If the major disadvantage of dyslexia is its effect on a child’s ability to do phonological analysis, does the dyslexic child use the methods discussed for spelling? It is true that the child with dyslexia, or young readers who do not know the spelling of a word, cannot translate the whole word into its orthographic units while writing it. For example, having seen the word beach frequently written at a seaside resort, a child with dyslexia, like any other child, may learn to write it as a whole word.
A child with dyslexia can also be helped by a semantic analysis of the word. If a child understands the sentence A large whale beached in Santa Monica last night, he/she is more likely to spell the word beached.
The dyslexic child may recognize a word but may not be able to produce it in writing. Thus, any remedial program that aims at correcting dyslexia should incorporate both reading and spelling remedial methods. Spelling can be oral or written. The relation between spelling and writing, and the nature of writing itself are the next issues that we discuss.
Spelling and Writing
Writing uses words and letters which are the basic ingredients of spelling. However, the majority of dyslexics are poor readers and may have problems in both reading and writing. The process of writing involves at least two main activities that combine to make it possible.
One is the physical act of forming letters and words. Handwriting used to be an important component of writing but with the use of typewriters and now word processors the role of handwriting in writing or spelling has decreased. Nevertheless, schoolchildren all over the world still start their formal education with handwriting. The second activity is the creation of a text which will be discussed later.
The mechanics of handwriting can be daunting for very young children. The teacher complains that the child is messy and does not write neatly. The mother may complain that the child is too young to even hold the pen or pencil properly and to put it on paper. In many developing, upwardly-mobile societies, children as young as three-and-a-half years of age are taught to write, which may well start them on the path of messy writing. Surprisingly, however, some children have such control over their hands that they are able to write neatly even at this age.
These children may become models to other children for whom the act of writing presents an enormous barrier to acquiring literacy. Literacy is not about the ability to write the letters of the alphabet, yet, both literally and figuratively, writing assumes major importance in the early acquisition of literacy. One begins to wonder where the emphasis lies in teaching a child to acquire elements of literacy.