The Dyslexia Parent Toolkit
The Dyslexia Parent Toolkit
Practical tools, strategies and support to help your child learn, grow and thrive.
If your child has dyslexia, you may have experienced a mixture of emotions — relief at having an explanation for their difficulties, worry about their future, frustration when schoolwork becomes a struggle, or uncertainty about how best to help.
The Dyslexia Parent Toolkit has been created to give parents and carers practical, encouraging ideas that can be used at home and when working together with your child’s school.
The toolkit helps you look beyond the difficulties and understand the whole child — their strengths, interests, personality, creativity and individuality.
Inside the toolkit you'll discover practical support for:
📖 Supporting Reading at HomeIdeas for making reading more manageable and enjoyable, including short reading sessions, choosing books that interest your child, reading together and using audiobooks.
✏️ Spelling & WritingSimple ways to reduce the pressure of writing and help your child organise their ideas using a clear Think → Talk → Plan → Write → Check approach.
📚 Making Homework Less StressfulA predictable homework routine that breaks larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps, with time for breaks and recognition of what your child has achieved.
⏰ Organisation & Time ManagementPractical ideas including visual timetables, checklists, colour coding, timers, calendars, labels and step-by-step routines.
💜 Building ConfidenceLearn how to praise effort, persistence and effective strategies rather than focusing only on results — helping your child recognise their own progress and abilities.
🌈 Managing Frustration & OverwhelmThe toolkit introduces the RESET approach — Recognise, Empathise, Stop, Encourage and Try again differently — to help when learning becomes overwhelming.
🏫 Working Together With SchoolGuidance and questions to help parents have constructive conversations with teachers and work collaboratively to identify what helps their child learn best.
🏡 Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly HomeSmall, practical changes such as visual labels, consistent places for belongings, dedicated homework spaces, family calendars and clear routines.
🌱 Encouraging IndependenceHelp your child gradually take ownership of everyday tasks by breaking them into manageable steps and encouraging them to identify what comes next.
⭐ Celebrating ProgressA reminder to focus on progress, not perfection, and recognise achievements that may otherwise go unnoticed.
Helpful worksheets and planning pages
The toolkit includes practical pages to help you record your child's learning profile, strengths, interests, motivations, challenges and helpful strategies, as well as a Parent Action Plan to choose three priorities and decide what you will do next.
There are also bonus resources, including “Things That Help Me Learn”, which your child can complete themselves, and a Weekly Family Check-In to reflect on what went well, what was difficult and what could be changed the following week.
Most importantly, start with strengths.
Your child's difficulties do not define them.
The aim of this toolkit is not to find one perfect strategy or make your child learn exactly like everyone else. It is about getting to know how your child learns, discovering what helps, reducing unnecessary pressure and giving them the confidence to recognise what they can do.
Every child is different. With understanding, encouragement and the right support, your child can learn, grow and thrive. 💜
An educational resource for parents and carers. The strategies are intended as practical support and are not a substitute for individual assessment, professional advice or support from your child's school or relevant specialists.
