Some children are taught to spell when they learn to read; for these children, spelling and reading are integrated. Other children are taught to read without ever receiving formal spelling instructions. Whether or not we learn to spell correctly, the fact remains that spelling has to be accurate to convey the meaning of a written word.
Category: Dyslexia
Dyslexia: Summary of Reading: What do You Do When You See a Word?
Before ending the discussion on comprehension, let us summarize the course of action that a reader takes when given a printed or written word. Two routes can be followed.
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Dyslexia: Good Listening Comprehension but Poor Reading Comprehension
Understanding what was said and what was read are two different mental processes. If some children experience difficulties in reading, is it any wonder that they will have a hard time understanding written text? The same children may have little difficulty understanding what is read or said to them. These children, who have significant problems in reading comprehension but little or no difficulty in listening comprehension, may truly be dyslexic when compared to other children of their class.
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Dyslexia: Does Spelling Go through Stages?
Spelling does appear to go through the same stages as reading. Furthermore, the issues and controversies that have been raised in trying to understand reading have also been raised in spelling. In the previous chapter, we discussed the different stages of reading, particularly the stages from magical to orthographic as suggested by Uta Frith. The first two stages, the magical and the logographic (picture) stage, are illustrated by writing. For example, the child does not know the relationship between letters and their sounds and, when asked to write a word, just engages in scribbling and passes it off as writing.
Dyslexia: Is Spelling Like Reading? Is Reading Like Spelling?
Are spelling and reading, then, flip sides of a coin? If reading is usually described as translating spelling to speech, spelling could be just the reverse process of translating speech to spelling. To continue the analogy, remember that one of the major activities when children are learning to read consists of grapheme-phoneme correspondence, that is, being able to produce the phonological structure or, in simple words, to recapture the sounds of the printed letters, syllables, or words. Can we then say that spelling is a phoneme-grapheme correspondence? Will common sense support us? The answer is partly yes and partly no.
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Dyslexia: Writing – A Physical Activity and the Construction of Text
One of the two major components of writing is the physical aspect of forming written words and letters. This can be compared to the physical aspect of speaking. Just as a fluent speaker must be able to articulate fast enough and clearly enough to be understood, so must a fluent writer be able to write legibly and with reasonably good speed. In the previous section we discussed how spelling could be done orally as well as by writing down the letters and words.
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Dyslexia: How does a Child with Dyslexia Cope with Spelling?
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.
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Dyslexia: Are There Rules to Spelling?
So, how does a child leam to spell by phonological analysis? Do children use the same strategies as they would when asked to spell new words (for example, reticent) or even pseudo-words (for example, oldier)? There are many ways in which we can answer this question.
Dyslexia: The Roots of Remediation
Consider PREP (PASS Reading Enhancement Program), its roots and assumptions. First of all, PREP assumes that children’s difficulties in learning can be modified, reduced, and improved through appropriate cognitive stimulation, that is, the child has an enormous potential for learning, only some of which is exploited in regular classroom instruction. It also assumes that if the child is appropriately treated from the beginning, these unused potentials can be developed and the possibility of a learning deficit can be avoided.
Dyslexia: Remediation of Reading and Learning Difficulties
Remediation is not instruction. We begin by thinking about remediation and how it differs from instruction. Instruction is what happens in the school in a classroom. The teachers instruct or formally teach children. Although there are many ways to teach children, the essence of teaching is transferring knowledge. The teacher has the knowledge and the problem in instruction is how to transfer this knowledge to the child. This is not a very simple affair.
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