Does your child struggle with dyslexia? And you are wondering how to help a child with Dyslexia learn?
Children each learn and develop at their own pace, and reading is no different from other skill-building. It’s common for kids to find reading challenging at one point or another. But if learning to read becomes an ongoing struggle that leaves a child falling behind their peers, they may have a learning disorder known as dyslexia.
The most common learning disorder is dyslexia. Dyslexia makes it hard to recognize and use the sounds in language. Kids might reverse letters, like reading ‘pot’ as ‘top’, or they might have trouble sounding out new words and recognizing ones they know. Having dyslexia does not mean your child isn’t smart. With the right support, dyslexic kids can learn to read and do well in school.
Learning can feel hard for dyslexic children but do not worry. You can help them learn faster. This article will show proven strategies for helping a child with Dyslexia learn faster and more effectively. Parents play a big role in helping dyslexic children succeed. So, let’s get started.
So, What is this Dyslexia?
By definition, dyslexia is a learning disorder that includes trouble recognizing language sounds and how they relate to written language, also known as “decoding.”
This means it affects the abilities a person uses for learning, such as reading and writing. Particularly, dyslexia makes it difficult to match letters with the sounds of individual letters and combinations of letters. It’s not a vision disorder.
Areas in the brain responsible for processes that detect and link sounds to their corresponding letters don’t function in people with dyslexia the same way that they do in people without it.
Research published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities suggests dyslexia can affect up to one in five people.
According to Shawna Newman, MD, a psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital, approximately 10% to 15% of children have dyslexia. She adds that the condition is common and often undiagnosed, so the rates are likely even higher.
Usually, dyslexia is diagnosed when formal reading education begins. This typically occurs in the first grade, at about 6 years old.
Although it doesn’t impair development or intellectual functioning, this variation in neuroprocessing makes it difficult for students with dyslexia to quickly and accurately hear, store, remember, and produce different speech sounds. As a result, students with dyslexia can struggle with reading, writing, and spelling.
They frequently take longer to decode words when reading and may have limited comprehension of what they’ve read. They also may have trouble rapidly verbalizing responses to what they see.
Since dyslexia is not a disease, there’s no cure. However, it’s possible to manage the condition with strategies that can be used throughout life. If you have a child with dyslexia, you can play a major role in managing their condition and you have to know how to help a child with Dyslexia learn.
How Common is Dyslexia?
It is estimated that as many as one in five kids has dyslexia, and that 80 to 90 percent of kids with learning disorders have it. Sally Shaywitz, MD, co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, notes that many children go undiagnosed as struggles in school are incorrectly attributed to intelligence, level of effort or environmental factors.
Although experts used to say that dyslexia occurred more often in boys than in girls, current research indicates that it affects boys and girls equally.
Symptoms of Dyslexia
Dyslexia presents itself in various ways, but a student’s age strongly factors into the symptoms teachers may observe.
Students with dyslexia in grades K-5 struggle to remember letter names and sounds. Recognizing sight words also poses a problem. When reading aloud, these students may substitute words and confuse letters with similar appearances or sounds. For example, students commonly mix up the letters b and d.
A young person with dyslexia may:
- Struggle with learning even simple rhymes.
- Have a speech delay.
- Have trouble following directions.
- Repeat or omit short words such as and, the, but.
- Find it difficult to tell left from right.
In school, children with dyslexia are likely to:
- Have difficulty sounding out new words.
- Lack of fluency compared to other children their age.
- Reverse letters and numbers when reading (read saw as was, for example).
- Find it difficult to take notes and copy down words from the board.
- Struggle with rhyming, associating sounds with letters, and sequencing and ordering sounds.
- Stumble and have difficulty spelling even common words; frequently they will spell them phonetically (hrbr instead of harbor).
- Avoid being called on to read out loud in front of classmates.
- Become tired or frustrated from reading.
More Symptoms of Dyslexia
Dyslexia affects children outside of school as well. Kids with dyslexia may also:
- Find it difficult to decode logos and signs
- Struggle when trying to learn the rules of games
- Have difficulty keeping track of multi-step directions
- Struggle with getting the hang of telling time
- Find it especially challenging to learn another language
- Become incredibly frustrated, which can affect their mood and emotional stability
Additional signs of dyslexia in this age group include difficulties:
- Blending letter sounds
- Sounding out unfamiliar words
- Recognizing words that rhyme
- Skipping smaller words such as of and by when reading aloud
- Spelling the same word consistently
- Remembering important details from readings
It’s common for younger students with dyslexia to feel frustrated and overwhelmed when reading. Many avoid reading as much as possible.
Students in grades 6-12 may have a hard time recalling common abbreviations and acronyms such as approx. and ASAP. These students may need much more time to read assignments than their peers. When speaking, they may struggle to find the right words and use substitutes instead. For example, they may substitute the word gate for fence.
Other common signs of dyslexia for older students include:
- Taking notes and copying material from the board.
- Following multi-step instructions.
- Spelling all words phonetically.
- Summarizing stories.
- Making sense of jokes, idioms, and puns.
- Reading at a normal or quick pace.
Dyslexia affects a lot more than reading — it can also impact a child socially. “A dyslexic person who has word-finding difficulties can have trouble with their expressive language,” says Scott Bezsylko, the executive director of Winston Preparatory School, which specializes in teaching kids with learning disorders. “That has a social impact, in addition to your difficulties with reading and writing, that make you feel not so good about yourself.”
Kids with dyslexia — particularly those who have yet to be diagnosed — often suffer from low self-esteem because they worry that there is something wrong with them, and are often accused of not trying hard enough to learn to read. “A lot of our work with dyslexic kids is to help them rediscover that they are smart and capable,” notes Beszylko, “because they’ve stopped believing in themselves.”
Effects of Dyslexia on Students
Dyslexia can significantly affect students in classroom environments, especially when educators don’t use inclusive teaching strategies for students with dyslexia to help address its related challenges. For starters, dyslexia can impede a student’s academic progress.
Students with dyslexia may struggle to keep up with their peers. Their basic skills, such as word reading, can fall below grade level, as do their reading comprehension and analysis skills.
Research also shows that dyslexia can affect students’ ability to perform across the curriculum. A recent study published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities found that students with dyslexia performed well below their peers in both reading and math. Such learning deficits build up over time, making it more and more challenging for students with dyslexia to experience academic success.
In addition to its academic impact, dyslexia has social and emotional impacts. As noted, some students with dyslexia struggle to find words, making it hard for them to express themselves. This can interfere with their ability to make social and emotional connections.
At some point, students with dyslexia also begin to notice that they don’t learn as fast as their peers. This may cause them to question their intelligence and develop low self-esteem. It may also cause them to withdraw or misbehave out of frustration.
How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn at Home
Are you wondering how to help a child with dyslexia learn at home? Then, don’t worry as there are many things you can do to support your kid with dyslexia at home:
1. Read Together as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Read with your child every day. The activity will promote closeness and bonding, which will support your child’s ability to learn over time.
“This shared experience in learning encourages development and growth in tandem with improved reading skills,” Newman explains. It will also help children create a sense of security in learning while encouraging their independent reading, she adds.
2. Focus on Sight Words as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Sight words are words that are frequently used in writing and books. They’re called sight words because recognizing them on sight is essential for developing reading skills.
Examples include:
- is
- been
- the
- are
- could
For children with dyslexia, sight words can be difficult to recognize. But since the words appear so often, it’s important for them to learn these words.
As Newman explains, children can use sight words as building blocks to improve their fluency in reading. That’s why it’s essential to add sight words into your children’s learning program.
3. Repeat, repeat, repeat as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Repeating and reviewing skills can help a child with dyslexia. This is often done in the form of repeated reading.
According to LD Online, repeated reading is a technique for children who have difficulty reading. It involves reading the same passage multiple times to improve reading fluency.
In a 2016 study, repeated reading increased reading fluency in children with reading disabilities. Similarly, a 2021 study found that repeated reading with music has a positive effect.
4. Create a Nurturing Space to Study as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
“Providing a comfortable, supportive, and nonjudgmental atmosphere is most helpful for learning, especially for children with learning disorders,” Newman explains. This includes those who have dyslexia.
For parents and caregivers, this also involves practicing patience, as all children learn at their own pace, Newman says. In doing so, you’ll create an environment that allows your child to learn in a way that works best for them.
5. Create a Calendar to Help Them Track Progress or Tasks as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Visual tools, such as a calendar, are an excellent option for tracking a child’s progress and tasks. According to Newman, this can help put both improvements and challenges into context. It can ultimately help them engage with their learning.
“Utilizing a calendar provides visual clues, which can inform the child how to think about the process of their own learning,” Newman explains. This can be done by displaying tasks and activities related to learning on the calendar.
As Newman notes, when small learning achievements are visually expressed on a calendar, they can provide encouragement and celebration. Similarly, when difficulties are presented visually, it can help a child better understand what they need to work on.
6. Make Sure They Get Enough Sleep as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
“Sleep is a vital [factor] for healthy development and learning,” Newman says. However, “children with dyslexia are at a higher risk for sleep disorders.” Examples include sleep latency or sleep apnea.
However, according to Newman, poor sleep can negatively affect learning processes. So it’s important to ensure they get enough rest.
This may be done by:
- establishing a sleep schedule.
- creating an ideal environment for sleep.
- limiting social media and electronics before bed.
- developing a sleep routine.
The ideal amount of sleep depends on the child’s age. According to Newman, children between 5 and 13 years old should get 9 to 12 hours of sleep every 24 hours. Teenagers between 13 and 18 years old need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep.
7. Praise their Success and Effort as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
As Newman explains, reading difficulties caused by dyslexia can negatively affect a child’s confidence. For example, “a child’s sense of not measuring up to their peers [and being able] to perform as expected can be discouraging,” she says.
On the other hand, encouragement and praise can have a positive effect on your child’s learning. So instead of focusing on their struggles, call out their successes and efforts whenever possible. Celebrate their achievements, no matter how small.
By highlighting positive aspects, you can encourage your child to keep moving forward. This will also boost your child’s confidence in their learning.
8. Use Mnemonic Devices as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
A mnemonic device is a technique that helps you remember a piece of information. It’s also called a memory aid.
Examples include:
- spelling words in the form of songs
- letter or word imagery (like the letter “d” that looks like a dog)
- acronyms
- rhymes
According to a 2017 research review, mnemonic devices can enhance memory in children with dyslexia. It can also improve problem-solving skills and reasoning. Using mnemonic devices at home can help enhance their learning progress.
9. Find a Tutor as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
During your child’s summer break, consider getting them a tutor. According to the International Dyslexia Association, this can help them catch up on certain skills and get ready for the next school year.
If possible, select a tutor who will communicate with your child’s teachers. This will ensure they are focusing on your child’s specific needs.
Reading Programs for Children for How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
There are several reading programs for children with dyslexia. Some of the most successful ones include:
- Orton-Gillingham Approach: The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a widely used approach created specifically for people with dyslexia.
- Wilson Reading System: The Wilson Reading System includes one program for children from kindergarten to third grade and one for fourth grade and up.
- Lexia-Herman Method: The Lexia-Herman Method has programs for early reading, primary reading, and older students.
Dr. Cruger points out that traditional tutoring may be counter-productive for a child with dyslexia, particularly if it is not a positive experience. “If the child hates the experience of reading help, it’s not helpful,” Dr. Cruger notes. “And it’s not treating the source of the problem, the decoding weakness.”
Instead, Dr. Cruger emphasizes that one of the most important ways to help kids with dyslexia is to make them more comfortable reading. This can be done in part by celebrating even small victories and accomplishments while focusing less on correcting their errors.
Tips for Teaching Students With Dyslexia
While students with dyslexia face challenges, they can still thrive in school if given the right support. Teaching strategies for students with dyslexia can help these learners compensate for the different ways that their brains process information, giving them a chance to succeed academically.
1. Incorporate Multisensory Learning as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
In many classrooms, students rely almost entirely on their sight and hearing to learn. Multisensory learning aims to incorporate tactile and kinesthetic activities into the learning process as well. This gives students with dyslexia more ways to understand, remember, and recall new information.
Multisensory learning engages students in movements and activities that involve touch. This, coupled with the use of visual and auditory materials, creates multiple opportunities for students with dyslexia to absorb and retain information. It also helps take abstract ideas and turn them into something more concrete.
Multisensory activities may include:
a. Sand Writing
For sand writing activities, students receive paper plates with sand. The teacher calls out a sound and students repeat it. Students then trace a letter in the sand corresponding to that sound as they verbalize the letter’s name and sound.
This kinesthetic activity stimulates the brain in many different ways, giving students a greater chance of successful retention.
b. Blending Boards
For blending board activities, teachers use large cards printed with individual letters; digraphs, such as ph and ck; or blends, such as sh and st, to form a CVC word: a word consisting of a consonant, a vowel, and a consonant. To help students read the word, the teacher covers up the letters and reveals them one by one. Students produce the sound of each letter individually and then blend them to read the word in its entirety.
c. Arm Tapping
For arm-tapping activities, teachers display a card with a word written on it. Using their dominant hand, students say the letters of the word. As they say each letter, they simultaneously tap their arms, starting from their shoulder down to their wrist. Next, students say the whole word and sweep their hands down their arms as if underlining the word.
2. Use Assistive Technology as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Assistive technology empowers students with dyslexia to overcome some of the challenges that hold them back. These tools help students save time and give them a chance to showcase their abilities and knowledge in ways not possible before. Assistive technologies range from recording devices that allow students to take notes to voice recognition tools that transform speech into text on a screen.
Assistive technologies that can help students keep pace with their classmates include:
a. Pocket Spellcheckers
These devices contain dictionaries that recognize phonetically misspelled words.
Students type in a word to the best of their ability and the spellchecker provides the word’s correct spelling through text or audio.
Students with dyslexia can use this tool to build their confidence when writing and get instant feedback on their spelling.
b. Line Readers
Some students with dyslexia struggle to see words accurately on the page.
Letters may appear to be moving or students may see them in the wrong order.
Line readers can help eliminate some of these distractions.
The tool highlights a single line of text at a time and blocks the surrounding areas.
This helps students keep their place and stay focused.
c. Digital Scanning Pens
Digital scanning pens can capture both handwritten and digital text and transmit it to a mobile device or a computer. Some versions of the tool read text out loud as a user scans it.
3. Provide Appropriate Accommodations as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Students with dyslexia often have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that lay out accommodations appropriate to their needs. Educators are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these accommodations, which may include the following:
- Extended time to take tests
- The option to provide oral answers rather than written ones
- Exemption from reading out loud in class
- A quiet study space
Additionally, when introducing new material, teachers can use teaching strategies for students with dyslexia such as:
- Pre-teaching vocabulary and unfamiliar ideas
- Providing outlines of the lesson with space for students to add notes
- Creating advance organizers that preview the material covered in the lesson
- Giving students a glossary of terms used in the lesson
Teachers may also consider the following inclusive strategies when giving instructions:
- Offering written step-by-step directions and reading them aloud,
- Keeping instructions simple.
- Showing students how to break assignments into smaller tasks.
- Providing checklists that help students monitor their understanding and progress.
- Underlining keywords and ideas on materials that students should read first.
- Giving examples of completed work, along with rubrics.
Other Ways on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
One of the best ways to support a child with dyslexia — or any child who is struggling — is to encourage those activities that they like and feel good at, whether it is music, joining a sports team or anything else that helps build her confidence.
To help reinforce that dyslexia is not a marker of intelligence, it can also be helpful to talk about successful people — like Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg — who have also been diagnosed with dyslexia.
Other things that may help your child with dyslexia include:
- Listening to audiobooks as an alternative to reading
- Typing on a computer or tablet instead of writing
- Apps that can make learning fun by turning decoding into a game
- Using a ruler to help kids read in a straight line, can help keep them focused
Emotional Support as a Way on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Dyslexia can result in frustration, embarrassment, avoidance, and low self-esteem as a result of difficulties performing tasks that seem to come naturally to others. Demystifying the learning disorder with your child can help him develop the tools — and resilience — necessary to manage it, both in school and in social circumstances. Some things you can do to help include:
- Discuss the specific challenges that result from dyslexia: “You know how you have a hard time reading signs or copying notes from the board? That’s dyslexia.”
- Acknowledge their effort and celebrate hard work, even if there are still mistakes: “I know how difficult that reading homework was. I am so proud of how hard you tried.”
- Help them recognize their strengths: “You showed such great sportsmanship and teamwork in the soccer game the other night, and that was a great goal you scored!”
- Combat negative self-talk: If your child starts saying things like, “I’m just stupid,” don’t ignore it. Instead, check out these ideas for helping kids who are too hard on themselves.
Signs your Child may have Dyslexia
The symptoms of dyslexia are different for everyone. It also depends on age.
Yet there are some common characteristics. These include:
- difficulty learning common nursery rhymes or songs
- trouble recognizing rhyming patterns, like “cat” and “bat”
- mispronouncing common words
- difficulty recognizing their name
- reading slowly
- avoiding reading out loud in any situation
- pausing often while speaking
- using vague language
- confusing similar-sounding words or names.
What to do if You Think your Child has a Learning Disorder
If you notice your child has difficulty learning, visit their pediatrician. They can do a preliminary checkup.
Depending on your child’s symptoms, their pediatrician might have you visit the following experts:
- child psychiatrist.
- school psychologist or counselor.
- speech-language pathologist.
These professionals can perform an evaluation and diagnose learning disorders.
How is Dyslexia Diagnosed?
If your child isn’t meeting expectations for reading, as parents you can ask the school district to perform an evaluation and share the results with you. The evaluation will test your child’s intellectual capacity and reading skills, to see if there is an achievement gap. It should also rule out other potential causes like environmental factors or hearing impairment.
The school should then make recommendations on how they can support your child and maximize her learning.
If you are unhappy with the quality of the evaluation, you can also secure a private evaluation by a psychologist, a neuropsychologist, a reading specialist, a speech and language therapist, an educational evaluator, or a school psychologist. This external evaluation can also be used to advocate for your child and get the accommodations and services she might need.
Diagnosing dyslexia involves several steps.
Typically, your child will likely be screened for hearing and vision problems first. If they have no hearing or vision concerns, you’ll need to visit a mental health expert.
A mental health expert can use various tests to diagnose dyslexia. These are designed to evaluate certain skills, such as:
- oral language
- reading
- spelling
- writing.
Your specialist will choose the most appropriate tests for your child’s symptoms.
When Should a Child be Evaluated?
Dyslexia can begin to reveal itself at a young age, and there are preschool evaluations that look at the child’s awareness of the sounds that make up words, and ability at word retrieval. However, Matthew Cruger, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute, suggests waiting until kids are at least six years old and have had some formal instruction in reading to seek out a formal evaluation.
But Dr. Shaywitz notes that as soon as a gap between intelligence and reading skills is apparent — and evidence shows it can be seen in first grade — it’s a good idea to get help. Schools sometimes encourage parents to wait until the third grade to see if their child truly needs an intervention, but Dr. Shaywitz argues that the earlier intervention is important not only to help kids catch up but to boost their fragile self-image, which is damaged by the continuing struggle in school and comparisons with peers.
How to Speak with Children about their Dyslexia Diagnosis
First, a child with dyslexia needs to know about their condition. This will help them understand why they have reading difficulties, which can be empowering and relieving. Explain that their mind simply works differently.
During these discussions, be positive. Focus on their achievements so far, rather than their learning delays. Let them know that there are people who care and are ready to help.
It’s also important to avoid treating reading difficulties as “abnormal” or “bad.” Instead, Newman says to “focus on the pleasure, information, and independence that reading and learning brings.”
Additionally, if you’re a parent or caregiver and have also experienced reading difficulties, let your child know. As Newman explains, gently communicating your challenges with reading can help kids see that they’re not alone.
Empowering Dyslexic Kids and Students to Thrive
Educators who effectively employ teaching strategies for students with dyslexia open doors for a group of learners who might otherwise be stifled.
With the right training, educators can gain the skills needed to empower dyslexic students.
Discover how American University’s online Master of Arts in Teaching prepares educators to create classrooms where all students can thrive.
What Blooming Early Years are Saying on How to Help a Child with Dyslexia Learn
Kids with dyslexia often show signs before they start school. They often have trouble learning even simple rhymes. They might talk later than most kids. Also, they may struggle to follow directions or learn left and right. Once they start school, they struggle with reading, writing, and spelling.
If your child is in first grade or older and still struggling with reading, their school can give them a test for dyslexia. You can also get an outside evaluation from a psychologist, reading specialist, or speech and language therapist. Using the results from the tests, you can work with the school to get your child the right support.
There are lots of reading instruction programs that can help kids with dyslexia build skills and catch up with their classmates. They can also get other kinds of support at school. This could include extra time on tests, a quiet workspace, and options to listen rather than read or to type or speak rather than write by hand.
A Word of Advice from Us
Kids with dyslexia may feel frustrated or embarrassed, so it’s also important to give them plenty of emotional support. Make sure to praise their hard work, celebrate their strengths in other areas, and remind them that dyslexia has nothing to do with their intelligence.
Caregivers can provide support by creating a nurturing space for learning and tracking progress on a calendar.
Other techniques include reading together, repetition, mnemonic devices, praise, and focusing on sight words. It’s also helpful for children with dyslexia to get enough sleep and work with a tutor.
If you think your child has dyslexia, visit a mental health professional. They can evaluate your child and help guide your child’s learning journey.
Social and Emotional Impacts of Dyslexia