Are you concerned about your child’s progress at school? Or even a partner who still struggles with reading and writing? You may have thought about dyslexia before but not known what to do about it.

Dyslexia affects five main areas of learning: reading, spelling, writing, concentration and memory. With reading, for example, there may be difficulty reading short words such as ‘one’, ‘any’, ‘know’, ‘why’, etc or a struggle breaking down words and sounding them out. They may skip or miss out words – begin by making a note and pay close attention to their strengths as well as their weaknesses. For example, if your child has a strong imagination, they may enjoy using mnemonics to aid spelling.

Regular practice is needed to build confidence
As you continue to support learning, there are many things to consider. Check out ‘The English Alphabetic Code’ to support the learning of sounds and letters. Regular practice is needed in spelling, using all methods of visualisation, breaking words down into segments, and using the imagination to see the unusual shapes within words. This will support memory and build confidence, and the younger you begin regular reading and spelling games, the less stressful this vital practice will become.

To help with writing as a clear communication tool, encourage the child to speak clearly, ensuring words are pronounced correctly. Then build small stories, including a noun and a verb in each sentence, providing gentle building blocks of communication. Active reading of lively text will help vocabulary and sentence structure. Remember – always make learning fun!

Many children struggle with memory, so embracing memory training techniques is invaluable. Assure your child that everyone is different and we usually have no idea what goes on in someone else’s head. They should not feel inadequate because they require different tools in order to feel confident in communication.

A visual map for memorising lists of items
Creating a ‘memory story’ of crazy characters included in a list of information can provide the visual map for memorising lists of items. For more complex information, a ‘memory palace’ can be utilised – using a known place (home for example) and setting the items to remember against common items in the home, from the front door through to the kitchen. Using familiar objects to anchor the new information against is fun for the brain, which actually hates lists, but loves colour, texture, smell and taste.

Moving, jumping and dancing can all aid recall
Personally, I recommend using the body to aid memory – moving, jumping and dancing can all aid recall, as can listening to music, using a certain song to remember certain information – great for older kids doing homework. Suddenly that YouTube addiction can be put to good use!

In summary, your child is perfect just as they are, and they will rely on you to reinforce this fact lovingly. Remind them often that everyone is different and takes a different path in life. Some of the world’s greatest minds were dyslexic so maybe, just maybe, this isn’t so much of a problem as a SUPER POWER! Have a look at www.beatingdyslexia.com for more information.