It’s widely accepted that about 10% of the population is dyslexic (with about 4% significantly so), so dyslexic learners will make up part of your classes in your schools/settings.  How confident are you that you are meeting their needs?

If a parent asks you what you are doing to make your classroom dyslexia-friendly, would you be comfortable giving an answer?

It’s easy to feel nervous around the term dyslexia – it’s a broad term that can be hard to pin down or define precisely.   Teachers may assume that a dyslexic learner will need specialist equipment such as coloured overlays or specific dyslexia programmes.

The good news is that many of the inclusive strategies that you use routinely in your day-to day practice will be dyslexia-friendly and reminding yourself of what you are already doing can be a helpful exercise – make visible what may have become invisible to you.

Here’s are 10 Dyslexia-Friendly strategies that you will almost certainly already be using every day:

1. Think about purposeful seating – can the pupils see you/the board clearly?
2. Think about grouping/setting – is the pupil able to work at their cognitive level with others who will stimulate and provide good role models?
3. Give instructions in small chunks – break tasks down and give one step at a time – provide written reminds and repeat when requested
4. Present information in a range of ways to ensure that learners can access through a range of learning channels – use visuals wherever possible
5. Allow plenty of thinking time – Talk Partners is a good way of giving time to think and rehearse information
6. Don’t ask struggling readers to read out loud in front of others
7. Allow pupils to demonstrate learning using a range of formats so that literacy is not a barrier – eg drawing, mind mapping, creating lists & diagrams, oral presentations, role play, debates, etc
8. Focus on strengths – feedback on content rather than areas of difficulty eg spelling or handwriting
9. Create an ethos within the classroom where it’s okay to ask for help & make sure learners know where to go for support when they need it
10. Avoid asking your learner to copy from the board – if copying is necessary give the pupil a sheet to copy from that they can have in front of them – better still provide a printed copy for them to stick in, use paired/shared writing, write for the learner, etc

If you would like to do a more thorough audit of your practice to check how inclusive you are, have a look at this Audit of General Teaching Strategies for Pupils with Specific Literacy Difficulties.