help for dyslexia

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1
Hi, my 9 year old daughter has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia and is really struggling in school (she is in the 3 class in a local school, this is her third year in the swiss system and she speaks good german). Can anyone recommend where we can get help specifically for dyslexic children in the Zug, Luzern or Zurich region? Thanks

2
I don't think there's anything directly related to your area, but this thread has some general advice until someone more helpful comes along.

Dyslexia

3
http://www.foundationsforlearning.ch

I would contact the people here, not too cheap but I hear they are excellent. They will have contacts as well which might help you out longer term.

4

I'm sorry to hear your daughter is struggling. I can't recommend any "help" in your area but I would say, in the first instance, it is surely the responsibility of your daughter's school - and especially her teachers - to support her in developing new strategies to managed her difficulty. Is there not an SEN (Special Educational Needs) department/section/person - called a SENCO in the UK at least - in her school? There should be differentiation and varied strategies employed for your daughter - and others who may also need an alternative approach and additional support.

In my experience - and in my non-medical, non-expert opinion as someone who has successfully worked with/supported students with varying degrees of dyslexia - dyslexia is in no way a barrier to learning - it is, however, something that has to be supported/managed/lived with. Many, many high achievers are dyslexic - a different brain chemistry/way of thinking can actually be conducive to excellence.

If she's English -speaking (and reading) too, then I can recommend a (rather old now, but good) book called "Toe By Toe" which practices high frequency words and helps learners to recognise letter and word patterns with greater efficiency. It does wonders for confidence building too as students can see the progress they are making.

http://www.toe-by-toe.co.uk/

The book is by Keda and Harry Cowling and is available on Amazon so I imagine any decent bookstore armed with the ISBN can order it. It's a system designed so that "any literate person" (their words) can support a user. So it's ideal for parents who wish to support a child for instance. It was used with a lot of success in my old school and I've used it when tutoring students with dyslexic tendencies or those diagnosed with dyslexia.

Anyway - I hope this may help and I hope too that your daughter's school can provide more support for you both.

Best,

Rufus

ISBN-10: 0952256401

ISBN-13: 978-0952256403 Toe By Toe info from Amazon UK.