Management 

Dyslexia can be managed with specific educational techniques, and the sooner the intervention, the better. 

• Parents can work with the child’s teachers to make an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). An IEP is a plan made to ensure that a child with an identified disability attending an elementary or secondary educational institution is provided with specialized instruction and services.

• An IEP includes accommodations, provided for both testing and instruction, like extra time, verbal instructions, repetition of instructions, text-to-speech software, etc. 

• Teachers can use the Orton-Gillingham approach. Dr. Orton suggested that kinesthetic-tactile reinforcement of visual and auditory associations could correct the tendency of confusing similar letters and transposing the sequence of letters while reading and writing. For example, students who confuse b and d are taught to use consistent, different strokes to write each letter. Anna Gillingham and Bessie Stillman based their original 1936 teaching manual on Dr. Orton’s theories. They combined multisensory techniques with teaching the structure of written English.

• In multisensory teaching, links are consistently made between the visual (language we see), auditory (language we hear), and kinesthetic-tactile (language symbols we feel) pathways in learning to read and spell. Teachers and their students rely on three pathways instead of only focusing on a ‘whole word memory method’, a ‘phonetic method’ or a ‘tracing method’.

• Regular reading and spelling support is essential. Individual developmental status must be determined at the start. 

1. Creating a reading-friendly family environment with regular reading sessions and reading together (aloud) can boost reading development. 

2. Starting with support in phonics (spelling individual sounds), children learn regular trends in spelling.