Critical steps: empowering dyslexic readers

Your child needs to know that they’re safe to make mistakes but also will be praised for making progress. Don’t praise unconditionally, but do acknowledge the real hard work which has taken place.

Don’t jump in with the right answers until your child has exhausted all the possibilities. This will inhibit their confidence in their own problem-solving abilities. If they are really struggling, help them gently by suggesting words to enable continuity, but do this as little as possible. 

Don’t just read to your child or have them read to you; try taking it in turns to read a page each. That way the process will seem less daunting and you will be seen to be supporting them all the way.

This will reinforce your child’s understanding and also make it clear that they are progressing with the book. Do this every couple of paragraphs or whenever there's a significant plot development.

At the end of three chapters, for example, tell your child how far they’ve come. Flick through the pages and say, “Look how much you’ve read!”. Something as simple as this will let them see and be proud of their own progress. 

If your child is really good at art or sport, remind them of this and let them know how proficient you think they are. This will have an impact on their general confidence and prevent the reading issues from pervading the rest of their life.

Impress upon your child the idea that nobody (not even you!) can ever know the meaning of all the words in the dictionary and that using it can be fun. Making a dictionary part of everyday reading normalises the idea that we are all learning new words every day, and might need to look them up – even as adults.

Tell your child you’ll read until 5pm rather than “until we finish this chapter”. That way, if the time is up and you haven’t finished, there is no sense of failure. It’s the clock’s fault!

Listening to an audio book will make the words easier to read and will reinforce them at the same time. Don’t put a limit on how often they skip the track back to hear certain words again.

Writing is always more fun if it’s about yourself. Encouraging your child to write about their life and feelings in a diary, even if it’s just a ‘What I did at the weekend’ list, will get them into the habit of writing and they might really enjoy regular time to express themselves and note their thoughts and plans. 

Have a race with your child to see who can read a (pre-agreed) sentence the fastest. The loser gets to make a cup of tea! Word games and challenges help children associate reading with fun.