Help teaching a dyslexic lady to knit?

[Chicky2]

This is an email from my mother.  I was hoping someone here could help in some way.

I’m trying to teach knitting to a woman my age who is dyslexic.  I cried today when I got home, I was just so frustrated.  She is very determined and an inspiration because of it, but she has such a hard time and gets her work into such a mess that I can’t even figure out what she’s done so I can un-do it.  I feel that I don’t know how to “word” things so she understands my instructions.  We’ll keep plugging away at it, though.  It will just take time.

[KristyDi]

I'm dyslexic and taught kids with dyslexia and similar issues for years.

Since I don't know specifically what issues your mom and her student are tripping up on I can only give some general tips.

Don't give long lists of directions.  Break it up in it one or two step chunks.

Don't rely on the words "right" and "left" always include another descriptor (the hand with the yarn in it or the needle you're moving the stitches to etc)  Many dyslexics confuse them and thus aren't confident in following directions that include them.

Try finding youtube videos the student can watch. I'm learning to knit and I've watched purling videos over and over and I still suck at it.

Go slowly.  Repetition is key.

Patterns, with all their abbreviations and lines upon lines of text, are confusing and overwhelming. I am having a lot of trouble figuring them out.  Sometimes it can help to type them out (without the abbreviations if necessary) and separate the steps visually on the page.

Last, remember that dyslexics have on and off days.  Sometimes we seem to have it down, then the next day we can't tel right from left and everything is backwards.  On those days sometimes it's best to set it down and take a break before everyone gets so frustrated they crack.  As frustrating as it is for the teacher, trust me, it' worse for the student.  I know, I've been on both sides.

[Chicky2]

I'm going to copy and paste your post for her.  Thank you so much for the time you took to type all that out!

[Indigo73]

Yep what Kristy said. 

I want to add, it seems silly but I usually enlarge my patterns to 14 or 16 pt fonts to help see it.  And put extra space between lines. 

While I can read and work from charts, I prefer my instructions written without abbreviations, so often spend time with a pattern to "translate" it.

Oh and try different colored needles.  I did that with one of my students.  And that helped him, so when he asked questions I could say use the red needle to do this while holding the blue needle still.

[Chicky2]

Doesn't seem silly, and thanks!