ti wlil aekt a lwhie to gte esud ot dinareg tihs dan ti’s ton syae. Welcome to the daily life of a dyslexic child faced with reading. If it only took you a few seconds to decode those words, a DYS child has to put in considerable effort. And, as we all know, learning to read is one of the essential skills for success at school. It is also a source of imagination, a springboard for curiosity, and a workout for memory. Sadly, the weight of reading bears heavily on the dyslexic pupil. They want to learn, but they end up dreading this particular kind of learning. So how can you make your dyslexic child want to read?

Boost your little DYS child’s self-confidence

They may have already heard remarks such as: “But it’s simple!” when, for them, it really isn’t simple at all. “Try harder!” when they’re already putting in twice the effort of their classmates or siblings. Your dyslexic child’s self-confidence is fragile. They are aware of their difficulty, and if not, you need to take the time to explain it to them. Their difficulties have a very concrete cause that is not their fault, and they will learn to manage it with your help and that of their teachers.

Put your child in favourable learning conditions. A relaxed, calm child will have a better chance of discovering a love of reading while keeping their self-esteem intact.

This could mean choosing a calming playlist they enjoy, or doing some meditation with breathing exercises, such as those offered by the app Petit Bambou, for example.

Before starting to read aloud, encourage them to chat with you about a topic they love. This works very well to put them at ease before the exercise.

Finally, don’t hesitate to remind them of their recent progress and successes, and to highlight the results of their efforts in any area at all. That way, they’ll be ready to tackle their reading with solid confidence!

Making reading easier

It isn’t the meaning of words that trips your child up, it’s decoding those same words on the page. To ease this cognitive load that takes up all their effort when decoding letters, change the structure and layout of texts to make them more accessible for your dyslexic child.

Using a reading guide, for example, helps focus the reader’s attention on the line being read. Doesn’t that give clear results? Try reading with the text held upright rather than flat on the table. A board or a table easel would work well for this.

The ideal font, for instance, would be size 14 or 16 and sans serif. So go for fonts such as ARIAL, TAHOMA, VERDANA, or CENTURY GOTHIC, among others. OPEN DYSLEXIC is, in fact, a font specifically designed for this disorder.

Spacing between letters is also a factor that helps children with this learning disorder read more easily. Generally speaking, it’s best to give the text as much breathing room as possible.

Finally, left-aligned text is preferable. Indeed, text with justified formatting (a very even block effect) is an additional obstacle to reading.

Prioritising understanding of the text

All the effort spent decoding words prevents your young dyslexic reader from having the resources left to understand the meaning of what they are reading. How can you give them a love of reading if they can’t enjoy the fruits of their efforts by grasping the meaning?

Here are a few tips to help them better connect with the story they need to read.

Before reading, suggest that your child take some time to look at the title, the pictures, any words that stand out… and ask them a few questions that could open them up to the context of the book:

  • What does this title mean to you?
  • What do you think this story is going to be about?
  • Do these characters/places/time period remind you of anything you already know?
  • Why do you need to read it?

While reading, take the time to regularly pause the exercise to ask a few questions that highlight their understanding of the text, such as: Why does this character act this way? How do they feel? Why do you think that is?

At the end of the reading, the conversation continues. Invite them to sum up their interpretation of the story in a few words. If they haven’t grasped certain passages, gently guide them towards the actual meaning of the text by asking other questions and rereading with them the sentence that might shed more light on it.

Making reading playful and something you share together

The best example you can set for your child to make them want to read on their own is to read yourself! The famous bedtime story, the one that gently closes the day, the shared moment when you are fully devoted to them, is precious. Stopped at the end of a chapter, it makes them want to come back to it, with all the suspense and imagination it brings a few minutes before bedtime.

What if we added a little magic to the reading ritual? An improvised teepee, a den under a sheet, fairy lights, soft cushions, a stuffed animal guarding the books… all great ideas for setting up an inviting, magical reading nook.

Nothing replaces the book itself, but since understanding is essential to wanting to read, audiobooks can work wonders for a dyslexic child’s relationship with reading. By freeing your child from the effort of decoding, audiobooks give direct access to the meaning of the story and let your child engage with the act of reading by following along with the printed text.

You’ll find some lovely audiobooks on the dys-positif website: dys-positif.

The adventure of reading is far less daunting when you take it on together! Why not accompany your dyslexic child in their learning, holding their hand through every obstacle? In practice, get comfortable together to share a reading moment. Let them sound out the words and sentences, and when they get stuck, step in so they don’t lose the thread of their story. This shared reading will bring a lightness to the exercise and make it so much more enjoyable!

Drawing on the expertise of professionals

You’re already doing a wonderful job helping your DYS child learn to read. Don’t hesitate to hand over part of that effort to professionals who specialise in dyslexia. Online speech therapists on the ORA platform use remediation strategies with learning and reading-automation processes: knowledge of grapheme-phoneme correspondences, and word decoding and recognition techniques.

Given how little consideration is often given to their intellectual abilities, a dyslexic pupil can also be supported by a child psychologist via video call. ORA’s psychologists specialised in DYS disorders then take on the child’s difficulty as part of a more holistic approach, essential to their success both at school and personally.

Finally, teachers specialised in DYS disorders, who offer online tutoring adapted for children who are dyslexic, dyscalculic, dysorthographic, dyspraxic, autistic or have ADHD, are also by your side, anywhere in the world, whenever suits you.