Art and design at KS1 and dyslexia

Read the main challenges for children with dyslexia across subject areas, and some suggestions to help them.

The majority of problems linked with dyslexia do not impact on art and design at KS1. The challenges at this level are around organisation - getting the correct equipment and making sure proportions and lengths are relative to each other.

As for autistic spectrum disorder, the child may concentrate on an area of a picture in detail and then realise that the scale is all wrong.

Dyslexic children tend to be unaware of time and may need help pacing themselves and allowing time for tidying up. The concept of history and timescales can also be confusing.

You can:

• Give clear, one-step instructions.
• Help the pupil get an overview of their artwork. Help them decide how big the main features will be and work from there. They may need support to read rulers for measuring.
• Repeat instructions, reminding them of the time available.
• Use an illustrated timeline to help them understand the concept of long ago.