You Are Here : Home / News Articles/There It Was In Black and White... Dyslexia

There It Was In Black and White... Dyslexia

Published on October 22, 2024

A dad sits and reads with his two small children.

By Kara V.

When my daughter was in kindergarten, we started to get notes about her attention span. The reports would say that she was not following along with the reading, and she could not tell the teacher what the story was about. My husband and I met with the school multiple times before we finally asked the question, “Is she dyslexic?” Dyslexia tends to run in families, and we have a history of it in ours. We had her independently tested for dyslexia just before her first-grade year. I remember sitting in my car, opening a large packet from the mail, and seeing a book titled How to Help Your Dyslexic Child.

You would think that would have been enough, but I had to read the results. There it was, in black and white. My daughter is dyslexic.

A few years later, I would go through screening for dyslexia again—this time for my son—and receive the same results. He was diagnosed in the third grade. It was easier to spot the warning signs in my children because my husband said, “I had so many of the same struggles growing up.” He wouldn’t officially receive a diagnosis of dyslexia until his first year of graduate school, but it was all there. All my people are dyslexic.

Dyslexia affects one in five people, about 20% of the population. It is a phonological disorder that affects the ability to decode words. It is also a spectrum. If you were to ask a person with dyslexia to describe it, they would all describe it differently. Before tutoring and help from the school, my daughter would say that words moved across the page. My son doesn’t talk about it, but my daughter’s is actually more pronounced than my son’s.

My husband and I are teaching our children how to prepare for a world where reading is essential but hard for them. We are teaching them to advocate for themselves and to find the best tools to carry them through life. We understand that what works for one will not work for the other, and at some point, we must let them go at it alone. That is the hard part about being a parent, but also the part that we can be most proud of.

As a librarian, I have two mottos: “to create lifelong readers and lifelong library users,” and “see the need, fill the need.” The library has the power to help so many people, including my family. Maybe these resources will help you and yours.

LinkedIn Learning Organizational webinars: Having a structure and routine has been key for my kiddos. Dyslexia can sometimes affect a person’s ability to track multiple tasks, so having a system in place is helpful. Finding tools that help them organize what they have to do in school and for their day is a game changer in our household. Here are some webinar recommendations:

Establishing Evening Routines to Optimize the Day Ahead by Pete Mockaitis

Organize, Plan, Prep by Pipeline Management

The Power of Lists to Get Stuff Done by Paula Pizzo

LinkedIn Learning also has webinars on dyslexia that might shed some light on how to help, or how the dyslexic brain works.

Children’s Digital Resources: ABC Mouse, ABCya!, and other digital resources are available from the library. This is a great start. I used this with my oldest until she needed more specialized help. The interactive learning style was perfect for her. Playing games while learning is hands-on and can be beneficial for people with dyslexia in learning to read.

Phonics-Based Books: The library has several phonics-based books. For a full list, read the blog, "My Child is Learning to Read. Help!” that was posted on September 17. Phonics is the base work for people with dyslexia, so providing them with books that they can read and apply what they have learned, too, is a big deal.

Dyslexic font: Dyslexic font has thicker, darker bottom-to-ground letters on the page. The library has several books with this font. My oldest always liked the book series Here’s Hank by Henry Winkler. I also liked the picture book Ben and Emma’s Big Hit by Gavin Newsom. Libby will also allow you to change the font on your eReader to OpenDyslexic font if that is something that works for you.

More books in dyslexia-friendly font

Libby and hoopla : This is the biggest tool we have in our home arsenal. Normalizing reading with our ears is imperative. Audiobooks allow my kids to read above their reading level, grow their vocabulary, expand compensation, and read what their peers are reading. Reading with our ears at my house is huge! In fact, listening to an audiobook requires the same cognitive skills as reading a print book.*

Storytimes: Part of learning to read is hearing the words; this is especially true for people with dyslexia. Siouxland branches offers many storytimes throughout the week that include books, crafts, music, movement, and more! This is one more way to introduce new words and do lots of reading aloud at home. It is fun for the whole family.

Parent resources: Living with three people who are dyslexic means I try to keep up with what is going on. I turn to books. The library has resources to help you. Here are just a couple books in our collection to get you started.

Know Your Rights: We can help you find resources regarding 504 Plans and IEPS. We are not experts. We are only able to find resources. If there is a book that would help you in the process and we don’t have it, we can try to Interlibrary Loan it from another library.

Librarians! Finding a book that is in the right reading level but easy enough for your child is hard. Utilize your librarians for help. We are always willing to recommend a good book.

If your family is like my family, we want to read books with dyslexic characters. Here are a few (for various age groups):