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How to Help a Child with Dyslexia at Home: 20 Strategies That Actually Work
Practical, research-backed strategies to build skills, protect confidence, and create an environment where learning feels possible instead of painful.
You've learned your child has dyslexia—or you strongly suspect it. Now what?
There's so much you can do at home to help your child build skills and confidence
While professional intervention is important, there's so much you can do at home to help your child with dyslexia build skills, protect their confidence, and create an environment where learning feels possible instead of painful.
This guide gives you 20 practical, research-backed strategies to provide dyslexia help right in your own home. These aren't vague suggestions—they're specific actions you can start today.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Want to make reading practice fun? Grab our 5 Phonics Games guide—simple activities you can do at home to build decoding skills without the tears. [Get Your Free Games →]
Understanding Your Role as a Parent
Before we dive into strategies, let's be clear about something: you are not your child's reading teacher.
Your role isn't to replicate what a trained literacy specialist does. Your role is to:
  • Create a supportive home environment
  • Reinforce skills being taught elsewhere
  • Protect your child's love of learning
  • Build their confidence and self-advocacy
  • Make reading feel less like punishment
With that mindset, let's talk about how to help a dyslexic child at home.
The 20 Strategies
Environment Strategies (1-5)
Creating the right physical and emotional space for learning makes all the difference.
Strategy #1: Create a Reading-Rich Home (Without Pressure)
Surround your child with books, magazines, graphic novels, and audiobooks—but don't force reading. The goal is to make reading feel like a normal, enjoyable part of life rather than a chore.
Keep books accessible
Keep books at their interest level (not just reading level) accessible
Model reading
Let them see YOU reading for pleasure
Make it fun
Visit libraries and bookstores as fun outings, not homework
Diverse formats
Include diverse formats: graphic novels, comic books, magazines about their interests
Strategy #2: Reduce Visual Clutter for Reading Tasks
Many children with dyslexia feel overwhelmed by busy pages. Simple environmental changes help:
  • Use a reading guide or ruler to isolate one line at a time
  • Photocopy pages at larger size when possible
  • Choose books with more white space and larger fonts
  • Consider tinted overlays if your child finds them helpful (they don't work for everyone, but some kids love them)
Strategy #3: Establish Predictable Routines
Children with dyslexia often have working memory challenges. Routines reduce cognitive load:
  • Keep homework time consistent
  • Create visual schedules and checklists
  • Use the same spot for reading practice
  • Set up a calm, distraction-free study space
Strategy #4: Manage Homework Time Wisely
Homework shouldn't destroy your evenings or your relationship:
  • Set a timer—quality over quantity
  • Take breaks (the "Pomodoro" method works well: 15-20 minutes work, 5 minutes break)
  • Do the hardest tasks when energy is highest
  • Communicate with teachers if homework is taking excessive time
Strategy #5: Protect Evening Wellbeing
Your child has worked hard all day using a brain that processes reading differently. By evening, they're exhausted.
Don't make dinner table a battleground about school
Allow downtime that doesn't involve reading
Prioritize sleep—it's essential for memory consolidation
Save the hardest work for weekends when energy is higher
Reading Strategies (6-10)
Building skills without breaking spirits
Strategy #6: Read Aloud Together (Even When They're "Too Old")
Reading aloud to your child builds vocabulary, comprehension, and love of stories—regardless of their reading level.
  • Read books above their reading level but at their interest level
  • Do character voices; make it theatrical and fun
  • Discuss the story: predictions, character motivations, connections to life
  • Continue this even into middle school—it's bonding AND learning
Strategy #7: Try Audiobooks
Audiobooks are not "cheating"—they're a valid way to access literature and build comprehension.
Use audiobooks for assigned reading when available
Let them listen while following along in the physical book
Great options: Audible, Libby (free through libraries), Learning Ally (specifically for learning differences)
Audiobooks build vocabulary and story understanding that will eventually support reading
Strategy #8: Practice Phonics Playfully
When you do work on phonics, make it a game rather than a drill:
Letter tiles
Letter tiles or magnetic letters for building words
Card games
Phonics card games
Scavenger hunts
Sound scavenger hunts around the house
Rhyming games
Silly rhyming games in the car
Learning apps
Apps like Reading Eggs, Nessy, or Teach Your Monster to Read

Our free 5 Phonics Games guide has specific activities → Download Here
Strategy #9: Focus on Decodable Books
Decodable books use only phonics patterns the child has already learned. This builds confidence because they CAN read these books successfully.
  • Ask your child's reading teacher what patterns they've covered
  • Find decodable books that match (many are available free online)
  • Celebrate success with these—they're designed for your child to win
Strategy #10: Use Multisensory Techniques
Dyslexic brains learn best when multiple senses are engaged:
  • Trace letters in sand, salt, or shaving cream while saying the sound
  • Use play-dough to form letters
  • Tap out syllables on the table
  • Walk or jump while spelling words aloud
  • Write letters large with whole arm movements
Writing Strategies (11-14)
Separating ideas from mechanics
Strategy #11: Separate Ideas from Mechanics
Don't let spelling struggles kill creative ideas:
Let them dictate stories while you transcribe
Use speech-to-text technology
Voice record their ideas before attempting to write
Work on spelling separately from composition
Strategy #12: Provide Spelling Support
Reduce the cognitive load of spelling during writing:
  • Create a personal dictionary of frequently used words
  • Keep word banks visible for common topics
  • Allow (and teach) spell-check use
  • Focus spelling practice on high-frequency words
Strategy #13: Try Graphic Organizers
Visual planning tools help dyslexic kids organize their thoughts:
  • Story maps for narrative writing
  • Webs for brainstorming
  • Sequential boxes for steps or events
  • Templates reduce the "blank page" overwhelm
Strategy #14: Consider Keyboarding Early
For many dyslexic children, typing is easier than handwriting:
  • Start typing instruction early (age 7-8)
  • Use programs like Typing Club, Dance Mat Typing, or Typesy
  • Advocate for keyboarding accommodations at school
  • Let them type homework when possible
Confidence & Emotional Strategies (15-18)
How you talk about dyslexia matters enormously
Strategy #15: Reframe Dyslexia as a Difference
How you talk about dyslexia matters enormously:
"Your brain is wired differently—not broken"
"You're a creative, big-picture thinker"
Share stories of successful dyslexic people (Richard Branson, Steven Spielberg, many others)
Read books about dyslexia with your child
Strategy #16: Celebrate Strengths
Actively notice and praise what your child does well:
  • Point out their creativity, problem-solving, spatial thinking
  • Create opportunities for them to succeed in their strength areas
  • Don't let school struggles define their identity
  • Find activities where they can shine (art, sports, building, music)
Strategy #17: Teach Self-Advocacy
As your child gets older, they need to understand and speak up for themselves:
Understand themselves
Help them understand their own learning profile
Practice asking
Practice asking for help: "I learn better when..."
Role-play
Role-play conversations with teachers
Involve them
Involve them in IEP or 504 meetings when appropriate
Strategy #18: Watch for Emotional Struggles
Dyslexia often comes with anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression:
  • Listen without judgment when they express frustration
  • Take comments like "I'm stupid" seriously—address the belief
  • Consider counseling if emotional struggles are significant
  • Connect them with other dyslexic kids when possible