Accommodations for Dyslexia

With a rise in learning standards across the nation, school can often be a daunting place for students with Dyslexia or other reading disabilities. With the support of the team working with the students and the right accommodations in place, the burden of learning can be lessened, allowing greater access to the materials being presented. The following article by the University of Michigan's Dyslexia Help website focuses on the correlation between accommodations and the success of students with Dyslexia. The article contains a list of possible acc

ommodations and suggestions that may be beneficial in order to decrease a student’s frustration and increase their academic success. To read the full article and see the in-depth list, click on the link below. 

Dylexia Accommodations Article Link

• Know which of your students have 504 plans and IEP. 
• Provide a course syllabus ahead of time and announce projects and/or tests a week or two in advance. 
• Make the assignments explicit. 
• Provide hands-on learning experiences whenever possible.
• Encourage students with dyslexia to turn in a draft early for feedback.
• Provide a peer buddy that can sit near your student with dyslexia.
• Do not ask your student with dyslexia to read aloud in front of peers.
• Give the student time to process a question before answering. 
• Remember to cultivate the student’s strengths and interests within your discipline whenever possible.
• Use Universal Design in your classroom instruction.
• Know the accommodations a student will need beforehand for standardized tests like the ACT and SAT. 

Source: Dyslexia Help: University Of Michigan

Motivational Monday

Signs, Symptoms and Strategies for Learning Differences

Source: Halstrom Academy

Motivation Monday

Webinar Wednesday: Understood Featured Expert Chats

November 20     RSVP Now           Assistive Technology for Students With Dyslexia and Dysgraphia Understood Expert: Jamie Martin   Assistive technology can be a powerful way to help children with dyslexia and dysgraphia succeed. Join Jamie Martin, assistive technology consultant, to learn more about these tools and how they can help your child in this expert chat.             November 30     RSVP Now           Webinar: Writing Instruction for Kids With Dysgraphia Understood Expert: Gary A. Troia   Kids with dysgraphia can experience difficulty in two areas—the mechanics of handwriting and expressing ideas in writing. In this expert chat, Gary Troia, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, will be talking about effective strategies to help your child with dysgraphia become a better writer.

Using the iPad to Support Dyslexia

Source: Call Scotland

Learning Ally's 33 & Me!

Ignite enthusiasm in your students to build their reading habit! Get your personalized launch plan and be entered to WIN. 33 and Me! is a new customizable reading program that provides teachers with a unique plan to encourage struggling readers to become engaged and active learners. Based on your reading requirements, objectives and schedule, 33 and Me! makes it easy to build reading habits in any classroom reading instruction model, while enabling teachers to personalize reading goals for every student. Educators, complete a questionnaire to receive: Personalized launch plan with sequential actions steps by week New dashboard with reading activity metrics Entry for teacher prize pack, including gift cards Worksheets to help students set personal reading goals Lesson plans, videos, posters, strategies and more!  Teachers will love the new reading metrics. When you complete the questionnaire as the first step to join 33 and Me!, you will be presented with a superior dashboard to what is normally provided in your educator account on Teacher Ally. Your students will automatically be included in the program and you'll begin to see their reading activity including days, minutes and books read. Student goals are flexible and personal to them! Help students choose a goal that works best for them. Decide between a goal of either 33 days spent reading, 33 books completed or 33 minutes read over 9 weekends. As students achieve their goal, we will enter them into a drawing for a prize pack. Plus, your school will receive an entry for school prizes; the more students achieving their goal, the more chances your school will have to win! Reading activity from September 15 - December 31, 2017 will be counted. How is the launch plan personalized? The program takes the specific needs of the school, including grade levels, educator roles, varying instructional models, and goals of each student, and delivers a personalized launch plan to support educators, administrators and specialists as they put the Learning Ally solution into action in classrooms. Get started now!

Motivational Monday

3-Minute Tutorial: How to Use Text-to-Speech on a Mobile Device

Did you know that nearly every mobile device offers text-to-speech? In other words, your phone can actually read to you what’s displaying on the screen. For kids with reading issues, this can be extremely helpful in everything from doing research for school to browsing social media.

Watch as assistive technology expert Jamie Martin walks you through how to turn on this feature on your phone (both iPhone and Android). It’s much simpler than you may think! Then read more about assistive technology that’s built into mobile devices.

To view the original post from Understood.org click here.

Webinar Wednesday: World Usability Day New England Conference