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Hello I agree completely with Phil. There is often a misconception of the role of proofreading within dyslexia tuition, probably because most people associate it with simply checking for spelling errors, in the same way a publishing house may work. Proofreading is actually core to the work that a Dyslexia Tutor does in that it allows the tutor to see the way the student is thinking in relation to their presentation of ideas. Every dyslexic student works differently, which is why individualised lesson plans need to be devised. It is not good enough to just ask the student where they think their difficulties might be, the dyslexia tutor needs to analyse the way in which the student works and the best way to do this is to examine the way in which they develop their assignments. It does not, however, end there. If our role is to encourage independent learning then the Dyslexia Tutor needs to approach the errors that the student is making on an individual basis. An example of this is with spelling, I know of five different types of spelling error that dyslexics make and each type needs a different strategy to help overcome it. Then there is punctuation, grammar, structure and flow to name a few. All of these different areas need to be explored with the student, however, if they are all addressed at once then the student's self-esteem would fall through the floor and it is highly unlikely that the student would learn anything. It is therefore much better to address each issue one at a time whilst continually proofreading work in order to monitor the student's progress. Believe me, when I hand back the final draft of a student's dissertation to them with very few amendments and show them a copy of the first piece of work that they gave me, the look on their face is worth far more than any wage packet. That is why I do my job. I never criticise anybody for the way they do their work, unless I have a greater knowledge of it and can offer them constructed advice, so I feel incredibly disheartened that other bodies continually question the role of the Dyslexia tutor. I wish that people would just leave the professionals to their job and support them with it rather than continually undermining them. Mark Wakeham Dyslexia Support Tutor UWIC -----Original Message----- From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sally Foister Sent: 13 February 2007 09:07 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: proofreading It is an essential part of a Dyslexia Tutor's role to read the students' work to identify problems that the students may have with such fundamentals as sentence and paragraph structure, spelling, punctuation, grammar, appropriate level of academic language, as well as the overall planning and organization of their assignments. Analysis of such problems provides a basis for developing coping mechanisms with the students to help them with their work in the future. Although this process may result in the student's work having been 'proofread' for errors, together with suggestions for expressing the student's thoughts more clearly, it should be 'constructive proofreading', with learning outcomes for the student, as opposed to a mere correcting of errors. Phil Lyons Learning Support Tutor Anglia Ruskin University ----- Original Message ----- From: "Baker Eleanor Mrs (DOS) g231" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 3:41 PM Subject: Re: proofreading At UEA we feel the same. To proof read alone would not be developing skills, merely correcting. I usually read the piece of work to the student so that they can identify areas that need clarification. If I spot a part that is ambiguous, I can then ask them to clarify their intended thoughts. In this way, they are always generating the ideas but I am able to use the occasion to teach aspects of structure, grammar, spelling or punctuation. Ellie Baker Dyslexia tutor University of East Anglia ________________________________ From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Quinn, Christine Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 12:29 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: proofreading LSTs are happy to go through a piece of work with the student to help them identify errors. We aim to teach the students the strategies to develop their own proof reading skills as part of their overall development as an independent learner. I don't think we would see it as our role to provide a proof reading service. Christine Y. Quinn Student Support Services (We have relocated temporarily to Bowland North, Room C91, Bowland North ) Lancaster University Lancaster LA1 4YW Tel: 01524 592111 Fax: 01524 594868 [log in to unmask] ________________________________ From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wendy Knowles (W.Knowles) Sent: 09 February 2007 10:30 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: proofreading I am interested to know from specialist dyslexia support tutors, what percentage of your time is spent proofreading and indeed what your opinions are on this i.e. is it an essential part of your role or do you sometimes feel frustrated by the quantity of proofreading which you are required to do? I look forward to your comments. Many thanks. Wendy Wendy Knowles Disability Service Co-ordinator