How To Teach Your Dyslexic Child To Read: A Proven Method for Parents and Teachers

We used this book for our book club. It had practical ideas and was the guide for creating a simple information booklet to help parents work with their children.

As a parent of a dyslexic child, I've read most of the recommended books on the subject. Of all of them, this is the first one I would recommend to parents who have realized that their child is dyslexic. The author presents most of the classical techniques in dealing with the dyslexic learning style in an exceptionally clear, concise, and very human style. She uses as a vehicle to do this her own experience in teaching dyslexic children and young adults. After using these techniques with my own daughter, I can say that many are quite helpful. In the course of describing the learning-to-read process with dyslexic kids, the author also brings some practical thinking to the "phonics vs. whole-word" reading debate. She explains the necessity of phonics for word-attack skills in non-intuitive readers as well as the ultimate necessity of whole-word reading in order to establish fluency and comprehension.At the end of the book she provides most-used word-lists, phonics charts, writing charts, and pictures. She tells you how to use these materials in applying the techniques previously described.This book is not revolutionary nor does it promise a panacea for all the issues surrounding the dyslexic learning style. But, I recommend that you make it your first of several on this complex subject.

The book describes "how to" approaches to work with a dyslexic child at home. What the author suggests does not conflict with methodology that might be used in the classroom, but rather it complements any specialized, commercialized multisensory approach used at school. When parents of actual elementary dyslexic students viewed the book, they could actually understand what the author suggested doing. Various activities suggested by the author could be prepared and conducted by parents in a few minutes per day. It's a book well worth reading, by both teachers and parents of dyslexic students.