Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Course Time: 11th November 26th November 2016 (Fridays & Saturdays)
Student Name: Laura Sidea
Student ID: 214138412
Select a specific category of disability that is relevant to the current funding provision for the
employment of integration aides. Demonstrate your knowledge of the nature of the chosen
disability with a particular focus on:
Another important factor of working with a learner who has dyslexia is finding out
their strengths and weaknesses. As stated earlier, there is no one single case of
dyslexia that is exactly the same and whilst you might go in thinking perhaps it has
something to do with just the written word it could have more learning areas that are
linked together such as a difficulty with social skills or motor skills. Perhaps the
learner has no issues with the written word and they are just affected by dyscalculia,
it is important to be aware of what exactly the learner you are in charge of struggles
with and the specifics of the case. Glazzard discusses some findings on some
students who were undiagnosed with dyslexia acting out because of their struggles
and people not recognising that he had them, he mentioned that the realisation
that he was struggling led to him giving up and this was accompanied by his refusal
to co-operate with teachers requests (2010, p.64) being aware of the possibility
of these behavioural occurrences and what can trigger them in a student will be
helpful in assisting your learner in the classroom.
One of the biggest considerations for an integration aide of a child with dyslexia is to
come up with strategies and methods in order to help their student feel more
confident in their learning and build up their self-esteem. A school in the UK stated
that self-esteem is crucial for any childs learning. Raising their self-esteem so
that they become valued and can know themselves... is a key to success. This is a
very important task for the aide, to ensure that they help to build self-esteem in the
learner and help them to understand their strengths and areas that need more
support (Raising Self-Esteem 2010).
One example of strategy that worked best for students with dyslexia revealed that for
learners with dyslexia using an e-reader instead of a book was a more effective
learning tool for the student, they found that during a reading comprehension test
those who used the iPods to read scored higher than those who used the paper
(Schneps et. al. 2013, p.4). More strategies to help modify learning activities for a
student with dyslexia will be discussed in part two of this paper.
For some schools, a whole-school approach is needed for students who may have
learning difficulties related to similar skill areas. For example, multiple disabilities
affecting how a brain interprets and decodes information. This might call for
integration aides being trained in a specific way in the school.
For some schools, a whole school approach might include bringing awareness on a
wider scale. One school in the UK hosted an assembly where they brought the
awareness of dyslexia to the entire school by role playing as a person with dyslexia
and highlighting their many strengths. This was their way of raising the self-
esteem of dyslexics by bringing it more into the open in order to break down
the prejudice about dyslexia, highlighting the many good things that can come from
being dyslexic such as having a mind with inventive or creative tendencies.
(Dyslexia. Raising self-esteem 2010).
PART 2: Option 1
For most students with dyslexia, it is very important to have somebody in the
classroom to present the information in a different way than the traditional open
your brain and let the teachers pour the information in otherwise it becomes a
brick wall for the students who rely on a multi-sensory method of learning to succeed
and process information (Sandman-Hurley 2016, p.10). With this many in the
population affected by dyslexia there is a more than likely chance that there will be
one or more learners in the classroom potentially exhibiting these symptoms and
struggles. Thus, it is important to consider that as an integration aide your student
will benefit enormously from direct, explicit and systematic multisensory
instruction. (Australian Dyslexia Association 2014)
While some schools tend to utilise a multisensory approach it is very important to be
aware of this style of instruction. Especially if it happens that the class or school that
you are helping your student in does not provide these multisensory opportunities in
learning. It will be the integration aides role to provide some opportunity for
multisensory learning and modifying the curriculum in a way that is explicit and
friendly for the child with dyslexia.
As dyslexia manifests itself in a variety of ways these strategies are but a mere
guideline to helping a student with dyslexia, each child has their own individual case.
As Sandman-Hurley explains, some may have extreme difficulty with decoding.
Some may read accurately, yet slowly, and then cannot tell you what they read.
Others may read well enough to keep up, but be poor spellers. (2016, p.14). Thus
the strategies used for these children must compliment their areas of strength and
weakness.
In implementing multisensory instruction for the dyslexic learners benefit, this refers
to using stimuli from multiple senses. That is, visually or in a practical hands-on
manner. For example, using concrete materials in mathematics to explain worded
problems or listening to an audiobook to help answer some comprehension
questions in the class.
For the student in the class that I volunteered in, if the work was mostly abstract
without any concrete materials or pictorial representations or if it relied on language
they struggled to go through the process on their own. They would often forget what
the mathematical symbols mean, such as divide or times and would require one on
one guidance.
In order to meet the needs of the learner with dyslexia, to start off with and try and
remove the factor of language as being confusing in this topic of fractions, a word
bank could be created.
For example:
Words to know
After creating this, pictures can be drawn to create a visual representation of these
words. (See Appendix A)
To see things in a more practical, hands on way the student and integration aide can
get a piece of string, fold and cut into halves, quarters and thirds together. This
provides a different kind of sensory activity (See Appendix B).
For a more visual and concrete overall formal view of all the fractions, the integration
aide and student can go through each fraction with a fraction wall. Henderson
recommends enlarging a fraction wall and laminating in order for it to be useful with
your student (2013, p.73; See Appendix C).
Lawrence, D 2009, Understanding dyslexia: a guide for teachers and parents, Open
University Press, retrieved 10 January 2017,
<http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy-
f.deakin.edu.au/lib/deakin/detail.action?docID=480630 >
Salter, C & Hendrickx, S 2009, The Adolescent and Adult Neuro-diversity Handbook
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, retrieved 10 January 2017,
<http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy-
f.deakin.edu.au/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzMzNTY0OF9fQU41?sid=5d4eb
8ce-b07b-4e4f-893f-3bac84165718@sessionmgr103&vid=3&hid=117&format=EK >
Toe By Toe 2017, What is Toe By Toe?, Toe By Toe, retrieved 17 February 2017,
<http://www.toe-by-toe.co.uk/what-is-toe-by-toe/>.