Guest Edition: 5 Ways to Help Dyslexic Students with Writing

Writing can be challenging for any kid, but when you mix it with dyslexia (also known as SLD in reading) it gets exceptionally difficult. There are many ways to help students with dyslexia to make writing easier.

Here are some strategies to help:

1. Verbal Brainstorming -  with dyslexia often have ideas bigger than their spelling skills and the speed at which they write. If you let the child brainstorm aloud while you write it down, they can get their ideas out before they forget them. It takes away the mental load of generating ideas while also trying to remember how to spell. Another option is to let the child record themselves with video/audio to listen to later to refresh their memory when they go to write it down.

1. Explicit Spelling Instruction -

1. Don’t make them fix punctuation & spelling while generating content -

1. Praise Their Success!

1. Let Them Illustrate!

As a child with dyslexia is learning to write we can support their learning in many ways. Any time you can break up the work into smaller, more manageable pieces, do it! Don’t forget to celebrate the wins, no matter how they come up. Celebrate the ideas. Celebrate the effort. Celebrate the progress. If you can, bring up an old piece of writing and show the child how far they have come. We want children to compare themselves to their old selves, not to their peers, because it isn’t a fair comparison. These kiddos have to work twice as hard to get the same result, so let’s not compare ourselves to others. We’re looking for progress, not perfection. 

Bonus: Do you want to learn even more about dyslexia? Check out my free masterclass! This masterclass will cover the 3 Keys to Success with Dyslexia. Plus, I have free podcast, Dyslexia Devoted, with a new episode each week, all about dyslexia and learning differences.

**To listen to the episode where Lisa interviews Handwriting Solutions founder Kelli Fetter, click here!

Lisa Parnello is a dyslexia therapist who helps students, parents and educators learn more about dyslexia and how to overcome its challenges.

Parnello Education provides dyslexia therapy to students and educates parents and teachers through online courses. She also provides weekly information on her free Dyslexia Devoted podcast.