Homework Heroes: Here are 5 tips for parents of students with dyslexia
Dr. Suzette Spears with Homework Heroes LLC wants to help parents of students with dyslexia.
Here are five tips for making homework and comprehension easier for students with dyslexia and their parents.
- Read Aloud – Many people think they read in their heads better than they read out loud. This is not exactly the case. The English language is made up of letters and SOUNDS. With silent reading, the brain cannot hear when a word is mispronounced or substituted, so the reader does not know they have made a mistake. Reading out loud ensures that the brain hears and is able to process exactly what the eyes are seeing on the page. Encourage your scholar to read out loud as often as possible
- Read Often – Students with Dyslexia should be exposed to as much vocabulary as possible, and this is not just in story books. Use notecards to label items around the house like stove, sink, refrigerator, freezer, cabinet, pantry. Children have thousands of words stored in their oral vocabulary, many of which they learned before starting school. The issue for students with Dyslexia is they do not know what the words look like, so even though they know what the refrigerator is, they may not recognize the word. Seeing the word on the device helps the brain connect the letters and sounds to the device and send that information to long term memory for later retrieval. Also, if there is a synonym or abbreviation for an item, list that as well. It is important for students to know there may be more than one word for the same thing. For example, a refrigerator can also be called a fridge, or the stove may also be called a range.
- Read to your scholar – your child may be interested in a story they may not be able to read independently. To foster a love of reading, read that story to your child. Your local library is a great source to access thousands of books for free. If you are not able to read to your child, most libraries also offer audio books and books online that can be read using a text to speech extension.
- Know Your Rights as a Parent – Participating in the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting for a child may be intimidating for some parents. Please remember, this meeting and the plan that is developed from this meeting is designed to address your child’s unique education needs. Parents have the right to request their child be evaluated for services and there is a definite time frame, after parental consent is given to when the evaluation must be complete.
- Celebrate Success! – Students with Dyslexia have a wide variety of interests and abilities. Sometimes that can be overshadowed by their reading difficulties. Maybe your child has an incredible vocabulary and loves to recite poetry or rap. Perhaps they are amazing artists, or talented athletes. Highlight your child’s strengths while also working on those challenges!
If you have any questions or would like information about educational advocacy for your scholar, contact Homework Heroes at 888-609-9096 or email us at homeworkheroesus@gmail.com.