An important element that most dyslexia tutors include in dyslexia tutoring is monitored reading time. Monitored reading time is when a student is able to put into practice the things that they have been learning, and it gives the dyslexia tutor the chance to help the student make connections between this knowledge and the actual words on the page. This connection is very important, because some students will make progress with learning phonetic sounds in isolation, but need some prompting during reading time before they consistently work this knowledge into everyday use.
For example, if a dyslexic student is trying to read the word “lightening”, and they are having difficult with the “igh” in the first syllable, I would ask them about what sound “igh” makes. If they still aren’t sure, I would remind them that they do this sound with their flash cards, and see if that prompts their memory. Quite often, this will be enough to make them remember the sound that they say when they see that card. Making these connections between phonetic sounds and the words on the page is vital to helping a dyslexic student, and it is much more useful than simply saying the word for the student. Certainly, there are cases when the word contains a sound that the student has not studied yet. In that case, it is useful to tell the student what that sound says, and then let them sound the word out.
You can also make great use of monitored reading time when you’re at home. This works especially well when the student is enrolled in a good dyslexia tutoring program, because you can help prompt them to use their knowledge of phonics and syllable rules, even if you are not familiar with these yourself. There are always great benefits to having a child read aloud to an attentive adult.
Peter
