Supporting Literacy at Home: Tips for Parents

Supporting a dyslexic learner at home can be both rewarding and challenging. The good news is that there are plenty of practical strategies parents can implement in everyday activities to help improve their child’s reading and writing skills. Below are some evidence-based tips to make literacy learning a more enjoyable and supportive experience for dyslexic students.

1. Create a Structured Routine

Dyslexic learners benefit from consistency. Set up a daily reading routine that includes dedicated time for practice. Use a variety of materials such as books, audiobooks, and digital tools. This routine will help your child develop a habit of engaging with literacy in a non-pressured environment. Even short, regular reading sessions can improve skills over time.

2. Use Multi-Sensory Learning Techniques

Structured Literacy, which is often recommended for dyslexic learners, relies heavily on multi-sensory instruction. At home, parents can incorporate activities that engage sight, sound, touch, and movement to reinforce reading and spelling. For example, use magnetic letters for spelling, encourage your child to highlight words as they are reading them aloud, or engage in word-building exercises with letter tiles.

3. Focus on Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness - the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in words - is crucial for developing reading proficiency. Engage your child in simple phonemic awareness activities, like clapping out syllables, playing rhyming games, or using apps that focus on sound-letter correspondence.

4. Encourage Audiobooks and Technology

Dyslexic children can experience difficulty reading traditional text, but they can still engage with stories and information through audiobooks. Services like Audible or even text-to-speech features in e-readers can make content more accessible. By listening to books, children can develop their vocabulary, comprehension, and love of stories, even if they struggle with reading.

5. Be Patient and Offer Praise

Dyslexic children may feel frustrated or defeated by their struggles with reading and writing. Providing encouragement and celebrating small achievements can help boost their confidence. Celebrate efforts as much as successes. Your positive reinforcement can go a long way in building your child’s resilience and motivation to keep trying.

6. Read Together Daily

Reading together is one of the simplest and most effective ways to support your child. Choose books that are slightly above your child’s reading level and read aloud to them. This practice helps your child build listening comprehension, exposes them to new vocabulary, and models fluent reading. Let them follow along with the text to help connect sounds with printed words.

7. Provide Assistive Technology

Assistive technologies, such as speech-to-text software, dictation tools, or specialised reading programs like Orton-Gillingham-based apps, can help level the playing field for dyslexic learners. Research from Reading Rockets suggests that these tools can significantly ease the cognitive load of writing and reading, allowing students to focus on content rather than decoding words.

8. Communicate with Teachers

Ensure that your child’s teachers are aware of their learning needs and that there is a plan in place to support them in the classroom. Stay in touch with teachers to discuss your child's progress and ask for advice on how to reinforce learning at home.

9. Encourage a Love of Learning

Help your child develop a love for learning by finding subjects and activities that spark their curiosity. Whether it’s through nature exploration, science experiments, or art projects, children who are passionate about learning are more likely to engage in literacy-related tasks.

10. Seek Professional Support Early

If your child struggles significantly with literacy despite your support, consider seeking professional help, such as a Structured Literacy tutor or an educational psychologist. Early intervention is key for dyslexic learners to avoid falling behind academically. Structured Literacy approaches are backed by extensive research and have been proven to help dyslexic learners close the gap.

References:

• The International Dyslexia Association: Dyslexia and Structured Literacy

• Kilpatrick, D.A. (2015). Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties. John Wiley & Sons.

• Reading Rockets: Assistive Technology for Reading