A dyslexia diagnosis can help explain why reading and spelling feel difficult for your child. It can also leave you wondering what to do next. In this video, I explain the foundations I look for in targeted literacy support.
The video includes on-screen captions.
From understanding to a starting point
A diagnostic report may help identify strengths and difficulties and recommend support. The next step is to use that information, alongside what your child can do now, to plan teaching around their learning needs.
School adjustments are essential for access to learning. Targeted intervention has a different job: practising and developing reading and spelling skills. Schools may provide both, and any additional support should fit alongside what is already working.
Four foundations of support
1. Systematic and cumulative teaching
Systematic teaching follows a clear sequence. Cumulative teaching means that new learning builds on skills your child has already practised and understood. Sound and spelling relationships are explained explicitly, rather than left for your child to work out through repeated guessing.
For example, an activity might begin with a familiar spelling pattern, revisit it in words and then introduce a new pattern. The question is whether the starting point fits your child, rather than whether the worksheet looks right for their age.
2. Purposeful multisensory activities
In the video, I describe connecting seeing, hearing and movement. A task might involve looking at a spelling, saying the sounds and building or writing the word. Each part should help your child understand the same learning point.
The useful question for a parent is: what is this activity teaching? A colourful game can be enjoyable, but the activity needs a clear reading or spelling purpose.
3. Monitoring progress and adapting teaching
A plan needs to respond to what your child is learning. If a skill is not yet secure, it may need more practice, a different explanation or a smaller step. Moving through a programme is only useful when the learning is keeping pace.
Ask how progress is checked and what would lead to a change in the plan. Useful feedback should explain what your child can now do, what still needs support and what comes next.
4. Consistent practice over time
Your child needs opportunities to return to what they have learned. Agree a manageable practice routine with the person providing support, including what to practise and how to respond when your child gets stuck.
At home, a small, clearly explained task is more useful than an extra pile of unfamiliar work. If practice regularly ends in distress or exhaustion, share that with school or the specialist so the task or routine can be reviewed.
Turning a report into a useful conversation
Bring a few specific examples to your conversation with school: perhaps a word your child can read but struggles to spell, or a task they can complete with help but not independently. These examples can sit alongside the assessment report.
- Which reading or spelling skill is the first priority?
- What teaching or adjustments are already in place?
- How will we review whether the support is helping?
- What, if anything, should we practise at home?
Reading enjoyment still has a place alongside targeted practice. Your child can share a story, listen to an audiobook or talk about a favourite character while working on reading skills separately. The British Dyslexia Association's reading guidance includes ideas for sharing books and listening to stories.
What this means for families
You can ask whoever is supporting your child: what is the starting point, what will we work on, and how will we know it is helping? Share the report with school and discuss how the recommendations could be put into practice.
I offer individual reading and spelling support for children aged 7–16 within 20 miles of Pocklington. School liaison is included, with your agreement. A free consultation call gives us a chance to talk through your concerns and whether my support would be suitable.