 PRINT-OUTS
Please include www.worldofdyslexia.com
on the hand-outs, so that, if you pass them to parents, they can refer to
the website at home.  SOFTWARE
Go
to our 'Books and Software' page  JOLLY
PHONICS -
This systematic phonics program uses a multi-sensory approach and delightful characters
(Inky Mouse, Snake, Bee, and Phonic) to teach the letter sounds and how they blend
to form words. The program is effective with older children and adults who need
special reading and writing help also. (UK)
'An excellent scheme for teaching
phonics to younger children is called ‘Jolly Phonics’. This is a visual, practical
and fun approach to letter and sound recognition. Each letter is associated with
an ‘action sound’; for example the letter ‘a’ is taught by running the fingers
up and down the arm simulating lots of ants running about tickling the arm. The
children are encouraged to say the sound that ‘a’ makes at the same time. ‘S’
is taught by simulating the weaving motion of a snake and at the same time hissing
the ‘s’ sound. This visual and practical work is interesting and exciting for
the pupils and is reinforced and supported with flash cards of each letter in
bold with a picture of the corresponding action. Each letter is reinforced and
consolidated with practice of correct letter formation in the air, in sand, on
coloured handwriting paper, mini white boards and on each other’s backs as well
as by games trying to find the letter in a feely bag by touch alone. Once the
letter has been mastered it is placed in a pot labelled ‘letters we know’. Another
pot contains ‘letters we are going to learn’; the pupils enjoy seeing the transfer
of letters to the ‘know’ box as they successfully learn them.' (J.D., Bexhill-on-Sea,
UK)' -
Jolly Phonics
LEFT-HANDED SHOPS
There is a UK left-handed shop
online. WORDSHARK
Literacy
and numeracy software especially suitable for dyslexic children - 'highly recommended
by many teachers and parents' John Bradford. Wordshark
(Comments/reviews
welcome)  SPARK
ISLAND (ages 5-11)
BBC CD-Roms
program - 'an excellent tool to assist in some of phonological awareness difficulties
as they teach phonic rules in a game-like multi-sensory way (young learners).'
(D.D., Singapore) Spark
Island (More comments/reviews welcome)
GOLDEN KEY SPELLING RULES
35 basic spelling rules explained in simple terms.
Contains photo-copiable worksheets for the exercises, word games and puzzles.
Available through Better
Books. (Comments/reviews welcome) 
CROSSBOW EDUCATION
A range of games and photocopiable materials designed
by experienced special needs teachers for helping overcome literacy and numeracy
difficulties. Established in 1993; widely recommended in the UK by specialist
teachers and other professionals. Crossbow
Education. (Comments/reviews welcome)
PHOTOCOPIABLE WORKSHEETS
By Hilda King Educational. Using
the concept of fruit trees, in which the pupil fills in missing letters/words,
these worksheets help teach a variety of vowel and consonant combinations. Available
from Hilda
King. (Comments/reviews
welcome) KICKSTART
PUBLICATIONS
Designed for pupils
having Specific Learning Difficulties. This book covers b-d confusion, consonant
digraphs ch, ph, sh, th, wh, and the magic e rule with vowels a,i,o,u. Available
from KickStart
Publications (take a long time to
load). (Comments/reviews welcome) BARRINGTON
STOKE BOOKS
Barrington Stoke specialize
in story books for young people who are late starting to read or may suffer from
Irlen Syndrome. The pages are off-white to stop the glare, and the print is double-spaced.
The story books are aimed at 'reluctant readers' aged 8 to 13 with a reading age
of above 8 years. They publish a series of books, the most well-known of which
is "Screw Loose" by Alison Prince, published by Barrington Stoke (ISBN
1902260015).You can see an article about their website in Dyslexia
Online Magazine (Other comments/reviews
welcome) TREGEAR PUBLICATIONS
Photo-copiable series
used in many schools, with particularly useful books on Mnemonics which help children
learn to spell those words which cause regular trouble - any, many, friend, because,
island, enough, and so on. Full details on their web-site at www.tregearbooks.com.
(Recommended. John Bradford.) (Other
comments/reviews welcome)  TEXTHELP
This computer program sits alongside
a normal word-processor, like 'Office', and helps the child or student to find
spellings as they type. There is a small box on the screen which attempts to guess
each word as the person starts to type it. For example, if you type in 'b', it
will come up with a list of words you have used before beginning with 'b', like
big, better, beginning, etc. If one of these is the word you need, you can select
it, and the word will go straight into where you are typing. As
you type more letters, the guesses get better. At the end of each session you
are asked to save your spellings so that the program can begin to learn your particular
vocabulary and make better guesses based on the words you use most frequently.
It can also read out what you have written so
far - a very popular feature with children - so that you can hear if you have
missed out any words or put in a wrong word. There are two versions - TextHelp
Read and Write and Type and Talk. You can see details at TextHelp.
Highly recommended. (John Bradford) (More
comments/reviews welcome) CONFUSING
LETTERS
This series of books
focuses on letters which pupils often find particularly confusing - b/d, p/q,
etc. - and aims to help them to feel confident in recognising and writing the
letters both in isolation and in text. Recommended series of four books - John
Bradford. Available from Learning
Materials for Special Needs. (Comments/reviews welcome)
SUPPORT FOR BASIC SPELLING
Series of six photocopy masters supports the teaching
of basic spelling skills and has been developed to take into account the requirements
of the UK National Curriculum and the objectives of the UK National Literacy Strategy
Framework. The books are incremental in difficulty and can be used to complement
the work being undertaken from any spelling programme to provide additional learning
opportunities. Assessment pages and record sheets are included in each book to
provide convenient ways of recording pupils' progress. Each book costs £12.50.
Recommended positive worksheets - John Bradford. Available from Learning
Meterials for Special Needs. (Comments/reviews welcome)
ALPHASMART
 The
AlphaSmart 3000 allows you to enter and edit text, then send it to any computer
for formatting or directly to a printer. Its portability allows students to use
it anywhere and anytime - in the classroom, at home, or on field trips. Its low
cost allows you to provide technology access to an entire classroom of 30 students
for the price of three to four computers. The AlphaSmart 3000 is a smart way to
extend your technology dollars, to increase technology access, and to alleviate
the equity issues at school. AlphaSmart
TOE BY TOE
This is a highly structured multi-sensory reading
and spelling program for parents and teachers. It is ideal for parents who desire
resources for home-based support for their dyslexic children. It is an inexpensive
program, which Keda Cowling developed over many years teaching the dyslexic. The
lessons are given daily and are twenty minutes in length. The book is self-contained.
Keda says that the book is able to be used anywhere and can be used with or without
a trained teacher. It is used in Kenya, and has a home course to supplement schoolwork.
The parents who use it speak enthusiastically to me about the progress their children
are making. It does require a commitment by parents and students to work through
the program but I'm told that the benefits are well worth the effort. (William
Ferguson) - Toe By Toe.
Keda Cowling has also
written two other books which many classroom assistants use - Stride
Ahead Comprehension
and Stareway To
Spelling (Comments/reviews
welcome) THE DYSLEXIA RESOURCE
A resource pack by Marion Walker
for tutors of adults and children with specific learning difficulties. Used in
schools, prisons and Further and Higher Ed centers in the UK: The
Dyslexia Resource (Comments/reviews
welcome) JUST PHONICS
Well established phonic programme in operation
since the 1970's. It is a reading instruction course, best suited to struggling
readers. Teachers who have used the programme speak highly of it. It can be used
in school settings or the home. Just
Phonics DYSLEXIA PRODUCTS
Including the Visual Tracking Magnifier, the
VTM Line Reader and the Optim-eyes Task Lamp: Dyslexia
Products (Comments/reviews
welcome) SPELLZONE
Online spelling course designed for the older
dyslexic. The age range is from teenager to adult. It is not a basic program,
for the course assumes the students will have a reading age of about 9. It is
aimed at the mild dyslexic and students with more serious problems who have followed
multi-sensory programs and need help with residual difficulties. Spellzone caters
for British and American spellings. It is a subscription website but the fee is
very small somewhere around US$32 / 20BPS. There is an informative spelling tips
section which is free. The web site is professionally done and the author, Shireen
Shuster, has spent 2 years writing the course. Shireen is the author of ‘Stile
Dyslexia’ a recommended spelling book by the U.K Dyslexia Institute. (William
Ferguson) Spellzone
(Comments/reviews welcome)  CATCH
UP (UK)
A phonics
kit programme with CD-Roms designed to help the one in five of 6-11
year olds who struggle with their reading. The Programme has been developed out
of detailed academic research and extensive practical experience and can be delivered
by teachers or teaching assistants. It is based on one or two individual 10 minute
sessions a week (15 minutes for 10-11 year olds). There is also an optional 20
minute group session. 'Recommended'
L.L., UK. (Comments/reviews welcome)
OTHER INFORMATION 
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