Spelling and Writing Strategies

By Alyssa Banotai

For students with dyslexia, the ability to perform at grade level alongside peers in the classroom and later at college depends not only on reading abilities but writing and spelling tasks as well.

Michael Matvy, EdS, NCSP, a school psychologist and assistive technology specialist at Knox County Schools in Knoxville, TN, incorporates basic, accessible technology into academic writing and spelling tasks.

One of the most basic tools he teaches students with dyslexia to use is a screen reader, a text-to-voice tool that is built into all Apple computers and can be downloaded for PCs. "We're in an era now where almost everything is electronic text," Matvy told ADVANCE. "If teachers have a handout, they type it up on their computer."

The digital version of that handout can either be e-mailed to students with dyslexia or distributed to them on a portable thumb drive. This allows students to access the handout via computer, using a screen reader to absorb the information at a level comparable to their peers. Students with dyslexia also can use screen readers to take tests instead of being given extra time to read the document visually, which is an area of academic difficulty for most.

Matvy teaches students with dyslexia a similar aural approach to spelling using a basic dictation device with a recording of the assigned vocabulary. The student, teacher or classroom aide plays the first word on the device, and the student types out the word on a computer. "In doing that the student needs to sound out the word," he explained. "This is where their remedial instruction in reading comes in and helps out because they have to be able to say the syllables in isolation and then sound out the syllables to use this system. This is where the problem of phonemic awareness is sometimes pretty obvious. It is very difficult for many students in this population to do this."

Once the student sounds out a word and types it on the screen, they can use the screen reader to pronounce what they typed. If the word is correct, the screen reader pronunciation will reflect that. However, a word that is spelled incorrectly will be noticeable if the pronunciation by the screen reader differs from the original dictation heard by the student. "It lets them do trial-and-error spelling," Matvy said.

He has observed that students who have tried and failed to sound out words in spelling lessons for years become more trusting that using the screen reader will help them get to the correct spelling. "They would not be able to look at that word visually and say, 'That looks right.' It just doesn't work," he said. "Those students are auditorily alert."

Once students get the screen reader pronunciation to match their perception of the original dictation of the word, they can select the word and run spell-check to determine if their answer is correct. They also can use the screen reader on the list of words suggested by spell-check to help determine which pronunciation sounds most correct. "They click on the word, it's placed in the text, and they have spelled the word," Matvy explained. "I say, 'Did you spell the word?' and they might say, 'Well, I didn't.' I sometimes have to teach them that they did spell the word because that, to me, is going to be their way of learning how to spell."

Using computer-assisted spelling has improved a common observation he has heard from teachers - that students would score well on spelling tests but forget the spelling of the word list by the next week. "With this approach, which is a process of using spelling as a tool, students can do the same this week as they did last week using the list," he said. "Three months from now, they can probably do as well, if not better, because they are learning a skill, not memorizing words and trying to commit those words to long-term memory."

Students can move from computer-assisted spelling to computer-assisted writing. They begin gradually by typing a word and then immediately using the screen reader to recite the word. The student types a second word and again uses the screen reader to listen for the accurate pronunciation. Students repeat this process for each word they type in a sentence so they can hear what they just typed.

While students are in the learning phase, Matvy covers the computer screen to discourage them from monitoring the screen visually. "I discourage that because it slows them down," he said. "When they look up at that screen, it gives them bad information."

He initially stresses the importance of the sentence meaning ahead of the precise placement and spelling of words. "Once we move into computer-assisted writing, the goal is to write a sentence as your sentence, your thought," Matvy said.

After students become comfortable with the process, they learn to use tools such as a computer-based dictionary, thesaurus and Google to check spelling and word placement. Instead of selecting each word they type for screen reader pronunciation checks, they can use the reader for entire sentences. "These students often need encouragement to write the kind of sentences they can speak," he said. "The goal is to get a student to write a sentence as well as he can say a sentence. Sometimes that takes encouragement because these kids have learned self-defense on spelling and writing for years."

Certain students also may benefit from the occasional use of a scribe or volunteer reader, usually a classroom aide or a parent. Matvy cautions parents about the proper role of a scribe. "I give them the litmus test by asking, 'Will you write wrong answers?' I either get a smile or an 'I sure do!' In the [latter] case they are scribing," he said. He trains students how to use scribes properly as a secondary option to computer-assisted writing, which is more independent.

Students with dyslexia need to recognize that there are times when they will have to use pencil and paper writing to take notes or for situations when a computer is not readily available. In these cases Matvy again cautions students about "no heavy lifting," meaning they should get to a computer or dictation device as soon as possible to avoid having to struggle with visual reading and comprehension issues. "They need to recognize the limitations of that reading approach and make good decisions about what is appropriate for the task they have in front of them," he said.

For example, when seeking employment, Matvy urges students with dyslexia to take job applications home with them and complete them on a computer rather than struggling with visual reading and comprehension tasks.

"With these systems we have students leaving our school system, going on to college, and doing well in college," he said. "Years ago, when we had a student like this, the strategy was, in effect, to get him into a trade or business and avoid print. The new approach is to hit it head-on and say students need to be able to fully use print." 

For More Information

• Michael Matvy, mikematvy@gmail.com, online: www.discoveret.org/dyslexia/ 

Alyssa Banotai is a Senior Associate Editor at ADVANCE. She can be reached at abanotai@advanceweb.com.