Practical tips for leaders
Practical tips for leaders
- For young people, talk to parents/carers and with the young person themselves, plan any support that they feel would be beneficial. You may find the parent/carer framework useful.
- Be flexible and responsive to the needs of the person with dyslexia. Try asking what works for them – this is helpful for adults with dyslexia as well as young people.
- Break information up into smaller 'chunks' so the person does not feel overwhelmed.
- Allow extra 'thinking' time for processing verbal or written information and formulating responses. Read more about support speech, language and communication needs.
- Keep instructions short and precise and be prepared to repeat these.
- Cater to an individual’s strengths and give praise for achievements; this will lead to an increase in confidence and self-esteem.
- It is important to provide reminders where needed and be patient.
- The types of activities undertaken by the group should be carefully considered. Map reading, for example, may be difficult for individuals with dyslexia because of the many signs and symbols involved or someone with dyslexia may feel uncomfortable reading a story to the group if they have reading difficulties.
- Consider using a sans serif font on all printed materials, such as Arial, Nunito Sans or Comic Sans and make sure the font is at least 12 point or above.
- Provide written information either on coloured paper (e.g. cream) or encourage the person to use a coloured overlay (Young people may have been given one at school/college). Ask them which colour of paper or coloured overlay helps them.
- Support verbal information in writing or using pictures/symbols – this could be on a handout or a task list. See the visual support section for more ideas about supporting information visually.
- Consider alternative ways of taking part in activities which require reading or writing, for example using pictures, acting out ides or working in pairs or small groups.
Parent/carer framework
Use the parent/carer framework to discuss how you can best support a young person through Scouts.
Working in partnership with Parents and Carers