• Boost self-confidence - focus on achievements and give encouragement
• Marking work - when marking work with very poor spelling, tick what is correct rather than draw attention to errors. Help older children to proof-read by ticking lines with no errors and placing a dot for each mistake in the margin.
• Where a child in the class has a poor short-term memory, limit the number of verbal instructions. Back them up visually by writing on the board. Notes to parents should be written rather than verbal, as should homework tasks.
• Poor concentration span can be helped by asking the child to sit at the front of the class.
• Ensure that your writing is clear both on the board and on worksheets.
• Give out work in manageable amounts.
• Check the child's writing position, pencil grip, paper angle and general balance. If children sit side-by-side, ensure that left-handers are correctly placed so as not to crowd out their right-handed neighbours.
• Encourage a cursive hand -writing style, linked to the printed form, so that a movement memory can be established.
• Encourage the child to survey each task and to think what has to be done, before starting to write. It will help if they tell you what they have to do.
• Use multisensory techniques to link all the pathways to the brain in the learning situation.
• Encourage them to use alternative ways of recording their work: tapes, diagrams, flowcharts, computers.
• Teach spelling by showing them how to build up regular words and use the look, say, name letters, write, check, routine.

The child's problems may well apply to all subjects. Maths in particular may need to be taught in small steps