Academic Protocol (Reading, Writing, Spelling)

Children with learning issues often struggle with academic goals. 

Learning disabilities are neurologically-based processing problems. These processing problems can interfere with learning basic skills such as reading, writing and/or mathematics .  They can also interfere with higher level skills such as organisation, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short term memory and attention. 

 Generally speaking, people with learning disabilities are of average or above average intelligence. There often appears to be a gap between the individual’s potential and actual achievement. 

This is why learning disabilities are referred to as “hidden disabilities”: the person looks perfectly “normal” and seems to be a very bright and intelligent person, 

yet may be unable to demonstrate the skill level expected from someone of a similar age.  

Learning Disabilities” is an “umbrella” term describing a number of other, more specific learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. 

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterised by difficulties with word recognition, spelling, and decoding. People without reading disabilities process a word instantly and can automatically access the definitions of words as they read. 

In contrast, those with dyslexia experience reading as a slow, laboured, and error-prone activity.

The goal of reading instruction for children with dyslexia is to help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to understand printed material at a level consistent with their verbal ability or comprehension skills.

As with many learning disabilities, there is a continuum of dyslexia, with each child having his or her own unique learning profile. In order to instruct children properly, teachers must understand each student’s particular challenges, have a working knowledge of the rules of the English language, and know how to teach reading in a direct, individualised, explicit, and systematic way.

Reading is the product of two essential activities: decoding (the ability to understand how the letters of the alphabet represent the sounds we speak) and comprehension. 

The National Reading Panel has identified the following core components of a comprehensive reading curriculum.

Phonemic Awareness:  We speak in language that can be broken apart: paragraphs, sentences, words, syllables, sounds or phonemes. 

Phonemic awareness, a necessary prerequisite to reading, is the awareness of and sensitivity to the speech sounds of language that allow one to make judgements about or manipulate the sounds of speech.  For example, “tip” has three phonemes: /t/, /i/, /p/. If you can say tip without the t, you are manipulating the sounds.

Once children can segment three- or four-phoneme words (tip, slip) they are ready to learn the “alphabetic principle” (sound-symbol correspondence or letter-sound knowledge).

This understanding that the letters of the alphabet —arbitrary symbols on a page—represent the sounds of the words we speak is essential to learning how to read. English is not a predictable language and does not have a one-to-one correspondence between letter and sound.

There are 26 letters in the alphabet, 44 phonemes and 1,100 ways to spell those 44 sounds.

For children with decoding weaknesses, the more explicit the intervention is for developing phonemic awareness, the more effective it will be.

EXPLICIT PHONICS: Phonics instruction should reinforce the letter-sound relationships, teach spelling rules, and explain the English writing system, including vowel patterns, word origins, and meanings of roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

FLUENCY: Fluency is fast, accurate, effortless reading with appropriate inflection, intonation, and phrasing. In order to comprehend well,  understand complex language, and draw inferences, children must first read individual words on a page accurately and quickly.

TEXT COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY Text comprehension refers to understanding passages that are read. Vocabulary includes knowing what words mean and the ability to use a variety of words in spoken and written language.

Vocabulary is developed through reading. Because children with dyslexia read less and are exposed to fewer words, they may lack command of the language despite good verbal skills. Even if they have good listening comprehension, they may have weak reading comprehension because they read words slowly and inaccurately.

For children with comprehension problems, it must first be determined what the root cause is: poor decoding, an inability to connect with what they read, or difficulties with complex language structure. The instructional focus should address the specific difficulties. 

Comprehension depends on increasing vocabulary, word knowledge, and the active use of comprehension strategies that require the reader to interact with the content of the text.

There is no quick fix for students who have reading disabilities. Children with dyslexia can learn, but they must be taught properly and systematically.

A specific learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand numbers and learn maths facts. Individuals with this type of LD may also have poor comprehension of math symbols, may struggle with memorising and organising numbers, have difficulty telling time, or have trouble with counting.

 DYSGRAPHIA

A specific learning disability that affects a person’s handwriting ability and fine motor skills. Problems may include illegible handwriting, inconsistent spacing, poor spatial planning on paper, poor spelling, and difficulty composing writing as well as thinking and writing at the same time.

We at Sensitivity utilise internationally acclaimed teaching Methodologies such as Handwriting Without Tears, Jolly Phonics, Sonday System, Special Reads for Special Needs, Jodo Gyan, Grolier Learning Solutions, Educational Technologies and many similar learning protocols to enhance academic achievement in children across all grades. 

Our Special Educators are especially trained to bring an optimal outcome in enhancing child’s interest in academics by giving them a sense of achievement in areas of reading, writing, spelling and Mathematics. 

We may also train parents in effective teaching strategies for their children.