October is a month to focus on several important issues in health. In addition to being Breast Cancer Awareness month, October also highlights awareness of an issue critical to many youth and adults in the Tennessee Valley Area: Dyslexia.

To promote greater knowledge and understanding of dyslexia and related learning disabilities, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) officially designated the month of October as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

According to The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), 1 of every 3 special education students drops out of school. But it doesn't have to be that way. Early identification and appropriate intervention are critical. If identified early, a learning disability can be treated through effective teaching methods and the majority of students with learning disabilities will have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

"When a child does not learn to read, their lives are affected forever", says IDA's President, Nancy Hennessy. "Academically, socially, economically, and emotionally, these individuals unnecessarily find themselves at risk."

What can be done to help children with dyslexia? Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person's life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.

Dyslexia Fact Sheet
According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a language-based learning disability referring to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words.

Signs and Symptoms

• Reads slowly and painfully
• Experiences decoding errors, especially with the order of letters
• Shows wide disparity between listening comprehension and reading comprehension of some text
• Has trouble with spelling
• May have difficulty with handwriting
• Exhibits difficulty recalling known words
• Has difficulty with written language
• May experience difficulty with math computations
• Decoding real words is better than nonsense words
• Substitutes one small sight word for another: a, I, he, the, there, was

Strategies

• Provide a quiet area for activities like reading, answering comprehension questions
• Use books on tape
• Use books with large print and big spaces between lines
• Provide a copy of lecture notes
• Don't count spelling on history, science or other similar tests
• Allow alternative forms for book reports
• Allow the use of a laptop or other computer for in-class essays
• Use multi-sensory teaching methods
• Teach students to use logic rather than rote memory
• Present material in small units

For additional information, call Bachman Academy at 423.479.4523 or visit the school's website: www.bachmanacademy.org. Bachman Academy is a private, non-profit, K-12 day and boarding school for children with dyslexia and other learning differences. The school specializes in multi-sensory lessons to meet the students' individual needs. Bachman Academy is located on 200-acres of farmland on Brymer Creek Road in McDonald, Tennessee.