Study Skills for Parents
Study Skills - How Parents can help
In the first instance where Dyslexia has been established as the cause of the child’s learning difficulty it is recommended that Parents consult with Teaching staff and in particular with the SENCO- (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) at their child’s school.
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Parents should be reassured that their position on homework is not to teach but to “reinforce” the work already being done at school. To that extent it is important to remember that as a Dyslexic your child may be finding school a difficult experience and you will need to ensure that any homework sessions do not simply become equally stressful. Your role is simply to go over material taught in class and help to ensure that your child understands.
In general it is important to follow the SENCO’s advice, do not overload your child, try and make sure that homework can be conducted in a quiet place without distractions and if possible make it enjoyable.
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Equally it is important that you read to your child and encourage your child to read in order to familiarise him/her with the sound and rhythm of words. If possible obtain story books that have an accompanying CD so that your child can use “sight” and “sound” in tandem to help increase word recognition.
As a general guide in terms of avoiding stress and taking your child beyond his/her reading level at Indigo we recommend the Five Finger Word Test. Ask your child to start reading from any page and count on their fingers every time they “fluff” or fail with a word. If they count up to five words on their fingers on that page, then the level may be too difficult.
Age 11 to 16
As your child progresses through the school system his/her Dyslexia will still be present and can continue to cause problems right up to University level. (Further dedicated help is available at University, please see Indigo’s page - Help for Higher Education Students) However the learning needs of your child as addressed by the SENCO possibly consolidated with an Individual Learning Plan(ILP) or an LEA(Local Education Authority) statutory “Statement” of needs should have been passed on from school to school as part of a continuing process designed to address his/her Dyslexia.
By now it’s likely that both your child and his Teachers should have an increasing awareness of where his/her strengths and weaknesses lie.
However as the curriculum intensifies, for example with the likelihood of future exams, assessments and specific course related homework, it may become necessary for Parents to play a more significant role in organisational support rather than simply continuing to reinforce academic subject knowledge.
Dyslexics sometimes have difficulty in processing complex instructions involving dates and times or organising random tasks into a schedule based on the order of priority. Where these circumstances apply Parents at home should consider devising their own wall charts, School Activity Diary, Post It notes, stick on Tabs etc or whatever to simplify the increasing flow of information into digestible portions so that their son/daughter is in the right place at the right time with the correct text books and assignments in the school bag.
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