About dyslexia
Everybody is different and dyslexia will affect everyone in different ways. Understanding dyslexia can be difficult for adults as well as children so it is important to talk about it, even if you don’t know all of the answers.
Tell your child that dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence. They are not ‘stupid,’ but they learn in a different way. Dyslexia affects around 1 in 10 people. It can be quite mild, or severe. There are lots of things that can help children/young people with dyslexia do well in education, enjoy their hobbies and get a good job. Dyslexia should not hold anyone back from doing whatever they want to.
Children/young people can experience different emotions when they are told that they have dyslexia. Some feel relieved to find out why they have been struggling with their learning. Others may feel worried, angry, or embarrassed. They may feel ‘different’ to their peers.
There can be positive things about dyslexia
- Strong visualisation skills (good for art, science, crafts, engineering)
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Seeing the bigger picture
- Spotting the odd one out
- Improved pattern recognition
- Good spatial knowledge
- Picture thinkers
- Sharper peripheral vision
- More creative
Other things can be hard for a child/young person with dyslexia
- Poor memory, organisation and sequencing problems (putting things in order, or following patterns)
- Difficulties with reading, writing, spelling and sometimes maths
- More time and extra effort are needed to do things which can be very tiring
- Children/young people with dyslexia can have good/bad days for no apparent reason
- Many children/young people with dyslexia have low self-esteem
It is important to stress that there are ways around these things
- Dyslexia can be passed on through families. Relatives with similar difficulties can talk to the child/young person about strategies that they have used to help themselves
- Talk about dyslexia in a positive way
- Let your child know that you don’t have all of the answers because everyone is different but that you will find out together
- Find information from books, the internet and people who have an interest or understanding of dyslexia • Ask your child what they find easy, as well as what is difficult
- Look at different tasks and try to work out why something is easy or hard. Try to work out ways together of using strengths to help with those activities that are more challenging
- Talk about other things with your child. Dyslexia is only a small part of who they are. They will have other interests too
- Make sure that their school has all of the information that they need about your child
- Help the child/young person to write about, or say what dyslexia means to them and what others can do to help/support them. Share this with school
- Include siblings and other family members in discussions, so that they understand the positives and negatives and can help. If they are supportive, older brothers or sisters could hear the child/young person read or help with homework. Make sure that siblings do not tease. Be very careful if younger siblings are working at a higher level than the dyslexic child. Do not ask younger siblings to hear the child/young person read, as this will really harm their self-esteem
