Writing is easy. All you have to do is sit down at a typewriter and wait for drops of blood to form on your forehead.
— Gene Fowler, author and journalist
Let’s face it, writing is many children’s (and adults’) nemesis! Learners and teachers alike find it really challenging – unless they are in the small minority of people who just write, naturally.
Why is writing hard for dyslexics?
- The “empty page syndrome”, when the blank page feels like an insurmountable challenge – getting started can be the hardest.
- Organising ideas into sentences and paragraphs: there might be plenty of fantastic ideas but they can feel like a whirlpool of thoughts in the brain.
“I don’t know how to work out what to write; I just write everything in my head.” Jack, aged 10
3. Structuring writing according to text type: knowing how to lay it out, what to write first.
4. Working memory difficulties mean that holding content in mind whilst writing it is problematic, and dyslexics can get lost in sentences or forget their ideas easily.
5. If processing speed is reduced, it’s hard to keep up, and output might be low in spite of working hard.
6. Spelling the vocabulary you want to use can be a major source of frustration when writing. You know a great word to use but can’t spell it, so you choose easier words instead.
“ I use lots of the same words in my writing because I can’t spell longer ones..” Morgan, aged 8
7. Handwriting can also be a barrier to getting your ideas onto paper.
8. Editing is a difficult experience of going back to check what was painful in the first place.
What can we do to help?
1. Analyse the strengths and weaknesses
Writing analysis and assessment is well spent time. It helps to work out areas of difficulty within writing, as well as strengths. For example, learners might struggle with spelling, handwriting, sentence construction, appropriate vocabulary, organising writing, stamina; the list goes on.
2. Talk more!
All learners benefit from talking before, during and after writing. It’s an integral part of the writing process. Who knew that when you talk you are learning to write?! Regular talking opportunities during the writing process, not just at the beginning, can help with formulating ideas, exploring vocabulary, rehearsing language/sentence structure, engaging the senses, faithfulness to purpose and audience, and editing.Talking for writing can take place in many forms: it can consist of games as starters to lessons, scaffolded talking activities to support the language and sentence structures you would like the learners to use, discussion to support and plan for writing, or peer editing.
3. Use table top aids – appropriately!
The availability of vocabulary and spelling banks really helps in class. Remember that dyslexics often struggle more with little, common words. Word grids can be made readily available, for example the pictured one below.
Some examples of word grids providing support with common words are here.
Avoid bombarding learners with word banks and writing aids, however, and ensure they know how to use them. I remember talking to a child, aged 8, who told me with absolute pride and pleasure about all his table top spelling and writing aids. He found each one and showed me them. However, when I asked him how he used them he didn’t have a clue.
Writing mats are also a useful tool. These have space for the learner to write, with prompts, scaffolds or words on either side. An example of a writing mat is here.
4. Scaffold with Writing Frames
Writing frames are skeletons which provide scaffolding for the writing process. They might consist of sentence starters, cloze procedures, questions, boxes with pictures/diagrams, boxes in a sequence, or a story mountain; the list goes on. Some examples of writing frames for very basic writing are below:
A common pitfall for creating writing frames is to forget the purpose of the writing. Remember, writing frames should support the specific learning intention by removing barriers. When creating a writing frame, consider:
- What is the learning intention for this piece of writing? How could a writing frame support this?
- What is the barrier to achieving the above?
- What could help to remove this barrier?
- How can I structure the writing frame to ensure that the child achieves the required output?
5. Teach editing as a positive process
Most learners dislike editing! It feels pointless and painful, especially if you struggled with your first draft. One common problem is that in school, editing becomes more of a proof-reading exercise, in other words checking for spellings and punctuation. Whilst this is valuable, it can be disheartening for the child with dyslexia, as it focuses on their weaknesses and does not necessarily improve their success against the intended writing outcomes.
Editing is in fact more of a metacognitive (thinking and evaluating) process, which does not even need to involve the mechanical act of writing. Effective editing always focuses on the purpose and audience, and includes the intention for learning – which, in fact, is rarely spelling and punctuation. Learners can be taught to regulate their own writing by learning some key questions to ask themselves and their peers. For example:
- What do you think helps the reader to enjoy this text?
- Does your writing make sense to the reader?
- What is the impact of your opening?
- How has your punctuation helped the reader to understand?
Emergent writers
Emergent writers are at the first steps in learning to write. A highly structured approach with multi-sensory strategies, including talking, combined with step by step teaching can be effective. These learners are likely to need support with developing the actual concept of a sentence (as opposed to capital letters and full stops). This can be done orally, for example:
- Repeat back short, memorable sentences in different voices, e.g. loud, whisper, like a robot. Vary the sentences according to what you are teaching
- Jumbled up sentence. After reading or writing, cut up a sentence the child already knows into words and arrange back into a sentence. Include the full stop
- Cut a selection of familiar sentences in half. Match them together. Try this with unfamiliar sentences (but make sure the child is confident in reading them)
- Read short texts with long pauses between each sentence. Ask children to tap the table or raise their hand when there is a pause.
Handwriting
Handwriting is just one small part of writing, but it can be a huge barrier to achievement, especially in earlier schooling. Hand stamina, vision, fine motor control and letter formation all have a part to play. If a child appears to have writing difficulties, check whether this is largely caused by handwriting, and offer support according to the need.
Assistive technology
There are so many ways to support writing using technology, and as emerging adults in the twenty first century our students need access to these. Skills can be taught from Day 1 of school so that by the time students leave, they have the tools to flourish. Types of assistive technology to explore for writing are:
- Keyboards and touchscreens
- Spellcheck & grammar check
- Dictation (speech-to-text). As you speak, the words appear on the screen – many versions are available for free with devices and software
- Word prediction (predictive text)
- Text-to-speech (computer readers/reader pens). In addition to supporting reading (as detailed above), text-to-speech can be used for editing and monitoring writing. This is invaluable for the dyslexic who often finds it very hard to read back their own work
- Digital thesaurus. Either online thesauri or inbuilt synonyms can be extremely helpful for children who struggle with writing
- Mind-mapping software that supports the planning process and note taking
Writing does not have to be a long, hard slog. Nor need it be an exercise in spelling and punctuation skills (or lack of). It’s a tough process, especially for learners with dyslexia. Finding out what the barriers are is important, seeking to understand them is crucial, and implementing ways to remove them transformative.
