How Can You Help Dyslexic Children at Home?

Parents who learn their child has dyslexia understandably feel compelled to take any and all measures within their power to help their child. However, it's possible that you'll feel torn in a thousand different ways.

A smart place to start is to learn everything you can about the disability. Realizing how much you have control over might help calm your nerves and direct you towards better decisions for your child. You should only use reliable learning resources, including those recommended by your psychologist.

The next step is to coordinate closely with your child's school to set up appropriate support systems.

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A common symptom of dyslexia is difficulty reading. A child's capacity to identify and manipulate language sounds is impaired. Children who struggle with dyslexia find it difficult to learn new words and even more challenging to break those words down into smaller, more accessible pieces. Reading, writing, and spelling become more challenging as a result of this. They might try to make up for it by memorising words, but they'll still have problems understanding new ones and might take longer than usual to recall old favourites.

Dyslexia is characterised as a difference between a student's ability and achievement, and it has nothing to do with the child's IQ. Some children with dyslexia, with a bit of extra work, can keep up with their peers, at only for the first few grades. However, difficulties arise when, in the third grade, students need to read fast and fluently to stay up with their coursework.

With the correct help and strategies to compensate for their decoding problem, students with dyslexia have the ability to learn to read and achieve academically. Dyslexia, on the other hand, is not a transient learning problem.

Use what you know about your child's strengths and weaknesses, as each child is unique and develops in their own way. There is no magic formula, but what works most of the time is a mix of effort, consistency, dedication, and love and support from everyone.

How Common Is Dyslexia?

According to one study, dyslexia affects 20% of average youngsters and 80-90% of children with learning disabilities. According to Dr. Sally Shaywitz, head of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, many children go untreated. This is due to their scholastic challenges being misattributed to a lack of talent, laziness, or external conditions.

Traditional wisdom thought that boys were more likely to be impacted by dyslexia than girls, but new research shows that the illness affects both genders equally.

How Do Doctors Identify Dyslexia?

If you believe your child's reading skills are falling short of expectations, you have the right to ask for an evaluation from the school system. The IQ and reading skills of your child will be assessed to evaluate the extent of any potential learning gap. Environmental factors and poor hearing, for example, should be ruled out as well.

After collecting this information, the school should make recommendations on how they can assist your child and ensure she gets the most from her education.

Assume you are displeased with the assessment. Another alternative is to have a personal examination by a psychologists, neuropsychologist, reading expert, speech-language therapist, educational examiner, or school psychologist. You can utilise the findings of this independent evaluation to advocate for your child to get any needed modifications or services.

When Is It Appropriate to Evaluate a Child?

Dyslexia can manifest itself at an early age, and preschool exams look at the child's understanding of the sounds that make up words, as well as his or her ability to retrieve words. Dr. Matthew Cruger, director of the Child Mind Institute's Learning and Development Center, advises waiting until children are at least six years old and have received some formal reading training before seeking a formal evaluation.

But, as Dr. Shaywitz points out, it's a good idea to seek therapy as soon as a gap between IQ and reading skills becomes obvious - and data suggests it can be detected as early as first grade. Schools may inform parents to wait until their child is in third grade to determine whether or not an intervention is necessary. Nonetheless, Dr. Shaywitz believes that earlier intervention is critical not only to help kids catch up, but also to improve their fragile self-image, which has been harmed by ongoing academic struggles and peer comparisons.

How to Assist Dyslexic Children?

A dyslexia diagnosis does not exclude your child from learning to read. Dr. Cruger suggests a number of programmes that may include the following features:

• Multisensory decoding skills instruction
• Repetition and skill review
• The level of intervention — that is, more than being pulled out of class once a week for extra assistance
• Individual or small group instruction
• Teaching decoding abilities
• Practicing sight words

Teaching comprehension skills to assist students in deriving meaning from what they read

Reading programmes that have been demonstrated to benefit children with dyslexia include:

• The Wilson Method
• The Orton-Gillingham Approach
• Preventing Academic Failure (PAF)
• The Lindamood-Bell Program
• RAVE-O

Dr. Cruger believes that typical tutoring may be harmful to a child with dyslexia, especially if the experience is negative. It is not beneficial if the child dislikes the experience of receiving reading assistance. And it ignores the basis of the problem, the decoding flaw.

Instead, one of the essential methods to assist children with dyslexia is to help them become more comfortable with reading. This can be accomplished in part by focusing less on rectifying errors and more on appreciating modest successes and accomplishments.

Survival Skills

Parents can assist their children acquire survival skills by doing the following:

Recognizing Skills

People with dyslexia frequently excel in fields such as dancing, music, painting, mechanical skills, and sports, to name a few. Find those strengths and capitalize on them.

Persistence Training

It's not easy to struggle with reading, spelling, writing, or maths. Assist them in breaking down the long-term goal into little steps along the way. Instead than learning all of the spelling words or the multiplication table, start with just three spelling words or the five times table.

Increasing Self-Advocacy

If your child is 12 or older, assist him in becoming a rights champion. He has a right to accommodations, such as extra time for exams, testing in a quiet area, access to a calculator, utilising a computer, or anything else that helps him deal with his mental handicap. In middle school, teach your child to advocate for himself. Advocacy is essential at all educational levels, including middle school, high school, college, and university. Disclosing the problem is part of self-advocacy. People with dyslexia face a conundrum. Should they tell their professors or employers? Disclosing can result in accommodations, but it can also result in bitterness and hostility. Another aspect of self-advocacy is asking for assistance when necessary. Perhaps he misunderstood an assignment or an idea. Teach your children not to be frightened to seek assistance. He may encounter unkind people, but he hopes to find patience and kindness.

Boosting Teamwork

Many kids with dyslexia benefit from studying in small groups. People have diverse strengths; working in a group raises the odds of problem solutions. Working on group projects allows you to capitalise on each individual's strengths; some people are good at writing, others are good at drawing, others are good at research, and others are good at making models. Hopefully, the school atmosphere would realise the need of collaboration.

Accepting Responsibility

Help your youngster realise when he requires the assistance of others and when he must do things alone. There is a narrow line that must be carefully walked. Parents must provide a supporting environment for their dyslexic children while still allowing them to fly. Resist the need to overprotect them.

Finding the Bright Side

Some people believe that having dyslexia makes them more sensitive and interested in helping others. Some parents of dyslexic children believe that dealing with their children's issues has made them stronger. Another technique to remaining positive is to turn negative comments from others into good ones. For example, when someone says, "You're disorganised," one 13-year-old lad responds, "No, I see things from different points of view at the same time." "You're hyperactive," she can respond. "No, I don't tyre easily."

Studying Strategies for Dyslexic Children

Studying can be especially difficult for a dyslexic child. However, primary school is when kids need to develop excellent study abilities and habits before moving on to a higher level of education. These pointers can make the procedure go more smoothly.

Learn about the test format.

Different sorts of assessments may necessitate varying levels of reading and writing. Knowing whether the test will be multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, or short response will help your child prepare for it. (It can also help with test anxiety.) Knowing that knowledge can help you better understand how to assist her.

Make time for extra study.

It is possible that your child's studies will be hampered if she struggles with. Working memory issues can also be a barrier for children with dyslexia. To make information stick, your child may require a lot of repetition over time.

Make more study time than you think you need.

If your kid has a language quiz on Friday, for example, have her begin practising on those terms on Monday rather than Wednesday.

Make a study schedule that is appropriate for your child's pace.

Your child could only learn as much and as quickly as she is physically capable of. Slow down the whole studying process if her dyslexia is slowing her down. Reviewing the subject in little chunks rather than all at once can assist alleviate irritation and worry. Taking breaks during study sessions can also help.

Make a study timetable that your youngster is happy with.

Perhaps she can focus on five vocabulary terms at a time with success. That's fantastic if she can keep going. However, she will be aware that she will not be required to accomplish more than she can safely handle during each study session.

Request study materials well ahead of time.

Your child's instructor may have notes or a study guide on the content that will be addressed on the test. He may also make remarks on the content read by the students.

Inquire if you may obtain a copy of the notes ahead of the quiz and enough time to begin studying. Even if the teacher distributed study materials in class, request a duplicate for home. The first one might have been lost in your child's backpack!

Assist her with creating flashcards.

Flashcards are an easy way for your youngster to test herself. It may also make accessing the material easier for her (instead of having to read from the text). But it's not just going over the cards that helps. Making them is also good, especially if she adds a picture.

Adding a visual aspect to words can help her remember more. Google Images may be a terrific source for artwork, and the search process reinforces the concepts she's learning even more.

Take charge of some of the reading.

Any opportunity for your youngster to read can help them improve their skills. However, the purpose of studying is not to improve one's reading skills. Its purpose is to assist your child in learning the topic and then demonstrating what they have learned.

If reading is so difficult or upsetting for her that it interferes with her education, do some of it for her. She can then concentrate on substance and ideas rather than deciphering. Furthermore, many children who are dyslexic have an easier time hearing and recalling information.

Assist her in comprehending and adhering to test instructions.

The teacher may write quiz instructions on the blackboard or on the test itself. But that's just one more book for your child to read. As a result, she may neglect it or rush through it, only to do the wrong thing on the test.

Help her understand that the instructions may be the most essential thing to read and that if she ignores that section, all of her learning may be for nought.

Ways to Help Kids With Dyslexia 

Long Words to Remember and Pronounce

Words with several syllables can be difficult for children with dyslexia. Children may have difficulty memorizing and saying them correctly. Here are some strategies for assisting children with long words, whether they're reading or conversing.

Concentrate on vocabulary.

Reading is the primary way that children acquire vocabulary, particularly longer words. So, if your child avoids reading, it's critical to look for other ways to teach new words to him or her.

Maintain your vocabulary by discussing new terms as you read aloud. Allow your youngster to select audiobooks that you can listen to in the ride together. Alternatively, watch the documentary about a topic that your youngster is interested in. Point out new words as you go. Discuss what they mean and have your youngster practise speaking them aloud.

Tap the syllables with your child.

Choose a word containing three or more syllables and repeat it aloud. Ask your youngster to repeat it aloud and to tap out each word. Your child should tap with a little more energy on the stressed syllable. This activity makes use of a range of senses. This provides your child with more than one method for processing and recalling each syllable in the word.

Talk about sounds.

Talking about particular sounds or "phonemes" in a word, similar to tapping out syllables, can improve your child's capacity to say and recall lengthier words. Assume you're focusing on the word fantastic. Inquire as to what sound your child hears at the start of the term. Alternatively, have your kid point out the first sound in the second syllable.

Maintain a writing journal.

Urge your child to keep a word diary, which is a record of the words he or she is working on. Choose ten practise words once a week. Request that your child write each one down and divide it into syllables.

Ask your child to repeat the word multiple times. Then discuss what it means and brainstorm synonyms and opposites. This assists children in storing the words in their long-term memory. And this can making the words more accessible later on when they're speaking or writing.

Don't even think about it.

It may appear unusual, but recalling information after we've forgotten it helps us remember it later. When practising a specific word from your word diary, try spreading out review meetings over longer and longer periods of time.

Do your initial review a few weeks after your youngster learns a new word, for example. Wait a whole week to ten days before going over it again. After a month, go through it again. Keep records by writing the dates you practise a word in the journal next to each word.

Make your child a word detective.

Explain how prefixes and suffixes are common in words with many syllables. In the term avoidable, consider the pre and able. Learning common word parts assists children in anticipating and remembering the meaning of brand-new vocabulary terms.

It also makes it simpler for kids to read by breaking big words into bits. Knowing how a word splits down in writing might help children recall and enunciate it when speaking.

Practice understanding the syllables.

When reading, there are certain criteria for breaking large words into parts. This is known as syllabication. These guidelines were most likely taught to you in school. "Every syllable has vowel sound in it," for example. Alternatively, "when two consonants arrive between two vowels, the word is frequently broken between the consonants (under)."

You can get syllabication rules from your child's teacher or look them up online. Knowing these rules can assist your youngster in approaching large words when reading. It can also aid in memorising and correctly pronouncing words when speaking.

Consider backup options.

At some time, children must learn to pronounce words on their own. Assist your child in being prepared. Examine online dictionaries together. They can provide you a definition as well as a recorded pronunciation of the term.

Discuss the finest practise tactics for your child and encourage him or her to utilise them in class. If a child cannot recall a long word, he or she can convey it using fewer terms.

Have a good time.

Longer word practise does not need to be all business. There are word games that can be modified to concentrate on vocabulary goals. Pick ones that work with — or that you can work with — your child's issues.

Games like Taboo, Outburst, Pictionary, and 20 Questions may engage the entire family. This can make the learning vocabulary enjoyable, and enjoyment might inspire your youngster to practise.

Memory Strategies

Picture thinking.

People who have dyslexia typically think in pictures. Make use of this power by imagining what you want to recall.

Make a page of illustrations to represent the essential aspects when rewriting a topic.

Only give two directions at a time.

For example, put your bowl in the dishwasher before brushing your teeth. To make it more remembering, the person with dyslexia should repeat it back to themselves or envision themselves performing the task.

Actions and multisensory exercises can help to reinforce learning.

See it. Hear it out. Say it. Do it.

Emotional support

As a consequence of difficulties executing tasks that appear to come readily to others, dyslexia can cause frustration, shame, avoidance, and low self-esteem. Demystifying the learning problem with your child can assist him in developing the tools — and resilience — required to manage it at school and in social situations. You may help by doing the following:

• Discuss the unique difficulties caused by dyslexia: "You know how you struggle to read signs or copy notes on the board? This is dyslexia."
• Recognize and applaud his efforts, even if there are still errors: "I know how difficult that reading homework was. "I am really proud of your efforts."
• "You had such excellent sportsmanship and cooperation in the football game the other night, and that was a wonderful goal you scored!"
• Reduce negative self-talk: If your youngster begins to say things like, "I'm just stupid," don't dismiss it. Instead, consider these suggestions for assisting children who are overly critical of themselves.

To rebuild self-esteem, people with dyslexia require continual praise and encouragement.

It's crucial to have somebody who thinks in you and is supportive, whether it's a parent, teacher, or friend. Assist in developing your child's confidence and see the changes in their attitude towards learning.