5 Tips to Help Your Dyslexic Child With Homework

One of the biggest challenges of being a parent for a child with dyslexia is helping him or her with their homework. Having dyslexia can make it difficult for children to communicate with parents, as well as have severe challenges with reading, writing or speaking skills. As a parent, you have to be careful to encourage and help your child have self-compassion and also help your child complete their homework and other tasks in a reasonable amount of time. After all, your child spends most of their day in school, and homework cuts into a valuable amount of family time together.

“Avoid power struggles.  It takes two for tug-o-war, so beware of picking up your end of the rope.  If your child is showing signs of overstimulation such as: decreased focus, yawning, or you notice their gaze drifting off, ask them what they need to do to get back on track. Offer a snack, or bathroom break.  Sometimes they’ll tell you they need a break. Set a timer for five to ten minutes and provide a “brain break.”  Keep your cool, and don’t mimic negative behavior.” – Joanne Gouaux, SciLearn.com

Here are some more tips from Joanne Gouaux:

1.    Practice empathy. Put yourself in their shoes.  Homework, when coupled with overcoming dyslexia, is no small task for either child or parent.

2.    Welcome mistakes as teachable moments. Mistakes are often how we learn.  It helps develop resilience, something successful dyslexics have mastered. 

3.    Customize techniques for your child. Listening and asking questions about your child’s experience will provide valuable insight into their behaviors and interests which can help you develop appropriate incentives based on knowing your child’s motivations.

4.    Do your homework, too. Prepare for the homework session by checking in ahead of time on the subject matter.  This especially helpful for math assignments. 

5.    Develop multi-sensory strategies. Help boost your child’s homework stamina by bringing in other sensory outlets. For example, offering your child a piece of gum to chew, the option to sit on a yoga ball, or to stand rather than sitting in a chair.  Invite your child to pace around the room while brainstorming aloud for a writing assignment, or provide a rubber band they can fidget with to facilitate an outlet for their need to move.  Do some silly stretches, think calisthenics, with an emphasis on crossing midline to help bilateral integration, which means using both sides of the body at the same time.  For children distracted by noise, offer a quiet place, or allow them to put on some noise canceling headphones.

For more tips, read this article: http://www.scilearn.com/blog/understanding-dyslexia-homework-struggles?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=921406&utm_campaign=0