My 12 year old son was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder a couple of years ago.  The easiest way to explain what that is if you are not familiar with the term is a dyslexia of the hearing.  He cannot process things through listening.  This made it very difficult to learn how to read and write because of how phonics works.  He does read quite well but only because I taught him with a whole language curriculum.  Phonics don’t make sense to him because he has a hard time processing the sounds.  He is brilliant in science and math but reading and writing are still a struggle.

I found an awesome curriculum that is for dyslexic students.  It is called the Stevenson  Curriculum.  Stevenson Curriculum is created for kids with learning disabilities.  We have been using their language arts program.  It has helped my son quite a bit.  They use mnemonic devises to teach the kids how to read, write and spell.  If my son can associate a picture or story with a spelling rule or phonics rule, he is more likely to remember it.  Stevenson Curriculum is worth checking out if you are working with a student with learning disabilities.  Its a great resource.