The Amina Dyslexia Center, Kaduna, has trained 20 heads of private schools and parents on dyslexia, in a bid to create awareness on the condition among students and how it affected learning outcomes.
Dyslexia, as described by the centre’s Director of Operations, Ms Anita Kevin, is a condition that makes it difficult for the brain to process information, with key sign of the condition as difficulty in matching letters to their sounds.
Kevin told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Sunday that the training was part of activities to commemorate the 2020 dyslexia awareness month.
She said that every year, the month of October was set aside worldwide as Dyslexia Awareness Month, to raise awareness, share resources, and tell stories about dyslexia successes.
According to her, the training is necessary following the low awareness of dyslexia among teachers in Kaduna, pointing out that about 98 per cent of them, do not know about the condition.
The director said that training the 10 heads of private schools and 10 parents, was part of the centre’s efforts to reduce ignorance about dyslexia, which she described as a major cause of illiteracy.
According to her, the condition is responsible for 85 per cent of global adult illiteracy rate, while one in every five children risks dropping out of either primary or secondary school due to dyslexia.
She said that the training was restricted to only 20 participants in line with COVID-19 protocol, adding, however, that it was streamed on Facebook for more people to participate.
”The participants will be trained on what to look out for during reading, writing and general behaviour of pupils and students. This will help to provide vital information during formal assessment.
”The formal assessment is done by an educational psychologist or a specialist teacher.
”We will also train the teachers on how to teach slow learners generally, with a view to providing all-round quality education,” Kevin said.
She also said that creating awareness on the condition, particularly among teachers and parents, would enable them to make informed decisions about education of children.
She said that dyslexia involved how the brain processed information and the sounds of words, thereby affecting word recognition, spelling and the ability to match letters to sounds.
According to the director, while dyslexia is a neurological condition, it has no relation to intelligence, but could, however, affect learning outcomes, as well as social interactions.
”The condition, if not properly addressed with the right teaching methods and training on social skills, could result in low self-esteem, anxiety, anger, and depression,”she said.
NAN reports that the Amina Dyslexia Center is a social enterprise that caters for the education needs of people, especially children with specific learning disabilities. (NAN)
