Tell the child how the information from part 1 connects to them...

“Remember that activity you did a few weeks ago when you had a special reading check? Well, that test was to see which way your brain reads - with the left side or the right side. We found out from that activity that your brain reads with the right side. That means that you are considered dyslexic and have a super creative, strong brain just like Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, and many other amazing, really smart people!"

Optional Addition: Tell Them What That Means For Their Next Steps In School

At your school, they have a class for kids with really strong, creative brains like yours. This class is so special...

If your child hasn't complained about reading & they haven't expressed difficulty or frustration...you may want to continue the conversation with:

• ...since your brain is naturally so strong and creative, schools have this class to teach kids expert or pro level concepts/lessons about reading and provide opportunities for kids to practice using those skills. 

If your child has complained and expressed difficulty or frustration with reading...you may want to continue the conversation with:

• ...since the right side of your brain is naturally so strong and creative, it sometimes tries to use that creative side to read. That is why sometimes reading is difficult like when sometimes you add a sound to a word or you switch up letters - it is because the creative side of your brain is trying to figure out all the amazing options of what the word could be! To make it easier to read what the word actually does say, the left side of your brain needs to be trained and become stronger. This class teaches kids with dyslexia expert level reading lessons that train the brain to use more of the left side instead of the right side, so reading can be easier. 

If a child is still confused or anything about the "why" for the class, you may compare it to when they see toddlers wearing a patch on their eye for a little while: to train their other eye to become stronger. This class is like that - you are training your left side of your brain to become stronger since your right side of your brain is so strong! 

Finally, ask your child to share what they think about that information. Ask them how they feel or if they have any questions. Some children may just say “okay” and not have much to say. Make sure at the end you tell them that if they have any questions pop into their head or wonderings, they can always come to you to ask.

If your child is young, they may have never heard of dyslexia or seen their peers go to the special reading class and they will be excited to hear the news of how amazing they are/their brain is! 

If your child is older & has classmates already identified with dyslexia, they may have heard rumors about dyslexia from peers or naive adults or have made their own judgements about the kids who go to the reading class. It is important to remember that regardless of what they have seen or heard in other areas of life, kids will trust you, their parent, to tell them the truth & help them make sense of things. 

Reinforcing these ideas may help depending on your child's response:

• If your child comments about the reading level of kids in the group:

  • The kids in the reading class all read at different stages. It's not about what your brain or your classmate's brain can do right now, it's how your brain thinks and what it has the potential to do. That's why the class is for people of all reading levels. 

• If your child comments that reading is hard or verbalizes negative self-talk:

  • Normalize working hard and the idea that your child doesn't see another kids home life. Your child doesn't know what actually is hard for other kids. Everyone has something they are working on. Some kids have a hard time making friends, cry a lot at home, are learning how to make a bed, haven't lost a tooth yet, etc. 

Be sure to check in with your child, take interest, and also monitor if there seems to be any self-esteem changes. 

Open ended but direct questions tend to be best such as asking them how their new reading class is going, to share 1 new fact they learned, ask them to share how they solved decoding a word or spelling a word that you saw them read/write,  ask them how they feel about the reading class, etc.