Why is touch typing beneficial for a child that has dyslexia?

Why is touch typing beneficial for children with dyslexia?

Students that have dyslexia have found that learning how to touch type improves other skills such as spelling, grammar, vocabulary and reading ability. Students who have learned how to touch typing early outperform better in tests regardless of whether or not they have dyslexia. Touch typing is the ability to type without the need to look down at the keyboard. It is a proven system to learn the keyboard and is much better than learning to type using the hunt and peck method.

Students with dyslexia that have learned how to touch-type improve their muscle memory as they are training their brain to memories the keyboard. Like a person lifting weights in a gym and gaining muscle by repeating the reps, a student with dyslexia by practicing the constant repetition of the keyboard moments the brain muscle memory which in turn can help with cognitive abilities such as spelling words.  

Handwriting can be difficult for students with dyslexia. Mistakes made in handwritten exercises are difficult to correct, they tend to covered over by Tippex or crossed out words making the document a bit messy than if the document was typed up.

Any student that learns how to touch type has learned important skills in life that will make them more efficient and faster in the work they produce than producing handwritten exercises. Documents produced by typing them out are more professional and easier to read. 

Students that have dyslexia that has learned how to touch type can find it easier to capture their thoughts and input them directly on the computer using the keyboard and word processing software as opposed to writing on paper. Any spelling or grammar mistakes can be corrected using spelling and grammar readily available on word processing software.

According to a research study by (Weigelt Marom & Weintraub, 2015)

It was found that touch-typing instruction may benefit students in general, and more specifically, students with learning differences studying in higher education, which often use computers in order to circumvent their handwriting difficulties.

Touch typing provides students with dyslexia with an important communication layer that can be used to communicate directly with fellow students, teachers and parents. This will provide them with a life-changing skill that will help them through the education system and onwards in the working environment. 

At Searsol, we provide the classroom environment with children with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia (DCD), or dysgraphia who can learn at their own pace using our specially designed touch typing software. A free trial available at our centres and can be booked online at :

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