Back to School Tips for Your Child with Dyslexia

Going back to school can be a time of high levels of anxiety, excitement, fear, or sadness. It often comes with a complicated mix of emotions for both students and parents. The additional challenges of attending school with dyslexia can amplify these emotions for a lot of students. Fear of failure and fear of the unknown can be powerful feelings when entering the new school year.

Creating a sense of predictability can help ease these emotions. The use of consistent routines and positive habits at home allow children to experience feelings of stability and positive affect. Our brains work better when in a positive emotional state, making it an important part of learning and development. As advocates for your child, it is also important to ensure that their school is doing their job of helping to form positive habits and setting your child up for academic success.

Here are some tips for setting children up for success both at home and at school:

At Home

Establish a consistent routine early on

Set a routine in place, and stick to it. The more consistent you are, the easier it will be for kids to follow it on “auto-pilot" in the long term. Include reading/writing practice time, homework time, organization time, and time for them to do the things they love. (Go here for ideas of how to make reading practice fun). Use a visual schedule with images along with words to help them understand what their day will look like.

Sleep, nutrition, exercise

It’s important for kids to get lots of sleep, well-balanced meals, and exercise as it has a direct effect on mood, executive function, and therefore learning and development.

Get them talking

If you have a hard time getting your child to open up about their school day, try asking them specific questions such as “What was the hardest thing you had to do today?” or “What was the best thing that happened today?”. It’s important to know what’s going on at school in order to know if they are being set up for success.

At School

Establish a relationship with their teacher and principal

Set up channels of communication as early as possible with your child’s teacher and principal. You, your child, and your child’s school should ideally all be working together as a team to set your child up for academic success. By communicating with them early on, you send a clear message that this is your goal.

Ensure accommodations are in place on day 1

Just as you want your child to form positive habits and routines at home, it’s important that your child's school is putting some in place as well. Your child's school needs to be in the habit of providing consistent accommodations to your child right from the beginning of the school year. You’ll need to check in with your child often to see if they are, which is why it’s important to be able to get them talking about their school days.

I wish everyone success and happiness in the new school year!