This page is intended to provide resources to the parents of a dyslexic child that will further your understanding of dyslexia and that will help your child explore new reading skills with online games and practice. Please note that when you sign your child up for my tutoring services, I will send you one of the books below (paperback or audiobook) as a welcome gift–your choice. I have divided this page into the following sections: Books, Websites, and Games.
Books
Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz, MD, and Jonathan Shaywitz, MD
Considered a groundbreaking book in understanding how dyslexic children read, Overcoming Dyslexia provides parents practical, research-based tips on how to help your child develop his or her reading skills.
The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock L. Eide, M.D., M.A., and Fernette F. Eide, M.D.
This wonderful resource examines the strengths of the dyslexic brain, offering encouragement and career guidance to dyslexic children and adults everywhere.
Dyslexic Advocate! by Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley
In The Dyslexia Advocate, Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley lays out a clear path to helping your child with dyslexia succeed in the public school system. From explanations of the terminology used in IEPs to ensuring your child has the best accommodations to set them up for a lifetime of success, this book will answer many questions you may have.
Websites
Barton Reading and Spelling System, Developed by Susan Barton
This Orton-Gillingham-influenced system has garnered many accolades from children, parents, schools, teachers, and education specialists over the years. She offers several videos on her site that explain the system, and you are welcome to explore those. This is the system I use with my students, and I am Barton-certified.
Susan Barton has poured a lifetime of achievement into this phenomenal online resource of information about dyslexia that includes definitions of dyslexia, how to recognize dyslexia, as well as multiple encouraging testimonies by students who have overcome their dyslexia to become confident readers.
The Dyslexic Advantage Community
Drs. Eide and Eide, whose book is listed above, have also created an online community of support for parents of dyslexic children. They offer a dyslexia screening app for anyone interested in learning more about their child’s instructional needs.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA)
A famous advocacy group for people with dyslexia, the IDA developed this site to provide numerous free resources to families and support providers. I have linked to their comprehensive “Handbook for Families.”
This WebMD website has a fun, quick slide show of 10 famous people with dyslexia. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive dive into famous people, Susan Barton also has a section on her Bright Solutions for Dyslexia website with essays by famous dyslexic actors, writers, architects, engineers, and more.
This website provides a tremendous library of audioboook resources (read by humans!) to students with dyslexia who have a professional diagnosis. If you are a student using the Barton Reading and Spelling program, you can access Learning Ally even without a diagnosis due to the special agreement Susan Barton has forged with Learning Ally for all users of her system.
Using multi-sensory learning strategies and the latest research, this effective handwriting program teaches both print and cursive to children in grades Pre-K to 5th.
Games
This wonderful site provides games that exactly match the lesson that your child is at in the Barton program, providing targeted practice on specific skills, as good structured literacy programs do. (The game in the picture is from Level 1.) You would need to enroll in the site, and although a small donation is requested, membership is free. I use several of these games in my one-on-one tutoring sessions!
This site has multiple in-person and online games you can purchase for your child to play, and these also match your child’s Barton level. We will use many of these in our tutoring sessions as well.
Bannister Tutoring 