For the past twelve years, I have been the Co-ordinator
of a Dyslexia Support Service at a university in London, providing specialist
learning support to hundreds of dyslexic undergraduates on a range of courses
across the university. In response to the increasing recognition of dyslexia in
the adult population, the number of dyslexic adults entering further and higher
education has grown significantly over the past ten years. With the expanding
number of dyslexic students, the demand for appropriate support continues to grow.
Although the pool of specialist trained tutors in this area has been slowly
increasing, I was aware of a need for a self-access learning tool for dyslexic
students. Adults, in particular, often
want (or need) to work independently to improve their study strategies and gain
greater insight into their individual learning styles.
Therefore, when I was approached with a proposal to put my work onto a CD, I jumped
at the opportunity to develop a tool which dyslexic adults could use in their
own time, at their own pace and which would address their particular needs in
an adult, non-patronising fashion. This CD-ROM, known as ‘Wordswork’
is now widely used in universities, colleges, secondary schools and even prisons
in the UK.
One of the challenges in working
with adults is to establish the baseline of their literacy skills. It can often
be deeply embarrassing for adults to acknowledge that they are ashamed of their
handwriting, or haven’t a clue about how to use punctuation marks. Many clever
dyslexic adults (often previously undiagnosed) have evolved cunning strategies
for disguising their difficulties; often even their closest relatives are unaware
of the degree to which they struggle with literacy-based tasks. The possibility,
therefore, of having a piece of software which addresses a range of skills from
the most basic through to some quite sophisticated concepts means that an adult
can spend time addressing his or her own areas of weakness in privacy and without
the need for public exposure. The dyslexic poet, Benjamin Zephaniah, stated in
his review of Wordswork, that “it’s radical stuff. I’ve had to
struggle with dyslexia for many years now and this is the most creative, stimulating,
interactive support system I have ever come across. As soon as I began to interact
with it, I began to learn more about myself…I found it so user-friendly that
my greatest difficulty was closing it down.” His sentiments have been echoed
by the many adults who have benefited from the program since its launch two years
ago.
The program covers an extensive range
of activities. There is an index which makes navigation straightforward and easy.
Some of the topics covered include: improving reading, spelling, punctuation,
essay writing, mind mapping, punctuation, handwriting, oral presentations, note
taking, exam revision, sentence structure, and grammar. In addition to offering
a didactic introduction to each of these areas, there are numerous interactive
exercises which encourage the user to practise strategies and suggested approaches.
A radical change from study skills books, the
CD-ROM identifies and exploits students' individual strengths to overcome
their weaknesses. It uses a learning styles approach which encourages students
to identify their preferred learning style through the use of a learning styles
questionnaire which offers a computerised analysis of the responses to 27 questions
about preferred learning approaches to a variety of situations. Based on the insights
gained through this questionnaire, there are hints throughout the program on how
to maximise success through utilising learning strengths to overcome weaknesses.
One aspect of the program which appeals to many
adults is the inclusion of examples of work by actual students. These serve to
illustrate how suggested strategies can be implemented. The use of student voices
to describe their own learning success serves to encourage others; it is much
more convincing to ‘hear’ other people who share common struggles than
simply to listen to a ‘teacher’ instructing. The multi-sensory nature
of the program ensures that even poor readers can access the contents, since every
screen includes a voice-over as well as printed information.
Wordswork's
multi-sensory approach uses graphics, sound, colour and humour. In addition to
individual users, many institutions are using Wordswork in learning resource centres
and report that it helps students gain confidence by developing strategies for
academic success. Students who need to improve their basic skills can benefit
from sections such as those on apostrophes, handwriting and spelling. More advanced
students are stimulated by the sections on prefixes and suffixes and vocabulary
extension. These students also find the tutorials on note taking, oral presentations
and reading texts particularly useful.
Finally, the program contains considerable material to encourage a greater understanding
of dyslexia and how it affects individual learners. There is an unusual exercise
analogising dyslexia with the vagaries of the London Underground; a visit to the
‘library’ offers insights into such things as visual processing difficulties
or provides an opportunity to hear responses to some common questions about dyslexia.
November 2000
Ellen Morgan
Further information on Wordswork can be found at the
website: ‘Wordswork’
Ellen
Morgan currently runs a training course for tutors of dyslexic adults at the University
of North London, UK, as well as working as the Co-ordinator of the Dyslexia Support
Unit at City University, London. She is the co-author (with Cynthia Klein) of:
'The Dyslexic Adult in a Non-Dyslexic World'. (London:Whurr, 2000)
Whurr
Publishers
This
book at Amazon.com
This
book at Amazon.co.uk