:: Interview with a Master Teacher ::

I interviewed a master teacher about dyslexia and its affect on parents/families of children with dyslexia. She said that it is so stressful for the family because the dyslexic child has to work harder to complete their daily schoolwork. When they come home from school after working all day, they are worn out, but they have more school to do. It takes them so much longer to do things, so the child becomes easily frustrated –and the parents have to deal with the child’s frustration.

When a child with dyslexia comes home with a lot of homework to do, the parent has to work with a tired child who has these assignments that take way longer than they should. Homework begins to take away time from relaxing, fun family time. This can cause tension between the child and parent(s), and siblings may become jealous of the amount of time being given to the child with dyslexia.

Siblings can cause stress on the child with dyslexia, especially when they are younger than the child with dyslexia. Their academic skills will begin to surpass the dyslexic child’s academic skills, which can often lead to resentment and strife between the siblings. For example, if a child in fourth grade has dyslexia and his sibling, who is in second grade, is a typical child, the second grader may tease or compete with the older sibling with dyslexia. Academics will come easy for the second grader, but the fourth grader may grow discouraged as he observes his younger sibling.

~Sarah Beth~