Ways to help at home

• Maintain or build self esteem and confidence
• Be encouraging and find things that the child is good at – praise for effort
• Provide support for homework (but don’t write your child’s work or do the maths homework)
• Help your child to be organised, establish a sensible routine
• Encourage hobbies, interests and out of school activities and find time to listen
• Try to find ways of enjoying books together
• Where possible involve your child in finding practical solutions to problems
• Tackle hard tasks in small steps
• Be consistent but not unrealistic
• Dyslexic children often need to be taught things that other children pick up without specific adult help. e.g. how to tidy a drawer,
• Try to maintain a sense of humour!

Helping with homework

• Try to find a regular time and create routine
• Helpful if child can work away from distractions but be near enough to ask for help when needed
• Agree a sensible time limit with the child’s teacher
• Set a timer. Several short bursts could be more effective for learning than one long session
• Help by reading instructions and long passages when needed
• It is useful for your child to have a friend who won’t mind being phoned to check on homework