Dyslexia – Helpful Tips and Resources
In addition to direct instruction, the following considerations may assist in school success so don’t be shy to ask your school for some or all of the following:
- extended time and/or oral exams;
- modification of assignments;
- reduced course load;
- major course of study in areas of individual strength;
- small classes; and
- technology aides such as text readers, smartpen, and spelling and grammar checks
For lots of practical hints and tips on things not to say or do, how to foster your child’s social-emotional health, how to help them with their homework and getting organised and many other useful topics, visit the website Tips for Parents and Families of Children with Dyslexia- IDA Hawaii which supplies a downloadable PDF file. The information is in point form so it is easy to read.
At home, you may also find the following websites useful: http://www.memory-improvement-tips.com/brain-games.html, http://www.spellingtraining.com/, http://www.freetypinggame.net/ and http://www.roktalk.co.uk/. ROKTalk is a web-based application that allows you to hear any web text read out loud. I haven’t looked into this one in a lot of detail, but it sounds good.
Programs and devices, such as talking word processors, word prediction programs, child-friendly voice recognition, and portable note-taking devices may assist with writing. The following website provides a great list of these devices: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-tools-writing.
Whatever resources you are considering, it is important to give your child options and then decide which systems work best for them.
