Day #243 – Tips for Working with Kids who have Dyslexia

As some of you may know, I am a teacher by training. I’m now a full time mom, but the teaching element has definitely continued into my new life. When I was taking some continuing education, I went to a weekend class on dyslexia and the brain. It was a while ago, so some of the facts are fuzzy, but I know what I took away practically for working with kids with dyslexia when I was tutoring. When studying the brain and dyslexia there was a difference and the right and left side of the brain as to what side “fired up” when exposed to reading. The class I went to said that the left side of the brain was having a hard time communicating properly with the right side of the brain when it came to the intake of reading. There were exercises that seemed to help make the connections happen.
1. Have Kids Physically Cross the Midline of their Body - To help the brain make the connections it needs to, it helps to have kids physically cross their bodies. So, punching right to left and then left to write while spelling helps. Kicking across the body can make a difference. If this is not clear, I found a YouTube video showing a child crossing the midline of their body while working on learning. I’m not exactly sure what went along with the buttons she was hitting, but this shows what I mean when I say “have them physically cross the center of their bodies.” The physical element in learning this way helps also.  

2. Have Kids Learn to be Use a Variety of Senses to Experience Reading - If you catch it young, you can have your kids work on writing and spelling in more tactile ways. You may have seen my post on writing with shaving cream. You can also have them write with rice or paint bags. Anything that can help them have a more tactile, physical or visual experience with writing helps.
3. Embrace Technology - Kids with dyslexia often do better trying to learn to write using computers. Dyslexia is different for every individual, but you can see if embracing a keyboard can help your child succeed.

I would encourage you to keep up on the research. These are just a few tips I’ve learned along the way. Like I said, dyslexia does effect people differently, but I wanted to pass on what I have learned.