WHAT I DO
People are at the centre of my work – with their strengths and weaknesses, I am your point of contact for children, young people and adults with dyscalculia and dyslexia/dyslexia/dyslexia.
We also offer learning guidance and learning training for teenagers.
{LEGASTHENIA}
Gaby Büchler
Reading and spelling difficulties
What is legasthenia / dyslexia?
Those affected have great difficulty learning to read and write, even though they are familiar with the respective language. According to studies, up to 5% of children and adolescents are affected. Some of them only have problems with reading (“dyslexia”), while others only have spelling problems. This is referred to as an “isolated spelling disorder”. In most cases, however, the children have pronounced problems in both areas and have a reading and spelling disorder, or dyslexia for short.
{Everyone who knows how to read has it in their power to magnify themselves, to multiply the ways in which they exist, to make their life full, significant, and interesting.}Aldous Huxley
How can you recognise whether your child is affected?
When reading:
- Omitting, twisting or adding words or parts of words
- Slowed reading with great effort
- Great difficulty recognising the individual letters and connecting sounds
- People often do not understand what the text is about
When writing:
- One word is always misspelled differently
- Adding, omitting and swapping letters
- Difficulties in phonological awareness
The difficulties in reading and spelling usually also affect other school subjects. For example, those who read slowly, with little accuracy and only with great effort have difficulty grasping the meaning of a text or a maths problem. Recognising dyslexia at an early stage and providing children with targeted support can be very relieving for those affected and their environment.
How is a dyslexia diagnosed?
During the interview, it is clarified what the child’s language and school education looks like, how it has developed so far, what the current school situation is like and how it is doing emotionally.
During an assessment, reading and spelling skills are measured using standardised tests. This allows the child’s performance to be compared with the performance of peers, the so-called “norm sample”. The ability to distinguish between individual sounds and to pronounce them is also tested.
Children with dyslexia are by no means stupid – their individual reading and/or spelling skills are below average compared to their individual intelligence.
A medical examination of hearing and vision will ensure that the difficulties are not exclusively due to a physical cause.
According to Schulte-Körne and Galuschka (2019), 20% to 40% of children with a diagnosed reading and/or spelling disorder also have an arithmetic disorder.
It can happen that a child with dyslexia is initially characterised by secondary symptoms, such as psychosomatic complaints. These symptoms are to be seen as a consequence of the as yet unrecognised reading and spelling disorder.
We offer comprehensive diagnostics in Zurich:
What helps with dyslexia?
A large number of studies show that the problem worsens without sensible support measures.
Dyslexia therapy is constructive and clearly structured. This provides support for those affected. It is precisely this feasibility that strengthens self-confidence.
The following aspects take centre stage:
- Training of the working memory
- Self-control and self-monitoring
- Reading skills training, syllable training, tandem reading
- Training of spelling skills: Grapheme-phoneme correspondence, (letter and spoken sound) morpheme training (word building blocks), development of spelling rules
- Maintaining and dealing with motivation
- Coordinated compensation for disadvantages with dyslexia
{ONLINE LEARNING PROGRAMME}
The following multisensory learning programmes have been developed by experts and are based on the latest linguistic and neuropsychological research. Learners can train independently and autonomously while still being guided and monitored. An appealing frame story and a reward system also ensure fun and variety:
But there is one thing that even the best therapy cannot do: “cure” dyscalculia. But if everything goes well, the child learns a way to deal with their dyslexia.
Disadvantage equalisation
People with dyslexia should be able to develop at school according to their abilities. Disadvantage compensation helps to compensate for their weaknesses in reading and writing so that their knowledge in the other subjects can be demonstrated.
A list of possible measures from the Dyslexia Association can be found here:
Disadvantage compensation for legasthenia/dyslexia
LRS therapy for adults
Many people still suffer from dyslexia in adulthood because they did not receive adequate support as a child.
The good news is: it’s never too late!
Now it is important to learn how to consciously deal with dyslexia in therapy. On the one hand, technical aids, assistive technologies for dyslexia (LRS), should be used sensibly and, on the other hand, spelling should be learnt in a targeted manner. The trigger for therapy in adulthood is often an upcoming entrance examination, further training or extended professional requirements. And this is precisely what is included in the therapy.
Assistive technologies for dyslexia (LRS):