Dyslexia is a word and language symbol disorder, affecting arithmetic, writing, as well as reading. For people who suffer from dyslexia, words and linguistic meaning appear incomplete in their perception and expression of words and symbols. Fortunately, there are ways to help dyslexics deal with their problems including health and lifestyle changes and teaching techniques designed to help adults and children.
For dyslexic children, general nutrition and health are very important. All children should have a recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals from healthy foods or supplementation. Drinking lots of clean water free of pollutants is also very important for young developing minds. While there seems to be no direct connection between drinking water and dyslexia, some contaminants found in water are a concern. Exposure to toxins such as lead should be avoided at all costs. Lead pollutes water, and humans cannot taste or smell the lead. Children who drink lead from the water, over time, have no sense of social boundaries and lose their tempers. They may have reading and learning difficulties, lowered IQs, and attention problems. Families that are using tap or well water should have their water tested for accurate lead concentrations, to determine if their child’s problem may be caused by exposure to lead in their drinking water.
Teaching Methods
The Orton-Gillingham Method was created by Anna Orton and Dr. Samuel Gillingham as a teaching tool that includes word roots and etymology from Greek and Roman "affixes", parts added to the word influencing its meaning. There are probability rules taught for spelling, meaning taught as a visual word part, or grapheme, and six syllable types taught as normative English written expression. A student of the Orton-Gillingham method may see a letter or syllable or word, on a page, write it underneath the typed word, or trace it. Developed in the 1930s, this method is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible.
Another resource for children who learn in a non-typical way is the Montessori Schools. These schools began when Maria Montessori made a classroom day routine within activity groups. Montessori Schools permit students to find activities to do and to choose their activity groups. The teacher has the task of asking the children to be busy in a quiet way or to rotate between activity groups in the room.
Dyslexic students who dislike sitting down for long class periods, without choosing any tasks or groups, may like the Montessori approach. The Montessori students have a set time each day to walk around the room, to meet other children in a teaching context. Dyslexics may find that speaking to the faces of other students is reassuring during language arts lessons. A lesson from primary school helps to put the importance of students in the context of growth. It is real to fall short of perfection while receiving a group's acceptance.