A Parent’s Plea: How Can I Help My Child With Reading At Home?

Recently, I came upon a “not infrequently” posed question from a teacher on behalf of a ‘distraught parent’:

“I work with a student whose parent was distraught after seeing the results of routine mid-year screening. As one can imagine, this student did poorly on the screening and reportedly has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The parent wanted to know “what could be done at home in the form of an app or workbook” to improve this student’s reading. Can you provide suggestions?”

Never do I find fault in parents asking school personnel or anyone else for assistance. BUT…I don’t believe that having students who have dyslexia “complete workbook pages and/or use an app” provides the assistance these students need. Not only do I believe this approach does not provide benefit, but also may cause additional stress and frustration for the family. More is not better, as Dr. Mark Seidenberg, frequently states. Please have a look at my past blog article explaining this “kitchen sink” approach.

WHAT ARE SOME BETTER SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS TO CONSIDER? HERE ARE SOME ANSWERS

I have many other suggestions, whether or not you, as a parent/caregiver, are the one who:

• will provide the services to help your child(ren).
• will seek more help in the school environment.
• will choose to obtain the services of another professional who specialize in working with students with dyslexia.

I offer several other suggestions for families—so just keep reading!

1st: GATHER INFORMATION FROM THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

I encourage all parents (whether or not their child(ren) have dyslexia) to inquire about how their child is being taught to read, write, and spell daily (often referred to as Tier 1 Instruction). Is the curriculum aligned to The Science of Reading or is the school continuing to use leveled readers/balanced literacy approach? Do spelling assessments mirror the phonics concepts taught? Or do students receive pre-prepared spelling lists with the words provided on Mondays? Then, they are asked to memorize them for the old-fashioned Friday spelling test (only to forget them the next week)? Oftentimes, these spelling lists are not coordinated with the concepts taught in class for reading.

What if your child requires additional intervention (often called ‘pull out’ or receives instruction from a reading specialist, intervention specialist, or special education teacher)? Does the intervention reinforce what is being taught in the general education classroom or are they being taught via an entirely different method or curriculum?? This may cause additional confusion–buyer beware.

Be sure you have accurate testing/assessment scores and understand them. If you don’t understand the scores, I urge you to ask school personnel to explain them to you in detail. If your child has had an evaluation and receives specialized instruction via an IEP (Individual Education Plan), be sure you understand all of this information. Do not hesitate to seek assistance!

Save all of the information, inclusive of old and new report cards and/or progress reports in a 3-ring binder organized chronologically. Also include written work samples! They are invaluable in terms of measuring progress and providing some diagnostic insight into issues your child may have. You may wish to document conversations you have with school personnel. It is perfectly fine to request an Evaluation for special education services—best to do it in writing.

2nd: TAKE SOME TIME TO EDUCATE YOURSELF

Put on your reading glasses and get a cup of something warm to drink as you open your computer. If you think your child has dyslexia, there is no better website than The International Dyslexia Association. You also may wish to check out Decoding Dyslexia and/or The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. In fact, Coursers offers a FREE course called Overcoming Dyslexia. If you want to learn more about literacy, check out The Reading League. Once you have delved into these websites, you will want MORE! And, ANYTHING Dr. Maryanne Wolf writes is worth reading.

If you go to my website, you will find listings of My Favorite Resources, which has the aforementioned websites and podcasts, as well as books, videos, etc. I could keep you busy learning for a L.O.N.G. time. And please, give yourself the time you need.

Learn how the brain learns to read and spell. Your students and/or children need to learn what is needed in order to create a literate brain. An easy way for  you to start your journey is to have a look at my book, Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen. I explain this process, as well as explain dyslexia in a fun and easy to understand format. It even has a glossary you can refer to as you are reading and listening to other resources and speaking with school personnel. It is so important for kids to have ‘skin in the game’. Even for kids, fully understanding their own roles in their own learning is an imperative. .

Neuron Characters from Calling All Neurons! Image by Jamie Sale © Lori Josephson 2024

Trust me when I tell you that you will be better able to help your child(ren) if you are knowledgeable. You will also be better able to discuss your child(ren)’s strengths and weaknesses more effectively with all stakeholders.

3rd: IF ALL ELSE FAILS, THINK ABOUT HIRING AN OUTSIDE PROFESSIONAL…BUT…TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

Think about how many times per week your students and/or your child(ren) have gym, art, or music classes. Typically, perhaps 2 times per week gym, but more often than not, these ‘specials’ are inserted into the school schedule once per week. Now think about if you have a child who excels in music, art, or an athletic endeavor. Do you hesitate to seek additional music lessons, say for learning an instrument, or art lessons, or coaching in a specific sport? Do you hesitate to purchase the equipment needed for your child(ren) to play on an athletic team? Most often, parents do not hesitate to provide what is needed to participate in many of these additional activities.

What about if your child needs additional assistance in order to learn to read, spell, and write? You can try to work with your school personnel (and I think you should) or you can place your child in a private and/or special school, but that can be very expensive—and all the while, time is ticking away and your child(ren) who are struggling to attain literacy are going to school daily and facing repeated frustration. Some have referred to this daily harangue as ‘trauma’.

Perhaps it is most beneficial to just hire someone with appropriate training to work with your child(ren) in an atmosphere fostering understanding, care, and ultimately—growth and success. I actually worked with these kiddos privately for a majority of my career. I can honestly share with you that the parents of my students continue to thank me over and over again for being their child’s savior at a time when both the child and the parent were on the brink of both anxiety and exhaustion from the stress of attending school in an environment where the child felt ‘rushed’ and ‘anxiety’ was the feeling most often expressed in one way or another. The tutorial environment was the antithesis: calm, appropriately paced, and student driven.

Sometimes, this makes all the difference. Both the children and the parents felt at ease, as if one could palpably feel the weight of the ‘school day’ just evaporate. Just think about what a difference this could make in the life of a child.

Finally, let us not forget that although parents are their child(ren)’s first teachers, not all parents are cut out to teach and remediate the literacy challenges which may be present.

HERE’S SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HELPFUL FOR ALL FAMILIES TO ENRICH YOUR CHILD’S “LITERACY JOURNEY“

• Read as a family! It is important to read to and with your child(ren). Discuss what you read, as sharing literacy experiences develops empathy, builds vocabulary, and improves background knowledge. Even if your child(ren) can read, continue to read to and with them—it can make all the difference. And don’t forget to model reading in front of your kids (not on a phone!).
• Allow your child(ren) to listen to books or children’s podcasts that may be at a higher level than they themselves can handle. So, for example, a first grader can listen to and comprehend a book like Charlotte’s Web even though the text may be beyond what they can decode.
• Be sure you are aware of the skills your child(ren) are working on both during the school day and perhaps in the tutorial situation.
• Experience life with your child(ren). For example, cooking with your children ⬇️ ⬇️⬇️

AND FYI….

This FB Group Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned In College started in August of 2019, right in the throes of the pandemic. When I became a Moderator in June of 2020, the group had grown to 60,000 members. Now, in January of 2025, the group has over 240,000 members.

What a journey this has been for group members, who range from both general and special education teachers of all age ranges, school administrators, speech-language pathologists, pre-service education majors, university professors, special education advocates, and PARENTS seeking assistance for their children, most of whom are struggling readers and writers.

Featured image above by saulo-leite from Pexels