Five Tips For Supporting Your Dyslexic Child
Your child's school may have already provided you with a variety of tools and strategies to support your child in managing their dyslexia. In this article, written in partnership with The ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity, we will outline additional tips in supporting your child further.
Read to your child and read out loud together
Reading to your child will instil a love of words and stories. Also, by reading to your child, you can discuss words, their meanings and sounds while enriching their vocabulary. Reading aloud together may sound counterintuitive as it takes more time for a child with dyslexia to read aloud, but reading aloud helps your child understand how sentences flow.
If your child reads to you, remember that black letters over white paper can be difficult to decrypt, and some fonts are easier to read than others. Look out for dyslexia friendly books and fonts.
Overlearning
Read and re-read the same text. You may get bored of it, but repetition is an ally, as it reinforces understanding and familiarity with words.
A multi-sensory approach
Have a multisensory approach to learning spellings. Who says words have got to be written down? You could use wooden blocks of letters, air writing, wax crayons on A3 coloured paper or even 'acting out' letter combinations. Practise spelling patterns with your child, highlighting complex letter combinations with coloured pencils or highlighters e.g. words like 'receive' and 'autumn'. It’s been proven that learning spellings by heart is counterproductive with dyslexic children.
Embrace technology
In today's technological world, there are so many free programs on our computers, tablets, and smartphones that can make a massive difference to young people with dyslexia.
In particular, the ones to look out for are 'text-to-speech' programs, which read out written words on the device; 'speech-to-text', which allows your child to dictate their work to a device; and 'advanced spelling and grammar checkers'. All the big technology companies have these features now, and you will find lots of information about how to use them to support dyslexic learning.
Learning to 'touch type' is one of the big skills that we find helps young people with dyslexia in education and on into the workplace.
Whilst they might not necessarily enjoy reading books, young people with dyslexia often take to listening to audiobooks and find a love of literature that way. Many audiobook companies even offer free children’s books. This would be a fabulous activity to do as a break from other learning or at the end of the school day.
Praise and encouragement
Finally, one of the most effective acts you can do is to provide plenty of praise and encouragement. Not only for when they’re completing a writing or reading task, but also the effort they have put in. It’s not easy for them, and sticking to it is fantastic. Follow your child’s pace, as it will take your child longer to process the information they read.
More Advice & Support On Dyslexia
For more advice on supporting children with ADHD & Dyslexia, click below.