Help at Home This document describes some ways in which you can help your dyslexic child at home. This page provides a quick summary of ideas. For more details, and further ideas, see the following pages.

Summary Remember that a dyslexic child will have had a hard day at school because of their difficulties. At home, it is important to consolidate the learning process in a fun and relaxed way. Never let any session become stressful for either of you, as this would be counterproductive.

Things you can do 

Boost your child‘s self-esteem. Tell them about famous people who are dyslexic. 

Play games (like I-Spy) to help with sounds or Scrabble to help with spelling.  

Read together with your child using ‗paired reading‘.

Ask your child about what they have read to encourage understanding.  

Try using audio books.

Some dyslexics find coloured overlays help their reading.

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Try different techniques for learning spelling, such as writing words in sand or using shaving foam.

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Mnemonics can help children learn difficult words (for example, Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants –> because)  

Play simple games to practise sequencing with your child, for example by memorising/repeating phone numbers or car registration numbers.

You can also use simple ways to try and improve memory, for example can they remember what you bought from the shops yesterday?

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Check your child‘s homework diary and help them get organised with the things they need, such as the right books, quiet environment etc.

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Get your child to practise simple tasks that can help with co-ordination, for example tying shoe laces and all kinds of ball games and balancing tricks.

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There are different types of computer programs and games that can help the dyslexic child.

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Helping with self-esteem You can boost your child‘s self-esteem by discussing all the famous people who were, or are, dyslexic such as: Leonardo da Vinci, Richard Branson, Orlando Bloom, Einstein, Jamie Oliver and Keira Knightley to name just a few.

Suggested activities The activities suggested here are to help give you some ideas. You do not have to work through them in order. Instead, select the ones that may be appropriate to your child‘s particular needs or difficulties. It is important that you and your child both enjoy the process and that your child has a feeling of self-worth and self-esteem, which may not have been evident in the school day. Help with sounds 

Pick a sound (such as ‗st‘, ‗ch‘) for the day, then use various activities (such as I-Spy) to use the sound you have chosen.

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Read poems and identify rhymes. This establishes spelling patterns and helps with phonic awareness.

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For words which don‘t work well phonetically – the ‗sight‘ words – place these around the rooms in your house and get the child to find them and read them to you. Or randomly select a few each day for the child to identify. A reward can be offered to make this more appealing!

Help with reading 

Paired reading is a positive experience for the child and the parent. It can be approached in several ways. You can choose to read aloud together or take turns at reading a paragraph or two. You can also decide in advance whether you will say the words that are stumbled over, or whether the child wants to try them on their own. Sometimes you can simply ask the child to tap your hand if s/he wants help.

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Ask the child questions about what you have read to help develop understanding.

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Read books with audio tapes/CDs or e-books. This keeps the pace of the story going and teaches the child to read at a realistic speed.

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Experiment with coloured overlays. Some dyslexics perform much better reading with a coloured overlay (pinks and greens are most effective). For children who complain of text that is ‗fuzzy‘ or ‗moving about‘, overlays stop this happening.

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Help with spelling and vocabulary 

Try learning new spellings using a multi-sensory approach: write words on a white board, in sand, in shaving foam or bath foam.

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Give your child copying exercises. For young children this might be individual words, leading on to short sentences.

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Word games are fun and a wonderful learning experience for improving spelling, reading and developing vocabulary. Most children enjoy ―Scrabble‖ but there are plenty you may purchase or download.

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For difficult spellings, use mnemonics such as: Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants –> because Can Oliver Understand Long Division –> could Older children can be encouraged to create their own, mnemonics, which they‘ll enjoy and may remember their own choices better.

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Association word games are good for developing lateral thinking. For example, tree – wood – axe – forest – wolf. Initially the child may stay too close to the original word: tree – bush – grass etc. Encourage wider ideas. You start the group the child says the next word, then you and so on. Depending on the age and maturity of the child the group may consist of 5 – 20 words.

Help with instructions and sequencing 

Give your child tasks where they need to follow instructions. Initially, you can say the instructions. Later you can encourage your child to write them down in the correct sequence. Following instructions can simply be drawing a circle with a square inside it. Or draw a line 10 centimetres long with another line above it 8 centimetres long and one underneath 12 centimetres long. Plenty of scope for activity here

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Also ask your child to give you instructions. Follow them exactly, so if they have been given inaccurately, your child can see the problem in needing to be accurate.

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You can also practise sequencing through activities such as: o letter, word or sentence sequencing o sequencing a story from cut-out pictures that are presented in the wrong order and need re-ordering to make sense. o play ‗the car number plate game‘ when you‘re out. Point out a car, say the letters and numbers and then ask the child to repeat them accurately. o the phone number game: make up a number and ask the child to repeat it. Encourage the child to remember the number in short sequences built up to the longer sequences. For example, 01742918672 is easier to remember as: 017 429 186 72.

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Improving memory 

Devise memory games. Initially, these could be how many words your child can remember from the previous day, or what items you bought the previous day.

Help with homework/exams 

Always check homework diaries and help your child get organised both for the homework session: right books, quiet environment etc. and check the organisation for the next day‘s work – that all materials, homework etc. have been returned to the bag which is going to school the next day!

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Schools may allow a parent to be an amanuensis for the child; that is, allow you to read questions and write the answers your child has dictated. Freed from spelling and reading, this is an opportunity for your child to give developed answers or allow the imagination to roam.

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For older dyslexics, help them to use spidergrams or mind maps for their ideas for essay writing.

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Studying for examinations: Write down the key points for revision and get your child to develop the answers orally (these can be recorded for reference later). Learning to recognise the key points makes for much more effective learning.

Other ideas 

Keep a diary. This is good for all aspects of learning — from reading and writing to sequencing and organisation. Also for remembering days of the week, months of the year etc. You can have pictures initially, which are relevant to the day‘s activities, with just a sentence or two added to develop the interest.

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Problems with telling the time can be helped by initially using a digital clock set to the 24 hour clock.

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For improvement in mathematics and removing the hardship of learning tables, often nearly impossible for the dyslexic, make sure your child can use a number square.

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Co-ordination can be improved by practising tying shoe laces or with games of ‗Turn left, turn right‘. Also all kinds of ball games and balancing tricks.

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Using technology to help 

Consider using a computer program that can read text out loud and write for your child.

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Encourage your child to learn touch-typing. There are programmes available on the Web to help, for example BBC‘s Dance Mat.

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Computer spelling games can be fun too. Ones such as ―Wordshark‖ and ―Spellmate‖ have the added advantage that you can customise them with Welsh words.

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Word searches or crosswords are good ways of developing spelling and vocabulary. There are many free-to-use programs on the Web for creating word searches and crossword grids.

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