Raising a Dyslexic child: Things to remember

If you are the parent of a dyslexic child, the basic thing that you must know your child is a different thinker from others children of their age. Dyslexic children are creative, imaginative, and they think out-of-the-box and they have the potential of becoming great artists, builders, and designers. The history has legendary examples of dyslexic people who are storytellers and junior entrepreneurs and problem-solvers. They have memories far stronger than many kids of their age but they learn the best when the required information is presented in a meaningful way.

Following are some examples of challenges which a child with dyslexia faces:

• They can’t control rocking on their chairs.
• They get too close to people while speaking to them.
• They struggling to respond quickly to jokes and fun activities of friends and acquaintances, due to which their friends move away from them.
• Their weak and short-term memory makes it difficult for them to following directions.
• They keep on confusing between left and right.
• They feel tired in the mornings or during the school hours because sleep disorders are very common for them.
• They are labelled as 'lazy' but the fact is they actually working much harder compared to others.
• They are scared of dark and bright light.
• They face trouble with team up in sports.
• The mess up while tying shoelaces.
• Being unable to tell the time and also memorize timetables.

These kind of difficulties can lead a dyslexic child to feel discouraged. So as a parent your most important duty is to work on their self-esteem.

As a parent you have an idea that dyslexic kids think differently than normal kids. They have positive traits like they are good at imagination and are highly creative, they understand the gist of a situation quite well by reading people and surroundings. However homework is a difficult area for them to cope up with, and for this they need a great deal of support at home. To be honest dyslexic children are o unable to complete their homework efficiently and as easily as children of similar age do. This along with many other factors mentioned above contribute to frustration and self-doubt in them, so we have listed some parenting tips for dyslexic kids this article.

1.   Talk with the Education Counselor or Special Needs Teacher at School

This is the basic thing many parents fail to do. In fact some parents deny to accept the fact that their child have dyslexia themselves. However, it is vital that you go and talk to the school. Taking things in hand in the primary stage crucial if you think that that your child is showing symptoms of dyslexia or any other learning difficulty. You must contact the school education coordinators without any delay. Researches have also shown that early intervention is important. Apart from anything else, it will help your child maintain high self-esteem and a positive attitude. Make sure you take time to visit dyslexia-specific websites for some knowledge and useful advice from professionals in the field of dyslexia.

2.   Teach Your Child to Read

Teaching your dyslexic child to read requires patience, commitment and determination on the part of both the parents. No matter whether your child is dyslexic or not, should start the practice of reading to them when they young and practice this habit. Remember that dyslexic kids are just as inquisitive as everyone else of the same age, and they also enjoy hearing stories. If you make a habit of reading out to them every day for at least 30 minutes a day it will help them in every aspects in developing their learning skills. You can read by running your finger under the each and every line and this would help them develop tracking skills. You can start with nooks having simple pictures, but never pressurize them to read. Encourage them and let them relax and let them start reading on their own.

3.   Get Organized and Establish a Routine

Practice certain organizational habits like as soon as your kid gets home from school, make him follow a routine: get fresh, eat a meal, and go for play or homework or just rest. Look through his school diary, as suffering from dyslexia he would have a habit of forgetting things. You can call up other fellow students or their parents to know about the homework. Remember never blame your kid on forgetting things, they do not do it intentionally. Blaming them would make them anxious making matters even worse.

Improve their Handwriting

A strong self-confidence is one of the most important thing that children with dyslexia need to develop. There can be some kids in your child’s school who can be so unkind to them, mocking them at their messy homework which can be embarrassing for your kid. Follow the tips below In order to combat such problems:

• Draw lines if the page is blank.
• Give him a sharp pencil and eraser.
• Make sure he sits up straight and holds the page still with the other hand. Keep your child reminding for writing he needs to use both hands.
• Ask him to tell me what he wants to write. Sometimes you can write it for him in his notebook or you can make him write on a rough paper and then copy it to a fair one.
• Listen and respond to him when he tell that he is tired.
• Give your child frequent, short breaks.
• Remind him of the letter shapes by speaking the shape of each letter out loud as he is writing: up, down, round, etc.
• Encourage him more and more.
• Ask him to tell me where on the page he is most proud of his handwriting.
• Decorate the copies with colors, it would encourage and interest him more.

If you have figured out that your child has dyslexia, you will surely try every possible way with which you can to help him. However, there will be many instances that will confuse you in a million different directions. The best way hence would be to get started is to find out as much as you can about the learning disability and make sure that the sources of your information and learning are trusted, such as those provided by your psychologist.