Is your child living with dyslexia? Here’s how to help
Age-appropriate neurocognitive development is a must for healthy learning. Slow or imbalanced brain development can lead to various learning disorders including dyslexia in children. Dyslexia is a neurological condition that hampers the learning capability of children. It is often characterized by difficulty in reading, writing, and speaking.
Spotting the signs of dyslexia
To help your child cope with this learning challenge, the first thing you need to do is spotting the symptoms. Children in elementary schools often mispronounce words, complain about their inability to understand classroom activities, can’t read words apart or get easily distracted. These are some of the most common and early signs of dyslexia. As soon as you notice more than one of these symptoms, consult an expert.
Managing dyslexia
Dyslexia doesn’t disable kids. It only makes them differently abled. Here are ways to your child if she is living with this learning disorder.
Read about dyslexia: This is a very crucial step for parents with dyslexic children. Reading about the condition will help you make an informed choice while it comes to adopting coping mechanisms.
Locate authentic sources online, read books by eminent experts and be in constant touch with your child’s psychologist and doctors.
Initiate fun learning: The more your child enjoys the process of learning, the more can he focus. Make sure studying does not feel like a burden to your child. Make learning more like playing a game. Introduce music and dance, poetry and stories into his way of learning. You can also play word games and puzzles with your child to boost his wordpower in a fun way.
Reading Aloud: Doing this quite often will improve your child’s recall capacity. Play audiobooks for her and encouraging her to repeat what she hears will also help. Consider conducting an interactive session where you ask each other questions. Observe how she responds to a newly-learnt lesson.
Talk to the school: You need to work closely with your child’s school and her educators if he has been diagnosed with dyslexia. Make sure the teachers track your child’s progress regularly and share the report with you, so that you can do the needful at home.
Help her stay organized: It is really tough for dyslexic kids to maintain order. Dividing her chores and spreading them out through the day will really help. The routine could be as simple as this: Math in the afternoon, word games in the evening, and story reading at bedtime. Research has shown that dyslexic kids often respond well to colour coordination. So, divide materials from different subjects in different colour-coded folders, or use colourful labels and markers.
Appreciate your child: Celebrate little successes together and praise your little one for his strengths and talents. A little appreciation here and a little encouragement will go a long way in helping him cope with dyslexia.