Common Accommodations for Dyslexia: Why They're Not the Best Solution

Dyslexia is a common learning disability in the classroom. In fact, in Canada alone, it’s believed around 10-20% of children in the classroom have undiagnosed Dyslexia.

This common learning difficulty affects the way individuals process written language, posing significant challenges in reading and writing. To address this in educational settings, various accommodations are often put in place to help students cope with their difficulties.

However, these accommodations, while helpful in the short term, do not address - or help overcome - the root causes of Dyslexia.

In this blog, we explore what Dyslexia is, why it presents differently in each person, and why conventional approaches like accommodations aren’t the only option, and won’t lead to overcoming their difficulty for the long term. We’ll dive into how cognitive training programs that harness neuroplasticity can offer a more effective approach to overcoming Dyslexia in your classroom. 

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects an individual's ability to read, spell, write, and sometimes speak. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

School-age children who have Dyslexia typically find themselves reading below grade or age level due to difficulties with processing written words, yet Dyslexia varies widely in its severity and its impact on an individual's academic performance and everyday life.

Dyslexia difficulties have no relation to an individual’s level of intelligence. These individuals are smart, but specific areas of their brain (which we will get into later in this article) are holding them back from achieving their true potential. 

Common Accommodations for Dyslexia

1 - Extended Time for Reading and Writing Assignments

Giving students extended time allows them to complete reading and writing tasks without the pressure of time constraints, acknowledging their slower processing speed.

2 - Providing Step-by-Step Instructions 

Breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable steps can help students with Dyslexia follow along more easily and reduce feelings of being overwhelmed.

3 - Using Clear Formatting, Simplified Writing and Text-to-Speech Software for Written Material

Simplified text, clear formatting, and text-to-speech technology make written material more accessible to students with Dyslexia, reducing the barriers to comprehension and learning.

4 - Increased Frequency of Breaks During Reading and Writing Tasks

Frequent breaks can help manage fatigue and maintain focus, as sustained reading and writing tasks can be particularly draining for individuals struggling with Dyslexia.

5 - Grading the Actual Content, and Not the Spelling

Focusing on the content rather than spelling in assessments recognizes the intellectual contributions of students with Dyslexia, rather than penalizing them for their difficulties with spelling or grammar.

Why Accommodations Aren’t the Best Solution for Individuals With Dyslexia

Traditionally, Dyslexia is believed to be ‘lifelong’. That means that rather than addressing the cause of the underlying difficulty and helping individuals overcome Dyslexia, individuals are given accommodations - such as the above (and many others) -  to help them work around the learning disability. 

While these accommodations can make learning more manageable, they do not address the root causes of Dyslexia, nor do they help individuals overcome their Dyslexia difficulties. These workarounds simply mean that Dyslexia difficulties will stay with an individual for the rest of their life. 

To understand why these accommodations fall short, and how other methods can actually help individuals overcome Dyslexia, the first step is to understand how cognitive functions work within the brain and the role they play in learning disabilities, and, in this case, specifically Dyslexia. 

The Role of Cognitive Functions and Our Brain in Dyslexia

As discussed in the blog, What Does Dyslexia Look Like? The Different Faces of Dyslexia, Dyslexia is a broad description of a specific learning disability and it looks different for every individual who experiences it. 

That’s because every individual with a Dyslexia diagnosis has a unique brain makeup. This is where the understanding of cognitive functions is critical. 

No matter what task is being performed, networks of cognitive functions are at play within the brain. These cognitive functions are continuously active, whether learning in school or socializing with friends outside of it. 

These cognitive functions operate along a continuum of capacity, from challenging to excelling. The stronger our cognitive capacity, the better we are at learning and performing certain tasks. The weaker our cognitive capacity, the more difficult we’ll find the tasks associated with the cognitive functions where there is a challenge. 

When it comes to individuals with Dyslexia, every individual’s diagnosis is different depending on their own individual cognitive strengths and weaknesses. As a result, individuals will experience Dyslexia very differently, and some accommodations will help some individuals work around their learning disability but not others.

The important thing here is that, based on the principles of neuroplasticity and our brain's ability to change over time in response to new stimuli, our cognitive functioning is capable of improving and our brain can become stronger. When put into practice, learning disabilities like Dyslexia are no longer lifelong… they can be overcome. 

A Cognitive Training Program That Harnesses Neuroplasticity Can Help Individuals Overcome Dyslexia

So, what does all this mean in the classroom? Simply put, accommodations aren’t the only way to help your students. Sure, accommodations might help them get better grades by allowing them to work around their difficulties, but you aren’t setting them up for long-term success. 

Individualized cognitive exercises that specifically target an individual’s weak cognitive functions and strengthen their brain, however, help your students to overcome their Dyslexia difficulties and set them up for long-term success both in an academic and professional capacity. 

That’s where the Arrowsmith Program comes in: cognitive exercises that harness the brain’s neuroplasticity empower students to strengthen their weak cognitive functions and, as a result, overcome their learning disabilities. 

When these cognitive exercises are put into practice, students improve their capacity to learn, transform their performance in everyday life and increase their overall well-being and happiness. 

Interested in learning more about how the Arrowsmith Program can be implemented into your school to not only help your students overcome Dyslexia, but also learning disabilities as well? Get in touch with our team today.