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Resource for
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Resources & Materials for Parents
Early Childhood Students
Books/Articles:
“Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level” By Sally Shaywitz (2005)
This book explains dyslexia and gives parents tools for helping their children become fluent readers. In Overcoming Dyslexia, Dr. Sally Shaywitz, codirector of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention and a leader in the new research into how the brain works, offers the latest information about reading problems and proven, practical techniques that help enable anyone to overcome them. The following tools are explained so that parents and teachers who are working with a dyslexic child can gain knowledge and information to help them as the child grows and develops:
--What dyslexia is and why some intelligent, gifted people read slowly and painfully
--How to identify dyslexia in preschoolers, schoolchildren, young adults, and adults
--How to find the best school and how to work productively with your child’s teacher
--Exercises to help children use the parts of the brain that control reading
--A 20-minute nightly home program to enhance reading
--The 150 most common problem words–a list that can give your child a head start
--Ways to raise and preserve a child’s self-esteem aqnd reveal his strengths
--Stories of successful men and women who are dyslexic
“Parenting a Struggling Reader” by Susan Hall and Louisa Moats (2002)
This book helps explain how school systems work and provide real-world practical guidance for parents on how to understand and work within the framework of the public school system. It also helps parents understand the need to sometimes look outside public schools for additional resources. The book is the first completely comprehensive, practical guide for recognizing, diagnosing, and overcoming any childhood reading difficulty.
The result of the author’s years of research and personal experience provides a revolutionary road map for any parent facing this challenging problem. Acknowledging that parents often lose valuable years by waiting for their school systems to test for a child’s reading disability. Hall and Moats offer a detailed, realistic program for getting parents actively involved in their children’s reading lives. With a four-step plan for identifying and resolving deficiencies, as well as advice for those whose kids received weak instruction during the crucial early years.
Websites: Click on the title of the website to take you there!
American Association for Pediatric Ophthamology and Strabismus
This website defines dyslexia in simple terms for parents. It discusses common problems associated with dyslexia and how they affect learning. The site explains common myths associated with dyslexia and lists the signs and early symptoms for identification at different age levels. The site explains the role of schools and teachers when working with dyslexic students. Details are given on how dyslexia is evaluated and treated. Lists of famous people with dyslexia are listed and common feelings for parents with a dyslexic child are included.
This website helps parents with children with learning disabilities. It has tabs for LD Basics, Ages and Stages, Guide to Action, Parents' Community and Success Stories. LD Basics explains for parents the signs and symptoms, evaluation and diagnosis, and treatment and support they need to raise a LD child. Ages and Stages tells parents what to expect as their child progresses through the years. Guide to Action informs parents of their child’s legal rights and educational planning. Parents Community is an open blog site for parents to share with other parents with LD children. Success Stories are profiles of actual children and their success stories. The site also offers links to other helpful sites and a monthly newsletter.
Middle Childhood Students
Books/Articles:
“From Emotions to Advocacy” by Pam Wright and Pete Wright (2006)
Realizing that your child has a LD (or any disability) can set parents off on a roller coaster of emotions. This book helps parents distinguish facts from emotions in order to properly document the facts and best advocate for their children. The book includes hundreds of tips, strategies, references, warnings and Internet resources. This practical, user-friendly book includes sample letters and logs, checklists and forms, and worksheets and agendas. In this comprehensive, easy-to-read book, you learn to:
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Develop a master plan for your child's special education
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Organize your child's file
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Work with consultants and evaluators
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Write SMART IEP goals and objectives
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Use test scores to monitor your child's progress
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Resolve parent-school conflict early
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Write effective letters and create paper trails
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Use parent agendas to improve meeting outcomes
“The Human Side of Dyslexia: 142 Interviews with Real People Telling Real Stories About Their Coping Strategies with Dyslexia” by Shirley Kurnoff (2001)
Just as the title says, this book is packed with real stories about people with dyslexia. While many books on dyslexia focus on the mechanics of the learning disability, this is the human story of the people who live with it. Through their stories they explain strategies and tools for coping with a reading disability. Many of the stories are inspirational and will be helpful to parents who worry about their child's future. The text gives an inside look into dyslexia - the challenges, emotions and rewards - from childhood through the college-experience. It includes 142 interviews with families - parents, siblings and college students - sharing their experiences.
Websites:
Parents Education Network is a coalition of parents collaborating with educators, students and the community to empower and bring academic and life success to students with learning and attention differences. The website offers information, services, and expertise to help all children succeed academically. This site also has a blog where parents can ask questions and discuss issues with other parents and/or teachers or professionals.
Click here to take you to the Parents Education Network blog!
The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity serves as a nexus for research on dyslexia, and is as well a leading source of advocacy and information to better the lives of people with dyslexia. The website explains dyslexia, has a checklist of common problems dyslexics have, contains articles about dyslexia in the news, explains myths about dyslexia, and has real stories about people that have been successful even after being diagnosed with dyslexia. There is a tab specific for parents that has stories from parents of children with dyslexia and articles that explain what parents should do to help their child.
Adolescent Young Adult Students
Books/Articles:
“One Word at a Time” by Linda Tessler (2008)
This book is written by a woman with a Ph.D. and also has dyslexia. It’s the story of her struggles and successes, and it also has a lot of practical advice. At the age of 32, Tessler was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. Yet, in spite of the challenges, she earned a Ph.D. and became a clinical psychologist. One Word at a Time: A Road Map for Navigating Through Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities is Tessler's account of her lifelong struggles with dyslexia. The book states compassionate advice and practical strategies learned from her experiences as a psychologist and scholar specializing in learning disabilities and as the parent of a son who struggles with dyslexia. Bringing together sound psychological principles with personal knowledge, Tessler has created a unique and groundbreaking resource guide that is informative, insightful and inspiring.
“Supporting High School Students with Dyslexia” by Eileen Bailey (2014)
The article provides tips and suggestions for working with and supporting high school students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. More specific information is given for high school students because they may need additional support compared to students in elementary and middle school.
Websites:
National Center for Learning Disabilities
This website has many helpful resources for parents of children with dyslexia including the warning signs of LD, the rights parents and their child have, and how parents can support their child from home. Parents can browse information on the website by which stage their child is in and his/her age. This website also contains a blog, it has its own facebook page and twitter to stay connected with helpful resources while on the go.
The website has tabs for educators, parents, and kids to sort information and resources. Specifically for parents there are vidoes to watch, recommended books and wesbites, state resources, helpful websites, and top articles. The site can also help parents find a professional, view products to purchase, or locate a school, camp, or learning center for students with special needs.
Other Websites:
Support Organizations for Children with Dyslexia
National Center for Learning Disabilities www.ncld.org
The mission of NCLD is to improve the lives of the 1 in 5 children and adults nationwide with learning and attention issues—by empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools and advocating for equal rights and opportunities. The NCLD is working to create a society in which every individual possesses the academic, social and emotional skills needed to succeed in school, at work and in life.
Their Vision: The NCLD envisions a society in which every individual possesses the academic, social and emotional skills needed to succeed in school, at work and in life.
The Dyslexic Foundation www.dyslexicfoundation.org
The Dyslexia Foundation (TDF), a non-profit organization, was established in 1989 to identify and assist children with dyslexia – to establish higher levels of learning through specialized programs promoting better reading.
Their mission is to promote scientific breakthroughs in the early detection, prevention and remediation of dyslexia and related reading difficulties. To disseminate new findings and deploy new evidence based approaches. To prevent the suffering caused by reading failure and unlock the full potential of children and adults with dyslexia so that they may personally succeed and contribute to society.
The International Dyslexia Association www.interdys.org
Their Mission:
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is an international organization that concerns itself with the complex issues of dyslexia. The IDA membership consists of a variety of professionals in partnership with people with dyslexia and their families and all others interested in The Association’s mission.
They believe that all individuals have the right to achieve their potential, that individual learning abilities can be strengthened and that social, educational and cultural barriers to language acquisition and use must be removed.
The IDA actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical educational intervention strategies for people with dyslexia. They support and encourage interdisciplinary research. They facilitate the exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia and are committed to the responsible and wide dissemination of research based knowledge.
Their Purpose:
The purpose of IDA is to pursue and provide the most comprehensive range of information and services that address the full scope of dyslexia and related difficulties in learning to read and write. . . In a way that creates hope, possibility, and partnership. So that every individual has the opportunity to lead a productive and fulfilling life, and society benefits from the resource that is liberated.
Last Updated August 4, 2014
Embracing Dyslexia (Documentary Film)
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Individuals with dyslexia have trouble with reading, writing, and spelling despite having at least an average intelligence. It is estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the population is dyslexic but most are never identified or diagnosed and left to struggle their entire life. We know how to fix the reading, writing, and spelling issues that dyslexics struggle with. But there is a tremendous roadblock in the way and it is there because our governments, schools and educators are simply misinformed about what dyslexia is or they have no information at all. By carefully weaving together interviews with parents, experts, and adult dyslexics, "Embracing Dyslexia" tackles the issues surrounding dyslexia like no other documentary film has before. Parents share emotional stories of their anxiety and frustration over failing to understand why their children were struggling with reading, writing, and spelling and the life-altering impact the word dyslexia had on their lives. Adult dyslexics courageously open up and speak candidly about their dyslexia, sharing their struggles and successes they have had in school and in their adult lives.
Dyslexia Help: What Dyslexia Parents Can Do
Dr. Valerie Muter gives an insight into how parents can help their children to cope with dyslexia and provide ideas to help parents with issue that may occur at home when raising a dyslexic child. She gives a view of both what can be done in the early years and the middle years.
