For Parents with a Child Newly Identified as Dyslexic
You just found out that your child is dyslexic. Take a deep breath.
You are very likely feeling a wide range of emotions, as we all have. You might be terrified, you might feel isolated, not know where to go, or that the rug just got pulled out from under you.
But please know that your child is smart and, with your love and support, it’s going to be more than OK. And, twenty percent of the population is dyslexic so you are definitely not alone.
Let’s start with the positive perspective: everyone can learn to read, no matter what age, and dyslexia is a real gift. It’s not uncommon to hear people say that dyslexics have superpowers. They think differently. They are very often creative, big-picture thinkers and top-down problem solvers with real visual-spatial strengths. Some rise to the very top of their field in such areas as entrepreneurship, architecture, science & engineering, and the arts. Read more on Impact Dyslexia’s website on the gift of dyslexia.
But, while people with dyslexia can learn to read, it will always be more work and less automatic than the rest of the population. The brain science behind how to teach dyslexics to read is very well understood, which is through systematic phonics instruction over many years, starting as young as possible.
What is Dyslexia?
Let’s jump right in with several definitions of dyslexia, starting with its origin. The word dyslexia was coined in German in the late 19th century from dys ‘difficult’ + Greek lexis ‘speech’, taken as “reading” — or simply, difficulty reading.
The Oxford Dictionary defines dyslexia as:
A general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.
Yale University is a leader in dyslexia research and its definition is:
“Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia takes away an individual’s ability to read quickly and automatically, and to retrieve spoken words easily, but it does not dampen one’s creativity and ingenuity.”
In other words, dyslexia makes it difficult to read but is independent of intelligence. In fact, many dyslexics are above average in intelligence or even gifted and have a ‘sea of strengths surrounding an island of weakness.’ The island of weakness is something called phonetic decoding, or challenges going from letters to sounds to words to meaning. And, it’s a spectrum from mild to severe.
Know that you and your family are now on your dyslexia journey and that Impact Dyslexia’s mission is to support you.
Here are our recommendations on where to start:
We highly recommend the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz of Yale University, who is one of the world’s preeminent experts on reading and dyslexia. This book was completely updated and revised as of 2020 and is excellent. We recommend you read it thoroughly and then re-read it as your child gets older as it spans from before kindergarten through college and adults. Yale also has excellent resources on their website.
[Please know that we greatly appreciate your purchasing this book through the affiliate link provided. We receive a small amount of money for every purchase you make.]
The second recommendation is to check out Understood.org, which has materials for parents of newly diagnosed dyslexics and on the full range of learning differences. This is especially important because it is not uncommon for dyslexics to have ‘comorbidities’ or other conditions as well. The most common include ADHD, dysgraphia, and anxiety.
And finally, here are two videos for you. This is a four-minute TED video called What is Dyslexia that’s a good overview of dyslexia:
And, here’s another TED video called The True Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind.
Now, stop and take another deep breath. Know that you are not alone and your child is smart. Everything will be ok, your child will be fine, they will be successful and they will be happy. So be sure to maintain your confidence.
While the road ahead will be hard for you and your child and there is much to learn and do, we’re confident that with your love and support, you and your child will come to know their gifts within their sea of strengths as well as their interests. The key for you and your family to make your dyslexia journey ultimately successful is to never forget to focus on your child’s gifts and nurture their interests, which will help them maintain their self-confidence and sense of self-worth.
If you haven’t already, please sign up for Impact Dyslexia’s email list so we can continue to support you and your family.
Impact Dyslexia is a new non-profit for families focused on empowering the gift of dyslexia and creating bold solutions to the dyslexia crisis.
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