What are overlays in dyslexia?

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Overlays are specific learning disorders that affect reading, spelling, or writing. Overlays can include phonological, auditory, or visual dyslexia. In phonological dyslexia, the sound of the written word is difficult to recognize. This difficulty of spelling can also affect reading and writing. In auditory dyslexia, sounds are not expressed clearly enough to be understood. In visual dyslexia, letters and words are difficult to see or to make sense of. Overlays are not the same as dyslexia, but they are often confused with it.

Phonetic and visual cues

Overlays are representations of the written word, such as a line or a word. These representations are associated with the sound of the written word rather than the spelling. For example, the word ‘cat’ sounds different from the word ‘cut’. Children with dyslexia may struggle to recognize the sound of a word when they see the written word. They might also struggle to sound out the written word. This can make reading very difficult.

Increased listening

Overlays are a type of simultaneous processing that allows the brain to process two different things at the same time. This ability is essential for reading, because the brain processes all of the different sounds in a word (phonemes) at the same time as it processes the meaning of the word (semantic information).

Comprehension and retention

How do you remember how to spell a word? You probably know it by its sound, or by the shape of the letters. Researchers believe that dyslexic people memorize the spelling of a word by overlaying the written letters with an image or mental picture of what the word looks like. This method of learning can be extremely time-consuming since it involves creating an entirely new image to represent the word in your mind. This can make it much more challenging for a dyslexic person to spell the word correctly.

Focusing on content

In dyslexia, it can be really hard to understand the meaning of a word, or to read it correctly. To help with this, some people use a technique called “redefining” or “rephrasing” a word. For example, instead of saying “the dog was running”, they might say “the dog was galloping”. This adds an extra context that makes the word easier to understand. If you have dyslexia, you might find that overlays are helpful, too.

Distraction-free reading

Overlays are programs or applications that are installed on top of the text on your screen to help you read. This allows you to highlight, mark, copy, and search the text. Some are text-to-speech programs so you can hear the words as you read them. Others are programs that compile the definition of a word you highlight to help you learn the meaning.

Practice and re-visit

Overlays are strategies that can be used to help with reading and spelling. Overlays take some of the complexity out of spelling and reading by adding an extra ‘cue’ to the word you are trying to spell. For example, a word might have an initial sound and a final sound that you need to spell. Or you might need to spell a word using the letters you have in the middle of the word. These strategies can be used in conjunction with regular reading and spelling instruction or on their own. They are also great for those who might struggle with reading and spelling because they don’t need to learn a new way of spelling.

Repetition

Overlays, also known as symbolic associations, are those that are not necessarily related to the written or spoken word, but can help someone remember something. They are like mental maps that help someone visualize information better. While some people have a strong sense of these, others need more help.

Conclusion

Overlays are specialized learning programs used to support the development of reading and spelling skills in children. Overlays are similar to the curriculum that children learn in school but are customized to the child’s specific needs. Overlays are usually taught in small groups, take about 20 minutes to complete each session, and are generally worked on for 30 minutes, twice a week.