I am the mother of a first-grade child who recently was diagnosed with dyslexia. What are the best options/tools/technology/advice to help him? I would be grateful for any help.
I am hoping that the person who did the diagnostic assessment provided you with a set of recommendations based on your son's profile that addressed these issues. Without knowing his profile of strengths and weaknesses, it is difficult to make specific recommendations. I have a lot of apps here and assistive tech info here.
Most students with dyslexia benefit from hearing the text read aloud and many need speech-to-text for writing. He will need to be taught how to use these software applications. I'm guessing since he is in 1st grade, that right now he is going to need to learn to read and spell. Here are some programs that address teaching those skills.
Here is what intervention should entail.
I recommend that you get a copy of the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz as Dr. Shaywitz outlines what he is going to need over the upcoming years. Although written in 2003 (reportedly, a revised edition is coming out in 2020), it remains current as to what dyslexia is, how to diagnose it, and how to treat it. Dr. Shaywitz does not use the term "structured literacy" (SL) because that was not coined until 2014 by the International Dyslexia Association, but the intervention she discusses is SL. She also talks about accommodations.
