What is the fastest way to learn braille?

Dyslexia and braille?

• I have a niece with Dyslexia and other chronic mental illness. Her mother and I were discussing it and the question of using braille as an alternative way to learn reading came up. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

• Answer:

  Braille is raised or embossed dots which represent the letters of the alphabet and numerals. As a dyslexic I often mix up letters and numbers, and I would imagine that a dyslexic may find the same with Braille, especially as the first nine letters are the same for the first nine numerals, and some abbreviated words. However it is an interesting concept, which should be investigated further, especially since its not visual skill like reading. I will certainly look into this further. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/braille.htm Have you looked at coloured overlays and lenses? These help many people with dyslexia, my daughter first pair of dyslexic glasses were a light pink, she now has a pale blue pair. I use a light blue overlay to assist with reading from text books etc, if I have to do some lengthy reading. http://irlen.com/index.php?s=index Other things that may help are; Have a list of the most 100 commonly misspelt words, & Spelling rules such as I before E except after C, & Homophones etc, see link below. Dragon Naturally Speaking & Read & Write Gold are excellent computer programs, which does word processing, and uses speech recognition, that allows you to dictate your work. The downside to these they can be a bit expensive but oh so worth it. I am not sure if she is mainstream schooling or special needs, but teacher can do plenty to support a student with dyslexia; When writing on the board and students are to copy into the books, write each paragraph in a different colour, this helps the students keep track of where they are up to. Assignments guidelines to printed on coloured paper, (student will tell you which colour is best for them) & be in point form for the student to understand. Comic Sans font & size 14 is dyslexic friendly. Extra time for assignments if needed, but never let them use it as an excuse for every assignment. Also accept a draft so you can keep a track of where they are up to, and steer them in the right direction if needed. Let them hand in assignments typed with hand written notes/work as proof of ownership. Avoid asking the student to read aloud in the class, as this is very distressing, embarrassing and demoralizing, if they can’t read or struggle to read. Avoid giving spelling tests to dyslexic students, as they very rarely pass. What you can do is give them the list, and have them write the words into a notebook, and find the word in the dictionary to learn the meaning of the word. Have a list of the most 100 commonly misspelt words, & Spelling rules such as I before E except after C, & Homophones etc. Tests and exams on coloured paper, if multi choice test, allow student to mark the sheet, crossing out the incorrect answers. Or do a verbal test, and allow for extra time if needed. If teaching younger children use bright coloured magnetic alphabet to teach the students letter placement. That is where they belong in the alphabet. Teaching phonics will also help in spelling and pronunciation of letters and words.