Drama for Dyslexia

Dyslexia! You've all heard about it. For most of us, Dyslexia means reading difficulties and mistaking letters for different ones. That is correct, but there’s so much more to it. Dyslexia is a learning disorder where children find it difficult to read due to problems identifying sounds and understanding how to connect them to letters and words. Children can sometimes struggle to decode separate sounds to form complete words. Dyslexia affects the area of the brain used to process language. The good news is that some dyslexic children still manage to succeed in school, but sometimes this needs additional educational support and, most importantly, emotional support.

Some of the struggles that dyslexic children can face regularly include: difficulty forming words correctly, remembering names, letters, and colours, struggle learning songs and memorising, reading below the expected level for age, remembering sequences, difficulty spelling, taking longer to complete tasks, avoid reading due to it causing self-consciousness and much more. So, let’s crack on with some examples explaining how Drama can help dyslexic children in making their life slightly easier:

Reading and Writing

Drama encourages children to read out loud, proud and confident. Actors have one chance to deliver their lines on stage. If that chance is missed, there is no going back. Therefore, performers need to make sure that their lines are delivered clearly and well-projected for everyone to hear and to be understood. To master this skill, I help my students read their lines loud but at a slow and steady pace for everyone to hear. Slowing down their reading allows them to identify vowels and consonants, decode words, and understand the text in their own time, so their fluency will improve the second time they read it. These are vital skills to master to help them read confidently. Furthermore, I also focus on other elements of speech, such as pacing, pitch, diction, intonation, projection, and much more. Each of these elements is applied to different scripts in which children are allowed to interact, help and learn from one another.

Body Language

Besides verbal language, Drama highly focuses on non-verbal language. Experts say that between 70% to 93% of language is all non-verbal. It is of utmost importance that children learn how to read body language and facial expressions, make and hold eye contact, read gestures and keep good postures. This will enhance their verbal language whilst helping them to fully express themselves.

Sometimes, dyslexic children struggle to express themselves and may find it hard to understand social cues and how to respond to them. In my classes, I engage students in more than just analysing the text; I encourage them to think about how the words are being said, the tone being used, the character's objectives and intentions, how they behave, and more. Suppose Mr. Zebra tells Mr. Lion that he's planning a day by the beach to play in the sand; that requires specific body language. However, if Mr. Zebra intends to escape Mr. Lion from eating him, his non-verbal language will be entirely different from that used in the first scenario.

Self-Confidence

I know, I keep mentioning this over and over again, and, yes, I will keep mentioning it because it's so incredibly important. Just bear with me on this one!

Drama helps children boost their self-esteem and makes them feel good about themselves. This boost can reassure them that they're just as capable as everybody else. Children are not naive. If they struggle to read, they are probably aware of it, and, unfortunately, this might cause them anxiety in situations when asked to read alone. This can deeply affect their self-esteem. Dyslexic children can sometimes feel the constant need to prove to themselves, and others, that they can read and write and this constant pressure can affect their mental health. This is where text and script work comes in.

I love working with scripts. It's a whole new world presented on a couple of pages that teaches us what it's to be a human being. During my lessons, scripts are read more than once, so whilst children are working on their character portrayals, they are constantly reading, coding words, and facing a small audience where their fears and anxieties are being tested. This proves to them that they can overcome any challenge and succeed like everyone else. Drama fully supports dyslexic students and it also challenges their listening skills and teamwork.

My lessons are a safe space, where children play, learn about themselves, and are constantly encouraged to be brave. When I teach, I create a safe and warm environment where my students feel comfortable reading and can fail without being judged. If we fail, we simply try again until we get it right.

Arwen Burnett, the founder of the children’s theatre company Dramatic Dreams, said:

“I think one of the key challenges of Dyslexia is children’s confidence as they struggle with the written word. Drama really helps because we take it away from the page - children can become the characters and speak those words for themselves. It really helps them to understand stories.”

Amen! I cannot agree more with Burnett!

As I mentioned in my previous posts, if your child is showing symptoms of Dyslexia, please consult your doctor for professional advice. If you would like to contact me for a nice chat, to offer you some advice, or maybe discuss how we can help your child, please drop me a message on my contact page and I will answer you as soon as I can.

Right, half past 5, time for tea, but before I go, keep up the good work parents! Stay strong, and take care of yourselves and each other.

Eliza