Online High School Classes Can be Hard for Dyslexic Students
I recently got an email from a grandparent who is raising a student with dyslexia. The student wanted to homeschool. The grandmother felt a need for the support of an online high school. She asked for my advice and this is what I told her.
Unfortunately, every online school I’ve personally encountered relies heavily on reading because that’s an easy way to deliver info online. A lot of my tutoring work involved helping dyslexic students cope with the reading requirements of online classes!
I have three tips to offer.
Ask if the School Offers Dyslexia Accommodations
1st Tip —
Query schools before signing up to see if any of them have dyslexia accommodations in place or have a special ed teacher. So many online schools use one teacher for 100 students or more, making it impossible for teachers to individualize assignments or grading. Many parents/guardians give up on finding appropriate support via online schools and decide to homeschool without that support. This may or may not be an option for you.
Check out GOAL High School in Colorado
GOAL High School, www.goalac.org, is a Colorado free online high school that provides students with a small pod of students with a teacher advisor/tutor. This arrangement is flexible so it often works well for students with learning challenges, but as far as I know, it exists only in Colorado.
Wings to Soar Might Suit Your Needs
https://www.wingstosoaronline.com/about/
This site, Wings to Soar, is a private online high school for dyslexics. It’s worth exploring I think, though I do not have any personal experience with it. The website looks promising, but it’s essential to talk with real people about your student to see if it’s actually a good match. I don’t know the cost.
Consider Micro-Schools
Support doesn’t have to be online. Micro-schools are an option that feels like homeschooling with a small group. These schools serve small groups of students of mixed ages. The schools are small businesses, usually started by one or two certified teachers seeking to connect more authentically with students outside the restrictions of a school district. It’s a form of private school that feels a lot like homeschooling for the students. Of course, the teachers need to be paid, so this option can be somewhat costly.
The Right Tools are essential for Online High School Success
2nd Tip
Provide the student with tools to make reading easier and pave the way for better reading in the future. Those tools include speech-to-text such as Google Type (free, just switch it on), and text-to-speech such as Google Read. Apple has similar programs on all their products. If you aren’t comfortable with those tools, find someone who is.
Give the student time to learn how to use those tools. I’ve written about these tools in my blog; here’s one post: http://www.dyslexiakit.net/speech-to-text/
Mental Health is More Important than Online High School
3rd Tip —
If the student is exhibiting severe stress, I urge you to take the pressure off even if it means taking them out of school. Perhaps they could do a practicum semester by volunteering somewhere they like to be. I’ve known far too many people who prioritized schooling above mental health with a suicide result. It breaks my heart. So don’t be shy about making changes. Students can always go to school later. It doesn’t really matter if a student graduates with his or her class. In five years no one will remember or care. In addition, a practicum semester or year might allow time to do a lot of audio-assisted reading (tracking) of interesting/fun books. Audio-assisted reading means tracking visually with the text while listening to an audiobook. I’ve had many dyslexic students who became happy competent readers after 6-8 months of daily audio-assisted reading in books they found interesting. It’s a powerful tool! But the student must have time to do it without pressure.
by Yvonna Graham, M.Ed.
www.dyslexiakit.net
@GrahamYvonna