Supporting a Struggling Student: Lessons from Parenting a Child with Dyslexia

I recently published an article for Motherly about my own experience parenting a child with a learning disability. My daughter has dyslexia. The path to getting her the help she needed was not always a clear one. I know first hand how daunting it can feel when your child is struggling at school. There are so many options from tutoring, to receiving resources within the school, getting a neuropsychological evaluation, to shifting your child into a special education setting. Many of these options are costly and it is difficult to know which options are going to help.

Tips for Your Struggling Student:

Tip # 1

Get your child evaluated earlier rather than later. A neuropsychological evaluation can help tease apart what your child is struggling with at school and this evaluation can help you choose the appropriate intervention. These evaluations can be costly, but there are lower-fee options available at university and hospital settings. Depending on your state, the department of education is often required to provide a basic evaluation if a child is exhibiting below average performance in school.

Tip # 2

Be sure to include your child on the feedback session following the evaluation. Allowing your child to see their strengths along with areas of growth will help bolster their confidence during this fragile time.

Tip # 3

Find a tutor/mentor with whom your child feels connected. This relationship matters! Your child needs to feel supported and challenged by this person but most importantly, they need to feel safe.

Tip # 4

Create open lines of communication with your child's school. Attend IEP and or IESP meetings and feel empowered to advocate on their behalf. You know them well and they need to hear your voice!

Tip # 5

Focus on your child's strengths. They already feel the weight of their challenges. Take the load off by helping them celebrate their super strengths. My daughter now openly talks about her dyslexia with her peers and adults and sees her dyslexia as her superpower. She sees the world differently and she is proud of her journey even if it wasn't always a smooth ride.

Tip # 7

Find something your child enjoys outside of school and allow your child to feel great in this area. Don't just prioritize academics because when a child is feeling depleted and insecure in this area of their life, they need to feel you value other parts of themselves.

Check out my article on Motherly to learn more about my experience navigating this process:

Please send me emails with questions about this topic and I will happily create posts to answer specific questions. I get so many questions from parents about what to do when they have a struggling reader/learner. Please feel free to reach out so that this parent community can help support one another.