Apart from reading and spelling challenges, dyslexia may seriously impact many aspects of your child’s life. This guest post from All About Learning Press explains how and what you can do to help. When we think of dyslexia, reading and spelling difficulties often come to mind first. However, dyslexia’s impact extends far beyond these academic […] The post This is how dyslexia affects a child’s life appeared first on Dyslexia Octopus ..read more

I don’t homeschool my children, but like many, I experienced home education during Covid-19 lockdowns. I must admit I found it challenging. However, many parents relish the opportunity to home school a dyslexic child. I recently caught up with Joanne, who has homeschooled her son, Josh, for the last six years. Our sons went to […] The post 5 Reasons to Homeschool a Dyslexic Child appeared first on Dyslexia Octopus ..read more

I remember when my son Harry started school and hit the literacy roadblock. He’d been a happy child up to that point, usually playing outdoors or digging in the sandpit, but once he went to school, he struggled. Reading and spelling didn’t come easy to him. I spent the first year of his schooling wondering […] The post A reading problem: here’s what to look for appeared first on Dyslexia Octopus ..read more

It is essential to help dyslexic children with their self-esteem. According to Merriam-Webster, self-esteem is ‘confidence and satisfaction in oneself: self-respect.’ Children with dyslexia are particularly prone to low self-esteem because their learning challenges mean they struggle to succeed no matter how hard they try.   Dr Michael Ryan, a psychologist in the US who specialises in working with learning-disabled people, has produced an excellent report on the social and emotional problems of dyslexics. He points out, ‘Self-esteem is best understood as the discrepancy between the ‘ideal ..read more

Kinesthetic learning, also known as hands-on or physical learning, is a learning style often suited to children with dyslexia. Learning Pathways Our senses—touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell—are how our body captures information about our surroundings. For example, scent is potent at evoking memories. Every time I smell jasmine, I’m transported back to the porch of my childhood home, which had a sizeable potted jasmine. In teaching reading and spelling, the three main senses we use are: Sight (the visual pathway) Hearing (the auditory pathway) Touch (the kinesthetic pathway) Although yo ..read more

Self-care tips often drop to the bottom of a parent’s to-do list, yet author Maree Davis wants this to change. I write this in October, near the end of the school year here in the Southern Hemisphere. When my son Harry was younger, I was always on my knees by this point in the year (as was he). With this in mind, I thought I’d share some tips by an author whose book, ‘You Matter, Too: Self-Care for Parents of ADHD Kids,’ scored this five-star review on Amazon. “Maree’s book gives mothers a place to meet without judgement, to bare their insecurities and exhaustion, to find peace in loving them ..read more

Why did we have to wait so long for the audiobook about dyslexia? Finally, my audiobook about dyslexia is available. Here is a teaser. https://dyslexiaoctopus.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DWO_teaser-sample-Made-by-Headliner-8.mp4 The cost of hiring a voice artist and creating the finished audio ran into thousands, so I didn’t release the audiobook at the same time as the paperback and ebook. Ever since the launch of my book, Dyslexia. Wrestling with an Octopus, I’ve had numerous requests for an audio version, and the narrator, Naomi Barton, has done a fantastic job in bringing the book to l ..read more

Parents, worried about encouraging their children to use audiobooks for ear reading, sometimes ask me if using them is cheating. I assure them audiobooks are fantastic for people with dyslexia, and their children are definitely not cheating. However, there are some things to bear in mind with ear reading. Access to information is what matters I first came across the term ‘ear reading’ in 2017 when I read Ben Foss’s The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan. In chapter six of his book, Ben explains that information is like water, which can be liquid, ice or steam. “The knowledge in a conventional book is l ..read more

“I don’t want to go back to school.” What do you hear from your child at the start of the year? In the 11 years Harry has been a pupil, the beginning of the year has always been stressful, so I feel it is time to improve things (better late than never). Yet again, Harry is considering changing schools: new school = stress. I believe the different school is a good choice for his final years of education, and therefore I’m doing all I can to support him in this transition. Nicola Bailey, a parent support specialist, sent me a link to her blog on back-to-school success. You can read the entire ar ..read more

“I don’t want to go back to school.” What do you hear from your child at the start of the year? In the 11 years Harry has been at school, the beginning of the year has always been stressful, so I feel it is time to see if we could improve how we do things (better late than never). Yet again, Harry is considering changing schools: new school = stress. I believe the different school is a good choice for his final years of education, and therefore I’m doing all I can to support him in this transition. Nicola Bailey, a parent support specialist, sent me a link to her blog on back-to-school success ..read more