DYSLEXIA: AN UNWRAPPED GIFT It was another ordinary Monday for school children.

Unfortunately, it was a whole different situation for Zulhilmi. He got scolded by Puan Ainur because he wrote the alphabet in a backward order. He kept repeating the same mistake until Puan Ainur could not stand it anymore. She thought Zulhilmi did it by chance but actually she did not know the truth that Zulhilmi is a dyslexic child. Dyslexia is a language learning disorder that results in deficits in reading, spelling, and often writing language (Balise, Black, Nussbaum, Oakland Standford,1998). The truth is, there are many great people around the world who are used to be dyslexic children, but they managed to overcome the problem through practice. Alexander Graham Bell, the telephone inventor, Albert Einstein, the scientist, Leonardo Da Vincci, a famous painter and not to forget, Pablo Picasso who were famous for his drawing , they are all successful dyslexic children . So, it is an obligation for the teachers to know the right way on how to teach the dyslexic children from teaching in the class, the reading technique until the marking of work. The learning and teaching process start in the class. The teacher have to brief the class the outline of what is going to be taught in the lesson and ending the lesson with a resume of what has been taught. Next, the teacher can break the tasks down into small easily remembered pieces of information. Then, use different colour of chalks and underline the important point. The teacher have to ensure that the writing is well spaced. In regards to the brain's processing of visual and auditory information, it has been determined that students with dyslexia cannot take the components of words and put them together into sentences. This inability makes it harder for comprehension of sentences or longer passages. Most dyslexic high school students can follow along with someone else reading a passage, but they cannot come up with the meaning of the passages on their own. There is strong evidence that the eye movements of dyslexic readers are different from those of normal readers, making it harder to stay on task when reading material (Castles, 1997). So, the teacher has to teach patiently and in variety way because the dyslexic children tend to lose attention easily. Reading is a big problem for the dyslexic children. They maybe take a lot of time to read or even to pronounce the word, so the teacher has to teach them patiently. The teacher can use a structured reading scheme that involves repetition and introduces new words. The teacher cannot simply ask them to read loudly in front of class if they still have a problem in reading. Wait until they have the guts and let them volunteer by themselves. We cannot force them, but

we must encourage them. You can teach them in a creative way. Try a multi-sensory approach to spelling, such as the Orton-Gillingham method, which was developed in the 1930s. The method first teaches students to recognize the sounds of the English language, and then how to recognize the written version of those sounds. You can combine an auditory style of learning, such as singing the letters of a word, with a kinesthetic style, such as tracing the letters in salt using this method. Do not ask them to read a book at a level beyond their current skills, this will instantly demotivate them. Remember, reading should be fun. When it comes to marking the work by dyslexic children, the teacher tend to forget that they are special need children, so they have to be treated special. The same goes when marking their examination paper, homework or even coursework. The teacher must give credit for efforts as well as achievement because both of them are essential. Even though they make just a slightly improvement, you must congratulate them by writing supporting words like Nice Job! and Keep it up!. It is maybe just a simple word, but it gives a deep meaning for them. Instead of using red pens for corrections, you can use other colour such as pink or green. It is because of negative associations for red colour that maybe frightened them. Every dyslexic child has different needs. Besides their special needs, they also have strength in oral skills, comprehension, good visual spatial and artistic abilities. The teachers need to find out those strong points in the dyslexic children. Dyslexia is a gift , it should not be a grief. Just because they have learning disabilities, it does not mean that they are not smart. Parents should not easily giving up and try many ways to help their child learn better. Albert Einstein did not speak until the age of three and teachers labeled him mentally slow. He said, Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. (800 WORDS)

REFLECTION Academic writing is not as easy as I thought. From the draft until the writing of the essay, it takes a lot of work. I have to find reliable sources for my essay. After made a research on some topics, at last I chose a topic on dyslexic children because Malaysian still lack of knowledge about it. After selecting that topic, I made some prewriting activities such as brainstorming and questioning. What is dyslexia? Is dyslexia refers to dumb children? Some people might think dyslexia as an illness, which is wrong because dyslexia is just a learning disability. There are many references on dyslexia but I have to make a smart choice. I was organizing the materials that I get and make short notes on it. By referring to the materials, I wrote the first draft for my essay. After finishing the first draft, I read it thoroughly then I edit some of the points to make my essay more interesting. Then, I asked my classmate to check my essay. She corrected some of the grammatical errors. I read my draft again improve it. I put some quotation and add details to make the essay easy to understand. After that, I edit the draft to make sure there are no grammatical errors. Next, I show my final draft to the lecturer and discuss with her if I need to correct my final draft. Then I read it once again to make sure my essay is perfect. My intention in writing this essay is to create awareness of the Malaysian about dyslexic children so they know how to treat them in the correct manner.

(255 WORDS)

REFERENCES 1. Wong, L. Z. (2009, March 19). Hope for dyslexics. The Star Online. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/3/16/lifefocus/3336348&sec=l fefocus 2. Bernama. (2012, February 14). Shahrizat: Early dyslexia detection programmes in nurseries. The Star Online. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/14/nation/10732847&sec=nat on 3. Lum, M. (2011, December 4). Hard to learn. The Star Online. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?file=/2011/12/4/columnists/thedoctor says/10005672&sec=thedoctorsays 4. Gorman, C., Paul, C., Greg, L., Sean, S. & Sora, S. (2003, July 23). The new science of dyslexia.TIME , 162(4), Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20030728,00.html 5. Vivek, S. (2011, May 9). Alternative education: Defeat dyslexia . Retrieved from http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/Alternative_Education/Defeat_Dyslexia52007.as 6. (2012). Dyslexia. [Pamphlet] Nairobi: Dyslexia Organization Kenya. Retrieved from http://www.dyslexiakenya.org/kenya/ 7. Juggins, M. (2001). Dyslexics, drowning in the mainstream.Dyslexia Online Journal, Retrieved from http://www.dyslexia-adults.com/mainstream.html 8. Dyslexia : The signs to look for [Web]. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOdZC5iBudM all

Collaboration Form
NAME I/C NO. MATRIC NO. GROUP COURSE LECTURER IN-CHARGE : KHAIRUNNISA SHAROM : 930815-01-7032 : 2ATE1106017 : 3 PPISMP TESL 3 (SK) : LEARNING SUPPORT : MADAM SANTHANAMARY d/o R. ANTHONY MADAM SITI SHAMIZATULFIZA SEMESTER: 3

DATE 06.08.12

TOPIC Received the coursework from lecturer in-charge.

NOTE Coursework should be send by 6th September 2012

SIGNATURE

(Madam Siti) 07.08.12 Understand the task made a discussion with classmates. (Auni Salma) (Ainur Adhwa) (Nur Haniffa) (Arina Zafirah) Searching on the internet about educational issues

08.8.12

Searching for a suitable topic.

(Khairunnisa)

15.8.12

Select a topic on dyslexia. Make a draft of essay.

Organize the information according to

5

Make a mind map from the materials.

priorities Detailing the description (Madam Siti)

16.8.12

Write a first and second paragraph.

Do correction in the older draft. (Khairunnisa) Madam Siti adviced me to use a real situation for the introduction. Do correction in the older draft. She was correcting a few mistakes (Madam Siti) She explained about the things that had to be in the portfolio. Read and check the essay to avoid grammatical mistakes. Jolyn correct some punctuation errors. (Jolyn) Add some additional notes for reference. (Khairunnisa)

17.4.12

Discuss the draft answer with Madam Siti

(Madam Siti)

21.8.12

Write the third and fourth paragraph. Discuss the draft anwer with Madam Siti. Discuss about the portfolio with Madam Mary. Typing the final answer.

( Khairunnisa)

22.8.12

28.8.12

(Madam Mary)

29.8.12

(Khairunnisa)

30.8.12

Ask classmate to check my essay. Organize the portfolio.

3.9.12

6.9.12

Submit the assignment (Madam Siti (Madam Mary)