Understanding Dyslexia - An Experts Guide

So, you think your child has dyslexia – What next?

In 2019, an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dyslexia and other SpLDs (Specific Learning Difficulties), found that 95% of parents and carers felt they lacked the skills and knowledge to support their dyslexic child.

As specialist teachers, educators and parents ourselves, we know that no-one knows a child better than the parent. As a parent, you have spotted some of those signs that your child is struggling in school and you want to know what to do to support them. It does no harm at this stage, to ‘rule out’ hearing or sight difficulties, with a free check at the optician. Really importantly, you need to remember that dyslexia will look different at the different stages your child will go through, as they progress through the education system. In addition, the support you give (alongside the challenges they will face), will change.

Recognising and Identifying Dyslexia

Early years

It is often at this stage that you become aware that your child is learning ‘differently’ than siblings or peers. All children develop at different rates and at this stage, it is particularly challenging to distinguish whether your child is responding in the way that they are due to dyslexia, or simply just the way they are developing.

All children benefit from exposure to language – the more they hear, the more they will recognise and understand when they are exposed to the written word. As their exposure, understanding and awareness of language develops, you may begin to notice that they are struggling to accurately acquire and develop their language skills.

You may find that:

• They find rhyming difficult.
• They muddle syllables.
• They could struggle to retrieve symbolic information from their memory stores, such as matching concrete items with the correct words or letters.

The first you are aware of this, may be when your child’s school tells you that they are not making the expected progress in phonics.

Infants – Key Stage 1

When your child is in Key Stage 1, they may struggle to acquire those early phonics skills (or they were not able to ‘pass’ their phonics screening – done at the end of Year 1).

Some things you might notice:

• The reading books they bring home from school or those at home can present a real challenge.
• They may lose their place frequently or struggle to blend to read simple words.
• They could confuse letters or miss out words when reading.
• In their writing, you sometimes notice reversals (particularly with visually similar letters, such as ‘b’ and ‘d’, ‘f’ and ‘t’), though many children will do this for some time when they are in the early stages of developing these skills.
• You may also have noticed a reticence to read or complete homework tasks altogether.

Juniors – Key Stage 2

As the pace and expectation for what your child does in Key Stage 2 increases, this is often the time that teachers, parents and children themselves, become aware that there is a learning difference.

Some things you might notice:

• There may feel like a real ‘mismatch’ in what your child is capable of verbally and in writing.
• Spelling can become a real issue for them and sometimes the process of writing itself, as children attempt to ‘mask’ the spelling challenges they experience.
• As the demands on their memory (and particularly their working memory) increases, you may also notice them struggling in terms of their overall organisational skills.

It is vital at this stage (as with all stages of a child’s life), to ensure that their self-esteem is well supported and maintained.

Highschool and Beyond

In Key Stage 3 and 4 (particularly if their self-esteem has taken a hit and they have not received the right support), a great number of young people with dyslexic traits, become disillusioned with their education.

Whilst they are capable verbally, the challenges they face with the demands of the curriculum can become so great for some young people, that they will avoid reading and written tasks altogether and sadly (for some individuals), will avoid school itself altogether.

They may write the bare minimum they need to for homework tasks, avoid reading where they can. They will often struggle with accurate spelling and ‘finding’ the words they need to express what they want to write. Again, those working memory challenges may mean that they struggle to structure written work well.

So, What Now?

Whilst a diagnosis of dyslexia is often an incredibly positive and frequently empowering diagnosis, the most important thing, is to ensure that the support the individual has, matches their needs at that time, regardless of the label.

Below, we address some of the things you may have spotted, together with how you can support them in the crucial areas where challenges are faced in the curriculum. We have broken these down into seven areas where you can offer support.

• Reading
• Spelling
• Writing
• Memory
• Organisation
• Metacognition
• Self-Esteem

Reading

All education systems around the world are based on reading and as such, this is such a crucial skill to be developed. That does not mean that this skill will be developed quickly, but with the right support, it will be mastered. Challenges in this area become more pronounced when children enter Key Stage 2, which is almost the ‘classic’ time when alarm bells begin to ring.

At the heart of reading, is phonics (the phonemes are the sounds that make up our language), together with the graphemes (how these phonemes are written down and subsequently read).

Ideas for ways to support reading:

• Play multisensory (using more than one sense at a time) games that build phonemic awareness.
• Spot an object, letter or word and try to find a rhyme for it.
• ‘Play with a word’, such as removing parts of it (such as saying ‘clap’, then ‘chopping out’ the letter /l/).
• Using letter magnets, or even making your own alphabet from painted pebbles, can support your child in developing their reading skills, blending (putting together the sounds) and decoding (breaking those sounds up).
• Keep the support age-appropriate, but ‘individual appropriate’ too! If your child is obsessed with football, tracing a word they need to read, know or recall, using their football, dribbled along the floor, can be great way to make that information stick in their brain.
• Encourage storytelling in all its forms (including voice notes, videos, graphic novels, comics, picture books, subtitles, online magazines/articles, verbal storytelling and so on), to find the ‘hook’ for your child.
• Use books that are decodable and match their reading level, whilst maintaining their interests.
• Never underestimate the positive impact of children seeing their trusted adults reading themselves. This doesn’t have to be a novel – any reading is reading!
• The power of sharing stories is immense. Try to read aloud together every day, even short stories or sections of these.
• Listen to audiobooks together; having the text there too can be a real bonus and helps to focus on the text as well as what is being said, together with being multisensory…win, win!
• As with all activities (particularly for the dyslexic brain), try to break reading into small, manageable steps.
• Give extra time and support during reading and use assistive tools. These can be more ‘high-tech’ (and do involve expense), such as reader pens, like those from Scanning Pens (which can be transformative for many), to freely available text-to-speech technology.

Spelling

For many with dyslexia, spelling is the element that persists as a bug-bare throughout their lives, particularly when they are tired or have had to process a great deal. Help is there however!

Ideas for ways to support spelling:

• Once again, multisensory learning can really be the key.
• The ‘trace/copy/memory/eyes shut!’ routine is great for many individuals and can be altered to whatever spellings need to be learnt.
• It is also so important to openly speak to the individual about what a challenge the English spelling system is- it’s okay to find it difficult!
• Teaching young people about the etymology of the word can really help them to retain the spelling. A solid example of this, is knowing that the ‘kn’ and ‘gn’ letter combinations usually indicate a Germanic origin of the word.
• Looking at the smallest units of meaning in a word (focussing on the morphology), can help to demystify some elements of the English spelling system. Grouping words into their ‘word families’ and talking about how the prefixes and suffixes can change the meaning and spelling of words can help in building a real understanding.
• Using syllabification can also be a great help. Breaking words into their ‘chunks’ as we say them, can help to support spelling. Knowing that most English words have a vowel or vowel sound in each syllable, can help to prevent words like ‘window’, being spelt as ‘wndow’.
• If the syllables can be in different colours, this can also help to aid retention.
• Finally, assistive technology can be a superbly supportive tool in spelling. Like most things, individuals will need to be trained in how to use these well.

Writing

As if phonics, reading and spelling were not challenging enough, when it comes to writing, the added processing and working memory difficulties involved can make it feel like a mountain not worth the climb.

Ideas for ways to support writing:

• Be kind to yourselves and the child and remember that additional time and support will be needed here.
• Break down the process and ensure that they have an explicit understanding of each skill involved in writing, including the planning and editing process, splitting these up into manageable chunks.
• Assistive tools, like text-to-speech or voice typing, scribing for them or recording the ‘writing’, can really be a game-changer for those with dyslexia and can help to make the process of writing a much more manageable task.
• Teaching the skill of touch-typing, will be a skill that supports them throughout school and beyond.
• There are a number of tools (including those provided by Ayoa), which support planning as well as general organisation through fabulous mind mapping tools.
• Speaking with the school can again help, as many schools will accept homework tasks created imaginatively. Do ask, you may be surprised!

Memory

This element of dyslexia is often given less ‘weight’ than the more obvious challenges to reading and spelling, however memory impacts every element of an individual’s life.

Whilst working memory capability is relatively fixed, we can build up our skills and the tools we can use to support ourselves in this area.

Ideas for ways to support memory:

• Ease the ‘overload’ of memory capacity, by chunking information.
• Remember that repeating suitably chunked instructions in the same way, will help your child to retain these.
• Visual prompts can also be useful. Many (though not all…remember the individual element here) people with dyslexia, will have a stronger visual memory and can use this to help themselves retain information, particularly when a multisensory approach has been used.
• There are many technology tools and apps that can help with recall. Support can be in something as simple as a visual organiser or timetable or in colour coding timetables, revision tasks and so on.

Organisation

The processing overload experienced by many with dyslexia, will impact upon their organisational ability. Building a supportive environment, can really help with this, together with making sure that they have a structured learning space (which may not be the most obvious place you think of) and most importantly, establishing regular routines.

Ideas for ways to support organisation:

• Again, visual timetables, colour-coding timetables, setting reminders on phones and so on and finding out what works for them as individuals, will all help.
• Giving additional time to understand tasks or instructions, to plan and to respond, can all be incredibly beneficial. Patience can be the key here.

 Metacognition

Knowing how your child learns best, together with making sure that they have a good understanding about what works well for them in terms of their learning, is so important.

Discussing the times they work well, together with the way their brain organises ideas, thoughts and learning are invaluable. This can again vary for individuals at different stages.

For one child, it could be reminding them that they were able to spell the word ‘said’, using the mnemonic: ‘Sally Ann Is Dizzy!’ Suggesting that they make up another memorable mnemonic for another word they find tricky, could work well. In another situation, it could be the young person who remembers what they’ve seen and so a revision aid for them, could be creating a picture mind map of important information for a test. It can even be as simple as knowing when your child finds it easiest to focus and concentrate. This really is a great tool to develop for their ‘dyslexia toolkit’.

In addition, have those metacognitive conversations about how and why you are learning things and why you are learning them in the way you are. This can give a real ‘purpose’ and relevance to any task at hand.

Self-Esteem

Whilst this element of the ‘7 ways to help’ has come at the end of this blog, that is not because it is less important than the others, but more to emphasise how utterly crucial this is in supporting any individual in achieving their potential.

• Empowering our children with a strong sense of self-worth can be the greatest gift we can support them with.
• When an individual feels encouraged and a love of learning is fostered, they will grow as learners, in spite of any challenges they will face.
• Make sure that challenges are accessible and importantly, don’t overload your young learner.
• A small amount of quality teaching time will be far more effective.
• Celebrate the small achievements, with positive praise, focussing on their strengths and setting achievable goals.
• Remember that their strengths may lay in extracurricular activities, they may experience real success with their creativity, aspects of their memory or in problem-solving.

All of these things can help to preserve and foster their confidence and provides a balance.

Supporting your child

In the same way that dyslexia specialists will focus on the whole child, together with all of the elements that make them unique, so too, do you and their educators have a huge role in providing that support for the whole child. There can be massive emotional as well as academic impacts on an individual with dyslexia, but many of these impacts, can be positive, if their resilience is fostered and maintained and we have supported their metacognitive understanding of the best ways that they can tackle those things they find difficult. Teach them to advocate for themselves.

The really useful organisation: ‘Made by Dyslexia’ goes further, in saying that when we focus positively on the learning differences in dyslexia and: ‘know how to spot, support and challenge dyslexic thinking’, we can ‘transform’ the lives of dyslexic children.

So, what next: How to work together with your child’s school

Schools generally want to work with you and are (largely), not the enemy – funding constraints often preclude diagnostic reports. So, support needs to be through adaptive and inclusive practice in the classroom and through the provision of reasonable adjustments (such as extra time given for assessments and so on).

• Try to create a partnership with your child’s teacher; you will be the greatest advocate for your child, but working alongside their school will reap the greatest rewards for them.
• Engage with local and national dyslexia support groups, which will often be able to signpost yourself or the school into the best support available for the individual.
• Groups such as the British Dyslexia Association, Dyslexia Action and so on, can provide resources, webinars and workshops that can all help to empower you as the parent of a child with dyslexia.
• Beware that processing overload, may mean that they are exhausted after a day in school- don’t try to overfill an already full cup. Sometimes, just making sure our children are loved, fed and feel safe and accepted, is enough.

Ignacio Estrada had some wise words that many in education try to practice by: ‘If children don’t learn the way we teach, we will teach them the way they learn’. Your child will learn differently, and this can and will change at different stages in their life. We can walk alongside them on this journey, always reminding them of all they can do, as well as supporting the things they find a challenge.

Good luck and remember, you are not alone, and support is out there.

With many thanks to Rachel Gelder and Pamela Hanigan from Lancashire Dyslexia, Information, Guidance and Support (LDIGS) for sharing this article.

Rachel Gelder joined the NHS on leaving university, working in Oxford and London in a variety of management, project management and contract roles, eventually specialising in Mental Health, including time in Broadmoor Special Hospital. Whilst her two boys were young she decided a change of direction was needed. She moved north to live in Lancashire and into education. Rachel is a Specialist Dyslexia teacher and in 2014 formed Lancashire Dyslexia Information Guidance and Support (LDIGS) with Pamela Hanigan. This is balanced with her role as a SENCo in a mainstream primary school with high levels of special needs.

Pamela Hanigan began her teaching career in 1997, in Salford Education Authority. She has continued her passion for teaching and education throughout this time, teaching and tutoring children from nursery age to Year 11. Based for the past 17 years in Lancashire, her interest in supporting children with neurodiverse difficulties and particularly with the development of reading and phonics skills grew. Pamela is a Specialist Dyslexia teacher and assessor and in 2014 formed LDIGS (Lancashire Dyslexia, Information, Guidance and Support) with Rachel Gelder. The pair continue to balance their roles in their schools, together with assessing those with suspected dyslexia and supporting schools and other professionals, through training and consultancy work relating to dyslexia.