Let’s talk about confusion. Confusion lasts a second for some, and all is well when asking a clarifying question.  However, for others, minor confusion can quickly lead to disorientation, which is typical for people with dyslexia. When words or concepts don’t have a clear meaning to the person, minor confusions start compounding, and attempts to clarify may not help because the person is disorientated. They can’t get refocused to make sense of what is going on.

You have seen symptoms of this: a kid who you think is listening goes onto the field and does something completely different. Or they have a lost look on their faces and are watching others to see what they should be doing to try to imitate them.

When one is disoriented, the brain doesn’t receive information correctly. Thus, one has to be in a clear mental state or focused (aligned/balanced/oriented) to absorb new information accurately.

But how do you get out of disorientation and get focused? It is different for different people. As a Davis Methods provider, I teach my students specific self-regulation techniques to help with this. One is quick and easy and can be done in seconds (check out Davis Methods by clicking on the link). Others might get focused with “concentration,” but that typically doesn’t work well with a person with dyslexia. Knowing how to focus can be a challenge.

Here are some practical ways to ground or focus yourself:

• Deep Breathing: Practice slow, controlled breaths, focusing on the rhythm. Try the 4-7-8 technique (inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8).
• 5-4-3-2-1 Technique: Identify five things you see, four you feel, three you hear, two you smell, and one you taste to anchor yourself in the present moment.
• Physical Movement: To reconnect with your body, engage in light physical activity like stretching, walking, or shaking out tension.
• Mindful Touch: Hold a textured object (like a rock or stress ball), focusing on its feel, temperature, and weight to bring awareness to your senses.
• Mantras or Affirmations: Repeat a grounding phrase, such as “I am here, I am safe,” to center your mind and diminish distracting thoughts.

Some of these methods can take time.….

What can the athlete do that works well for them quickly and easily? Help them find this and know when to use it.

I particularly like having a focus point to think about, which can be really helpful for athletes; a sports focus has one standing up straight. To do this, try balancing on one foot as you imagine a string holding you straight upright from the sky, almost like a marionette.  Then, simply imagine placing a dot at the top of your head right in the center, about a foot or so above your head.  Think of that dot each time you want to focus or imagine the marionette strings holding you upright.  Try balancing; if you are balanced, you are focused.

The post Athletics and Dyslexia:  Getting focused appeared first on Learning Tools.

As the fall sports season ends and the winter sports season starts, my phone gets busy with calls from concerned parents and sometimes coaches. “What should I do? How do I help this kid? I see their potential and can tell they are passionate about the sport, but communication can be perplexing.”   

The first thing I say is that you need to understand that dyslexia is a specific way of thinking that requires being able to visualize the meaning of a word to understand it fully and to think or perform with that word.  Without a clear picture, a dyslexic individual might have only a fuzzy idea of the word or concept, which causes confusion and doubt.

Helping the dyslexic athlete

Dyslexic athletes must begin their season with a thorough, visual understanding of the sport’s specific vocabulary. Even experienced athletes may need clarification about some concepts. Coaches should ensure these athletes understand the sport-specific words they might use, spending some of the first practice explaining or demonstrating the concepts if needed.

Coaches should also ensure they include words used differently in their sport, such as direction and position.  Words like “up” and “post” can have very different meanings in different sports:

• In hockey, you move the puck up the ice toward the offensive zone, while in baseball, a player is next up.
• In basketball, a post refers to specific areas on the court, while in football, a post relates to a route a receiver might run, and in soccer, a post is the upright bars of the goal.
• In gymnastics, splits are positions with one leg forward and one back, while in swimming, splits are the times of individual legs of a long swim.

Each of these uses reflects the sport’s unique context and gameplay mechanics, illustrating the versatility of terms and the confusion a dyslexic athlete might experience (especially when playing multiple sports).

For older athletes who have been doing their sport longer, a word like “up” or “post” is known from their years of interest in their sport and most likely isn’t causing much of a problem. The processing of  However, these words can slow their processing for younger athletes as they try to decipher what they are expected to do.

Dyslexic athletes have unique challenges. They do not understand if they do not have a picture of a word or concept in their mind. The fix for this is to ensure the image in their mind is accurate to the vocabulary being used.

Looking for additional help for your child?

The Davis Dyslexia program is a fantastic program for children or adults. It helps them learn how they best learn, gives them self-regulation tools, and clears up 218 common trigger words that cause disorientation (many are directional). See the rest of my website for more information.

The post Athletics and Dyslexia:  Why vocabulary matters. appeared first on Learning Tools.

Below is a summary of some of the tips we spoke of for Coaches, Parents, and the Dyslexic Athlete.

Tips

Coaches:

• • Dyslexics are non-verbal conceptualization thinkers, they think in pictures and feelings.
  • When working with your athletes, ensure they understand the meaning of your sports specific vocabulary.
  • Think about how you are giving directions, remember that orientation can be confusing when you are on the sidelines and they are out on the field.
  • Just because someone isn’t looking at you when you speak, doesn’t mean they are not engaged and listening.
  • When new to the game or you as a coach some of your athletes will need a bit more processing time what you’re are asking them to do, so breathe a moment before verbal correction (either pulling out of the game or redirecting) BUT do know, that with time this will go away.
  • Most dyslexics need meaning and understanding of the “why” when integrating and bring new information to the long-term memory.
  • Clipboard plays can be disorienting, so make sure you athletes are familiar with how you use it before a big game.
  • Use visuals on the field/court when giving directions, words like left, right, east, up court can all be very confusing.
  • Dyslexics are usually very motivated and want to learn but can often have low self-esteem due to difficulties they have had in school.  Having your team “try” is more powerful than motivating them thru praise and or criticism i.e. telling them they are already good at that or are bad at something else, is not a powerful motivator.  Telling your team to “try” something and then praise with “wow, you really must have tried hard at that, I see your effort” will be more effective.

Parents:

• • Get buy-in from your child before you ever speak with a coach.
  • Remember coaches most often don’t have educational backgrounds or understand dyslexia.
  • Let the coach know that your child thinks in pictures and works well with knowing the why and big picture before looking into the details.

Athlete:

• • Advocate for yourself.
    • If you are someone who can’t look at someone in the eyes when they are explaining something, make sure you explain to your coach that looking away allows you to visualize and create what they are saying in your mind.
    • If you need more time to process, let your coach know it.
    • If you are confused by the plays being assigned, ask for clarification – or tell your coach back what you do understand — explain those pictures in your mind.
  • Do your research.  Get to know your sport, look up YouTube videos, know the vocabulary.
  • Do some mental training.
    • Find your focused or grounded place and learn how to get back there.  How do you get into your zone?
    • Do some self-reflection.  What do I do when I get angry, confused, nervous?  What can I do to help myself during those situations?

The post Coaching Dyslexic Athletes Part II appeared first on Learning Tools.