Raising a child with dyslexia can stir up a lot of emotions. You may look ahead and wonder if this learning issue will affect your child’s future. But dyslexia is not a prediction of failure. Dyslexia is quite common, and many successful individuals have dyslexia.
Research has proven that there are different ways of teaching that can help people with dyslexia succeed. There’s a lot you can do as a parent too.
If you’re just starting your journey, don’t try to tackle everything at once. You can start helping your child simply by learning more about the symptoms, causes and strategies that can be used at home and in school.
What is dyslexia?
A good way to understand dyslexia is to establish what it is not. It’s not a sign of low intelligence or laziness. It’s also not due to poor vision. It’s a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language.
Dyslexia is primarily associated with trouble reading. Some doctors, specialists and educators may refer to it as a reading disorder/disability or a processing disorder/disability but it can also affect writing, spelling and even speaking.
People with dyslexia can still understand complex ideas. Sometimes they just need more time to work through the information. They may also need a different way to process the information, such as listening to an audiobook instead of reading it.
If your child has dyslexia, they won’t outgrow it. It’s a lifelong condition. But that doesn’t mean your child can’t be happy and successful. There are many effective teaching strategies and tools that can help your child. In fact, many people with dyslexia have successful careers in business, science and the arts.
There’s a long list of famous people with dyslexia. This list includes director Steven Spielberg and actress Whoopi Goldberg. It also includes the author Dav Pilkey, who created the popular Captain Underpants books.
People with dyslexia are often very creative. It’s unclear whether such creativity comes from thinking outside the box or from having a brain that’s “wired” a bit differently.
It’s important to keep in mind, however, that struggles with reading and other issues can lead to frustration and low self-esteem. The stress of dealing with schoolwork can make kids with dyslexia lose the motivation to keep trying.
There are lots of tools and strategies that can help. It might take some trial and error for you to figure out which work best for your child. But finding the right strategies and seeing improvement can boost your child’s confidence.
Essential Skills for Reading Comprehension
For kids with dyslexia, reading a single word can be a struggle. Dyslexia also makes it hard to understand and remember what they’ve read.
Early in primary school, students are expected to read a passage of text and answer questions about it. This is what’s known as “reading comprehension,” and it’s essential for building a strong foundation for success in school. Students with dyslexia often have reading comprehension problems because they need to develop several underlying skills, such as:
Fortunately, researchers have been studying dyslexia for decades. They know which teaching methods and tools can help children with dyslexia succeed. If dyslexia is diagnosed by year three, it’s easier to catch up. But it’s never too late.
Research has proven that there are different ways of teaching that can help people with dyslexia succeed. There’s a lot you can do as a parent too.
If you’re just starting your journey, don’t try to tackle everything at once. You can start helping your child simply by learning more about the symptoms, causes and strategies that can be used at home and in school.
What is dyslexia?
A good way to understand dyslexia is to establish what it is not. It’s not a sign of low intelligence or laziness. It’s also not due to poor vision. It’s a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language.
Dyslexia is primarily associated with trouble reading. Some doctors, specialists and educators may refer to it as a reading disorder/disability or a processing disorder/disability but it can also affect writing, spelling and even speaking.
People with dyslexia can still understand complex ideas. Sometimes they just need more time to work through the information. They may also need a different way to process the information, such as listening to an audiobook instead of reading it.
If your child has dyslexia, they won’t outgrow it. It’s a lifelong condition. But that doesn’t mean your child can’t be happy and successful. There are many effective teaching strategies and tools that can help your child. In fact, many people with dyslexia have successful careers in business, science and the arts.
There’s a long list of famous people with dyslexia. This list includes director Steven Spielberg and actress Whoopi Goldberg. It also includes the author Dav Pilkey, who created the popular Captain Underpants books.
People with dyslexia are often very creative. It’s unclear whether such creativity comes from thinking outside the box or from having a brain that’s “wired” a bit differently.
It’s important to keep in mind, however, that struggles with reading and other issues can lead to frustration and low self-esteem. The stress of dealing with schoolwork can make kids with dyslexia lose the motivation to keep trying.
There are lots of tools and strategies that can help. It might take some trial and error for you to figure out which work best for your child. But finding the right strategies and seeing improvement can boost your child’s confidence.
Essential Skills for Reading Comprehension
For kids with dyslexia, reading a single word can be a struggle. Dyslexia also makes it hard to understand and remember what they’ve read.
Early in primary school, students are expected to read a passage of text and answer questions about it. This is what’s known as “reading comprehension,” and it’s essential for building a strong foundation for success in school. Students with dyslexia often have reading comprehension problems because they need to develop several underlying skills, such as:
- Connecting letters to sounds: Kids have to learn that each letter of the alphabet is associated with a certain sound or sounds. (Teachers refer to this as “phonics.”) Once your child can make these connections, she’ll be able to “sound out” words.
- Decoding text: The process of sounding out words is known as “decoding.” Once your child can decode individual words, she can start to make sense of entire sentences.
- Recognizing “sight” words: The ability to read a familiar word at a glance without having to sound it out is called “word recognition.” The more words kids can recognize by sight, the faster they’ll be able to read. Average readers can recognize a word by sight after sounding it out a dozen or so times. Students with dyslexia may need to see it 40 times.[1]
- Reading fluently: Fluent readers can recognize most words by sight and quickly sound out unfamiliar words. They also can read smoothly and at a good rate. Fluency is essential for good reading comprehension.
- Understanding the text: Strong readers can remember what they’ve just read. They can summarize it and recall specific details. Readers with dyslexia can get bogged down sounding out individual words. This interrupts the flow of information and makes it harder to understand and relate the new material to what they already know.
Fortunately, researchers have been studying dyslexia for decades. They know which teaching methods and tools can help children with dyslexia succeed. If dyslexia is diagnosed by year three, it’s easier to catch up. But it’s never too late.
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