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74 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A practical and down to earth survival guide for those with a 'dyslexic' child., 3 Dec 2006
This is a small paperback book of about 95 pages. With my son (now 10) all this book really rung true, and I'm amazed how little our local primary school seem to know my son compared to the description given here on how a dyslexic son behaves (particularly the tantrums and whinging when you try and get him to read - it's because he finds it really hard work). Dyslexia simply means 'difficulty with words' so as a label it is little more than stating the obvious that your child isn't progressing with reading as easily as most. When my son seemed to doing badly with reading 3 years ago at primary school, I mentioned it to his teacher and she said - oh he's clearly not dyslexic he's doing fine at reading. Two years on and he had a reading age of 7 when approaching 10, and the school then said he had real problem with reading and spelling - noticed largely because his new form teacher also had a dyslexic son. If I had read this book 3 years ago I would have fought far harder to get him specialist help - it's now coming a little late really with secondary school only 9 months away, but he is progressing far faster than he was. I don't know if it's just maturity or the fact that people now recognize he has a problem (as does he) and help rather than complain and call him lazy, but he is now really trying hard at reading & spellings (well most of the time).
This book has lots of very useful information for those with a dyslexic child around 7 to 10 (the earlier you read this book the better, particularly as school support for dyslexics all but vapourises once they leave primary school). Some ideas in this book my son had already worked out for himself beforehand like laying out his clothes and book bag ready for school the night before (organisation skills). He also still gets words wrong (like calling a calculator a count-a-later). Although I learnt to read very quickly as a child my spelling is awful and I still don't know the days in the months of the year - this book has a great way of working it out using your knuckles. My son still has absolutely no concept of time - "is it school today ?", "Two hours - how longs that ?" etc... However to speak to him he sounds at least as `bright' as his sister (12) who took to reading very quickly and now excels at school. This book has many good ideas on how to help your child and gives you the feeling that you aren't alone with these problems (problems that we never got at all with our first child). The book also mentions numbers and maths. The author has a dyslexic son and is an active children's teacher and lecturer in the field. I've got many `dyslexia books' but this one was great as it was so easy and quick to read over a few days - highly recommended.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Could one ask for more?, 16 Oct 2007
I cannot imagine a person better qualified to write such a book than Christine Ostler, teacher, expert in specific learning difficulties and mother of three children, one of whom is dyslexic. This concise guide (of just 94 pages) contains a well-balanced mix of professional advice and techniques that can be applied by parents struggling to help their dyslexic child. It includes many personal and often humorous tales recounting the problems encountered by Christine and her son Jonathan as he was growing up. I have found it invaluable. It is highly readable, and never dull. Can one ask for more?
Once the common problems of the dyslexic have been discussed, including getting a diagnosis, "fussy mothers" and parents in general, stress, morale, organisation, time-keeping, and lost clothes, professional advice is given on developing techniques to overcome the difficulties these problems present. Valuable information is provided for dealing with the specific difficulties encountered by younger children and for assisting older ones to find a suitable way of working in the challenging environments of secondary school and further education. The very fact that it is not until the fifth chapter that reading is discussed in any depth is a perfect illustration of the author's comprehension of the magnitude and gravity of the challenges that dyslexia can impose on a child, and his family. If your goal is to reduce the frustrations of bringing up a dyslexic child, whilst helping him to become autonomous, this is the book you are looking for.
"It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness, not by trying to look for it directly", the psychologist Csikszentmihalyi informs us (in his slightly heavy-going book, "Flow"). One would think that this is good news for the dyslexic because he is likely to spend a great deal of time and an enormous amount of energy on the journey, but it is my opinion that any assistance that can be found on the way is well worth taking up. "Dyslexia: A parents' survival guide" offers such help and should make the journey smoother. It also provides the comfort of knowing that others have been in the same boat, and survived.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Guide...A Bible!, 6 Mar 2008
This book is a fantastic read and highly educating! As a parent of a child with dyslexia, it's constantly about 'spelling', 'reading', 'numeracy' etc. This book is written by a dyslexia teacher who has dyslexia and who's son has dyslexia which adds a definite 'been there' feel. It's also written in a humourous way and suggests strategies that can be used at home to aid in the management of dyslexia as well as ways to read with your child. This book highlights those areas that you don't usually think are related to dyslexia (as well as addressing the usual) and since reading it, I feel a little guilty about the times when I have become frustrated with my son re: his disorganisation etc and for example, it take 10mins before we leave the house after telling him it's time to go! I'm now more aware that it is how dyslexia can manifest itself outside of the learning environment and I can now aid him in developing strategies to aid in his independence for when hes older. A must for any parent as going on my experience with school so far, these are areas that are missed in the education of parents in what dyslexia exactly means to those of us who live full time with a dyslexic child. It also highlights how we can help more at home-not just helping with the literacy side! Through reading this book, I now feel more able to help my son and will certainly put suggestions made by it into place! It should be renamed Dyslexia:A Bible for Parents! Thank you Christine Ostler!
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