How to help your child journey through Dyslexia

How to help your child journey through Dyslexia

Parental guidance with the power tool called Research

If you are a parent and your child has just been diagnosed with a learning challenge, you’re likely to have a lot of questions. Pediatricians, educational psychologists, and professional support groups can help assess and determine your child’s condition. They can also guide you, as a parent, to help your child face this learning difference with effective strategies. However, apart from the external support and guidance, you will require sources of reliable information that are directly accessible to you.

If parents understand what their child is going through, they are better equipped to make decisions for their child. For this, it is crucial to gear yourself with deeper knowledge about your child’s learning condition.


Using Research as your power tool

Many people, teachers even, and almost all parents are not aware of dyslexia or other learning differences. It is important to focus on getting a deeper understanding in order to better educate yourself and advocate for your child.

Let’s explore the benefits of doing your own research as a parent.

  • You are better informed to advocate for your child in school – When you are able to understand how and why your child is experiencing this condition, it is easier to take the next step. And that is to make their school teachers aware of their condition, if they are not already aware. Many times, teachers complain of a student’s progress without realising the possibility that they may be struggling with a learning difference.
  • Reduces your stress – Oftentimes, parents end up comparing their child with the best-performing student in class. However, when it comes to a child with a learning challenge, the complexity of comparing is not even the major issue. As a parent, you are already worried about your child’s progress and their underperformance at school. However, through research, you will know more and can help your child in overcoming reading difficulties, and other challenges associated with their learning differences.
  • You can educate your child about their condition – You are in a better position to help your child understand what they are going through. You can use the right words to help them get comfortable with simply being the way they are, creating a confident and safe environment. Often, kids with learning challenges experience being judged for their overall academic performance. This includes doing the simplest of things incorrectly, like reading and writing, or listening and focusing. However, when you make them aware of the ‘why’ of their condition and help them enhance their abilities, they have a better chance of improving in a better learning environment without judgment.

In gaining and deriving deeper knowledge of these learning challenges, you can help your child destigmatize their condition. You can help them understand how their brain is wired differently, but that doesn’t mean that they are not capable of learning what any other child can learn and accomplish.


Getting started with research papers

You may come across several research articles, updating you about dyslexia and other learning differences. Reading through these studies can get overwhelming.

The trick is to absorb the relevant information that you need to understand and move on to the next research article.

Research articles typically consist of the title, authors, publication, abstract, introduction, methods, results and discussion. You don’t have to go through every section, including the methods and results.

The key sections that you need to focus on are:

  • Abstract – This section gives you a brief summary of the research done, the associated questions, and the results found.
  • Introduction – This section will typically provide the insights of the research and why it is being conducted, including pertinent stats, and references to other studies performed. Take your time to read this part and allow yourself to resonate with the information provided.
  • Discussion – This section will primarily interpret the results of the study done and discuss the findings. You may also come across the benefits, including the limitations of the research conducted.

We know that research papers can get overwhelming and exhausting for you, especially if you are not accustomed to reading them frequently. However, the more you read, the easier you will find it to comprehend essential information.

That said, while you are highly concerned about helping your child, you’re going to source a number of articles online. We understand the need to get the right information. So, we’ve also put together a few relevant sources that you can reach out to know more about your child’s condition.

These sites will help you comprehend learning challenges in a simpler manner, without having to struggle with too many jargons.

Helping your child with their learning differences like overcoming reading difficulties, and so on, doesn’t have to get extremely challenging. It gets easier as you progress with the knowledge you gain through research and guidance.

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