A dyslexia tutor is often asked about appropriate reading material for dyslexic students. Many parents wish to know what sort of books are good to read at home with their dyslexic children. When choosing a book to read with a dyslexic child, an important aspect to consider is the reading level of the book, and the reading level of the child. In dyslexia tutoring, we often start with books that may seem rather basic or easy. The reason for this is simple; our dyslexic students often start at a point where they are not comfortable with basic letter sounds and letter combinations. By starting with basic material, the dyslexic student will gain reinforcement in all of those basics (like letter sounds) that they are currently learning. In addition, the dyslexic child will gain confidence and not be overwhelmed.
In addition to choosing a book that is at the child’s level, it is also desirable to choose a book that is phonetically sound. What does this mean? It means that if a child is still working on their basic sounds, like short vowel sounds, for example, you want to choose a book that has lots of words with short vowels, like “truck”, “win”, “fun”, etc. If you choose a book that has a lot of big words, like “locomotive”, for example, they may get overwhelemed and not receive as much benefit from the reading.
So, try to choose a book that is at the dyslexic child’s level and is phonetically sound. If you have the child in dyslexia tutoring, you can ask your dyslexia tutor, and they will probably give you some good suggestions.
Peter
