Providing Support for Your Dyslexic Child
If you have a dyslexic child, you will both face many difficulties as they navigate school and become an adult. Although their poor reading, writing, and spelling abilities will likely stay with them for life, there are a number of ways to help. In an earlier post, we discussed the ways that parents can assist their dyslexic child with homework. Fortunately, there are a number of other ways of providing support for your dyslexic child that help minimize their symptoms and improve their overall functioning.
Encourage Reading All the Time
The old saying, “practice makes perfect” is a good rule of thumb here. Although your child will likely never be a perfect 
reader, practicing will help him or her vastly improve their reading skills, as well as their confidence. To encourage reading, provide your child with a wide selection of books, magazines, comic books and other reading materials for them to keep in their room. If you have a tablet or E-reader, load it up with materials on subjects your child finds interesting and encourage them to read for a few minutes before they go to bed.
Make reading a common practice throughout the day. Have your child read street signs to you as you drive them to school. When grocery shopping, ask them to read the price tags and labels on products. Making dinner is another great time to encourage reading by having your child read the recipe to you. When you know you will be waiting somewhere with your child, such as the dentist or at the airport, be sure you have books with you. There is no reason why reading can’t be integrated into all aspects of daily life! The more available reading materials are, the more likely your child will read them.
Encourage Writing
Another great way of providing support for your dyslexic child is to model writing for your child. A quick and easy way to do this is to have a family message center where you leave notes for one another. Something as simple as a post-it note with one sentence on it is enough to give your child some daily practice writing and spelling. Also encourage your child to keep a daily journal, especially as they get older. Writing down a few thoughts about the day in a no-pressure situation can help them develop writing skills that improve idea development and organization.
Varying the subject matter and target audience of their writings is another good strategy for improving your child’s writing abilities. Have your child write a quick note to their grandparents in order to practice personal writing. Ask your child to write down instructions for how to do something they enjoy in order to practice technical writing. Encourage them to write a creative story on any subject of their choice. Doing so will inspire creativity and enjoyment of writing.
Remember, the more your child practices, the better they will get at reading and writing, and the more confidence they will have in their abilities. They are sure to make mistakes, but a caring, nurturing environment in which they can make mistakes will help them overcome anxieties about reading aloud and having others read their writing. For further information about dyslexia and treatments for dyslexia visit the Learning Breakthrough Program’s dyslexia page.