Our Research

We had the opportunity of visiting one of Pakistan’s esteemed international schools to observe their learning support department and interview their learning support coordinator and resource teachers. Their department caters to a range of learning disabilities and difficulties. The learning support coordinator shared that they aim to provide resources that remove barriers to learning and that support each student to achieve their full potential. We observed that the main teaching method used for students with Dyslexia is the multi sensory approach, for example, tracing letters in sand and on skin. Resources like letter blocks and flash cards are used. The coordinator explained that they bypass the visual pathway and utilize the other sensors to help students recognize letters. Gradually, students assign sounds to those letters. Additionally, she informed us that students can opt for one on one sessions with the teacher and that they have learning support assistants in the classroom. In examinations, students are allotted 50% extra time and have a reader and scribe facility to avoid problems in attempting the examination due to the reading and writing difficulty. Moreover, assistive technology like text to speech software is employed. The resource teachers mentioned an app called IXL which has a read aloud button with a speaker icon. This observation gave us an insight into the vital role educators play in supporting learners with Dyslexia.