Low Tech Tools for Learning Disabilities
Along with the high-tech solutions the ATIC lab provides, there are many low-tech study and organizational strategies that can benefit students with Learning Disabilities. . Not all of these strategies are guaranteed to work for every student; try them and see which one works best for you.
Streamlining Information Input
Auditory Input
- Tape Recorders: Useful for individuals with dyslexia, auditory processing and attentional difficulties. Desirable features include voice-activation, counter, multi-directional microphone and variable playback speed.
- Textbooks on Tape: Especially useful for dyslexic individuals or any who have difficulty with printed matter.
Textual Input
- Tinted Transparencies: useful for individuals with light sensitivity, or who focus better on contrast other than black and white. Also can decrease glare on glossy paper.
- Index Cards: Useful to cover text that is not currently being read; reduces a tendency to focus peripherally rather than at the center of gaze while reading,
- Photocopy of Notes: Students can photocopy and enlarge either their own or other students' notes. Useful for students with attentional problems who may miss key points in lecture.
Organizational Strategies
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- Color: Many people with LD are very visual, and color-coding notes, homework, or text to be read (with highlighters or other colored pens or markers) can help decode a monotonous visual field. Underlining and highlighting a passage of text can help make the process of reading more"active", and aid in retention. You can also purchase highlight tape for marking important passages. The tape can be removed from the pages of a book when you are done with it.
- "Post-it"colored notes: useful for"tabbing"relevant text in a book or notebook.
- Day Planner: A good way to store names, addresses, appointments, and "to-do" lists.
- Wall Calendar: Pick one with large spaces to write in. Useful for seeing important deadlines in time to do something about them.
Outputting Information
- Specialized Dictionary: References like Random House's"The Bad Speller's Dictionary"are useful for individuals with dyslexia and spelling difficulties.
- Whiteboard: Useful as a brainstorming tool and for color-coding work. Whiteboards have the advantage that they allow one to write large.
- Calculator: Useful for individuals with dyscalculia or dysgraphia.
