Multisensory Associative Guided Instruction Components-Spelling

This article describes a multisensory presentation and response system for enhancing the spelling ability of dyslexic children. The unique aspect of MAGICSpell is its system of finger–letter associations and simplified keyboard configuration. Sixteen 10- and 11-year-old dyslexic students practiced the finger–letter associations via various typing games. They then were tested on the spelling of four-letter words with the “er” sound bordered on each end by a consonant. A pretest revealed that the students spelled the target words correctly 3% of the time. After practice with MAGICSpell, the correct responses rose to 84% for the practiced words. The students also significantly increased correct responses for nonpracticed words of the same spelling pattern. This trend held for both typing with the MAGICSpell configuration and writing responses.