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Compensatory Tools and Dispensatory Measures: Enhancing Learning for Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs)
Compensatory Tools and Dispensatory Measures: Enhancing Learning for Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs)
Before understanding specifically what compensatory tools and dispensatory measures are, we need to take a step back and analyze the needs of a student with Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs). When a diagnosis of dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysorthography, or dyscalculia is made, it is necessary to ensure that the student has the opportunity to reach the same level as their peers.
Having an SLD means needing specific tools in order to make studying not only easier but also interactive and fun.
SLDs, as emphasized by article 1 of Law No. 170/2010, constitute real limitations to many activities of daily life. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a series of measures to alleviate or even eliminate these limitations. According to the current Italian system, every student has the right to be autonomous in the learning process and to be valued for their specificities. This aligns with our Constitution, which frequently mentions individuality and personal development.
In this context, compensatory tools and dispensatory measures come into play. As we will see later, they are simply the methods made available by educators to students who require personalized teaching in order to enhance their strengths.
False myths about compensatory and dispensatory tools often accompany both students and the adults involved, whether they are parents or teachers. It is important to remember that these tools are not providing advantages to the student, nor are they giving them any special treatment compared to their peers. Teachers have the task of making this point clear to other students as well, in order to avoid situations of conflict or discomfort in the classroom.
Of course, only with the family's authorization, it is highly recommended to openly discuss the compensatory tools adopted for one or more students in the classroom. This way, all students will be able to accept a treatment that may otherwise be perceived as preferential. To explain it simply, you can use a very immediate parallel:
Compensatory tools are to students with SLDs what glasses are to a nearsighted person.
Compensatory tools become a way to create inclusive and stimulating lessons suitable for all students.
Compensatory tools for calculations and mathematical operations:
- Number lines;
- Forms and/or tables;
- Times tables;
- Calculators, possibly even with voice output;
- Grids for column operations;
- Spreadsheets, such as Excel.
Compensatory tools for reading:
- A physical guide to isolate the line to be read (to avoid losing the point);
- Software for online concept maps or speech synthesis, like Algor Education;
- Schemes made with the help of an educator;
- Increased spacing of the text;
- Larger and uppercase fonts;
- Language dictionaries.
Compensatory tools for writing:
- Recorders that relieve note-taking activities;
- Word processing or audio-writing programs;
- Automatic spelling correction programs;
- Smart pens capable of translating or recognizing text.
Compensatory tools for truly inclusive education
Without prejudice and without fear of making mistakes, these tools can also be used only for short periods of time or alternatively to other measures. Since each student is different, it is important to value their individuality and provide them with something that is truly useful. Do not expect every tool to be universally valid, and do not be afraid to experiment!
Following this logic, you should never try to force a student with a compensatory measure that is not suitable for them. If there are no improvements in the results or the student does not benefit from a specific measure, do not be afraid to modify the strategy to fit their specific educational needs.
For educational reasons, it will be very important to prepare students with learning disabilities for the use of compensatory tools, trying to make them embrace their individuality without shame or rejection. For a truly formative educational path, students must be accompanied in the process of self-knowledge, experimenting with their own learning channels to make them truly functional for learning.
Dispensatory measures
Dispensatory measures are complementary to compensatory measures, but have a "negative" sense of subtraction. Instead of providing additional tools, they are designed to relieve students from specific tasks that may be too complex for them. There are three types of tools in this category:
- Those that exempt the student from certain activities - such as mental calculations for a student with dyscalculia;
- Those that provide more time to complete assessments;
- Those that provide different materials specifically designed for the student in question.
The goal of dispensatory measures is to tailor the educational and assessment experience to the student with learning disabilities, allowing them to independently achieve the set goals. In other words, while compensatory tools optimize the learning process, dispensatory tools ensure that the assessment is fair and takes into account individual difficulties.
An all-round platform: Algor Education as a compensatory tool
Created with a special focus on students with learning disabilities, the Algor Education project provides a wide range of tools that can be used to compensate for the learning process. In particular, the tools provided by our app can be helpful for dyslexic individuals, as they significantly facilitate reading.
This does not exclude the fact that all other students can benefit from the multiple functionalities of the platform:
- The interactive creation of concept maps starting from a digital text;
- Voice synthesis and dyslexia-friendly fonts, important for listening to the created map without needing to read it independently;
- A truly inclusive interface, designed to be intuitive and easily usable by all users;
- Simultaneous sharing of maps, which allows for real-time collaboration with classmates and teachers in creating the diagrams.
Algor Education allows you to create multimedia maps from digital PDF books in just a few clicks and integrates karaoke voice synthesis.
As the possibilities offered by our platform are numerous, we invite you to experiment with them and try to make them your own in order to better understand how to present them to your students or children with learning disabilities. In other words, don't be afraid to dive in and take advantage of the available compensation opportunities, reaching a much more comprehensive and cohesive educational path.
Article by Nina Komadina, content creator.
