Children with learning disabilities have problems with verbal language comprehension. That is why there is a need for unique learning methods to instruct and guide them in learning to read, write and spell.
This is necessary at the early reading age, or else it is difficult to evolve fluent reading skills later. There are many methods to help such students. For example, there is Reading Mastery, the Phonics approach, or the Orton-Gillingham approach.
You will be amazed to know that these methods are helpful for students struggling to read. They also allow teachers to enhance the learning experience.
Continue reading this article to learn various reading methodologies to help youngsters with learning disabilities.
Language Experience Approach (LEA)
The language experience approach is a unique method for teaching children. It came into existence in the 1920s and has been a popular teaching method. Due to the process relying on the application of oral language, it lets the students get a firsthand experience.
Teachers need to let the students write the material and help them read it. This will work in small groups, though, as the teachers need to pay attention to each student individually.
This method creates a sense of familiarity with the study material as students read through stories. It also helps develop their vocabularies and teaches them about the true experience of reading.
Phonics Approach
Another excellent teaching method for students with learning disabilities is the phonics approach. This method builds the readers’ phonemic awareness. This is the ability to notice the different sounds each spoken words make.
The uniqueness of this method lies in its grapheme-phoneme relationship. As a result, students gradually learn to associate letters with their respective sounds.
They can combine and blend sounds into words by themselves as they progress. This is an excellent way to teach students who have difficulty reading to identify unfamiliar words.
Orton-Gillingham Approach
The Orton-Gillingham approach is an apex standard of teaching, especially for dyslexic students. It is a way to help them connect various letters and their respective sounds.
This diagnostic and multisensory teaching method makes it easy to make any individual learn to read, write, and spell. This method has been in practice for a long time and has scientific evidence to back its effectiveness.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is developed with the difficulties of dyslexic students in mind. The instructional practices are then developed according to the individual’s unique needs.
Neurological Impress Technique
The Neurological Impress Method, or NIM, is a rapid-reading technique. In this method, both the teacher and the student read through the exact text simultaneously. While the tutor reads at a significant speed, the student follows it by listening.
The teacher’s dominant voice leads initially, only subtly letting the student lead later. This is almost like helping someone ride a bicycle for the first time.
With enough practice, students can learn to get over their hesitation and start identifying and reading more words from a sentence. The teacher needs to encourage the student to read without making any errors.
Conclusion
Learning disability is not a rare problem anymore. In Australia, one in ten students suffer from disabilities like dyslexia and ADHD. To teach such students, teachers need to acquire special methods.
That’s when unique teaching approaches like Phonics, Learning Experience, etc., come to mind.
These methods make the learning experience more enjoyable and productive for the students. It is also proven to help students overcome their learning disabilities with flair.
