How spelling helps children diagnosed with dyslexia
How does spelling help children diagnosed with dyslexia?
Spelling is one of the most challenging aspects of language learning for many children and adults with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a condition that affects the ease with which a person reads, writes, and spells, typically recognized as a specific learning disorder in children. Dyslexia is not caused by a poor visual memory for the sequences of letters in words, but by underlying language learning weaknesses that make it hard to notice, remember, and recall the sounds and meanings of language.
Spelling can help children diagnosed with dyslexia in several ways. First, spelling can improve their reading skills by strengthening their phonological awareness, which is the ability to analyze and remember the individual sounds (phonemes) in words. Spelling can also help them learn the syllable patterns and meaningful parts (morphemes) of longer words, such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots. These skills can help them decode unfamiliar words and improve their reading comprehension.
Second, spelling can improve their writing skills by helping them express their ideas more clearly and accurately. Spelling can also boost their confidence and motivation to write, as they feel less frustrated and embarrassed by their spelling errors. Spelling can also enhance their vocabulary and grammar knowledge, as they learn the relationships between words and their spellings.
Third, spelling can improve their overall language skills by helping them develop a better understanding of how language works and how it can be used for different purposes. Spelling can also foster their metalinguistic awareness, which is the ability to think about and manipulate language as an object of study. This can help them become more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses as language learners and users, and adopt effective strategies to overcome their difficulties.
In conclusion, spelling can help children diagnosed with dyslexia in many ways, as it can improve their reading, writing, and language skills. However, spelling is not an easy task for them, and they need appropriate instruction, support, and accommodations to succeed. Some of the strategies that can help them include using multisensory methods that involve seeing, hearing, saying, and writing words; teaching spelling rules and patterns explicitly and systematically; providing frequent feedback and correction; using assistive technology such as spell checkers and speech-to-text software; and encouraging them to practice spelling in meaningful contexts .