A different way of thinking

People with dyslexia learn differently, and that means they need to be taught differently. JANINE RANKIN explores what it means.

He was a bright little boy with an unnerving ability to walk into a room where a puzzle was spread out, pick up a random piece and pop it in position without ever seeming to have studied the clues of colour and shape.

Errin Rowan was expected to do well at school.

But early on, he'd come home frustrated and grumpy, not at all the quiet, easy-going child his family knew.

Then the reports started following him home, that he didn't put in enough effort and was a bit slow.

"What do you mean, a bit slow?" railed his mum, Linda, who knew it wasn't true. There was a bit of a problem with reading and writing. Quite what the problem was, the teachers couldn't explain or deal with.

It was a coincidental family sabbatical to the United States that provided an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Mrs Rowan homeschooled Errin during the stay, and started to realise there was a problem with words. She researched Minnesota libraries, and kept finding her way to a term she hadn't met before: Dyslexia.

Back home, she struggled to find understanding or help, and set about becoming Errin's own expert. An educational psychologist confirmed the diagnosis, and the family linked up with Speld for out-of-school assistance.

Ten years on, Errin's 17, and he's in Year 13 at Palmerston North Boys' High, planning which university to go to next year. He's studying history and geography, maths and media studies, persevering with high-literacy subjects often avoided by anyone with dyslexia.

And he's discovered photography, a welcome outlet for a young man who can see things intently. It's just a struggle to have to put it into words, especially written ones.

The path from a new entrant dismissed as slow to a positive, high-achieving university candidate is one that's absorbed a huge amount of time, effort and money for the whole family.

"We haven't dared do the maths," says Mrs Rowan.

"I work part-time, and that all goes on education for the boys. I took out a loan once for a help course for Errin."

And when she's not working, she's at the dining-room table with Errin, going over his course work, analysing what he understands and what he's having trouble with, thinking of other ways to present the material, and helping him with the tricks to help remember and use the right words. One of the most important gifts she's given Errin is a positive attitude.

"I would certainly encourage people to disregard any notion that dyslexia is an impairment or a disability."

And Errin himself is very clear about where his challenges lie, what helps, and what help he needs to ask for.

He enjoys history when it's presented as a story.

"I can listen and pick up more than I do from reading."

Diagrams are good.

Sometimes verbal instruction is good, but sometimes the words get jumbled.

He's often quick to see the big picture, and to pick up the details, especially the details that don't fit.

Sometimes he can see the solution to a problem quickly, but then struggles to break it down into steps to explain how he got there, or worse still, understand what's being asked of him when required to "evaluate".

And written essays remain the greatest challenge of all, especially under time pressure.

He's taken responsibility for his learning, and his learning plan for the year includes prompts to ask teachers for help, to explain to them that he is capable of work of a high standard it just takes him longer to get there.

While he's well on the path to working with his strengths and overcoming his challenges, Mrs Rowan's not finished her action plan for dyslexia yet.

She's worked with UCOL students with learning difficulties, she's a Massey tutor, and she's written a research paper on the experiences of four university students who are dyslexic.

She's hoping to extend that research, to help refine the definition and understanding of what dyslexia is.

Ultimately, she wants people with dyslexia to get a better deal.

"There are so many barriers; for example, you often can't get merit or excellence in NCEA unless your grammar and spelling is correct.

"Do we really think that everyone should think and process information the same way?"

- © Fairfax NZ News