Colors are probably one of the best ways to cope with Dyslexia and particularly Meares-Irlen Syndrome. Even if it's just used for organizational purposes.
There's also the tried and tested tinted glasses, overlays and general color schemes that we dyslexics are famous for. Well this is generally to combat Meares-Irlen Syndrome, which isn't exclusive to dyslexics despite popular belief but it is thought to affect as much as %50 percent. I've got a blue-gray overlay that really helps me quite a bit, especially when tired. I'm still waiting for my visit with a specialist optometrist. This should be top of the list for every sufferer because the results are pretty amazing.
I found this little piece of software a while back, you should download it. http://www.thomson-software-solutions.com/html/screen_tinter.html. It only works on windows I'm afraid but it's very portable and simple to use. I am learning to program, so hopefully I will eventually be able to make something similar for macs. In the meantime there's http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29478/screen-shades which isn't as good in my opinion but OSX doesn't really facilitate color schemes.
I use colors for my schedule. Being a student I knew that I was going to have to get used to time tables. So first I read, over the course of 18 months before I gave in and got it on audio-book, the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Then I adapted his scheduling ideas to something that works for me. The summer before school I tested it and forced myself adhere to it which was easy enough to do once I let me wife know what I was doing. My time keeping has always annoyed her greatly, so she was happy to help me. On top of that I made sure my schedule was as available and easy to update as possible. I thought of an item that I'm never without, my phone, and found an effective way to ensure that my calendar was available on it. I had to buy a new phone but it was worth it.
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| Here is an example of my calendar system. Each color represents a different aspect or 'role' of my life. I sync this to my phone and my ipod and compulsively update it as soon as anything comes up. I've even set it up to be available online, just in case. |
Association.
Applying stories to what we're learning is also a powerful tool. Giving things context and references to senses other than sight. So when I sit a lecture I try to view it as if it were a documentary on TV, complete with Stephen Fry narration. The idea is that I'm trying to capture more than just what the lecturer is saying but how their moving etc...
Audio.
I'm still working on this. Apparently listening and taking notes in a lecture is the worst thing that I can do as a dyslexic student. I'm now to only sit and listen to the lecture, whist recording. I'm waiting for my dictaphone to arrive before I can really come up with a working system.
Reading for Meaning.
This is a technique that my dyslexia tutor showed me. It mostly applies to academic related things but with a little practice I'm optimistic that I can broaden it's application.
Basically you look at an article, or chapter or some other section of the literature and you ask yourself a question that you think it might answer. So if for instance I was looking at a chapter on programming loops. I would put the question related to what I'm revising at the time, such as; 'What are the differences between deterministic and non-deterministic iterations?' then I would start reading. This enables me to almost skim-read the chapter for the answer to my question. By creating the question I'm also created a bunch of keywords, even if unconsciously, that will help me find the answer to my question.
The Puzzle Approach.
As you may have noticed, I do quite a bit of writing. Writing is just as difficult for most dyslexics because aside from the spelling and proofreading issues, we often struggles to express ourselves coherently. Out ideas and words come out all jumbled up and nobody, even ourselves can make any sense of it.
So when I was younger I came up with the puzzle approach. I simply write all my ideas as they come to me but separated somehow, like paragraphs. Then I just rearrange them into something readable. Usually the rearranging takes longer than the writing but the results are pretty good. The one drawback is that the thinks I write are quite often lacking a beginning and/or ending. I also find that I tend to proof-read my writing as I rearrange the paragraphs.
