Understanding Dyslexia

 

We love helping dyslexics learn to read and spell. We think they are great… and I am confident our approach is the very best for them. It works with their visual strengths.

I am sure I had dyslexic patterns when I was young, but it was not tested for back in those days (many years ago now!). But I do know how it feels to struggle with literacy.

So I get excited every time we have a dyslexic join the system, because I know we can deliver the best results for them. If you have been told your child is dyslexic, that can be a big worry, but I have three bits of great news for you:

1) We help thousands of children to learn to read and spell. The dyslexics do just as well as the non-dyslexics using our approach. In fact, some of them are super-bright and do much better than average.

2) Dyslexia is often misrepresented and misunderstood. It is not a big worry when you know what to do about it. In fact, I will explain below how it is often really good news.

3) We guarantee you will see clear reading progress in a short time. You can then expect to see spelling accuracy shooting up soon after (and without a single spelling list to learn).

Do a free trial

Our system uses a unique system of visual cues to help the child keep decoding the words. We call it trainertext visual phonics (TVP).

The visual cues show what sounds are in each word, even when the word does not follow any of the spelling rules. In fact, we don’t use those rules at all and we find the children all do better without them.

If you want to give it a go, with no cost or commitment, sign up for our ten lesson free trial. This more visual approach to reading often really suits a lot of dyslexics. You will be pleased and even amazed by what you see:

The good news about dyslexia

Very often the cause of the dyslexia is actually good news. For instance, lots of dyslexics are actually super bright visual learners. That is why the visual arts and media are full of dyslexics.

If you have seen your child doing a lot of visual activities, like drawing and Lego, or maybe recalling events and stories from months or years ago, it is time to celebrate!

This strong visual ability allows them to do a lot of whole word sight reading, which is why their reading is then below their expected level for their intelligence. If you have seen lots of guessing with the short words, your child is whole word sight reading.

That changes when we get them reading by decoding from the letters, but their visual abilities and intelligence are still with them when they have learned to read.

Dyslexia is sometimes given as the reason for a child not reading well. It is actually just a description of a child showing the patterns that often lead to poor reading.

How to get a dyslexic spelling accurately

Sometimes we have dyslexics come to us with “grade level” reading, but very poor spelling. Those children can often do quite well on the spelling test each week, but their free writing remains atrocious.

We can turn that situation around too, but it is important to understand how.

When you examine these children, their reading is actually still well below their potential, even if they have reached grade level. The reason is that they are excellent whole word readers, but still make errors with short words.

Once we change how they read, those errors go away and then their new reading strategy gives the right foundation for their spelling to develop as if by magic. So they generally go from around a 40% accuracy rate to 85% accuracy in 5-6 months without doing a single spelling word list.

You can test our free trial to see whether it resonates with your child, if these are the patterns you have seen. The very early lessons will seem easy, but even by lesson 10 you will see how it is helping: