| Dyslexia help and advice, information, contacts, research and articles about dyslexia; dyslexia in the workplace and at college; books amd software; and assessment for adults who may be dyslexic or have difficulties with spelling. |
SEQUENCING
AND STRUCTURE.
By Sylvia Moody. The
logical sequencing and structuring of information, ideas and activities is a necessary
part of human life. Though we may prefer to see the world holistically, yet still
we cannot escape structure in our daily lives. Language
in particular is highly structured. It is not surprising, therefore, that dyslexic
people have a number of difficulties with language, especially written language.
However, they are often also inefficient in many other tasks which involve sequencing
and structure. Some commonly-reported difficulties are listed below. General
difficulties.·
writing
and copying words and numbers ·
following
instructions / carrying out instructions in the correct sequence ·
working
under pressure ·
keeping
workspace tidy ·
organising
daily life Study difficulties. ·
structuring
essays ·
taking
succinct notes ·
organising
work and revision schedules ·
presenting
an argument logically in a seminar ·
dealing
with library catalogues / finding books Workplace difficulties.·
filing
documents / retrieving files ·
following
work protocols ·
writing
letters and memos ·
structuring
reports ·
presenting
ideas clearly in oral interactions / presentations ·
carrying
out tasks in an efficient, logical way ·
dealing
with a varied workload ·
getting
the times and places of meetings wrong ·
missing
appointments ·
failing
to prioritise / missing deadlines ·
never having
the right papers Managing the difficulties.·
read words
and sentences bit by bit ·
skim text
to get an overview before reading for detail ·
use alphabet
cards ·
colour
code columns and rows of figures ·
colour code instructions / protocols ·
colour
code files and filing trays, eg, use red for urgent work ·
clearly
label files and filing trays ·
keep workspace
tidy ·
plan daily,
weekly and monthly action lists ·
leave some
time each day to deal with emergencies / unexpected tasks ·
at the
beginning of each day review the action plan for that day ·
at the
end of each day check what has / hasn’t been done ·
pre-plan
essays and reports ·
pre-plan
oral interactions / presentations ·
pre-plan
tasks, and split them into sections / stages ·
work one
step at a time Further reading. Dyslexia
in the Workplace,
by Diana Bartlett and Sylvia Moody, published by Whurr. Dyslexia
at College, by Tim Miles and Dorothy Gilroy, published by Routledge. Help organisations. The British Dyslexia Association
01189 668271. The Dyspraxia Foundation 01462 454986. www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk Dyslexia Adults Link www.dyslexia-adults.com Dr
Sylvia Moody is a chartered psychologist who specialises in assessing adults who
have dyslexic/dyspraxic difficulties. |