One of the things that helped me along the path of teaching, understanding, and nurturing my kids with dyslexia was finding a dyslexia support group. Have you ever felt alone or like no one else understood what you were experiencing? I know I have and it is a terribly lonely place to be.
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Why You Need Support on Your Dyslexia Journey
Growing up, I never even knew that there was such a thing as dyslexia. I never struggled much in school and wasn’t aware that about 20% of my classmates had trouble with reading, writing, and spelling despite being fun-loving and perfectly intelligent.
So when our first born (and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th) struggled to learn to read I was at a complete loss as to what to do or how to help them. In fact, without realizing it, I believed most of the myths about dyslexia.
I’ll never forget the day I met two other moms with kids my son’s age whose families were also dealing with dyslexia. We learned so much from each other – things like how our kids were awesome despite their reading issues, what curricula were working and which weren’t, and how to find a tester and tutor in our area.
Most importantly, I didn’t feel alone anymore.
These ladies became trusted friends that I could call on when things got tough or if I had a question or concern. Let’s look at how you can find the support of like-minded families on the same journey as you.
Types of Dyslexia Support Groups
There are essentially 3 kinds of support groups that I have been involved with:
Local Dyslexia Support Groups
Local dyslexia support groups: You can find local support groups on your local International Dyslexia Association website (not the main IDA website). You can find the local branch of the IDA closest to you here. These groups meet either monthly or quarterly and choose topics of interest to their attendees. The downside of these groups is that most, if not all, attendees are not homeschoolers and you may have to travel some distance to find a group near you.
Start Your Own Dyslexia Support Group
Start your own dyslexia support group. Our homeschool group has a meeting once a month with speakers and activities for families with kids with all kinds of learning challenges. I like this option because the members are truly local and can be a wealth of information on local services, tutors, and programs that work. These are the moms that you can call on the phone and meet for coffee or at the park when you need an ear.
Online Dyslexia Support Groups
Online support groups: Online support groups are a terrific way to get connected with other families with kids with dyslexia. They are missing the local aspect of the first two groups, but the benefit of these groups is that you have the experience of wide range of members with a variety of experiences. You can ask the most random of questions and someone will be able to relate. There are a few groups that I frequent.
Best Online Dyslexia Support Groups
Homeschooling With Dyslexia Facebook Page: This is my page so I am a bit biased. 😉 Everyday, this page shares articles on dyslexia research, teaching methods, inspiration and posts from the HomeschoolingWithDyslexia.com website. Reader questions are posted once or twice a day for feedback from the community. There are nearly 40,000 families connected here!
Homeschooling With Dyslexia Facebook Group: Oh Facebook! When I first started this website, Facebook Pages were the thing. But Pages don’t allow the awesome level of communication that Groups allow. So, join the Homeschooling With Dyslexia Facebook Page for articles of interest but join our HWD Facebook group for better interaction.
Homeschooling Dyslexic Kids Facebook Page: This is a very responsive and active community. Readers’ questions post directly to the wall and members are quick to respond. This is a very supportive and knowledgeable group.
Dyslexia Support for Parents of Dyslexic Kids Facebook Page: A large group with lots of activity and interactions. Not specifically for homeschooling, but full of lots of great information.
Join my new monthly mentoring group.
I recently started a monthly online mentoring group and the results have been amazing! Oftentimes, even though our situations haven’t changed, our mindsets have changed so that we have the courage and energy to keep going.
Learn more about my new online mentoring group here.
Please don’t feel you are alone! Reach out to one of the groups listed in this post and get the community that you need!
Where have you found support on your dyslexia journey? Please share in the comments below.
I completely agree. Finding local support is so important. I live in the Central Valley CA & we don’t have a lot of resources here. A few years ago when my daughter was first identified with dyslexia I couldn’t find a local support group & eventually a couple friends of mine started one under DDCA (Decoding Dyslexia CA). If a person is searching for a local support group another way to find one is to go to their states Decoding Dyslexia website (for example California’s is http://www.decodingdyslexiaCA.org), then find the tab that has support groups or local groups. We meet once a month & have an active Facebook page. After a year we’ve grown to 70 members. That’s a lot of support and local resource sharing.
I love your blog! Thank you so much for the great info you put out there for us homeschooling. I appreciate it & always enjoy your blog, posts & live videos. I hope your family is all recovered from the tummy bug!
Thank you for sharing Jennifer! Decoding Dyslexia is such a great resource for families. 🙂 We’re much better now – thank you!
Hi my name is jane. My sisters daughter who has just turned 10 was diagnosed with both dyspraxia and dyslexia . I would be extremely grateful with any information given. As you can imagine my sister is finding these diagnoses very overwhelming as she has a 21 year old son with cerebral palsy. Any help is grateful appreciated. Thanking you . Jane.
I would recommend that your sister begin to educate herself about dyslexia and how these kids learn. If her daughter is in public school she will need to get versed in special education law to know her rights. She and her daughter need to know that her daughter is smart but learns differently. Dyslexia makes language arts difficult but there are many unique strengths associated with dyslexia as well.
Is there an online site or app for kids/teens with Dyslexia to support each other? I feel like this would be helpful for my 16 year old. I’ve been doing internet searches but haven’t found anything so far.
That’s a great idea but I don’t know of anything!
Dear Dawn –
Ooooh – This OG certified special education teacher knows that you received the (above) most excellent idea for a reason. And that the numbers of the date of your post 1/11/20 – wow! – indicate that you should be getting started on this project! Our kiddos need it! 🙂
I have a 16 – maybe they
Could reach out to each other via emails or texts to support each other .or start a support group .
My nephew is 17 and I’m looking for other kids his age he can talk to about life with dyslexia.
This is the first time I’ve seen someone else looking for the same thing.
Any ideas?
I too am new to learning about dyslexia. My daughter just turned 16. We recently had her tested and we homeschool as well. I would love her to find a friend her own age who could share and know there are other kids her age out there. I also can use support and encouragement because as her mom and homeschool teacher I carry a lot of guilt that I never picked up on her challenges. Just attributed it to being a reluctant reader and writer and spelling just wasn’t easy for her. Feel like I wasted a lot of time. 🙁
Hi Dawn. I have a small group mentoring option that you might like. You could join for a few months to get plugged in with other parents on the journey.
https://homeschoolingwithdyslexia.lpages.co/small-group-coaching/
Also, don’t feel bad. Your daughter will do great with your continued support. 🙂
I I’m 58 and dyslexia I’m have in trouble understand wot dyslexia his
YES! This article is dead on. I actually just did a talk on my journey growing up dyslexic. It’s no picnic by any means but I believe its actually makes people massively creative and driven if they can learn how to raise above the hardship. If you’re into it, here is the video of my telling me story. https://youtu.be/X6CSrkuZhAU
The Kildonan School in Amenia, New York is a private school dedicated to educating children with dyslexia. The school is in danger of closing due to insufficient funds.
A donor has offered to match funds up to $1,000,000.
Contributions can be made through the school at www. Kildonan.org or through the Go Fund Me site :
https:www.gofundme.com/Kildonan-School
Can you help us?
We’ve been working with an intensive, one-on-one online tutoring called Edublox. It provides a welcome break for my wife & I. Good rates, so we can have more sessions per week.