Learning Aids

Some dyslexic people find it difficult to create order in their life from day to day...

appointments are missed, important things are mislaid and organising your time and workload seems impossible.

Similar difficulties may be experienced when trying to organise thoughts onto paper.

Trying to decide which order to put things in can be extremely stressful.

Here are a list of learning aids which may help you get round some of these barriers.

If you prefer to have an overview of these tools you can view them in the form of a mindmap.
              

Wallplanners/calendars

Use these to plan your week/workload.

Use colour to categorise subjects/areas.

Keep it in a prominent place and 'check in' with it each day.

Electronic organisers

Hand-held organisers can record important dates and times and bleep to remind you of these.

You can buy them fairly cheaply in stores such as 'W.H.Smith' or 'Boots'.

Stick these reminder notes at points in the house where you know you'll check in eg.Kettle, phone, front door.

Carry some around and write down things to remember, then stick in a prominent place when you get home.

Buy multi-coloured packs - each colour could represent different areas in your life.

Hand-held tape recorders/dictaphone
  

Record your thoughts onto a tape-recorder, without worrying about how to spell words or the order of your ideas.

Ask permission to record meetings in work.

You can then listen back to check important names, dates and times.

Highlight pens

Coloured highlight pens can draw your attention to key points in a text.

You could use them to highlight the main information in any letters or bills which come through your door - that way you won't have to read the whole page all over again!

Coloured acetates/plastic overlays

Some dyslexics find it uncomfortable to read black print on white paper.

Letters can start to blur and move on the page. Some people describe white 'rivers' appearing in the text.

Coloured overlays can reduce these symptoms and allow you to read more comfortably.

Stress Balls

Writing can be a physically strenuous exercise for many dyslexics.

Stress balls can help to reduce muscular tension in your hands and arms.

If you're a 'hands-on' tactile learner you may also find it helps to manipulate some kind of 'toy' while you're concentrating and learning.

You can often buy these kind of things from novelty or bargain shops.

Mindmapping fits well with a ‘dyslexic learning style’.

It’s a way of planning out a piece of writing, or revising something you need to remember or learn.

Start off with a central image and add branches as they occur to you. Use key words, colours and images to help you absorb and remember the information.

There are examples of mindmaps throughout this site.

Spellcheckers

Key in your own spelling and choose the correct spelling from the list presented.

Spellcheckers are effective if your errors are fairly close to the correct spelling.

'Franklin' are recognised as a good brand name. You'll find spellcheckers in stores like W.H.Smith's and Boots.