It could be the most significant skill and classroom accommodation that a dyslexic student can receive. Teaching your dyslexic child typing skills will benefit them at every level of education.
Typing words on a computer can be an easy workaround for some of the struggles of dyslexic children. Studies show that when dyslexic kids adopt keyboarding skills, their vocabulary increases dramatically and their ability to write clearly and spell more accurately improves too.
Simply put, they do better in school.
Dyslexic Students Often Have Dysgraphia
Many students with dyslexia also have dysgraphia: difficulty with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper.
Tasks such as holding a pencil and lining up letters neatly on a line can be difficult to accomplish. Handwriting itself can be slow and even painful from using too much pressure on the hand.
All of these difficulties can obscure the fact that your dyslexic child may be very talented and may have tremendous ability to write creatively, to think, and to imagine.
Thankfully, there are a couple of typing programs I recommend that are especially helpful for kids with dyslexia.
Teaching a dyslexic child typing skills will will benefit the student greatly.
Typing programs for students with dyslexia
Type to Learn 4: Agents of Information
Most students will be able to type at least 25-35 words per minute by the time they’ve gone through the Type to Learn 4 lessons a second time. At that speed, a child with dyslexia should be allowed to type all school assignments.
To get started with Type to Learn, you have to ‘set up’ your student learner. To help you through the process, you can call their tech support at 1+(800) 321-7511.
Here’s a helpful overview of Version 4:
1. Before you do anything else, adjust the program settings. Each user needs to be assigned a role: administrator, teacher, or the student. Start by setting yourself up as administrator, which will allow you to change settings later as you need to.
Administrator info: Username: Admin
Password: Welcome
2. Next, set yourself up as a teacher, with a user name and password. Finally, set up your student with her user name and password, too.
3. Now you can change the Program Settings. Start your child at the easiest level first:
Low Vocabulary, Large Font, 8 words per minute, and 70% accuracy.
Here’s a quick overview of how the program works:
- Lesson A teaches keyboard awareness
- Lesson B teaches keyboard awareness
- Lessons 1-34 provide typing practice
- A green check mark next to a lesson means that your student has passed the lesson already. A clear or white check mark means that your student hasn’t taken the lesson or hasn’t passed it.
- There are four activities to complete in each lesson plus one final challenge. Your student has to complete these activities before the system will let you move on to the next lesson.
4. When your student has gone through all the lessons once, it’s time to change the Program Settings again. To do this, set up your child as a new student with a different name (or add ‘2’ to her user name!) Then set the settings to:
Medium Vocabulary, Medium Font, 20 or 25 words per minute, and 85% accuracy
My family likes Version 4, but some people prefer Version 3, which is no longer for sale by the company. You might find it on eBay. Before you purchase, make sure the version you choose works with your version of Windows.
Find on Amazon: Type_To_Learn_4_on_Amazon
Keyboarding Without Tears – Dyslexic Child Typing Skills
This program was designed for K through fifth grade students and teaches pre-keyboarding, keyboarding, and general computer readiness skills. It can be a good option if your dyslexic student has completed at least one year of an OG-based reading and spelling program. Keyboarding Without Tears teaches pre-keyboarding, keyboarding, digital citizenship, and general computer readiness skills. It can be used on PCs and Macs, and you can download a free app to use on Chromebooks, iPads, and other tablets. It’s a 36-week program for your child to practice 5-15 minutes per day.
Website: www.kwtears.com
Customer service number: 301-263-2700
Teach your dyslexic child typing skills today. His performance in school will take off.
**NOTE 1): Before you start your dyslexic child on a typing program, make sure he knows all 26 letters of the alphabet. As long as his hands are large enough to reach the keys, he can practice 10 to 15 minutes a day. You can also purchase a three-quarter-size keyboard, if you need to.
**NOTE 2): There are additional typing programs that work for dyslexics. Contact me for more information.
