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In the first post on this series of Helping Your Child Understand Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities – Part 1 I shared with you a real life experience of how I would explain the basics of learning disabilities to a group of my own students. Here I will continue on with the same theme by giving you a few more suggestions about how to help your child better understand dyslexia and learning disabilities.

Although I was dealing with students whose ages ranged from 14 years old and higher the same principles applies to even younger children. The main thing is to explain things to your child in terms that they will understand and that are age appropriate.

Allow your child to express themselves about how they are feeling about finding out that they have dyslexia or another type of learning disability. Some will feel scared thinking that this may be some type of disease. Reassure your child by letting them know that it is not that at all. Tell them that having dyslexia or another type of learning disability has to do with the way they learn. It is not that they can’t learn; it is just that they learn differently than others. Explain that it may take them longer understand something but they can do it. Encouragement from a parent goes a long way with a child struggling with reading and learning.

Children with dyslexia and learning disabilities often feel that they are a disappointment to you and are often disappointed in themselves. Let your child know that you can see how hard they are working and take advantage of even the smallest victories. Tell them that you are there for them to help if they don’t understand and you will explain to them questions that may arise. Encourage them to keep trying and that you too make mistakes. Reinforce that if a mistake is made it is only that the problem isn’t solved yet, but together you can work on discovering the correct answer.

Remind the child that at school and home there is a whole team of people that are willing and able to see them through the struggles with reading and other learning areas they may be facing. Accommodations and modifications to the child’s learning for the year are set forth in an Individual Education Plan or IEP for short. You and your child should attend the meeting that the special education teacher will set up so that you will know what goals are to be reached. Keep track of the paperwork and attend conferences or other scheduled progress reports of your child’s performance so that you will know how things are going.

Provide age appropriate and high interest level reading materials for your child to continue their participation in gaining better reading skills. Children are more apt to pick up and read something they are interested in even if they struggle with reading. Teach by example and let them see you reading something that you like as well. Another good way to get them reading is in a practical sense. Have them help you cook a meal, and have the child read the recipe to you. Not only will they be reading but they will also be learning a valuable life skill. Giving them a hands-on activity such as cooking also helps the child develop their comprehension skills.

You may have to repeat instructions for tasks often in order for them to be completed. Have patience, it is not that a child is ignoring what is being asked of them, it may be the way in which the task was presented. You may need to use a variety of multi-sensory approaches in order to get the job done. If you just tell your child to do something and it has not happened they may need for you to write them down a list instead so that they can see what it is you want them to do. Remember the importance of knowing your child’s Learning Styles mentioned in the previous post on this topic in Part 1? This is a perfect example of what I am referring to.

Share in the joys and the frustrations that go along with a child that has dyslexia or learning disabilities. There will be moments of laughter and tears but together you can see all the times through. Knowing that there is someone there to encourage, help and love them in spite of the difficult times will definitely put your child’s mind at ease.