The Study Skills Toolkit for Students with Dyslexia

Monica Gribben

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781446289891
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Lernschwierigkeiten

Packed with helpful advice, checklists and templates, this book will help you improve your study skills throughout your time at university. Written in a straightforward, no-nonsense style, the guidance can be broken down into manageable chunks.

Issues covered include:

• procrastination
• planning your assignment
• understanding your essay question
• researching, writing and referencing your written work
• managing your own well-being.

Drawing on years of experience running study skills workshops in higher education, Monica Gribben has written an accessible book for students with dyslexia that shows how to work through the challenges that studying presents.

The companion website has podcasts, worksheets and electronic resources to support each chapter.

SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university. Visit the SAGE Study Skills hub for tips, resources and videos on study success!

1

Stepping out into University with Dyslexia

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This chapter looks at the many worries you have about being a student, your learning style and engaging with the support available to help you get organised and manage your studies.

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Stepping out, worries and all

For most students, moving from school to university is a shock; it’s sometimes even scary. From being a pupil in a class of 30, you suddenly find yourself as a student in a lecture theatre of 300, where organising and managing your own time and study is now your responsibility. There’s no one telling you how long to study or what books to study, and there’s no one nagging you about getting your homework in on time. It’s all your responsibility now, and oh what freedom!

At first, coping with new demands and the new-found freedom to decide when, where and how you study can be hard and a little overwhelming at times, but somehow it will all work out. Just give it a little time and you’ll soon settle down into student life. New things are always scary and hard at first for everyone. Remember, you’re not the only new student; there are thousands of you, and, oh, don’t worry about your dyslexia at university. You can’t change the fact you have dyslexia. It’s part and parcel of who you are, but it’s only one part; it’s not the whole of you. Just as being a student isn’t the whole of you; there’s a life outside of university. So make the most of your student days. Remember, it’s only a few years in a whole lifetime. Enjoy it – the study, as well as the social aspect, dyslexia and all!

Don’t make a big deal out of your dyslexia at university; don’t let it stress you. Having dyslexia means your brain is wired differently. Think of a rabbit warren with all the furrows. Every brain has furrows; the dyslexic brain has extra furrows – maybe more, maybe wider ones. This means that when a message goes to the brain, it might go through an extra furrow and hit a different part of it, making the message scrambled. You just need time to sort out the message, to remember it and then process it.

Having dyslexia means you see things differently, learn things differently and do things differently – nothing more, nothing less. So, as a student with dyslexia you bring added value to the educational environment because you see the nuts and bolts of how things work, and all the bits in between. This is so much more than students who don’t have dyslexia, and so your contribution is valuably different.

Remember, there’s plenty of good support, as well as lots of strategies and learning tools to help you along the way. It’s important to tap into these; that’s why they’re there. First though, let’s take a step back, look at things right on the spot where you stand and figure out what’s really worrying you about starting university.

Feel these worries are no different from your own right now? Not sure how to allay your fears? Scared your small worries will become huge ones and affect your chances? Remember, it’s not so much about being a student and having dyslexia, it’s more about what you do with it; how you manage your dyslexia and work with your worries that matters. One positive step is to take each worry you have and turn it into a question that can be answered. That way, it should seem less of a worry and more of a possibility.

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Activity 1.1

Mapping Man: your worry – identifying, mapping, scaling

Colour the worry bubble that you can most identify with. Now think of your own worry and where you feel it – sore head, wobbly legs, nervous tummy? Write or draw your own worry bubble and place it on the Mapping Man:

Scale your feeling. How did reading the worry bubbles make you feel?

Circle your answer:

How did writing your own worry bubble make you feel?

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Having worked with the worry bubbles, you’ll see that we all come to university with different worries and concerns. Learning to work through these concerns one at a time informs our approach to study, our commitment, our motivation. Your experience will be no different. It’s all part of the planning and organisation needed to help you settle into student life and manage your studies. The solution lies in turning your worries into questions that can be answered, and in tapping into the correct sources for these answers. Some are personal, others more practical, but they all have a role to play in your success. It’s a good idea to identify the key people in the university who can provide these concrete answers, such as Student Services or your tutor.

Verbalising and visualising the responses to these practical concerns in this way should reassure you that dyslexia and university go together well. It’s all a matter of understanding your dyslexia, believing in yourself and in your abilities, having an awareness of the support that’s available and making good use of it; oh, and some good planning.

Working through the more personal issues may be a little more challenging, but it’s all achievable. It’s really a question of accessing the correct support and working positively with that towards your goal. It’s separating the wheat from the chaff, and looking things squarely in the eye.

Working with a group of friends, take your Mapping Man worries and place them on the floor. Now walk around looking at all the worries. Does your worry seem less scary now? Given the choice, would you keep your own worry and work with that, or would you rather have someone else’s? Discuss the worries, share ideas and experiences, and use the Mapping Man to record any solutions you’ve identified. Make sure you tap into the toolkit and any university resources that might be helpful. Keep your Mapping Man as a reference guide – from problem to solution. Take him on your study journey; add to his shapes to create a mini journ...