24th December 2009 9:00
By Blue Tutors
How do you tutor a student with dyslexia? Is it advisable to undertake such a role if you have no experience with dyslexic students? Should every teacher be specifically qualified before they begin to teach someone who is dyslexic?
All these questions worry tutors when given the opportunity to teach a dyslexic student, which is a real shame. Before reading this article you may want to look at this one: http://bluetutors.co.uk/articles.php?title=Explaining-Dyslexia, explaining the uncertainty surrounding the condition named ‘dyslexia’, and why it isn’t something which any tutor should be afraid of.
A good tutor will always look to teach a student in the best way for that student, which can be to do with style, speed or any number of changes one can make to a lesson. A student who has been diagnosed with a learning difficulty that comes under the umbrella of dyslexia is no different. A tutor must adjust their lessons to cope with that learning difficulty, and make the lessons as effective as possible. The changes one can make are often quite obvious, and simply require some thought and creativity. For example simply giving students more time than normal with areas where they struggle, and creating systems for a student to reduce common mistakes they may make.
Many students with learning difficulties will tell you that they don’t necessarily want specialised help, but simply a teacher who will understand their difficulties and allow leeway for them. There really is difference, in terms of difficulty for the tutor, between teaching someone with a diagnosed and teaching someone with a non-specific learning difficulty.