Children with dyslexia experience issues with their attention span and concentration levels. They find it difficult to focus on something and get distracted easily. However there are some cognitive exercises and strategies which can be immensely helpful in helping them develop concentration. Let’s take a look at some of them:

• Reduce Distractions: Create a conducive environment for the child in which he/she can thrive and retain information. Ensure that the child gets enough sleep and rest. Keep away distracting factors such as video game, radio, television etc. to improve concentration & focus while reading.
• Engage As Many Senses As Possible: Concentration level of kids with dyslexia can be improved by encouraging them to learn by using all their senses. Learning by listening, writing and reading aloud all at once helps in improving concentration levels.
• Contextualize New Information: Encourage children to focus on a particular topic by relating it to something that they already know. When kids can relate to something like this, they tend to stick to the subject with more interest.
• Subheadings And Visualization: Categorizing information improves concentration levels and retention power. When information is structured and presented in an understandable format, it is easier for the child to focus. The child sees the information as limited and easy to comprehend.
• Summarizing And Rehearsing Information: Kids can be helped to understand and concentrate on information by teaching them summarizing skills and helping them reorganize the information in an easy to understand format. They should be encouraged to review the information learnt at regular intervals.
• Mental Exercises: Kids with disorders such as dyslexia should be exposed to mental challenges that promote the formation of new neural connections in the brain. Such mental exercises make their brains more effective at retaining information and focusing. Examples of such activities are reading novels, music classes, learning a foreign language, playing games like scrabble, Sudoku, chess and so on.
• A Healthy Lifestyle: A healthy lifestyle goes a long way in improving concentration levels in kids with dyslexia. It ensures the brain is exposed to generous amounts of blood and oxygen. Children should be educated on the importance of a balanced diet, exercising on a regular basis and staying away from substance abuse. A healthy lifestyle wards off depression which is notorious for aggravating concentration problems.
• Learning Tools: To boost your child’s concentration when reading, you can make use of learning tools like reading strips to help them stay focused and apply the knowledge at their own pace. Such tools are life changing for kids with dyslexia.

See-N-Read Reading Tools offer a variety of tools which can help in improving concentration of a dyslexic child. For more information, call at (630) 236 – 5592.