Mild, moderate, severe, dyslexic are just general terms, like cold, cool, warm, hot... Or there is significant difference between them! February 26, 2018 15:45

Many of us are very curious to understand the difference between a mild and moderate dyslexic, because we have been told from a screening test now that there is 90-95% chance that if the child is dyslexic and it would be either mild or moderate depending from a full assessment. For how much worse is a moderate dyslexic than a mild dyslexic and where do the specialist cut the boundary between the two? or even between moderate and severe. 

Mild, moderate or severe dyslexia just means the level of severity of the difficulties you may have. There is no hard and set rules as to cut of points because there are different issues that need to be taken into consideration. As Geodon says its like the difference of luke warm, warm, hot and very hot. There is also the difference in intelligence. You can have a person with low intelligence and mild dyslexia and high intelligence and severe dyslexia and a whole range of variations in between those . I personally have taught gifted children with severe dyslexia. A large number of dyslexic children have gone on to University.

Although there is a great focus on reading most dyslexics have greater difficulty mastering spellings. The two require different skills. Everyone is different and have different strengths and weaknesses so each dyslexic will have different levels and types of difficulties within the umbrella of dyslexia. I have many dyslexic pupils whose reading accuracy and comprehension is on par with their ability but continue to experience other difficulties. What school are looking to achieve is that the pupil has a functioning level of literacy that means they can read at a level that allows them to access the curriculum.

Some dyslexics develop very good coping strategies and they don't experience major difficulties through school but may do so as they start working or at UNi /college as the level of literacy requirements gets higher.

The good news is that the main difference between mild and severe dyslexia is that putting a lot of effort in usually leads to noticeable results and improvements in performance. 

He can read okay. He just can’t spell. That’s not dyslexia, is it?

Fact:

A child with severe dyslexia will struggle with reading from the very first day.

But intelligent children with mild-to-moderate dyslexia can fool you during the first few years in school. They can read. You just don’t know HOW they are reading. But their unusual reading strategies will force them into a brick wall by third to fourth grade.

Their awful spelling, however, is obvious very early. If they spend hours each night working on a spelling list, they may be able to pass the test. But they won’t be able to spell those very same words when they’re writing sentences or compositions.

Poor spelling is highly related to poor reading, and poor spelling shows up first. But it may take until third to fourth grade for the reading struggles to become equally obvious.

Reading and spelling are closely related skills. (source :bartonreading.com)

--->What dyslexia is called depends upon the type of specialist who did the testing, and their knowledge of dyslexia.

Dyslexia affects many different areas, but some testers only check one area. They find one weakness and come to the wrong conclusion. They don’t realize that weakness may be part of a bigger problem: dyslexia.

It’s like the fable of the blind men who approach an elephant from various directions. The one who discovers the trunk describes the animal very differently than the one who finds the tail, than the one who finds the leg, the tusk, etc.

None of them “see” that what they found is just one part of a bigger thing, an elephant.

<---

Lazy 8 Brain Gym March 3, 2017 21:30

9 and ½ FAQ for parents whose children have been confirmed as dyslexics July 28, 2016 11:44

The list below is a few very common questions that parents have when they know their child has already been confirmed as dyslexics:

Q1: I know my child is dyslexic what should I do next?

Q2: What can I do to support my child?

Q3: Do I need to take my child to any other specialists/doctors? These are optional recommended to get overall development, educationally and physically.

Q4: How fast can my child overcome his challenges in 3R (reading, writing and maths)?

Q5: What do I do at home in terms of teaching?

Q6: How to improve my child’s focus?

Q7: What should I ask teachers on my child overall development in school?

Q8: How can I explain to my child that he/she is dyslexic?

Q9: Will my child be able to go to cope with schools years?

Q9A: Will my child eventually go to University?

Q1: I know my child is dyslexic what should I do next?

A:  Step 1: Read up as much as possible about dyslexia, there are many good sites around the world such as http://www.parentchampions.org.uk/resources/understanding-dyslexia-booklet/, http://m.kidshealth.org/en/parents/dyslexia.html, https://ldaamerica.org/,

A good book recommended is Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading By Sally Shaywitz, M.D

 Step 2: List down all your childs strengths and weaknesses. When teaching takes place we need to focus on child strengths, while also helping child to reduce weaknesses over time. 

Step 3: Either send them for one to one tuition or even better results the best teacher would be the parents themselves. No one would teach their child better than the parents themselves. Invest and dedicate your TIME to teach your PRECIOUS child.

Step 4: Meet with your children teachers, explain to them your child is a dyslexic, get regular feedback from teachers on your child progress in school (3 times in a year is sufficient)

Step 5: Meet an educational psychologist and work out an appropriate IEP (Individualized education program), lesson plan or timetable or get tips and tricks to overcome your child learning difficulties.

Step 6: Invest in appropriate tools which would help your child to learn faster.

Q2: What can I do to support my child?

Emotionally à Always listen to their complaints, worries, fears and their story telling and be emphatatic. (Put yourself in their shoes)

Psychologically à Always talk positively about their strengths to build their SELF CONFIDENCE.

Physically à Spend time with them on outdoors activities “Play is our brain’s favourite way of learning” and give them regular HUGS.

Educationally à Get proper resources of books, teachers, IQ games, timetable (lesson plans) and educational tools according to their abilities.

Q3: Do I need to take my child to any other specialists/doctors? These are optional recommended to get overall development, educationally and physically.

See a paediatrician or development doctor -they will probably first give your child a physical examination to rule out troubles with hearing or vision and other sources of developmental delay.

They may then refer you to a child psychologist, a speech pathologist, education psychologist or occupational therapist for an evaluation of your child's intelligence and ability to process language.

A child psychologist will help assess your child intelligence level as well as assess if your child has any other psychological difficulties, speech pathologist will help children with difficulty with speech and pronunciation, an educational psychologist will help you build a Individualized Educational Plan for your child and occupational therapist would assist your child to overcome writing and other related physical challenges.

Q4: How fast can my child overcome his challenges in 3R (reading, writing and maths)?

These are factors to be taken into consideration in order to see the child’s progress.

i) Is your child mild, moderate or severe dyslexic

ii) How early was your child detected? Age 5/6/7/8/9? If you can get the child to read early enough you can make him a better reader as well as change the brain as well. Brain images of dyslexics changed after intensive, focused intervention to help them read better. (Shaywitz)

iii) Family Background? Single Parent? Staying with extended family?

iv) Are you able to teach your child? “Parents are the best teachers for their children, because they know and love their children better than anyone else”

Q5: What do I do at home in terms of teaching?

i) Create a Timetable – plan ahead and never give them last minute notice and rush them to complete the work

ii) Small Steps and break it down into smaller chunks – can teach each subject only for 20 min as they get bored, zone out or day dream.

iii) Note down all activities (inc day and time) in a book so that you can keep track of your child’s progress.

iv) Create a journal to allow him to draw, color, and write his ideas and thoughts on paper. (no spell check here, let his ideas flow)

v) You can write family rules (put your toys away, brush your teeth before bed) on colorful poster boards and tack them up where your child will see them.

vi) Set up a whiteboard in your child's room ( I got mine from IKEA) so he can practice drawing or tracing letters; get colored markers to make it fun.

Q6: How to improve my child’s focus?

i) Be CREATIVE in teaching, do your homework and plan before teaching, keep away your mobile phone and other gadgets, if you give 100% attention, your child will give 100% attention in return.

ii) You need to keep your emotions and expectation low or better still no expectations, enjoy the learning process rather than being focus on results and exam oriented. When the child relaxed he will absorb faster.

iii) Always allow for question answer session, because dyslexics learn through discussions and story telling or some through drawing and coloring, regard of subject (Bahasa BI, mandarin, tamil maths, Arabic, science).

iv) Always give them short break in between 5 minutes between 15 minutes interval 5 minutes is the parents need to be glued to the child rather taking the time to do other things like making phone calls. Otherwise the 5 minutes will end becoming 1 hour before you know it!!

Q7: What should I ask teachers on my child overall development in school?

A: Ask on their behaviour, are they responsible, do they have friends, do they get bullied, are they a trouble maker, too silent, too talkative, always zone / blur, always smiling, cheerful, short tempered, love drawing, enjoy arts class, extra activities in school that teachers can recommend

Q8: How can I explain to my child that he/she is dyslexic?

From my experience, children who are 7 years and below do not really need know that they are dyslexics. Young children won't understand dyslexia or reading disorder, so focus on things your child knows he has trouble doing, like learning the alphabet or remembering the name of his street.

You might explain dyslexia as an individual difficulty that he can overcome. You can say, "You know how it's taken Adam longer than you to learn badminton? Well, you are going to take longer to learn letters and numbers. You're just different person with different skills."

Encourage your child by explaining that he may need more time to do certain things, like draw a picture or know his phone number by heart, but that he's perfectly smart and his abilities will improve.

Finally, let him know that you love him and will help him to overcome his dyslexia, just as you would help him with any other challenge.

Q9: Will my child be able to go to cope with schools years?

Q9A: Will my child eventually go to University?

A: Insyallah, it would be very, very possible, in fact many dyslexics are described as late bloomers.  As mentioned above, the early intervention, full acceptance and support of parents for the child to succeed is crucial in the journey towards future success.

Salin Dari Papan Hitam April 30, 2016 13:03

Ramai anak mempunyai masalah untuk salin dari papan hitam. Namun, ibubapa berpendapat tak apalah anak belum biasakan diri dengan suasana sebenar persekolahan. Walaupun, cikgu ada bagitahu anak ada masalah lambat buat kerja dan lambat menulis apa lagi menyalin semula dari papan hitam. Anak boleh buat latihan tapi bila disuruh menyalin semula dia lambat.

Ada kemungkinan anak rabun atau mungkin juga kerana anak ada masalah pembelajaran.

Bagaimana utk mengenalinya?

Minta anak salin cerita dibawah ini dari papan hitam kedalam buku atau kertas yang berbaris. Minta anak duduk jauh dari papan, tetapi cukup dekat untuk melihat dengan baik. Perhatikan tingkah laku semasa anak menyalin dan isi checklist dibawah.

Bob and Dan

Bob and Dan saw Sam Watts on the dock. The three men stopped. “See the big ship?” asked Sam.

“Sure did,” Dan and Bob said. “Must be a mile long.”

Bob and Dan saw Sam was in a hurry.

“Got to run,” Sam said. “See you.”

“Sure,” said Bob and Dan. “See you, Sam.”

Sekiranya anak ada lebih dari 5 ya dari checklist ini ada kemungkinan anak ada masalah pembelajaran dan kami galakan untuk jumpa pakar psikologi pendidikan untuk mendapatkan pengesahan dan intervensi untuk anak.

Untuk dapatkan PDF checklist ini dalam BM, boleh klik http://www.smbeducation.com/…/checklist-salin-dari-papan-hi…

Sekiranya ingin jumpa dengan pakar psikologi pendidikan dari SMB Education sila hubungi 016-2387252 utk buat temujanji.

Mengenali, memahami dan menghayati disleksik disekeliling kita!! April 15, 2016 12:17

Ramai orang anggap disleksia hanyalah masalah membaca, mengeja dan menulis. Sebenarnya, disleksia jauh lebih dari itu.

Salah satu simtom adalah pengurusan masa adalah amat sukar untuk ramai disleksik. Mereka panik atau marah bila masa semakin singkat untuk habiskan sesuatu tugas atau bila perlu pergi untuk temujanji.

(Bukan semua orang yang tidak pandai menguruskan masa disleksik tapi ramai disleksik menghadapi masalah menguruskan masa)

Ini bukan disebabkan mereka malas, tidak prihatin atau tidak peduli. Disleksik adalah pemikir otak kanan jadi mereka sentiasa fokus pada masa ni sahaja, masa lepas dan masa depan adalah lebih untuk pemikir otak kiri.

Seorang disleksik tidak cenderung untuk melihat kehidupan mereka dengan cara yang sistematik. Mereka sering dipanggil "tidak fokus" atau "mudah terganggu". Sebenarnya, disleksik mempunyai masalah dengan pengurusan masa kerana kelebihan disleksik itu sendiri!!`

1) Disleksik sentiasa beri 100% kepada anda

Disleksik sangat fokus pada sesuatu masa dan jika mereka menghabiskan masa dengan anda - mereka akan beri 100% kepada anda. Mereka mungkin kelihatan terganggu kerana fikiran mereka boleh melonjakkan ke idea2 baru atau tangen lain semasa anda berbual kerana perbualan mencetuskan pemikiran baru dan menarik bagi mereka, tetapi mereka tetap bersama kamu. Mereka juga boleh mempunyai kesukaran menarik diri untuk membuat tugas lain dan juga sanggup membatalkan segala-galanya untuk menghabiskan masa dengan anda.

2) Disleksik sangat intuitif dan empati

Disleksik juga intuitif, sangat empati dan suka kaunseling orang lain. Mereka mempunyai keinginan untuk menyelesaikan masalah bersama-sama dan sering membantu orang lain kerana ia membuatkan mereka berasa seimbang dan gembira. Mereka lebih cenderung memahami emosi orang lain dan mereka boleh melakukan apa sahaja untuk membantu jika mereka fikir ia adalah penting.

3) Disleksik sentiasa suka bertukar idea

Bila beberapa disleksik bertemu perbualan akan menjadi penuh dengan pelbagai idea dan ketawa. Dalam keseronokan ini, mereka mungkin lupa pada ‘masa’.

4) Disleksik suka bantu orang lebih dari apa yang diperlukan

Disleksik akan tenggelam dalam penyelesaian masalah isu dan mengalami kesukaran untuk berhenti. Kita boleh tahu kita bercakap kepada pemikir otak kanan apabila mereka membantu anda apabila anda di kedai, organisasi, pejabat kerajaan, dan lain-lain. Mereka akan terus datang dengan idea2 lain dan mahu memastikan anda tahu semua aspek daripada "gambar besar" - orang untuk dihubungi, syarat2 untuk disemak, nombor telefon, dalam kata lain - mereka tidak boleh berhenti! – Walaupun ini mungkin menggangu / mengabaikan kerja mereka sendiri.

5) Disleksik sangat kreatif dan cenderung jadi ‘perfectionist’

Disleksik cenderung untuk menjadi ‘perfectionists’ dan sibuk dalam beberapa bahagian kerja atau projek mereka. Mereka tidak boleh progress sehingga projek yang mereka bayangkan menjadi nyata. Masa dan jadual akan lari dan mereka selalunya terlepas tarikh akhir. Individu disleksik dilabel sebagai pembuang masa, tidak teratur, tidak pandai mengurus masa atau mampu kekal fokus.

Sebenarnya, seorang disleksik imaginasi dan tahap kreatifnya adalah tinggi. Dalam erti kata lain ‘out of the box thinkers’. Hasil kerja mereka, secara amnya sangat baik, inovatif dan lebih daripada apa yang diharapkan!!

Ramai disleksik rasa kecewa bila orang disekeliling mereka tidak memahami mereka untuk diberi lebih masa selesaikan tugas mereka. Disleksik berada dalam zon masa "sekarang" dan tidak menyedari masa membuatkan mereka sering dilihat seolah-olah berada dalam "dunia sendiri" mereka.

Oleh itu, bersabarlah dengan disleksik dan pemikir otak kanan dalam hidup anda, memberi mereka confidence dan sentiasa beri sokongan dan galakkan untuk mereka terus kreatif dan bantu orang lain!!

Mengajar Anak Lebih Baik Konsisten Walaupun Sedikit!! February 5, 2016 12:00

Bagi memastikan anak anda faham apa yang dipelajarinya dan kekal dalam memori jangka panjang, ulangkaji harus konsisten.

Anda tidak boleh mengharapkan pengajaran akan melekat dimindanya sekiranya mengabaikan ulangkaji.

2 tip untuk mengajar menulis dan mengeja December 18, 2015 11:11

Jika anak lemah dalam ejaan atau sedang belajar menulis, biar anak menulis tanpa ditegur ejaannya. Ini akan berikan anak keyakinan untuk mengeluarkan ide2nya tanpa rasa takut salah. The objective is to make his thoughts written down on paper. Kalau disuruh membuat pembetulan anak akan kecewa dan cepat naik marah. Ini untuk permulaan sahaja lepas beberapa sesi menulis we can start correcting it as we go along.

Tip 1 – Guna buku Skrap

5 tip meningkatan tahap tumpuan anak December 14, 2015 12:52

Bagaimana boleh meningkatkan tahap konsentrasi anak?
2 faktor yg mempengaruhi adlh
1) umur 2) waktu

LINUS!!! November 2, 2015 19:57

Pendidikan dinegara kita sudah kian berubah. Kalau dulu tak perlu masuk tadika boleh masuk sekolah terus...tapi sekarang sekolah dah berbeza. Bila anak2 masuk sekolah darjah 1 anak harus sudah tahu membaca, ,mengeja dan mengira.....

Kalau anak masih tidak boleh mengenal huruf umur 5 tahun, dan umur 6 tahun masih menghadapi masalah membaca dan mengeja, ibubapa harus ambil tindakan SEGERA!! Kita tidak boleh berharap sepenuhnya atau mengadu kepada guru tadika atau sekolah untuk membantu anak jika anak ketinggalan.