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Essay
Essay
Dyslexia is a Greek word that means ‘difficulty (dys) with the written words
(lexia)’. The World Federation of Neurology (1968) which asserts that dyslexia is a
disorder in children who, despite conventional classroom experience, fail to attain the
language skills of reading, writing, and spelling commensurate with their intellectual
abilities’. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological
component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities
and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Individuals with dyslexia in a
multicultural context such as Malaysia usually exhibit more difficulties in reading,
writing and spelling since they are expected to master more than one language.
The causes for dyslexia are neurobiological and genetic. The exact cause of
dyslexia is not clear but brain imagery studies show that there are differences in the
way the brain of a dyslexic person develops and functions. Dyslexia often runs in
families. A strong predictor of reading disability is an assessment of phonological
skills of students at risk.
After that, teacher could place the dyslexics students close to the them.
Students with attention problems can be seated close to the teacher, whiteboard, or
work area and away from distracting sounds, materials, or objects. This can help
teacher develop strong relationships with students. An excellent teacher doesn't only
teach from the head. In the best classrooms, hearts are involved, as well. In order to
create successful learning environments, great teachers need to be able to build
caring relationships with their students. The best teachers are often the ones that
care the most deeply, not only about their jobs, but about every student they serve.
Great teachers also share a love of students, care about the students is what inspires
teachers to reach out, do better, communicate more, ask, learn, refine, and improve.
Other than that, teacher could provide additional practice activities to dyslexia
student. Some materials do not provide enough practice activities for students with
learning problems to acquire mastery on selected skills. Teachers then must
supplement the material with practice activities. Recommended practice exercises
include instructional games, peer teaching activities, self-correcting materials,
computer software programs, and additional worksheets. This is because a good
teacher will notices when even one student among many does not understand, and
makes an effort to communicate individually when necessary.
Above all, there must be an understanding from all who teach them, that they
may have many talents and skills. Their abilities must not be measured purely on the
basis of their difficulties in acquiring literacy skills. Dyslexic children, like all children,
thrive on challenges and success.
(1024 words)
Repeat directions. Students who have difficulty following directions are
often helped by asking them to repeat the directions in their own words. The
student can repeat the directions to a peer when the teacher is unavailable. If
directions contain several steps, break down the directions into subsets.
Simplify directions by presenting only one portion at a time and by writing
each portion on the chalkboard as well 8 as stating it orally. When using
written directions, be sure that students are able to read and understand the
words as well as comprehend the meaning of sentence
Students having dyslexia need trained teachers as well as a supportive
school community that are willing to provide specialized teachers and a dyslexia
friendly environment. In general, educators need to know about research based
intervention and remediation approaches that have been proven successful in
remediating students having dyslexia or reading, writing and spelling difficulties.
Concerned parents, teachers and individuals need to make informed decisions. In
addition, remediating dyslexics is a specialized field in education that has not
received much attention from the Malaysian community in general.
Usually, students having dyslexia are looked down by their peers because of their
low academic achievement and inability to read aloud in class. Although there are
successful individuals with dyslexia in our society such as Lee Kuan Yew, Tom
Cruise, Richard Branson and Cher, many individuals with dyslexia do not make it to
college or acquire the necessary skills that help him/her to cope with adult life
challenges. In fact, some of them develop social problems.
TEACHER TRAINING
There is acute need for all Malaysian teachers to be made aware of specific learning
difficulties if help is to be made available for children with dyslexia in mainstream
schools. Teachers need training in the appropriate knowledge and skills to facilitate
identification and intervention. The Specialist Teacher Training College in Kuala
Lumpur has long-term and short-term courses to train teachers in Special
Educational Needs, inclusive of dyslexia. A few local universities are initiating
courses in dyslexia to increase awareness and train teachers in this specialized area.