The Ultimate Guide to Dyslexia: Understanding, Supporting, and Thriving

Imagine being a student with dyslexia who has to go to school each day. When a teacher tells the class to copy your class assignments off the board, it might take you twice as long to write details down as your neurotypical peers. As the school day forges ahead, you might find yourself with work left unfinished. Numbers in math and words in spelling may get mixed up. Once you’re home, it might take you hours to complete a homework assignment that most of your classmates can finish in a half hour. When struggling with dyslexia shows up in the form of poor grades, this can lead students to feel like school work is pointless. Dyslexia can present overwhelming experiences for students each day. 

When you’re a parent of a child with dyslexia, it can be helpful to get on the same proverbial page as your child. Gaining a better understanding of dyslexia can help parents to find the right support for their students. In turn, this can lead to a student finding success in academics and beyond. Read on to learn more from the Ultimate Guide to Dyslexia with a focus on understanding students, supporting them, and helping them to thrive.

Understanding dyslexia: definition, details, and diagnosis

• Start with the basics. The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Students with dyslexia have difficulties with phonological processing. Dyslexia is also characterized by difficulties with accurate, fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. 
• Effects of dyslexia. Having dyslexia can lead students to experience problems with reading comprehension. In turn, this can negatively affect the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. The effects of dyslexia don’t stop in the academic world; when students struggle with dyslexia, they may also experience issues with confidence and self-esteem, especially in a classroom or school setting. 
• It’s not all bad. While dyslexia can affect reading, writing, and spelling abilities, it doesn’t reflect a student’s level of intelligence. It is so important for students with dyslexia to know that there is nothing wrong with their brain; dyslexic people have brains that are structured differently than a typical brain. This comes with many strengths.  
• More about the brain. Dyslexic brains are literally wired differently. For readers who are fluent, the brain streamlines all of the processes that are required to read and understand the reading material. In a neurotypical brain, neural pathways connect, which allows readers to process and comprehend words relatively quickly. In a dyslexic brain, there tends to be disruptions or slowdowns in these neural pathways; this makes it difficult to decode words and to identify letter sounds. 
• A diagnosis is key. Testing for dyslexia is an important part of a student’s journey. Once you have a dyslexia diagnosis, this knowledge is power. Students who go through school undiagnosed can be misunderstood and frustrated, especially in classroom or academic settings.

Supporting your child with dyslexia: There is hope, and there is help.

• Know what’s possible. You can help to empower your student by finding the best kind of support for his or her dyslexia. Work with their classroom teachers. Advocate for them at school, and seek professional help from educated experts. Our dyslexia therapy services at Dyslexia on Demand can help to create and unlock neural pathways in the brains of students. This empowers students to succeed in and out of the classroom. 
• Work with a trusted curriculum. At Dyslexia on Demand, we implement a proven Orton-Gillingham based dyslexia therapy program. Our Take Flight therapy program was developed to enable students with dyslexia to both achieve and maintain better fluency, word recognition, and comprehension. Our programs can also target dysgraphia.
• Employ the help of experts. Certified Academic Language Therapists, also known as CALTs, are highly educated and specially trained. Our team of CALTs at Dyslexia on Demand works with students to implement therapeutic dyslexia intervention.
• Convenience can help with consistency. Our mission is to make dyslexia therapy accessible to all students. Our model, which includes frequent, one-on-one online sessions, is efficient in its implementation, effective for students, and convenient for families. 

Together, we can help your student to thrive. 

• Personalized progress. Dyslexia on Demand’s programs have been designed to help conquer your student’s unique academic challenges. While we follow a trusted curriculum, CALTs can tailor sessions to your student’s specific needs. Our program operates with a whole child approach that focuses on social and emotional aspects of learning as well.
• More than just academic success. Students who find success in dyslexia therapy also gain skills like responsibility, independence, and self-advocacy. We want to help your child with the transition from working in a therapy setting to thriving in the real world. 

Are you ready to help your student with dyslexia succeed? Whether you want to learn more or you’re interested in booking a free consultation, reach out to us at Dyslexia on Demand. Visit our website for more details.