As a parent or caregiver, receiving a dyslexia diagnosis for your child can evoke a range of emotions and questions about what lies ahead. You may be feeling overwhelmed or uncertain. You may be wondering how you’re even supposed to know where to begin. All of these feelings are completely normal!
It's essential to remember that a diagnosis of dyslexia is not a roadblock, but rather a starting point for understanding and supporting your child's unique learning needs. It is the start of putting together an effective game plan for your child’s learning and development.
This may be a great starting point, but it’s just that, the start. Let’s get you moving off of that starting line. In order to do that, there are five key shifts that will help you confidently transition from a diagnosis of dyslexia to an effective game plan to ensure your child succeeds.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Dyslexia Diagnosis for Your Child?
First of all, congratulations! Receiving a diagnosis of dyslexia for your child may not initially seem like a reason to jump for joy, but it actually is.
A diagnosis is really just a label, a label that explains how your child’s brain works and what sort of reading instruction they need. You now have a label that will help educators better understand how to work with your child. This label will also open doors to accommodations and modifications that your child may not have received otherwise. It’s also important to pause and recognize the immense amount of effort that has led you, your family, and your child to this point. The evaluation process can be arduous, and you successfully navigated it. So, congrats!
That initial sense of relief that you may be feeling, along with every other emotion imaginable, is a good thing. Hold onto those feelings, but also be prepared to forge ahead. A diagnosis can be just the beginning.
You may feel like there are a million things you need to do in order to best support your child. And let’s not sugarcoat the truth, there will be a lot to process and accomplish, but everything you need to do in order to be prepared to help your child falls into five key shifts. These shifts will help you go from confused and reactive to confident and empowered.
Sounds simple, right? Well, when we break large tasks down into easy-to-manage chunks and break each of those chunks down into actionable steps, then it can be simple, well simpler, and more manageable at least. I promise. Traveling the journey from diagnosis to game plan isn’t easy, but there are five chunks, or shifts, that you can be prepared for.
What are these shifts? Well, here are the five transformations I hope to see parents manage after receiving a diagnosis of dyslexia for their child:
From Assuming to Knowing
From Reactive to Regulated
From the Lone Ranger to a Team
From Passenger to Driver
From Present to Prepared
Let’s talk some more about why these shifts are vital for your transformation from overwhelmed to empowered.
Why Can’t I Just Wait and See What Happens?
You may be thinking, well now that my kid has been diagnosed, the system will take over, right? Hopefully, the system will carry a large portion of the burden, but you don’t want to sit around to wait and find out. You want to make sure that you are prepared to take control of your child’s dyslexia game plan, and the sooner the better. Time really is of the essence.
This is not to make you feel even more overwhelmed, so don’t worry, take another deep breath. This is simply to help you understand that the sooner we take action, the more impactful we can be.
Because we have a strong understanding of cognitive development, or how your child’s brain works and grows, we know that there are windows of growth during which we can be the most impactful. This means that the longer we wait to begin intervention, the less able we are to take advantage of the neuroplasticity of young children. A kid’s brain isn’t set in its ways yet, so we can work to strengthen certain processes. In fact, if we start early enough, we can even essentially rewire the brain. Pretty cool!
All of that being said, it is never too late to start. We do know though that the longer we wait, the worse the statistics look, unfortunately.
“The longer you wait to get help for a child with reading difficulties, the harder it will be for the child to catch up.
The three key research conclusions that support seeking help early are:
90 percent of children with reading difficulties will achieve grade level in reading if they receive help by the first grade.
75 percent of children whose help is delayed to age nine or later continue to struggle throughout their school careers.
If help is given in fourth grade, rather than in late kindergarten, it takes four times as long to improve the same skills by the same amount.” Hall, S. (2009)
Not only can early intervention set a student with dyslexia on the right path academically, but we can also avoid negative emotional and social repercussions of being a struggling reader.
So, it’s important to remember that we don’t want to sit around and wait and see what happens. It’s time to make these key shifts and get started building that effective game plan for your child.
How Can You Get Started?
Are you ready to make these key shifts? Let’s get you moving from that starting point and on the path to feeling calm and confident.
The first thing to do is to take a deep breath. Your child will learn. They will be happy. They will thrive. We know what dyslexia is and what sort of teaching and intervention is required. We have decades of research guiding us. With the right support, your child will be successful.
Secondly, be prepared for yourself, your family, and your child to walk this journey together. The more emotional support your child has at home, the better prepared they will be to face those academic challenges at school. Be their caregiver and their rock.
Lastly, be ready to accept that these five statements are true:
Understanding is essential
The emotional impact is real
Effective support is non-negotiable
You must advocate and communicate
This is a lifelong journey
Now What Exactly am I Supposed to Do After my Child was Diagnosed With Dyslexia?
That is the real question! All of this sounds fantastic, but what exactly does it mean?
Reach out for help walking through each of these five shifts to help you better understand how you can transform from a parent whose child was just diagnosed with dyslexia to an empowered parent ready to build their child’s dyslexia game plan. We will work together to help you stop feeling like you’re drowning in the deep end to feeling like you’re swimming laps like a pro, or at least like you’re assertively treading water.
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