Training at Our Special Story - Supporting Dyslexic Learners Through Structured Literacy

Recently, I had the privilege of running a hands-on training at Our Special Story, a leading intervention clinic in Singapore. The focus of this training was understanding how literacy difficulties show up in children with Dyslexia or are at-risk of Dyslexia who also have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and discovering how we can teach in ways that support both their learning needs and develop joy in literacy.

During the training, we explored the unique challenges these students face when learning to read and write. I shared evidence-based strategies for supporting struggling readers and spellers, approaches that can significantly boost literacy development.

A highlight of the session was a phoneme manipulation activity. Participants had to generate as many words as possible using just a few letters. This mirrors therapy tasks that build phonemic awareness, a key predictor of reading success (Rehfeld et al., 2022).

We also covered multi-sensory strategies used in literacy interventions. Techniques like finger spelling and using counters on spelling mats help make sounds more concrete. Activities like sand writing engage sight and touch to strengthen letter-sound connections.

Sand writing reduces writing anxiety making it a fun and sensory-rich alternative.

Our Special Story

844 Sims Ave #02-700 Singapore 400844

Reference

Rehfeld, D. M., Kirkpatrick, M., O’Guinn, N., & Renbarger, R. (2022). A meta-analysis of phonemic awareness instruction provided to children suspected of having a reading disability. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 53(4), 1177–1201. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_LSHSS-21-00160