“Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~ Albert Einstein
All through her elementary school years, I thought my daughter was the only one who could not complete her homework independently.
We would spend two to four hours each night battling tears, encouragement, frustration, exasperation…
Many years later, I found out that most dyslexic children and their parents experience similar episodes of overwhelm.
Through trial and error, research, and much prayer, I started doing some things that alleviated the dread of homework time. One thing I did was to join Learning Ally, a nonprofit education solutions organization that provides audio versions of textbooks and many other required reading books for students.
Subsequently, I found those accommodations I used with my daughter succinctly stated by Susan Barton of Bright Solutions for Dyslexia.
Here are the 3 secrets that slay the homework dragon and bring peace to your home:
- Read everything out loud to her.
Her reading will NOT get any better by having her read to you every night for 20 minutes. If you want her to learn, then read the material to her.
- Ask each homework question out loud, let her answer it out loud, and you write it down.
That’s called “acting like a scribe.” (tell your child you’re acting like a secretary) It is a very common accommodation given in schools. If she tells you the wrong answer, write down that wrong answer. In other words, you are not changing her answers. You are simply eliminating her need to write, for a while.
If she has to write a book report, let her listen to the book on audio (or you read it to her), let her compose her report out loud, and you write it down.
If she has to write a story, let her dictate it, and you write It down.
Then all the teacher has to do is accept dictated homework.
Do NOT have her copy what you wrote down. She does not learn anything by copying it, so it is wasted time.
- Ignore the weekly spelling test.
Children with dyslexia cannot learn to spell by memorizing a list of words. Even if, after spending a huge number of hours trying to learn them, she can do “okay” on Friday’s test, she cannot retain them from one week to the next. So give it up.
Before you begin to implement these 3 strategies, be sure to advocate for your child by:
- Asking the teacher to accept dictated homework from your child. (Explain why)
- Letting her know you will be ignoring the weekly spelling test. (Until your child’s spelling ability has been developed through special training)
You are your child’s best advocate and her learning success is your responsibility.
I think that little kids also benefit from dictating their stories. They have a lot to say but aren’t able to write the words in a legible manner. That’s a source of frustration for them. With someone to dictate to, the little kids can shine.
You hit the nail on the head, Alice.
Hi Florence,
While reading this post I wondered if using the dictation ability of most computers and smart phones to write the report would be helpful? There is also software to transcribe an audio recording.
Would this still create frustration because of the attempt to read what was being typed?
Do you think there are many teachers willing to accept an audio recording for an assignment?
Hey Doug,
Scribing works for smaller children – in elementary and perhaps middle school.
There are other options for older students, like those you mentioned. Most dictation software takes some time to get used to your accent, intonation, etc. Because of that, someone else would need to check the work until that is worked out. There are also readers that older students may utilize to read back their work to them.
One of the blessings of the pandemic is that teachers and educational administrators are more flexible when it comes to methods of submitting assignments, among other things.