HOW THE RIGHT BRAIN LEARNS

STEP ONE:The Dyslexia Victoria Online approach to teaching the Dyslexic student begins with
accepting that the right brain thinks in whole pictures, images and concepts as described under
Seven Major Causes of Dyslexia.
Letters and numbers by themselves are very abstract and represent nothing to the right brain. "CA-T" are only letters on their own or sounds which have no meaning to a Dyslexic. You can't put
a real picture to a sound or a letter. This is not a disability, but a learning difference. Also, most
of the words in our language are abstract and difficult to put an image to.
STEP TWO: Dyslexic students should be taught the appropriate skills for learning to print,
spell, read, write sentence answers and work with arithmetic and mathematical concepts using
their thinking and processing style.
These enable the right brain to change whole concrete images into the words and numbers the
left brain understands. Most Dyslexic learning problems arise from the student having the wrong
skills to print, spell, read and write.
For example, learning to spell words as they hear them (phonetically) they will spell most words
incorrectly rather then use their natural ability to remember words as whole images that represent
something. As a result they lose most of the decoding information that gives meaning and
recognition to the words while reading which destroys comprehension.
STEP THREE: They should be taught their learning skills in complete, structured wholes. This
will help the right brain recognize and identify images such as words and numbers and transfer
that information to the area where language is processed in the left brain. This language area of
the left brain will then give the word a sound.
A few of these problems and their solutions are listed below. A full coverage of dyslexic learning
problems, their causes and solutions can be found in our manual "How the Right Brain
Learns".

THE DYSLEXIA VICTORIA ONLINE METHOD FOR

TEACHING THE DYSLEXIC STUDENT
The Dyslexia Victoria Online Method was created when we realized that Dyslexic students think
in whole concrete images. This learning style is what causes their academic problems and
determines which skills and teaching solutions they need for learning.

UNDERSTANDING THE DYSLEXIC LEARNING

PROCESS
The right and left brain work together to process and store thoughts. The process begins with the
right brain and left brain collecting incoming information through short term memory, then
changing it into images and thoughts it can store in long term memory.
To work with words or numbers the right-brain dominant thinker primarily needs to recognize
them as whole visual images that represent something they know or can relate it to, give it a
name or meaning and then send this information to the left brain where language is processed.
When the right-brain dominant thinker has words and numbers processed and understands them
they can then start to think, verbalize, write and analyze.
"WORDS ARE LIKE FOOTPRINTS"
One of my favourite examples of how to understand how the right brain recognizes
and gives meaning to whole image symbols is the idea of foot prints. On their own
they mean nothing other than an impression in the ground.
But for primitive man foot prints represented a real animal he could hunt and eat
or one that would "hunt" and "eat" him! By identifying which animal this
footprint symbol was connected to he could process this information, give a name
to it, verbalize it to his hunting group and then decide to run to it or away from it!
Letters on their own represent nothing other than sounds. As part of a "whole"
word image/symbol the combined letters will be a name that can be connected to
something a right-brain thinker can imagine like what animal made a particular
footprint.

Changing whole concrete images into printed words requires a totally different teaching
approach for the Dyslexic student in which even the obvious learning tasks must be pointed out
and demonstrated.
Also these students are intelligent and intuitive which means they can often unexpectedly fill in
the blanks in an assignment. This fools teachers and psychologists into thinking the students are
doing well enough not to warrant special training that accommodates their needs.

Five important teaching factors addressed by the

DYSLEXIA VICTORIA ONLINE Method that help
dyslexics learn:

1. Thinking in concrete images means they see everything in wholes, even a page of printed
words. We must teach to them in concrete images.
2. Many of these students may not be able to read, spell, write or do mathematics using the
traditional methods taught in school to express their thoughts and answers. We must help them
develop appropriate skills for all of these learning topics.
3. They must be trained how to distinguish the parts within each"concrete whole" such as the
printed letters inside words , words in sentences and sentences on a whole page. Until they can
read the words (parts within the whole) and know what they represent, these students cannot
locate the answers to questions in a story or poem.
4. Thinking in concrete wholes also causes them difficulty with the abstract. Numbers, sounds,
letters and words all seem abstract to the student who processes information mostly form the
right half of the brain. They need ways to work with abstract words and ideas that the right brain
cannot easily change into concrete images or visualized pictures.
5. Thinking in wholes and unable to distinguish the parts within the whole image makes
sequencing letters, words, numbers, sentences, ideas, lessons and instructions a major learning
problem. This problem occurs in almost every learning situation they have from arithmetic
factors through to writing essays.
Consequently, teaching the skills the dyslexic needs means teaching spelling, reading, writing

and mathematics using methods that are based on real images and examples seen in the real
world. These ideas are taught as "wholes": whole lessons, whole assignments, whole concepts,
and complete systems of thinking and learning procedures. No shortcuts.
Click on the Links below for more info:

These are some basic issues that can be resolved by appropriate teaching methods:
1. To print out answers or exercises, the right brain requires lessons in how to use the space on a
page to suit the assignment and how to print the letters correctly. This is an example of a
Dyslexic 7 year child in grade two.
Dyslexic children have difficulty comprehending limits and where exactly to print their answers.
If they had two lines and a dotted line under each question they could practice how to use the
space on a page.

2. To learn to spell a word, the right brain needs to see a drawn or printed image of the whole
word, not separate parts nor their phonetic sounds. Connecting it with an image of what the word
represents.

An example of a word with a picture:

3. To understand and remember a lesson, it must be taught

completely at one sitting with an overview and an
explanation of why the students are learning it, what it
means or what it is. If not, the Dyslexic student will have
difficulty understanding what was taught and their short term
memory could discard it, so that it is totally forgotten the
next day.
For example; when learning about volcanoes the first lesson
would be an overview of what volcanoes are and what they
do. Next lesson could be a short review of the day before
and then discussing the parts of a volcano and their purpose. This could be followed by a project
about volcanoes with an example of a completed project, etc.

4. To read fluently and with comprehension, the right brain must have a whole memorized visual
reading vocabulary to match the level of difficulty of the material to be read. Reading with
understanding cannot be done if the student must first decode the majority of the words in a
passage. This can be accomplished with a "Dyslexia Friendly" spelling and reading program.

Check out our well regarded "14 Steps to Teach Dyslexics How to Spell and Read" in our
Summer Program Special

5. To know how to write a sentence, paragraph, story, report or essay a Dyslexic needs to be
taught how to see the parts of what they are writing about in a logical structured order. Because
they think primarily in the "big picture" they have difficulty seeing the details and the order of
them. Emphasis on "mind or word maps: or "clustering" is very helpful so they can see the whole
and the parts.
Check out our highly successful "14 Steps to Teach Dyslexics How to Spell and Read" in our
Summer Program Special for "clustering".

6. To complete an assignment that is to be marked by the teacher a few days or weeks from now
requires a complete explanation of how they are to carry out the assignment at every stage from
start to handing it in. (See The Five Steps to Learning)

7. To work with mathematical word problems which are very abstract using drawings of the
elements of the word problem. This will help the student see the math equation(s) in the problem.

"There are many strategies a teacher can implement in the classroom to help a Dyslexic
student do well and understand the different skill sets such as spelling, reading, writing,
arithmetic and understanding time. Most of these suggestions are beneficial for any student
but especially important for Dyslexics."
* If one or both of a child's parents are Dyslexic the odds are 50% their children will be too.
Dyslexia can also skip generations from grandparent to grandchild. There is a gene that indicates
Dyslexia. Visit the article CAUSE OF DYSLEXIA ON CHROMOSOME 18 which we have
quoted on our website from the Indepentent.co.uk
* Help right-brain learners (Dyslexics) understand their thinking and the learning differences
from left brain thinkers (big picture and concrete images versus abstracts such numbers, letters

and words). They will understand they can be taught how to use their processing style to their
advantage for success in school.
* Help Dyslexic students discover their personal learning style (auditory, visual or kinesthetic)
and teach them how to use their strongest sense to process information and perform new skills
with greater understanding.
* These students think in wholes: spelling whole words, thinking in whole words, whole chapters
and stories, whole lessons, whole assignments and whole concepts. Their school work should
reflect this focus on wholes. Breaking a word into individual letters and sounds is not the best
way for these students to learn how to spell them.
*Skills or information taught with steps over a series of days, without a preliminary overview or
"Big Picture", can be very difficult for Dyslexic students to follow and comprehend. The
constant memory loss of information covered over several days is one way a Dyslexic can be
labeled as having "short term memory loss".
An example is teaching the process of long division using brackets, often taught in steps over a
number of days. Without an overview explanation of what long division is or what it is used for
the sequence or set of steps of a long division problem becomes very abstract. The average
student is taught to follow them and they will have a correct answer.
A Dyslexic student needs to understand what is happening in these steps and why the answer is
right otherwise they won't understand what long division is and why they need to do it. Dyslexics
and right-brained thinkers need to see the whole process and its meaning at the beginning of the
lessons.
A more appropriate way to approach long division would be to begin with a discussion about
what it is. We would start with a demonstration talking about how multiplication is about
counting in groups (which they should know) and long division is about subtracting in groups.
Then we would practice subtracting in groups with objects and then start to introduce the
bracket. Each number position in the bracket would be associated with the practice of subtracting
in groups so they understand what each position represents. A complete problem would be shown
and all the steps.
After that we would practice division problems with real objects and the brackets over a series of
days. This method will be very vivid in their minds and they will completely understand.
* Try to complete a lesson at one sitting. An incomplete lesson is entirely lost on them. If this is
not possible, then provide a written summary, extra time during the same day to answer the
student's questions or find ways to teach the complete lesson in one sitting, or give them the start
and ending first and then fill in the middle.
* Dyslexic students can be identified as early as 6 years of age. Their struggles with school work
are noticeable when compared to the rest of the class along with their above average intelligence.

It is very important to identify them early. If this is delayed and they are being taught with
methodologies that work well with left-brain learners they can lose a lot of ground, get behind in
class and have difficulty catching up.
* Studies have shown that Dyslexics tend to be above average to genius level in intelligence. It is
not uncommon for gifted children to have Dyslexic issues. Often this can make it difficult to
identify them and they can be regarded as "lazy and not living up to their potential".
* These students think and reason starting with a fact or conclusion and analyze the parts that
prove or disprove the conclusion. They need to see the "forest before the trees" with everything
they are learning and processing. Just as many essays are based on analyzing a stated conclusion.
*Always design your questions and assignments around a given conclusion or fact. Dyslexic
students think in concrete wholes, that is, they work backwards from a conclusion or fact to fill
in all the parts. "Top/down processing."
"Top-Down Processing: Top-Down Processing is also known as "large chunk" processing and states that we form
perceptions (or focus our attention) by starting with the larger concept or idea (it can even be the concept or idea of
an object) and then working our way down to the finer details of that concept or idea. If you're the type of person
who learns new ideas and concepts (or forms impressions) by starting first with the high-level aspects and then
working your way down to the fine details, then you're a top-down processor." ~ quoted from AlleyDog.com

*Do not give them open-ended questions that involve abstract or incomplete instructions.

*Do not base the student's marks on spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors. Errors in
assignments should be corrected for them. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are very abstract
concepts for them that the right brain does not easily process and cannot visualize them as
concrete images. If these errors must be corrected before a student hands in an assignment then
permit someone else to edit the mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation. Parents are often
helpful in this.

* Look for ideas, not clerical errors. Getting ideas down on paper is much more important than
fretting over spelling, grammar and punctuation. If they do not achieve what they are capable of
they soon become depressed and give up. Using recording devices to get their ideas down are a
great tool.
* Their ability to use the correct grammar, punctuation and spelling forms may or may not
improve with age, depending on the their ability to understand these concepts and the type of
teaching methods the Dyslexic student receives.
* They ask a lot of questions and they need them answered. Without these answers they can be
paralyzed in the classroom and can't proceed with their school work. Answer the student's
questions as often as possible, but keep your answers very short, clear and specific. Be precise.
Do not repeat your answers unless the student asks you to do so. Then answer only what the
student asks. Long explanations, different approaches, wordy definitions, or abstract thinking are
all very tiring and difficult for these students who are looking for a concrete answer.
* Do not criticize your students for not paying attention or being lazy. If they look like they are
daydreaming, they may be learning by listening or they can no longer understand the lesson and
are trying to cope with the situation. They are actually working hard to understand what you are
saying. Sometimes the student has already solved the problem and is thinking about other
solutions or aspects of the problem.
* Instead of long, written assignments, turn these tasks into projects that involve all the senses.
These could be done on any large piece of coloured paper they could add real objects, pictures,
drawing, sketches, photos, words of explanation and an oral report. The Dyslexic student learns
best doing projects that involve seeing, listening, discussing and using their hands.
* Help facilitate a Dyslexic student who has been assessed for their best colour for dealing with
reading issues caused by reading black text on white paper. This can be accomplished by using
coloured plastic overlays over printed text, a similar colour on their computer background and
coloured paper for their worksheets and other school materials. Many times we have seen great
changes in a students reading speed and comprehension just by changing the colour of the paper
they are working on or by placing a coloured transparent acetate over a worksheet or page of a
book.(Refer to information about Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome)
* Encourage these students to expand and use their natural right-brain traits and talents such as:
artistic abilities in different mediums, researching topics for projects. Some are proficient and
exceptional at arithmetic and mathematics and yet other Dyslexics can have great difficulty with
arithmetic and math. Most Dyslexic individuals show good leadership abilities, problem solving
skills, have wonderful imagination and terrific story-telling skills. Many have natural mechanical
abilities, are talented athletes, possess photographic memories and show a strong logical
sensibility. They can be assessed to discover their natural talents, interests and hobbies.
* Teach the students how to put individual parts in a sequential order. The right-brained student
needs to be trained in sequencing skills by using concrete materials and visual procedures such
as the order of letters in words. This can be accomplished by using mind maps to show them how

to find the parts and their order in the "big picture".

Eg: The seasons of the year could be printed in big simple letters on a large cardboard sheet with
pictures of what the weather is like during those seasons, special holidays and day-to-day life
such as school and summer activities. The mind map concept can be taken further and add the
months of the year that fall in each season. This type of visual can help a Dyslexic anchor what
"seasons of the year" means, what order they come in and how they are spelled. Many teenage
Dyslexic students we assess still don't know the seasons or months of the year let alone their
order.
* Mind maps should be used for all subjects. Dyslexics understand many concepts more
completely when presented in mind maps and diagrams. The computer program, "Inspirations" is
ideal for this. An example of a mind map created from the "Inspirations" program is shown

below:
* Writing notes from the board can be very difficult so placing a Dyslexic child close to the front
of the classroom or giving them notes pre-printed can be very helpful.
* Many Dyslexics need to read the beginning, then the end, and then the middle of chapter
stories and best followed up with a movie of the book. Presenting the end of the story after the
beginning gives the Dyslexic the "big picture" and their comprehension of the story increases.
Some Dyslexics do not like this approach and prefer beginning, middle and end.
* Arithmetic, math, the concept of time, money, clock faces and measurement are very abstract
and difficult ideas for Dyslexics but if concrete images and physical demonstrations are used to
explain them they will catch on quickly. They should not be discouraged to count with their
fingers or use other aids such as an abacus. The Dyslexic student may never be able to work
arithmetic or math problems without these aids. These students also do better with drawing out a

word problem rather than trying to work the details of the math equation from the text of the
problem.
* They will always want to know the schedule for the day and will point it out if it changes.
* They can become obsessed about one subject so if this can be used in any school work at all it
will help them learn the new skill sets. We had one boy we assessed who loved volcanoes. He
could tell you all about them and spell difficult words like; magma, mantle, eruption. But he
could not spell; then, would, other, into.
* Some Dyslexic children who are displaying ADHD behaviours are possibly suffering from
frustration, confusion and fear. They don't understand what is going on in the class, they want to
desperately and they are humiliated by their peers. Their inability to sit still and focus can be due
to exasperation. More than one mother has told me her child was suicidal and they have been as
young as third grade. We are not saying a child does not have ADHD, we are suggesting medical
testing should be done along with examining the school background and emotional state of the
child for other factors.
* And speaking of being wiggly and talking out in class; Dyslexic children tend to be very
connected to experiencing the world through their senses and don't sit well to focus quietly on
their schoolwork. They want to feel it, see it, touch it, smell it and hear everything. They
experience life in the present - the past and the future belongs to the left brain.
If you can integrate movement and other sensory experiences consistently into the classroom
they will be avid learners. Sitting, listening and writing for long periods of time can be almost
impossible for them. More schools are starting to introduce accommodations in the classroom
such as chewing gum, squeeze balls, plastic straws to tap instead of pencils and getting up and
moving often.
* If you have a Dyslexic class clown try letting them have 5 minutes of stand-up comedy if they
agree not to disturb the class for the rest of the day. This was the answer for my Dyslexic son in
grade four who came up with the idea. I ran into his teacher a few years later and she said she
still used this with other class clowns. Dyslexics are often very quick mentally and verbally and
will use humour to deflect attention away from their learning problems and negative attention
from their fellow class mates (Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg to name
a few).
* Dyslexics need a reason for everything. If you want them to stop a certain behaviour, they
often respond well to a logical explanation. Eg."We
* Many Dyslexics have a terrible time with being on time and completion dates. They live in the
present and do not comprehend a schedule easily. Team up with their parents to work out a
schedule for their schoolwork. They could have a white board at home with homework dates that
the parent could help them remember.
They respond well to colour. Give them an agenda done in colours. Red could mean hand in

"tomorrow", blue could be the "end of the week". This could be written on their white board at
home. The colours could be updated daily on their calendar for consideration of their home work
due dates.
The other side of the spectrum are Dyslexics who are obsessed about schedules. This is what we
have found to be typical, nothing in the middle. Either they can be on time and sometimes
obsessively or not at all. We have found working with a Dyslexic student on schedules can help
them build a lifelong skill.
* These students are reality based because they think in whole concrete images they can see,
hear, touch, smell and taste. All abstract materials should be related to something they can see,
feel, touch, hear or smell.
We have parents tell us that the teachers their children had that were focused on multi-sensory
teaching methods, lots of movement and projects were usually their Dyslexic child's most
successful and happy years.
* Dyslexics have great difficulty with letters and phonemes without the presence of the whole
image of the word and an image or picture that relates to the word when learning to copy and
memorize words. Most Dyslexics have difficulty understanding what letters are individually. C A - T are three sounds that bring up no image on their own but the word "cat" brings up the
image of a cat. An illustration would be to ask
them to point to the "back of a chair". They
will wonder if you mean the back of the chair
where they lean their backs on or the "back"
behind the chair. This problem occurs for them
with many instructions they receive during the
day in a classroom.
* Try to assist them in focusing ideas and
organizing a large body of work. Know they
need special training in writing procedures and
gathering tools such as note-taking, note
making, outlining, clustering or mind map
information, using pictures, diagrams,
drawings and composition procedures.
* Recognize their abilities to think emotionally, intuitively, creatively and "big picture" and
incorporate into class work.
* Be sympathetic with their fears of being ridiculed when reading out loud, oral discussion and
being able to follow written directions. One way to help with reading out loud is to give them a
passage to practice reading at home and then reading it aloud in the classroom when they are
comfortable.
* Recognize they may excel in oral discussions and group projects.

* Recognize they may be a good organizer and excel in leadership skills if they are not suffering
from a loss of self-esteem.
* Dyslexics should be allowed and encouraged to use laptop computers in the classroom.
Printing or writing is usually agonizing for a Dyslexic student. They generally have Dysgraphia
to some degree so writing can affect their comprehension, their ability to write notes from the
board, and complete an exercise or test on time.
Another option is using a scribe (a teaching assistant who writes a student's words or answers
down for them in the classroom).
* Dyslexic students should be allowed to use assistive technologies such as computer programs
like Dragon Naturally Speaking, Kurzweil, TextHelp Inspirations.
* Dyslexics should be given more time to complete class work and tests or do them orally. The
purpose of their completed schoolwork is to be sure they understand it and having to write their
answers can effect their ability to convey their knowledge of the subject. Written formats can
make it impossible for them to print their thoughts and answers adequately when they are usually
very articulate speakers. Recording machines can also help with getting their ideas and answers
saved and then typed or hand written.
* Dyslexia changes from a Learning Difference to a Learning Disability when a child cannot
learn in school due to inappropriate teaching methods and having become frustrated, exhausted,
humiliated and despondent. When a child loses their self-esteem and begins to believe they are
"stupid" they are filled with "self-limiting beliefs". They shut down and can no longer learn
many new skills in school in a normal and timely manner - if it all.

In view of the right-brained students learning styles, these five steps set out the criteria
that can be provided for them each time you teach them a new lesson, analyze new
information, give out an assignment or expect them to complete the work to meet you
expectations.
The Dyslexic student will always have a lot of questions about their tasks in school. If they
speak up in class or at home with many questions and some that seem obvious, they are not
trying to be annoying. They really need answers to their questions. You might even find
that the Dyslexic student will ask the same questions about a new assignment that is the
same as a previous one. They are very literal and will need confirmation that the
instructions are still the same.
Be aware of the quiet student who seems to struggle with their work because they also may
have many concerns but are too afraid to ask.
Dyslexic students think in wholes and depend on having the full picture in order to

understand it. Therefore, they must be given answers to the following questions which fill
in all the information that complete the assignments.

1. WHY? Why must I learn this? (Purpose)

The right-brained individual must first know WHY they should accept an assignment or do a
lesson. If they do not get an explanation, they will not understand the rest of the instructions.
Once the student knows how they will benefit from a lesson and grasps the purpose of the related
exercise(s), their mind will open up and flood with multi-faceted ideas on the subject.

2. WHAT? What do you expect to find in my answer(s)?

This step requires explanations of the information to be analyzed, written about and discussed in
an assignment. The Dyslexic student must be taught a new lesson in ways that allow the right
brain to analyze and understand cause and effect. This means decoding the spelling and
meaning of any new words or ideas, and providing ways for the students to focus on and choose
the appropriate answers.
The right-brained student must be trained by examples they can see, hear and write down, not
just have the instructions dictated or in written form. The right- brained person cannot understand
and carry out oral or written directions without seeing the physical materials, hearing a clear, full
explanation of their use, and handling the materials. This will implant the ideas of the directions
in the brain in complete, three dimensional images. The student must be told and shown by
example exactly what you expect to read in their answers to your questions and how you want
their answers to be organized.

3. HOW? How do I present my answers? (Format)

Orally, hand printed, written down or typed on computer? In single words, sentences, paragraphs
or essays? The skills required are the basic rules of grammar, sentence structure, paragraph and
essay formats. The student needs to be shown full procedures for organizing the ideas and
answers either on paper or for oral presentation. The best teaching tool for this is writing
examples for them of topic sentences, topic paragraphs and even the parts of the body of the
essay.
4. WHEN? When do I start, finish and hand in the assignment? (Completion time)
These students must be instructed when to start the assignment, in class or at home and when
they must be finished the work for handing in. Without these instructions the Dyslexic student
does not understand the time limits involved. They can also panic if these times are too short for
them to complete the amount of work to be done. If the project due date is a long way off they
will fail to get their work completed by the expected date because they have no clear concept or
understanding of time.
This is an example of thinking, visualizing and understanding in whole concepts. All the parts
must be assembled at the start and organized into a whole visual image. Once again the abstract
concept of time requires a step by step explanation until the concept is complete. The Dyslexic
student may not even start on the assignment until you tell them to do so.
5. OUTCOME? What have I learned? How will I use this information in future?(Success in
learning)
The students must understand the whole picture, its outcome and future applications in lessons or
assignments if they are to complete the assignments.
It comes full circle: Why have I done this? What have I learned? What purpose will it serve me
in the future? If the Dyslexic student doesn't have a logical reason to learn the material then they
have a difficult time accepting it and getting started. Everything must have a function for the
Dyslexic student.