Teachers understand that not all dyslexic learners are the same. When they know their learners and their needs, it helps young people feel confident, comfortable and safe in the classroom.
Practical tips
- Think about creating an accessibility box containing useful tools such as:
- Highlighters
- Coloured overlays
- Coloured paper
- Headphones
- Use blue pens on a parchment/cream background on whiteboards to avoid visual stress
- Use dyslexia friendly fonts (Comic Sans, Trebuchet and Arial) and font will be size 14 on documents and size 28 on PowerPoint
- Dyslexic learners may find a specific colour of paper easier to work with. Be aware of the colour learners require and copy printed materials on this colour of paper.
- Instructions (both written and verbal) – make these short and concise
- Try to ensure that classroom displays are not too ‘busy’
- Understand that homework and assessments can cause anxiety, discuss this with learners so that there is a shared understanding of expectations
Learner needs
- Give thinking time to process information
- Give time for the completion of written work
- Encourage open dialogue with young people in order to meet their needs
- Allow photos of the board to be taken with iPads instead of writing things down
- Encourage dyslexia students to access learning materials in other ways, e.g. audio or screen reader
- Young people may ‘mask’ challenges they are experiencing, be aware of and look out for this
- Be consistent when writing down exam times and dates, and also when setting homework deadlines due to poor working memory