This week is Dyslexia awareness week, and with an estimated 6.8 million people in the UK with Dyslexia it is important to know how it affects the people around us.
It’s estimated up to 1 in every 10 people in the UK has some degree of dyslexia.
But what does living with dyslexia mean and how can we support the people around us?
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However there is a common misconception that this is all the condition affects.
In reality, dyslexia can affect memory, organisation, timekeeping, concentration, multi-tasking and communication.
It is important to remember that there are positives to thinking differently. Many dyslexic people show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields.
Many adults with Dyslexia become anxious with the thought of further education and have resigned themselves to the fact that they can’t progress in their careers. However, this is not true! With the correct teaching methods and some additional support anything is possible.
In the last 2 years training has changed further with a greater emphasis on e-learning/ virtual training and although this is a great resource, employers need to ensure that this is the right training method for all delegates.
As a training provider, MBO spends time ensuring that all the courses use varied training methods to ensure that we are capturing all learning styles.
No death by PowerPoint here!
Just some of the strategies we use within the training courses are:
- We use visual aids, make posters and handouts with pictures and colours highlighting key information.
- We allow students to make notes the way they feel fit throughout the training. And allow sections of the course to be recorded if this helps the delegate.
- We promote group discussion and open questions within the courses. Most of our courses are capped at 12 delegates and this allows a real close-knit session where candidates feel more confident to express ideas and thoughts.
- On request we can provide colour overlays for delegates should this be of assistance.
- We spend additional time where required/ requested with delegates to ensure that all the topics within the training are understood and candidates feel confident in the material. This can be in a small group or even 1 on 1.
The assessment process can be a challenge in its own right, many dyslexics panic over written exams. Where possible MBO assesses candidates in various formats within the training from practical assessments, question and answer sessions and presentations.
Of course, there are times where a written assessment is required however we can support you by:
- Providing a scribe, this allows you to read and verbally answer and a trained member of the MBO team will write your answers down.
- Providing a reader, a trained member of the MBO team will read the questions to you and you write the answers.
- Depending on the delegates needs we can provide both a scribe and a reader.
- We can allow extra time to complete exams so you don’t feel rushed allowing you to thoroughly read the questions, have plenty of time to construct your answers and to check your paper at the end.
Here at MBO we provided additional support to many different people with varying needs. Please feel free to get in contact with one of the team where we can discuss your specific requirements and what we can do to help.