Top tips for parents supporting Dyslexia
Empathy and building up an understanding of Dyslexia
I think that, in my experience, all of the really useful strategies that I have helped
generate with students and parents over the years, have come about because of this
heading. The more we understand the nature of the differences in the way we are all
equipped to learn, the more empathetic we can be and the more we can work with
the dyslexic child / young adult to help build strategies, release strengths and
support any relative weaknesses. If we feel and express a genuine, positive interest
in understanding how it is that the child can spell a word correctly one day and not
the next we are on the road to helping them develop a strategy to overcome this
difficulty (like a mnemonic or by visually chunking the word into manageable parts).
We might read up on and discuss the nature of working memory and understand the
theory that underlies our observation that when the child is relaxed they are more
able to retain their spellings than when they are under the extra pressure of writing.
This understanding gives us a better context to work from.
It is really important that, in as much as is possible, the support and help that you
give at home comes from and is driven by an ongoing understanding of dyslexia as a
pattern of strengths and challenges – rather than as a ‘problem’.
Organisation
This is a key element, dyslexic children will generally show difficulties with working
memory and so it is very important to minimise the avoidable stress that comes from
not being organised (which leads to overload).
A large, simple colour coded timetable for the week’s activities can prove very useful
in this regard. It should clearly show times for rest / leisure activities as well as
detailing items that need to be organised and ready to take to school the following
day. If need be a visual checklist can be made to help with this (I worked with a
student once who had a large plastic bowl by the front door where keys, travel pass,
etc. were placed apron returning home ready for the next day).
Structure during the week is very important – as far as is possible a regular
sequence of events in the evening leading to sleep (nocturnal video games /
communicating with friends via Apps / texting etc. to be avoided, dyslexic children
really need to rest to have enough energy to attack the next day’s work).
Reading
I can really recommend ‘reading for pleasure’, good reading skills are still the
gateway to learning and, of course reading is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
I cannot pretend that it will always be an unproblematic task to engage your child in
reading at home. If they have a difficulty with the skill it is likely that they will wish to
avoid it (this is not unusual and is entirely human).
It will be very helpful if you can read with them for ten minutes at a time, as often as
you can during the week. The reading can be augmented by watching a film version
(and discussing any differences between the book and the film) and / or listening to
an audiobook. I have found reading alternate lines with the child and then discussing
the content at the level of paragraph then chapter to be a useful exercise.
Spelling
Again, a light touch is required. The more spelling becomes ‘an issue’ the more
difficult it becomes for the child to approach the skill in a positive and enquiring way.
Little and often is a good mantra and there are a wide range of techniques,
strategies and materials available to use as starting points. I have used all of the
following extensively over the years:
 The Ace spelling dictionary
 A personal dictionary sheet
 A small hard backed address book for collecting spellings and strategies
 Self-checking PowerPoints (exported to a smartphone).
 Visualisation of ‘ridiculous’ cue images
 Mnemonics
 Visual chunking
 Saying the word ‘as it is spelt’.
 Exaggerated writing on the whiteboard (kinaesthetic)
 Phonic families linked with word rhymes
 Word wheels
 ‘Wordshark’
 ‘Quizlet’
Of course this leads us to the vital area of being able to discuss and explore how it is
the child is able to successfully spell something and then we are working to a
strength and this is the ‘Royal Road to Metacognition’.
Finally any strategies need to be used and maintained – they may need modifying or
changing altogether over time, the dyslexic student will always be more successful if
they are engaging with their learning and this is, in my view, a wonderful thing.