Dyslexia: Understanding your child's difficulties

Evaluating your child's reading needs, planning their program, monitoring progress and requesting suitable modifications and changes along the way, requires you to have responsive and appropriate answers to many practical questions.

• If my child is not performing at the correct level, at what level are they performing?
• What do they need to learn that they are not currently learning? Where is the gap?
• What services and instructions do they need to improve to support their learning? How do we fill that gap?
• How do we compare and monitor the progress made?

A question that you need to ask yourself is whether the school is giving you the correct information. Are you getting accurate and appropriate answers in the right context? Are you getting all the answers you require? Do you feel you have the knowledge or level of expertise to manage the situation?

It is one of the greatest burdens that fall on parents, being the carer and manager of your child's education, intervention and educational progress. You are told that 'the more you know and understand about your child's learning difficulties, the better your child will do.'

What a huge burden that places on you. It is no easy task. It is a diverse and complex role that is difficult to excel in but you are compelled to play it. If it seems too large, seek help. Share the burden with like-minded people, other parents and carers that are experiencing or have experienced a similar situation.