Whilst some children fly through their schooling career, others might need a little support and encouragement which extends beyond the school gates.  Jessica Doodes and the SEN team at Bredon School shares ways you can support a dyslexic child at home.

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Self-Esteem is key

Focus on your child’s strengths, praise them for effort and don’t highlight their mistakes; there can be a huge pressure on young people to be academically successful. Ensure that your child knows success comes in many forms; if English literature isn’t their thing, perhaps remind them that they are a brilliant piano player, goalkeeper or puzzle solver. A happy child is far more likely to achieve their full potential.

Focus on their interests

Get your child excited about reading or writing, easier and more effective if the subject is something that they are interested in. What is your child passionate about? Taking a strong interest in your child’s talents, will help you to support and encourage them to pursue their goals and give them a stronger sense of self-belief.

Homework can be fun!

Let’s face it – most children don’t run through the front door after school, eager to sit down to homework. However, there are some sneaky ways that you can bring reading and writing into everyday tasks.  When you need to go shopping, ask them to help write out the shopping list or whilst cooking dinner, ask them to read out the recipe for you…

Find a school and teachers that support you

It is imperative that you consider the support that your child needs; do they need smaller class sizes or additional support beyond the classroom? Some schools offer dyslexia friendly teaching where pupils are never asked to copy down from the board and working closely with teachers is key.  Be selective!

Amazing tech …

2020 technology is on the rise and voice recognition systems like Siri, Google Voice Search and Alexa are now commonplace; so, encourage your child to ‘ask Alexa’ their history facts so that staring at a laptop or reading a stark white background (notoriously unhelpful for dyslexics) are avoidable.  Audiobooks are another fantastic way for them to devour a book.

Dyslexia vs. intelligence

Encouragement and support are key to inspiring your child. Reassure them about what they are great at and make sure they have a good understanding of dyslexia and how it affects their learning. Dyslexics are often much better equipped to see the bigger picture, are more imaginative and can be great problem solvers – let your child know just how amazing they are!

Don’t allow them to play the dyslexia card

Harsh but true, there are many people with dyslexia who are extremely successful and achieve life ambitions. People like Kiera Knightly, Holly Willoughby and Leonardo Da Vinci certainly haven’t let being dyslexic stand in their way!

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