October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and a great time to put a spotlight on dyslexia. Although remember~ for full acceptance and inclusion we need to always have a spotlight on dyslexia and all types of disabilities not just once a year. The best way to embrace differences is to focus on all the unique qualities we all have.
So, here are 5 ways to not only bring dyslexia into a classroom setting in October but ways you can add it to your curriculum to touch on all year long.
1.) Hang up pictures of people around the room with dyslexia (and other types of disabilities). Here's a great link of famous people with dyslexia where you can find people in all types of fields for any classroom. This is important because we have learned from the Harvard Implicit Bias Project that we have less bias toward people of specific races, genders, and disabilities when we are frequently exposed to positive images of people in these categories. (You can find plenty picture quotes, like the one below, I make for the Decoding Dyslexia Ohio Facebook Page).
2.) Explain to students the signs of Dyslexia- A quick way to do this is to show one or both of these videos
** Please note: Not all dyslexic brains are the same & Diane Vogel is explaining one way a dyslexic brain processes information. This may not be the way you or your child experiences dyslexia. Furthermore, this is not a scientific way of explaining dyslexia -- it is a very simple visual way to demonstrate how the brain processes different information.
Also, pass out this information from The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
** Note: be prepared to see yourself in these symptoms and have a number of students in your classroom identify with these symptoms because 1 in 5 is a person with dyslexia!
3.) Add books to your classroom - a great page to find these resources is Yale's list of books for young people focused on dyslexia. Furthermore, teach about famous authors with dyslexia such as Avi, Victor Villasenor Burro, Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Irving, Dav Pilkey, Patricia Polacco, Henry Winkler...
4.) Show one or more of these short videos. Each is a famous person speaking about their experience being dyslexic. When students learn about people with disabilities beings successful, the students become more motivated.
Orlando Bloom:
Whoopi Goldberg:
Sir Richard Branson:
Daymond John:
It is also powerful to have a young person share the story of their own journey toward success despite having a disability and this video of Piper Otterbein is very inspiring!
So, here are 5 ways to not only bring dyslexia into a classroom setting in October but ways you can add it to your curriculum to touch on all year long.
1.) Hang up pictures of people around the room with dyslexia (and other types of disabilities). Here's a great link of famous people with dyslexia where you can find people in all types of fields for any classroom. This is important because we have learned from the Harvard Implicit Bias Project that we have less bias toward people of specific races, genders, and disabilities when we are frequently exposed to positive images of people in these categories. (You can find plenty picture quotes, like the one below, I make for the Decoding Dyslexia Ohio Facebook Page).
2.) Explain to students the signs of Dyslexia- A quick way to do this is to show one or both of these videos
** Please note: Not all dyslexic brains are the same & Diane Vogel is explaining one way a dyslexic brain processes information. This may not be the way you or your child experiences dyslexia. Furthermore, this is not a scientific way of explaining dyslexia -- it is a very simple visual way to demonstrate how the brain processes different information.
Also, pass out this information from The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
** Note: be prepared to see yourself in these symptoms and have a number of students in your classroom identify with these symptoms because 1 in 5 is a person with dyslexia!
3.) Add books to your classroom - a great page to find these resources is Yale's list of books for young people focused on dyslexia. Furthermore, teach about famous authors with dyslexia such as Avi, Victor Villasenor Burro, Agatha Christie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Irving, Dav Pilkey, Patricia Polacco, Henry Winkler...
4.) Show one or more of these short videos. Each is a famous person speaking about their experience being dyslexic. When students learn about people with disabilities beings successful, the students become more motivated.
Orlando Bloom:
Whoopi Goldberg:
Sir Richard Branson:
Daymond John:
It is also powerful to have a young person share the story of their own journey toward success despite having a disability and this video of Piper Otterbein is very inspiring!
5.) Do not... I repeat DO NOT do a dyslexia simulation where the letters on the page are flipped, reversed, half missing, or blurred. People with dyslexia do not see things wrong and this type of activity only feeds the myth that dyslexia is related to seeing the letters/words backward. If you do feel that you want to help people understand how reading can be challenging for a person with dyslexia have them read something in a foreign language. The following is a simple paragraph with each sentence in a different foreign language. Have people try to read this accurately and fluently - they will discover that it isn't easy. Explain that this is similar to what some people with dyslexia experience. Make sure the students understand that each person with dyslexia is unique and it doesn't mean the person is not smart- their brain is just processing language differently. Also, do NOT explain what it is like to be a person with dyslexia if you do not have dyslexia. Have a guest speaker come in and talk to the class about what living with dyslexia is like for that person.
Finally, make sure you talk to students daily all year long that each and every student is unique and it is being different that makes the world a great place. Have them think about all the ways they are a unique individual!
