Reading is often a difficult and tiring process for a Dyslexic child so often it is necessary for parents to try different methods to encourage reading. Two popular methods are described below, which can be combined, in order to aid the reading process.
Pause Praise Prompt
Find a quiet place to read away from distractions and negotiate how long you expect him to read for; set clear time limits. Before you start to read ask him about the book, either what he thinks it is about or what he can recall about what he has already read. As he reads praisehim at the end of each difficult sentence or paragraph. If he gets stuck on a word, follow the stages below:
Do not tell him straight away (with the exception of very difficult words such as names).
Pause, for between 5 and 10 seconds to allow him sufficient time to work out what the word is.
If he cannot provide the word, prompthim or help him. Methods that could be used include:
helping him to sound out the word
work out the word by reading on
predict the word by looking at the pictures
If he cannot work the word out tell him and move on, praising again as soon as possible.
Reading should be an enjoyable process so try to remain calm, however anxious or frustrated you feel!
