies to Implement TODAY Turn on closed captioning for every video! Use consistent, easy to read sans-serif fonts (like Arial, Calibri, or Open-Sans) Unclutter documents and classroom webpages All extra time on tests and assignments without drawing attention to students Minimize visual distractions in the classroom and on websites (try Mercury Reader Chrome extension) Provide a calm, quiet and welcoming space in the classroom to work Allow older students to record lectures or provide links to archived videos from class Provide copies of notes or slides in advance Provide response options such as video or audio rather than writing. Encourage using dictation software and Immersive Reader on Microsoft products Provide links to audio books as an alternative to reading Encourage typing or using a tablet instead of writing Address and respond to negative self-talk Acknowledge effort and celebrate hard work even if there are mistakes Use the word ‘dyslexia’! Validate the specific challenges that result from dyslexia and celebrate the hard work people with dyslexia invest every day. [...] Read more...
Inclusive Instructional Design Do you design for disability or diversity? Wondering what’s the difference? The Inclusive Design Research Center (IDRC) defines this as “design that considers the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference.” Inclusive Design has 3 core values – Awareness is recognizing and acknowledging the myriad ways learners are diverse Compassion is seeking to include the needs of people different from ourselves Togetherness is collaboration and sharing our successes to continually improve our processes. As educators, we can apply these core values in our planning today through 3 subtle mind shifts. Recognizing and acknowledging the diversity and uniqueness of our learners Using inclusive processes in design and tools in delivery Enabling a broader impact in the lives of learners, their families, and society Recognizing & Acknowledging Diversity One big point jumped out at me here. I’ve read the research, the books, attended the webinars, been bombarded with emails on diversity in the classroom. What resonates with IID for me is the mindset and willingness to look for hidden diversity.  The ways learners vary that aren’t being talked about in the media.  We must empower our students to recognize their own unique learning patterns, advocate for themselves, and actually use the scaffolds designed into instruction. It’s also recognizing that some learners may feel voiceless and not respond to a teacher’s initial offers of support. Many students just yearn to be recognized and acknowledged for who they are, but they have lost faith in the educational system. Using Inclusive Processes and Tools Inclusion is an education buzzword that sells books and funds research. As educators, we already know that teaching to the middle is not equitable or effective. We’ve heard about student voice and choice since our first day of education classes.  But in trying to reach our students on the fringes, how often do we plan in a vacuum guided by our own lived experience? The slogan “nothing about us without us” goes back over 500 years in politics but is equally applicable in today’s classrooms. I’ll be perfectly transparent – I am not dyslexic. I’m a linear thinker who did not have the same experience in school as my friends and students with dyslexia. But I’ve listened to hundreds of people over 20 years who are dyslexic. Their felt needs and input inform my design. Inclusive processes and tools go deeper that retrofitting existing curriculum with accommodations. It’s valuing the lived experience of people different from ourselves. My brother had undiagnosed learning differences which made his school experience vastly different from my own. Our race, culture, socioeconomic status, access to technology, and parents were the same. He did not have a voice in his own education and still does not understand his own learning struggles. Few people valued how he felt or considered how he learns best. Sadly, 50 years later, our students who learn differently often do not have a place at the design table. Enabling Broader Beneficial Impact Do you long to make an impact? Almost certainly or you wouldn’t be an educator seeking to support students with learning challenges. Using inclusive design, “a rising tide lifts all boats”. Also known as the curbcut effect, designing for inclusion usually benefits more than just the specific group targeted. (For an interesting diversion, skim the list of electronic curbcuts from the product design world and how these benefited a wide range of unintended users worldwide!) By taking advantage of human diversity up front in the planning and design process, IID seeks to build an adaptive, responsive learning experience that empowers each learner to choose their own learning path. Universal Design for Learning is often a method or way of doing, whereas Inclusive Instructional Design is a thinking. It’s not technology that creates barriers, it is casting a wider net in the design process that reaps the greatest rewards for learners and truly society as a whole. “Inclusion benefits everyone, it should be everyone’s concern. In this digitally transformed reality that we live and work in – where consumption does not consume, and space has no limits – there is no downside to inclusion and it is possible to make room for us all.” – Jutta Treviranus, director of IDRC Classroom Implementation How can you implement this in the classroom? Intentionally seeking the input of your students and colleagues – particularly the quiet ones who struggle in silence. Many do not expect their opinion to be valued or their struggles recognized, so they won’t respond when you ask for input. Seek them out privately in a way that is comfortable for both of you. Consider simple design choices which will impact more than just your target audience. Make a classroom brand kit to streamline and automatize decisions like fonts, colors, and layout.  Simplify your organization. Be direct and explicit in directions and assignments. Provide multiple modes of delivery, such as turning on closed captions in all videos. Develop a library of icons and use them consistently through your classroom, LMS, and assignments. Most importantly, take heart! You can do this, and your students and their future selves will thank you!! [...] Read more...
What is UDL? Whether you know the term Universal Design for Learning or UDL, it can help achieve your goals. Your goal of engaged students with an enthusiasm for learning. Your goal of improved understanding and performance. And your goal to stop feeling ineffective and overwhelmed at reaching your most struggling students. The reality is with teaching in the COVID era, you don’t have time to learn a new way of planning. If you are an educator, you already know a lot about UDL. Similar to the goals of Backwards Design, Universal Design for Learning seeks to meet every student by rethinking goals, methods, materials, and assessments. Let’s unpack U-D-L first. Universal means that the curriculum can be understood by every student, even though each student is unique and brings diverse life experiences, learning challenges, and attitudes. Learning requires tapping into 3 parts of the brain for RECOGNITION – the content, or what, of learning, SKILLS and STRATEGIES – the how of learning, and CARING and PRIORITIZING – the motivation, or why, of learning. So, in order to learn, students need not only knowledge, but skills, and enthusiasm for learning. You knew that already through your own lived experience. You can surely describe that ‘perfect’ lesson where one (or all) of those broke down and learning fell flat. UDL helps you intentionally address all 3 in the planning stage – the content and how you present it, the learner’s skills and self-efficacy, and the curiosity and motivation needed to learn. Do you feel like this might be more EduBabble and teacher shaming? How can teachers possibly meet the UNIVERSAL LEARNING needs of so many unique students? Here’s where DESIGN comes into play!  Take heart! UDL for Accommodation Universal Design has been used in architecture and engineering for years to design accessible buildings, products, and services like ramps and automatic doors. Many accommodations address physical disabilities and are often retrofit after the fact. A principle called the curbcut effect means that wheelchair ramps can help not only people using a wheelchair but also people with bikes, strollers, and even Amazon delivery robots.  But how much more functional are these supports when planned for in the first place? UDL checklists can be used to measure the accessibility of existing courses and materials to retrofit accommodations. For example, adding closed captions and transcripts to videos serves more than just hearing impaired learners. Research shows that 40% of learners use captions when they are in distracting locations, have auditory processing challenges, like multiple modes of input, or just want privacy. UDL has 3 principles, 9 guidelines, and 31 checkpoints, which sounds completely crazy if you are a K-12 educator. Here’s an example of what not to do to illustrate that throwing in ALL OF THE THINGS without planning for learner diversity is not effective. UDL Gone Wrong As a university professor equipping teachers to teach during COVID, I scoured the Internet for ways to help them survive. If you are a teacher, you were probably doing the same thing.  I’m also a K-12 teacher, so this quest was for myself as well as the teachers in my course. My local school district had a team of curriculum directors develop canned courses for our LMS. Their heart was in the right place and they used the principles of UDL. But In August, when teachers downloaded their courses for the year they were flattened by UDL gone wrong. Our district had all the right motives and had read all of the books on UDL. They included multiple page, color coded student checklists for every week to encourage student self-management. They had multiple ways of presenting information. PlayPosit videos with embedded questions. PearDecks with embedded video, audio, and comprehension questions. PDFs to annotate using Kami. Discussion boards. Flipgrid video posts.  All. The. Tech. They created daily LMS folders for each assignment – nested inside each topic – nested inside each unit…you get the idea. Every assignment was linked to Google Drive. Students only had to click through the folders in the LMS, open the document outside the LMS in Google Drive, make a copy, rename it, claim it, DO it, and click 4 or 5 more places to turn it in.  Have you figured out by now most teachers needed a therapist (uh…I did), and most students just stayed in bed? You may recognize this scenario. I share this experience not to make you relive nightmares, but to say that UDL has awesome ideas, but it’s more than a checklist to follow. Allow the purpose to inform the technology, not the other way around. Moving from an essential idea or process to the tool that makes that possible lets you explore the many options and streamline the path for students. I’m still in Crisis Mode, where do I start? Now that we have an idea of what doesn’t work, lets look at how we can start small and make a big impact on instruction. Consider the purpose. Maybe students were recording ideas on Post-Its, forming groups, and organizing Post-Its on chart paper to share.  The purpose isn’t to learn a dozen new EdTech ways to move virtual Post-Its. The bigger goals are individual sense-making, collaboration, and presentation. Start there and allow the purpose to inform the technology. Maybe a breakout room, a discussion board, or if you still love Post-Its, a Jamboard or Padlet. Streamline the tech tools. Feedback from students, parents, and teachers clearly indicates tech overwhelm. Use a few tools and explicitly teach students how to use them. Many students are using cell phones or have poor Internet connections. Or are sharing computers and do not have the time or mental bandwidth to learn new tech tools. Simple trumps flashy. Be forgiving. Of yourself, and your students. Research confirms that the pandemic has shortened everyone’s fuse. Give yourself a break. Realize that you cannot possibly have perfect lessons to meet the needs of every student in retrofit mode. Rethink the purpose of assignments, simplify the tech, and keep it simple for your sake and theirs. Inclusive Instructional Design In the next post, we will look at Inclusive Instructional Design (IID) and how it is more than retrofitting assignments. IID is rethinking our approach before we break ground and getting the input of our most important stakeholders, our students.  There’s light ahead for all of us! Universal Design for Learning is often a method or way of doing, whereas Inclusive Instructional Design is a way of thinking. I’m writing this post on International Accessibility Awareness Day, the third Thursday in May. You can join the movement for digital accessibility at the Global Accessibility Awareness Day website here. [...] Read more...
Definition of Dyslexia Dyslexia is neurobiological in origin. It is a genetic condition characterized by differences in the brain neurology that accounts for language processing.  The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia in this way: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological 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 growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” (IDA, 2002) Adopted by the IDA Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002. Many state education codes, including New Jersey, Ohio and Utah, have adopted this definition. Learn more about how consensus was reached on this definition: Definition Consensus Project. To quote Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a noted expert in the field of dyslexia: Dyslexic children and adults struggle to read fluently, spell words correctly and learn a second language, among other challenges. But these difficulties have no connection to their overall intelligence. In fact, dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often, paradoxically, are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities. (Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia, pp.13- 24) What is Dyslexia NOT? Simply put, a dyslexia diagnosis indicates difficulty in reading, spelling, and/or comprehension in otherwise intelligent children and adults. The diagnosis is not the result of vision difficulties, lower IQ, lack of appropriate education, or cultural factors.  While there’s no “cure” for dyslexia, its difficulties can be remediated as children and adults develop strategies and compensation mechanisms to deal with their challenges. In fact, many dyslexics are highly creative and successful in their chosen fields. Dyslexia Diagnosis The signs of dyslexia are often present in early childhood, however, the signs might not be recognized until students are already behind their peers in reading and spelling.  The term ‘stealth dyslexia’ refers to those identified in high school, college, or adulthood.  These older adults have flown under the radar of traditional diagnosis and gotten by based upon high reading comprehension and other coping mechanisms.  Many school districts are hesitant to intervene with young children, citing a normal bell-curve distribution of reading age and ability level. Dyslexia Statistics The prevalence of dyslexia in the research literature ranges from 5-10% of the population, to the more recently accepted numbers of 1 in 5, or 20% of the population.  According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, founded by Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz, dyslexia is the most common learning disability, accounting for 80-90% of cases. Dyslexia Remediation The Orton-Gillingham Method has proven highly effective at teaching students the background phonological concepts necessary for reading and spelling success. You can read more about the Orton-Gillingham appraoch at the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE). Dyslexia Assets and Advantages A key finding of recent research is that dyslexia need not be a limiting factor in college and careers.  The Dyslexic Advantage, by Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide, gives considerable hope and encouragement to students and parents alike.  As my former Headmaster, Earl Oremus at Marburn Academy, once said, “They’ve found the cure for dyslexia…graduation.” References Eide, B. L. & Eide, F. F. (2011). The dyslexic advantage: Unlocking the hidden potential of the dyslexic brain. New York: Hudson Street Press. International Dyslexia Association. (2002). Definition of Dyslexia. Retrieved from https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/ Shaywitz, S. E. (2005). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Vintage Books. Yale Center for Dyslexia  & Creativity. (2019). What is dyslexia? Retrieved from http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/ [...] Read more...
Aren’t All Dyslexics Alike? No, people with dyslexia are as unique as every other person. However, understanding their dyslexia leads to empowerment. For older students and adults, knowing their dyslexia type enables them to develop coping skills and target solutions to specific challenges. It also guides teachers, tutors, and parents in focusing remediation efforts. There is no official list of dyslexia types.  Although there are as many as 7 types of dyslexia described in various sources, the most common are: Phonological dyslexia Surface dyslexia Rapid Automatic Naming Dyslexia Double Deficit Dyslexia Stealth Dyslexia Let’s look at each in more detail. Phonological, Dysphonetic, or Auditory Dyslexia Phonological dyslexia is related to the ‘phonemes’ or individual units of sound in spoken language. These individuals have difficulty manipulating the sounds in words, including breaking down words or taking a string of sounds and blending into a single word.  ‘Dys’ is a prefix meaning difficulty with, therefore phonological dyslexia is also often called dysphonetic dyslexia or auditory dyslexia.  Dr. Corrine Roth Smith, expert in learning disabilities research and Emeritus Professor at Syracuse University, lists ways that phonological weaknesses are displayed. Auditory dyslexics have difficulty mentally processing rapid auditory input, which can translate to missing letters when spelling. They exhibit difficulty manipulating the sounds in syllables or words and playing auditory processing games such as elision (say “cat”, now say “cat” without the /k/, correct answer would be “at”.) Separating the individual sounds in words, like /k/ /a/ /t/ for “cat” or blending the individual sounds into a word are challenging. Distinguishing between short vowel sounds for reading and spelling is difficult. Difficulty rapidly retrieving and retaining appropriate sounds when presented with letters, sometimes omitting beginning sounds on words. This challenge would be highlighted in the third type of dyslexia listed below, Rapid Automatic Naming Dyslexia. Failure to recognize and manipulate words by changing the initial consonant sounds (fat, cat, hat), then later the middle vowel sounds (cap, cup), and the final consonants (gum, gut, gulp) would indicate later difficulty with decoding. Often auditory dyslexics guess at unfamiliar words rather than using phonological word-attack skills such as syllable division patterns and the effect of syllable type on vowel sounds. While these dyslexic readers have weak or non-existent word analysis tools, visual dyslexics, discussed below, utilize word attack tools such as syllable types to sound out and blend multi-syllabic words. Like many dyslexics who use context clues when reading, substitutions may preserve meaning, but not be phonetically similar words, like saying “daughter” instead of “girl” when reading about a family. Longer, unknown words are difficult to analyze and sound out due to phonological deficits, although irregular words may not be an issue as they are for the visual dyslexics discussed below. When spelling is incorrect, even the writer may have difficulty deciphering because the word does not follow regular phonetic patterns. Surface Dyslexia Surface dyslexia refers to challenges with words that are pronounced differently than they are spelled, often called irregular words or “red words” indicating caution. Examples would be ‘was’ or ‘yacht’.  Surface dyslexia is also called dyseidetic dyslexia, referring to difficulty (‘dys’) with eidetic memory, or photographic memory.   Eidetic memory allows most readers to recognize the shape and pattern of a word after a few exposures without using a mnemonic, cuing device. Although surface dyslexia is also referred to as visual dyslexia, it is not an issue with the eyes or ability to see.  Instead, it is an issue with inability to form a picture of irregular words, not the ability of the eyes to see the letters and words. Surface/Visual/Dyseidetic Dyslexics Surface/Visual/dyseidetic dyslexics also find a number of other tasks troublesome which rely upon visual processing. Dr. Smith noted other areas in which visual processing impedes fluency and comprehension. Do not readily recognize sight words and therefore attempt to decode these non-phonetic, irregular spellings without immediately recognizing the so-called ‘red words’. Non-dyslexic readers form a picture, or gestalt, after a few key encounters with a word, which includes the shape and other visual characteristics. May have the most difficulty with small non-phonetic words, such as ‘push’, ‘walk’, ‘where’, or ‘what’. Even though they have likely seen the word before, they fail to make a visual, photographic memory and instead attempt to sound out the word on each encounter. Frequently confuse the letters b, d, p, and q, and words like ‘saw’ and ‘was’ impeding accuracy. May also leave out letters when both reading and spelling, visually brushing right over letters and omitting their sounds. Frequently lose their place when tracking from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. Like many dyslexics who use context clues when reading, visual dyslexics may substitute words with similar meanings and some phonetic similarities, such as cat for kitten. In contrast to phonological dyslexics, visual dyslexics are often able to attack long, multi-syllabic words using phonics rules and patterns. Unlike phonological dyslexics’ spelling, visual dyslexics spell phonetically, such as ‘lite’ for ‘light’. Rapid Automatic Naming Dyslexia Rapid automatic naming, or recognition of letters, is a requirement for reading quickly and fluently with automaticity. The more time the brain needs to determine not only which letters it sees, but also to then attach sounds to those letters or letter combinations, the slower the reading process.  Just as knowing math facts affects the speed of mathematics computation, rapid number naming difficulty slows the entire process.  Rapid Automatic Naming for both letters and numbers is a subtest on the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP), which gives insight into processing speed. Double Deficit Dyslexia Double deficit dyslexia means simply that an individual experiences more than one type of dyslexia. For those with phonological dyslexia, often rapid automatic naming dyslexia is also a problem.  Similarly, many students who have phonological/dysphonetic dyslexia also have difficulty with irregular words, and therefore also have surface/dyseidetic/ visual dyslexia. While other types of dyslexia appear online, these four are considered the most common.  Some authors mention right-to-left dyslexia, but other researchers feel this distinction does not merit its own category. Stealth Dyslexia Stealth dyslexia is a term coined by Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide, authors of The Dyslexic Advantage. Dr. Fumiko Hoeft, one of the world’s foremost dyslexia researchers at the University of California San Francisco, has published numerous articles and videos on stealth dyslexia. People with stealth dyslexia are frequently overlooked in dyslexia diagnosis, because their reading comprehension is above average. However, they struggle with phonics and decoding, often underperforming in the classroom and rarely receiving the help they need. Comparison of Challenges for Auditory and Visual Dyslexia Challenge Phonological (Dysphonological/Auditory) Dyslexia Surface (Dyseidetic/Visual) DyslexiaIrregular SpellingsForm a mental image of irregular words, enabling recognition of the word after a few exposures.  Picture the word as a whole and do not use phonological attack skills.Fail to utilize eidetic (photographic) memory to form a ‘gestalt’ or image of a word.  Attempt to sound out irregular words using phonological attack skills which impedes fluency.New, single or multi-syllabic wordsUnable to efficiently use phonological letter-sound correspondence, order of phonemes, and syllable division patterns to sound out and blend new words.Apply phonological word-attack knowledge, syllable division patterns, and phonological patterns to attack even longer new vocabulary.Non-word reading and spellingUnable to apply phonological rules to reading on nonsense words.Able to use word-attack skills to sound out non-sense words, provided that all letters are visually captured and not glossed over in printSight vocabularyLimited sight vocabulary due to lack of phonological knowledge to acquire larger vocabulary.Limited sight vocabulary due to non-formation of eidetic memory or gestalt (image of word)Letter omissionsMay omit letters when spelling due to poor auditory memory for sounds at the beginning of a word. Sometimes omits short consonant sounds (/p/, /b/, /t/) due to glossing over short auditory sounds.May omit letters or words when reading due to visually glossing over letters in print. Or may omit letters or sounds when reading if using context clues.Word gamesDifficulty manipulating sounds in words for rhyming practice, elision (dropping sounds from a word), separating the individual phonemes in words, or blending phonemes into wordsLess difficulty with word games using auditory input.Phonological MemoryDifficulty recalling the sounds that letters or letter combinations represent for reading and spelling.Uses knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to sound out and blend single and multi-syllabic words.b/d/p/q confusionConfusion of letter sounds rather than letter graphemes or representations.Confuses letters that look similar or can be rotated.  Confusion of words that can be reversed (‘was’ and ‘saw’).Rate of RetrievalUnable to rapidly retrieve letter-sound or sound-letter correspondence which may lead to forgetting the beginning of the word.May also have slow rate of letter retrieval due to visual retrieval processing.  Irregular sight words must be sounded out slowly (often incorrectly) each time encountered.Unfamiliar wordsGuessing, potentially using context clues, but not phonetic clues.  May or may not preserve meaning depending upon the situation.May also substitute based upon context, but more likely to be phonetic substitutions that preserve meaning.Spelling levelBelow reading level, often bizarre, due to reliance on sight, not phonetic clues.  Extra or omitted sounds and syllables.Likely to use phonetic clues, but not sight (or gestalt) of words, although spelling may still be incorrect. (lite for light)Spelling patternsGenerally, most often correct on high frequency known words Generally, most often correct for regular, phonetic words, not irregular sight words. References: Eide, B. & Eide, F. (2015). What is stealth dyslexia? Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/community-events/blogs/the-inside-track/2015/03/04/stealth-dyslexia-how-some-dyslexic-students-escape-detection Everyday Health, Inc. (2019). What are the different types of dyslexia? Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/dyslexia/types/ Understood.org. (2019). Different types of dyslexia. Retrieved from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/different-types-of-dyslexia Edublox Online Tutor. (2017). Dyseidetic versus dysphonetic dyslexia. Retrieved from https://www.edubloxtutor.com/dyseidetic-versus-dysphonetic-dyslexia/ [...] Read more...