Our child had difficulties in first school, middle school and high school - but with the right kind of help and input, they survived! Now they are ready to go into higher education, either at college or university - but how will they manage?
NOT ONLY do our grown children, now higher education students, need to be responsible for getting to their college or university classes and lectures on time, (right day, right place, right time etc) they need to be self-motivated, they need to learn to work in groups with students they may not know, learn to discuss issues and concepts they don't known much about ...
Higher Education students will need to find their way around the college or university e.g. different buildings spread over a vast site, find the library and IT suite and know how to use them! Not as easy as it sounds - I know, I was one of those students!
I personally found the library very challenging - it seemed a complicated system that didn't match anything else I'd come across; eventually I found the isles where the books I needed where likely to be, and searched hard - then found I had to wait for the books to be returned before I could use them to study or completed assignments and essays! Some students may find the canteen and student rooms very challenging as they are very disorganised and often very noisy - it can overwhelm your senses.
Understanding the assignments and essay requirements in Higher Education was something else! The assignment tasks seemed to be written in another language and I had to try to decipher what on earth it was they really wanted!
Thankfully, I was able to access Student Support at University, but firstly, I needed to introduce myself to them and let them know what my difficulties were, then they were able to assess my needs and work with me.
Higher Education students with Dyslexia often struggle with organisational skills, memorising and study skills, reading skills, taking notes, writing essays and revision, they therefore often need a tutor to help them through their studies.
Through Student Support, I was assigned another tutor to assist me in understanding what was required from me and how to structure essays so that they covered all of the requirements of the task for the course.
Teachers and Lecturers in higher education are required to make some adjustments for dyslexic students and any other kinds of needs that students have, but they need to be made aware via the Student Support Department.
Some students require note takers in their classes. I was given a computer with speech to text hardware and other programmes to assist me in my studies. This is a good tool for students, but because I was already a good typist, it wasn't something I really needed, however, I have found Grammarly and an online dictionary to be excellent tools - and ones I use constantly! Personally, I found the support I received at University was
better than I received anywhere else.
I would advise two things: Firstly, get additional support with a tutor either face to face or in some form or other. Any student with Dyslexia or any extra needs will benefit from getting Student Support involved with their studies, so that they can manage the work-load, stress, assignments, essays and deadlines.
Secondly, Dyslexic students may benefit from our on-line Study Skills Course, for students in high school or higher education with dyslexia.
Our on-line course covers topics such as:
- organisation and exercises - active listening - memorising techniques - study skills and memorising - reading skills - more memorising techniques - taking notes - mind mapping - writing essays - revision of the course
If you are interested in this on-line course, please contact me on this website.
With perseverance and support, dyslexic students can survive and thrive at college
and universities!
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