Dear Parent Teacher Conference,
Earlier this year, my daughter’s teacher recognized characteristics of dyslexia. We had also been concerned about her performance on reading assessments so she began receiving extra support to strengthen her foundational skills.
We are encouraged by the instruction she’s receiving at school and want to build on it at home. Learning to read with dyslexia takes extra effort, and we hope to support her in ways that feel positive and encouraging. She doesn’t always want guidance from her parents, so we’re looking for strategies that help her progress without creating extra tension at home.
What are some ways we can help her at home that are both positive and sustainable?
– Between a Book and a Hard Place in Erie
Dear Between a Book and a Hard Place,
First, thank you for your questions and for partnering with your child’s support team. We care about your experience and have resources to support you in taking your next step. Here are a few ideas to get you started as you learn more about the unique needs of your student.
Connect with her teacher: To better understand how the characteristics of dyslexia may be affecting your student’s learning, connect with their teacher. The teacher can share helpful information about dyslexia, discuss your student’s current performance, and work with you to identify meaningful instructional goals and areas of progress. They can also explain the strategies currently being used in the classroom and suggest brief, manageable ways (5-10 minutes) to practice previously taught skills at home.
Dyslexia looks different at various stages of development because its observable features shift as academic demands increase. Collaborating with your student and the school support team is a great way to discuss barriers to learning and the accommodations your student is already utilizing.
Access a community of support: Understanding how learning difficulties impact both you and your student is an important part of this process, and you’ve already begun that work by reaching out to us. Remember that you are not alone and learning how to best support your student also means making sure you have support as well. Connecting with other parents facing similar challenges through parent engagement opportunities can help build that community of support. These opportunities within St. Vrain Valley Schools can be found on the Dyslexia Task Force page.
Take the long view and keep joy in mind: When working on homework, manage complex tasks one step at a time, and communicate difficulties with your student’s teacher. It’s okay to stop and take breaks.
Be mindful that reading difficulties, including dyslexia, are not your fault. It’s encouraging to know that the strategies that help children with dyslexia are excellent practices for supporting all readers. You do not need to have special knowledge or skills to be supportive.
When things feel too difficult, keep in mind that your goal is to model a love of learning and do your best to build your student’s confidence when learning takes extra time.
Approach homework with the goal of collaboration and to unleash thinking: You can try sitting beside her during assignments, reading instructions aloud, and allowing her to dictate her responses while you write them down. These small adjustments can reduce frustration and help her stay focused on the task itself. For reading-heavy assignments, audiobooks can be a valuable support, allowing her to engage with the content and ideas without being slowed down by decoding challenges. Thoughtful accommodations like these give her the opportunity to demonstrate her understanding and strengths, rather than having her learning limited by the mechanics of reading and writing.
Celebrate and manage effort: Children who struggle with reading often work twice as hard to achieve the same results as their peers. Acknowledge that work ethic explicitly: “I saw how you kept trying even when that word was tricky.” Every small success deserves recognition, such as decoding a difficult word, self-correcting an error, or simply staying engaged with a challenging text. As previously mentioned, take a break when students show that they are maxed out.
Find her strengths and support them: Does she love building, drawing, storytelling, or working with her hands? Double down on those activities. Success in one area fuels resilience in challenging ones. Let her use those strengths to show understanding – drawing the main character or problem in a story, for example, rather than always writing about it. Keep in mind that hobbies are a way that we all manage stress and difficulties.
Keep reading for pleasure alive by reading together as often as possible. If bedtime stories have started to feel more like a source of stress than enjoyment, it may be helpful to pause and try a different approach. Being open to “ear reading” through audiobooks can give her more choice and a greater sense of agency, especially when you select high-interest books that align with her interests. Audiobooks allow her to focus on understanding the story, building more advanced vocabulary, and experiencing the pleasure of being immersed in a book – without the added challenge of decoding print. The larger goal is to support her growth as a reader while preserving her confidence, curiosity, and identity as a reader as her skills continue to develop.
Reading difficulties – whether related to dyslexia or another cause – do not define a child’s intelligence, creativity, or potential for future success. Many striving readers grow into confident, capable readers with the right support and time. Try to approach your child with gentle curiosity about where they are in their journey and how they’re learning to navigate it. You may be surprised by the insight, resilience, and perspective they share, and your encouragement can make all the difference as they continue to grow.
– Parent Teacher Conference