Parenting with Dyslexia: Tips for Reading with Your Child

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People with dyslexia find it difficult to recognise the different sounds that make up words and relate these to letters on a page.

As a parent with dyslexia, this can be particularly challenging when your child starts showing an interest in reading or when they begin learning phonics at school.

How can you make sure you are not passing on any nervousness or hesitation to your child? And that you are helping them to learn concepts correctly that your own brain struggles to process?

We chatted to Lynn Lovell, Head of Professional Practice at , who shared some top tips for parents who are in this situation with their child.

Family bonding with a little boy's father and aunt reading a book to him inside their home. — Image caption,
We spoke to the British Dyslexia Association to get some top tips if you're a parent with dyslexia.

Where to get started with words and language

“The first step in reading and writing is exposure to language,” explains Lynn. “The more they hear, the more children will be able to recognise and understand words when they see them."

Using lots of varied or rich language at home is a great starting point for young children. It gives them a wider bank of vocabulary that will help them recognise words when they start learning to read.

“Try to pronounce words as clearly as possible,” says Lynn. “This will help children hear and recognise all the different sounds.” You could try slowing down when talking or putting on a silly voice.

Being multisensory is also a great way to help your child learn about words. “Anything that’s tactile and engages more than one of your senses at the same time is great for boosting memory and helping kids learn new words.”

“You could try writing letters in sand, shaving foam or flour,” explains Lynn. “Just make sure to say the words or sounds out loud as you play.”

Other examples of multisensory play using words and letter sounds are tapping out words on a tambourine, clapping with your hands or playing hopscotch with phonics.

By breaking down words that you are saying out loud in all of these different and fun ways, your child can use this understanding as a springboard into the world of phonics and reading.

Find out more about different types of sensory play.

A dad and his daughter sit on a bed and look at a book together. — Image caption,
You don't have to read books word for word with babies and toddlers. See what pictures they take an interest in and go from there.

What can you do if you struggle to read with your child?

Reading to babies and toddlers is a great bonding exercise and it’s also an important step in developing their speech and language skills.

As a parent with dyslexia, you might feel nervous about reading out loud with your child. But there are lots of ways to make this an enjoyable activity for both of you.

The first thing to remember is that you don’t necessarily have to follow the story or read the words in a book.

From the moment they are born, your child will benefit from looking at pictures and hearing you talk about them. You could make up your own story or just talk about the pictures that catch their attention.

But what about when your child is older and starts to recognise more words?

“Listening to audiobooks together is a great alternative,” says Lynn. “You could listen to an audiobook and follow along with the physical copy.”

“This ensures that reading together is still fun for you but eases any pressure you might feel to get words right.”

You can find lots of audiobook apps in your phone’s app store, or you can borrow free audiobooks from your local library.

To check to see if your library is signed up for an online audiobook service, visit the to find your local library’s website.

“There are also online shops which sell dyslexia-friendly books,” adds Lynn. “These are books with a specific font, accessible layouts and spacing and off-white paper. All of these elements can help make reading easier.”

Not passing on the nervousness

Even if you follow all of these tips, it doesn’t mean that all those nerves around reading aloud will go away.

But what can parents do to stop those nerves from transferring to their children?

“As hard as we try, it is really hard to control nerves,” says Lynn. “And we should also remember that children are very astute.”

“It’s very likely that you won’t be able to hide these nerves, and your child will pick up on them.”

But this doesn’t have to influence your child’s view on reading.

“I believe that honesty breeds respect, and one of the best things you can do is admit to your child how you’re feeling.”

You could say, ‘Mummy / Daddy sometimes finds reading a bit difficult, but that’s OK because we can learn together.’

Your child may even feel proud and motivated to read more if they think they are helping you.

A mid adult woman and her daughter lying down in bed and reading a book together. It is the morning and they are both wearing pyjamas. — Image caption,
There are lots of resources available that can help make reading and learning phonics fun for both you and your child.

Teaching phonics and letter sounds with dyslexia

Practising phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It helps children hear, identify and use different letter sounds that distinguish one word from another.

Children usually develop an awareness of these letter sounds at around 4 or 5 years old.

“Recognising these different sounds is a core difficulty for those with dyslexia,” explains Lynn. “But lots of people, especially parents, also struggle with phonics.”

Find out more about phonics, phonemes and phonological awareness.

A mum and son are sitting in a classroom looking at a children's book called jack's purple pet cat. — Image caption,
Phonological awareness is the understanding that words are made up of sounds and how they come together.

“The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to do this on your own,” says Lynn. “There are lots of resources that can help you and your child.”

One idea is to find YouTube channels that will read the letter sounds out for you. “Make sure they are using British English.”

You could check out CBeebies’ , which has lots of easy-to-digest videos that explain all the different letter sounds.

“Some YouTube channels will show you actions to go along with each letter sound. This is a great activity to do together and supports memory, as well as providing a visual aid.”

Above all, Lynn says, try and just have fun with your child. “There are board games and flash cards you can buy that can turn phonics into a game.”

Having fun with letter sounds and phonics helps your child to engage, take the lead and experiment with their language skills in a way that’s comfortable for them and not stressful for you.