With our extensive experience in offering dyslexia tutoring to children and young adults, whether through online platforms or in person, we are knowledgeable about the crucial importance of a nurturing and compassionate atmosphere in fostering educational and holistic growth.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we find ourselves in unprecedented times where this environment has become your home.
You probably have various worries, questions, and concerns about how to fulfill your child’s needs and whether you’ll require professional assistance from a specialist tutor like the ones we offer. It can be perplexing to find the appropriate support for your child’s education, but we’re here to offer tips, advice, and expert guidance.
Reasons why homeschooling makes sense if your child has dyslexia
If you are a parent of a child with dyslexia, you are likely aware of the noteworthy effect that this learning disability can have on your child’s general well-being. It is common for children and young adults with dyslexia to feel anxious and lack confidence as they compare themselves to their peers.
If someone with dyslexia lacks support, it can have damaging and enduring effects, which can also affect their professional life and other areas of their daily life. Numerous parents just aim to discover the most effective means of aiding their dyslexic child while at home. Just like individuals, the experience of dyslexia is different for everyone.
For children with dyslexia, reading and writing may feel like burdensome tasks. However, these abilities hold immense value and are extensively prevalent in our society, making them essential milestones to achieve in your child’s educational and social advancement.
When parents attempt to teach their child, the child’s mental barrier towards reading and writing can often result in frustration and a feeling of helplessness. The inclusion of homework further intensifies the struggle between the child and parent.
Typically, a traditional school environment is unable to offer the specific instruction that a student with dyslexia requires, which includes direct, systematic, highly-personalized, and tailored teaching from a specialist dyslexia teacher.
Challenges of homeschooling a child with dyslexia
According to Molly Ness, dyslexic students require clear and direct instruction in understanding the structure of language. Molly Ness, who is an associate professor of curriculum and teaching at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education, emphasizes the importance of this explicit teaching approach.
According to Ness, in order for this instruction to be effective, it should involve teacher modeling and explanation, a multi-sensory approach, and ongoing support while students work to develop their comprehension of the relationship between letters and sounds.
According to Ness, even though many parents are proficient readers, they often lack the essential understanding in reading development and linguistics required to educate dyslexic students while homeschooling.
Parents should consider the option of hiring an educational expert, learning specialist, or tutor who is specifically trained to work with children facing dyslexia. This individual can either directly engage with the child or assist the parent in creating a program that can be implemented for their child.
Home-learning tips for parents of a child with dyslexia
When it comes to reinforcing your child’s phonics learning as a parent, it is crucial to utilize activities that align with those employed by the specialist tutor and/or school. Collaboration is essential in this process, as deviating from the familiar may lead to confusion and hinder progress.
Here are some ideas you can try to make reading and spelling enjoyable, meaningful, and successful for your child!
Research homeschool curricula
Before choosing specific methods, it is important to thoroughly evaluate homeschool curricula. This includes verifying that the reading level of textbooks is not excessively difficult.
According to Mannis, because homeschool programs with pre-packaged materials do not involve classroom examinations, they often necessitate students to submit a significant amount of mastery work, which may not be suitable for a child with dyslexia.
According to Mannis, it is important to have realistic expectations as some children with processing issues or slow writing may not be capable of completing all the necessary mastery assignments.
Get familiar with available resources
Mannis explains that when reviewing curricula and textbooks, it is important to also visit their websites to identify the most helpful ones. At Ivy Prep, they frequently utilize the Pearson ones due to their streamlined nature and excellent review books.
Furthermore, she mentions that they utilize ESL materials to present challenging concepts to dyslexic children in a manner that minimizes reading difficulties.
Vet the experts you hire
When you are in the process of hiring a tutoring company or education consultant, make sure to ask them direct and tough questions regarding their training, background, and supervision.
According to Mannis, it is advisable to inquire about specific examples of past students similar to your child and how the homeschool program was customized for them. It is important to ask specific questions and rely on your intuition, as you know your child better.
Balance print materials with digital
Mannis advises considering the practicality and application of learning materials, such as workbooks and games, and strategizing the selection and implementation of these tools for various learning objectives.
She explains that the key is to utilize ed-tech as a means for dyslexic children to develop skills and enhance their awareness of themselves as learners, rather than solely relying on the availability of excellent technology tools.
Keep an eye on tutors
While tutors can be beneficial, it is vital to make sure that they are not excessively assisting your child. According to Mannis, the objective of working with a qualified tutor or educational consultant is for your child to gradually develop independence and the ability to learn autonomously.
If the tutor is assuming the majority of the workload, it may indicate a need for alternative instruction or an adjusted learning plan.
Ideas to help any child struggling with literacy
- Multi-sensory methods: For example writing with fingers in sand, shaving foam, in condensation on windows or mirrors, on sandpaper, or making huge letter shapes in the air, in snow, tracing letters on peers’ backs, repeating the letter sounds while making their shapes.
- Read together: Stories and books, as opposed to individual words or contrived sentences. Even if you, the parent, are doing most of the reading and your child is just contributing by reading the occasional word, they are enjoying the experience of reading, and getting meaning from written words.
- When your child is reading to you, try not to correct their mistakes: If what they have read does not make sense, give feedback that encourages your child to monitor themselves and self-correct, saying: “Do you think that’s right?”, “Does that make sense?”
- Encourage your child: Make it clear it’s fine to ask you if they don’t know a word, rather than jumping in to prompt.
- Allow your child time to work out a word: Don’t be too quick to prompt.
- Try writing simple instructions for your child to follow: For example, a treasure hunt or a cooking recipe. This encourages children to judge for themselves whether they have read the instructions correctly. Have them write instructions for someone else to follow.
Ideas to try if your child is at the very early stages of literacy
- When reading a story: Have your child find all the examples of a target letter in a page, or paragraph (preferably have them color/highlight that letter.) Then read through the whole page, stopping at each identified word, and emphasizing the target letter sound as you read it.
- Play multi-sensory games: Practice recognizing letters and their sounds, or simple high-frequency sight words. Games that involve jumping around are often the most effective, as well as the most fun.
Ideas for older children and those with some literacy skills
- Don’t be too concerned about reading accuracy: If mistakes don’t change the meaning of the sentence, pointing out minor errors often leads to more errors being made.
- When your child comes across an unfamiliar word, it is not always necessary to sound out every letter. If they use context cues, they can often work out what even a multisyllabic word says from the first three or four letters, by thinking what would make sense in that sentence, e.g. “Mum was ill, so she went to the hosp……”
- Reverse roles: The parent can read to the child but deliberately making mistakes for them to correct you (mistakes should be fairly obvious, though.)
- With written work (where there are spelling mistakes): Give credit for the parts of the word that are spelt correctly: Do this, even if it’s just the initial letter. It may be that just a little part of the word is misspelt. Aim to try to boost confidence.
Getting off to a good start and utilizing the best resources can be beneficial for both parent and student when homeschooling a child with dyslexia. This educational journey can prove to be a fulfilling experience for both parties involved.
Regardless of whether homeschooling is a temporary or long-term decision, ensuring that you seek assistance from professionals, rely on your support system, and stay updated on research, curriculum, and learning strategies will result in the optimal experience for your child.
