Dyslexia is not fun. For children struggling with a learning disorder it can put a damper on holidays, especially Christmas. While other kids are writing their letters to Santa and making wish lists, my dyslexic kids were feeling sad that they weren’t able to write a letter to Santa, or even read the product descriptions in magazines and flyers to create their Christmas Wish List! One workaround was to let them draw a picture letter for Santa and cut out photos for their wish list instead of writing. This also means parents have a hard time finding holiday gift ideas for dyslexic children.
As it’s getting closer to the holidays my daughter told me that even though she has dyslexia she would still like books for Christmas… this was funny since we have always given her books for every holiday since she was born. But now that she is making progress with her dyslexia she felt that she had good holiday gift ideas for kids with dyslexia might like and asked me to write this post.
Here are Erin’s suggestions for Holiday gifts for kids with Dyslexia.
Bedtime Storybook
Children learn by example. The more they see adults reading the more they will feel positive about reading. One great way to encourage this is to read together. My daughter loves being read to. Now that she is older, we both curl up in bed and read our own books together before going to sleep. There are so many great books out there, but pick what your child likes best, and what you enjoy… I still can’t read Caillou! I find the easiest are 5-minute bedtime story type books. You can read one or five and even though your child may hear the story a million times they will still ask to hear it again.
Brain Games
My daughter has always struggled with reading. We are very fortunate that her school provides 
her with a lot of support, including a specialized reading tutor all last year. The support of her teachers, resource teachers and of course all of her hard work resulted in her improving reading by almost 2 grade levels in one year! One surprising recommendation from her tutor was to play brain games. Mental agility games allow children (and adults) to improve brain function, increase mental vitality and ignite neural regeneration. These games promote learning and provide multiple benefits including faster reading, improved reading comprehension, and stronger memory for details.
Our favorite game companies are Fox Mind and Ravensburger. One of the best things about these games is that the children love them and the adults can be challenged too. Family game nights have the added benefit of an improved relationship with your children…. unless your playing monopoly. Monopoly nights never end well!
Their own Journal
This is an opportunity to take something that is otherwise difficult into something they want to do. For my son he likes journals with locks and uv pens to write secret messages and drawing his own comics. My daughter likes glitter, sequins and any type of list-making paper. Both my children have 2 journals. One they write in with me where they mention things that happen in their life and work on creating sentences. The other journal is more fun and all their own so they write whatever they want.
Books at THEIR Level
Any book that encourages reading is great! However, it’s also equally important to help build their self-esteem. If your child likes cooking or crafts, buy books that develop their talents. Even if their interest is graphic novels, they are doing something that is not easy for them, so help them enjoy it.
For early readers who may be struggling to understand what Dyslexia is try It’s Called Dyslexia by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos. Written from the point of the child, this book offers a great opportunity for parents to discuss Dyslexia with their children. In the story the elementary-aged girl goes from loving school to hating it when she finds it difficult to read. The book also provides a section for parents which offer a great opportunity for parents to see what children go through.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants are both hugely successful and even have movies made about them. Not only are they mainstream and wildly popular, the books have larger spacing between letters, bigger text and a simpler-to-read font. This allows children to read with fluidity and gives them a sense of accomplishment and confidence to realize that their reading problems can be overcome.
For more advanced readers (and parents) try Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. Ideal for ages 8-12, the story is written fro 5th grader Ally’s perspective. Ally’s family has moved around a lot and she has always been able to distract others from he reading difficulties. That is until she meets Mr. Daniels who helps her make sense of her reading and build her confidence.
Information Technology Can be Their Friend
Having dyslexia can make writing and reading text very difficult but there are many ways that a computer can help you overcome these difficulties. Voice recognition, text-to-speech and mind-mapping software are a few ways that assisted technology can help dyslexics effectively organize their thoughts and communicate.
On top of tips like making font bigger and increasing spacing between lines for some children it’s just a matter of parents investing time to help.
Over the holidays is a great time for parents to spend the time to help children get comfortable with computer voice recognition abilities. There are also great free add-ons for text-to-speech which allows you to listen to text rather than reading it. Try Ivona, Firefox Add-ons or Voiceover for Apple lovers with Macs.
For older kids with problems putting thoughts in a logical flow (such as with ADHD or Dysorthographia) Mindmeister is a great mind-mapping software.
For my son we bought a speech recognition software on his computer where he can highlight text and it will read it to him and it types everything he says. This is a great stress reliever, especially for older children. Although not the one we bought, texthelp offers a Text Help Read and Write Package that is helping those with severe dyslexia all over the world.
