When Your Dyslexic Athlete Can’t Focus: Understanding Disorientation and Finding What Works

Picture this: Your child is at practice, standing in a circle with their teammates. The coach is explaining the next drill—something about positioning, timing, and who goes where. Your child is nodding. Their eyes are on the coach. They look engaged.

Then the whistle blows, and your child runs to completely the wrong spot. Or they freeze, eyes darting to their teammates, trying to figure out what everyone else is doing so they can copy it. Or they have that look—the one you’ve seen before in homework battles and classroom struggles—that glazed, lost expression that tells you they’re somewhere else entirely, even though their body is right there on the field.

This isn’t about not listening. This isn’t about not trying. This is about disorientation—and it’s one of the most misunderstood challenges facing dyslexic athletes.

If you’re parenting or coaching a dyslexic athlete, understanding disorientation and how to overcome it might be the single most important tool you can give them. Not just for sports, but for life.

When Confusion Becomes Disorientation: What’s Really Happening

Here’s what most people don’t understand about dyslexic brains and confusion:

For many people, confusion is momentary. Something doesn’t make sense, they ask a clarifying question, they get an answer, and they move forward. The confusion lasts seconds. It’s a speed bump, not a roadblock.

For people with dyslexia, confusion works differently.

When a word or concept doesn’t have clear meaning—when it’s abstract, or uses terminology that hasn’t been fully internalized, or involves multiple steps that blur together—that initial moment of confusion doesn’t just pause. It compounds. It builds on itself.

Think of it like this: Imagine you’re trying to follow directions in a language you’re still learning. The first sentence makes partial sense. The second sentence uses a word you don’t quite know, so you’re still processing the first sentence while trying to catch the second. By the third sentence, you’ve lost the thread entirely, and now you’re not just confused about the current instruction—you’re disoriented about where you are in the entire sequence.

That’s what happens for many dyslexic athletes when coaches give rapid-fire instructions using sports terminology that hasn’t been fully visualized and internalized.

The coach says: “We’re running a motion offense, so when you see the screen, you’re going to curl around, read the defense, and either pop out to the wing or continue through to the baseline depending on how they rotate.”

Your child hears words. They recognize that instructions are being given. But “motion offense” might not create a clear picture. “Curl around” is abstract. “Read the defense” requires processing multiple moving pieces simultaneously. By the time the coach gets to “pop out to the wing,” your child is three steps behind, trying to make sense of the beginning while new information keeps coming.

And here’s the critical part: Once disorientation sets in, asking clarifying questions doesn’t help.

Why? Because to process the answer to a clarifying question, you need to be in a clear mental state. You need to be oriented, focused, and able to receive new information accurately. When you’re disoriented, your brain isn’t in that state. It’s like trying to tune a radio while someone’s shaking the dial—you can’t lock onto the signal.

This is why you might see your child nod when the coach asks, “Does everyone understand?” They’re not being dishonest. They genuinely think they understand, or they understand pieces, or they’re hoping it will make sense once they start moving. But the disorientation is still there, quietly scrambling the information.

Why “Just Concentrate” Doesn’t Work

So the natural response—from coaches, from parents, sometimes from the athletes themselves—is: “You need to focus. You need to concentrate harder.”

If only it were that simple.

Traditional concentration techniques—the ones that work for many neurotypical learners—often fail spectacularly for people with dyslexia. And when those techniques don’t work, everyone gets frustrated. The athlete feels like they’re failing at something that should be basic. The coach wonders why this player can’t seem to “lock in” like the others. Parents watch their child struggle with something invisible and feel helpless.

Here’s why traditional concentration typically doesn’t work:

It requires sustained mental effort in the exact way that’s already challenging. Telling a disoriented dyslexic athlete to “concentrate harder” is like telling someone who’s dizzy to “balance harder.” The disorientation is the problem—willpower alone can’t override it.

It doesn’t address the root cause. Concentration techniques often focus on blocking out distractions or maintaining attention. But for dyslexic athletes, the issue isn’t usually external distraction—it’s internal disorientation. Their brain isn’t receiving information correctly, so no amount of attention will fix the garbled signal.

It adds pressure to an already stressful situation. When an athlete is told to concentrate and they genuinely try but still can’t achieve clarity, it reinforces the belief that something is wrong with them. This creates anxiety, which makes disorientation worse, which makes focus even harder to achieve. It’s a vicious cycle.

The truth is this: Dyslexic athletes need different tools to achieve focus. Not harder effort. Not more willpower. Different techniques that match how their brains actually work.

Practical Grounding Techniques: Finding What Works

The good news—and this is really important—is that there are effective ways to move from disorientation to focus. They just might not be the methods you’ve tried before.

These techniques are often called “grounding” or “self-regulation” strategies, and they work by helping the brain return to a clear, oriented state. Different methods work for different people, and part of the journey is discovering what clicks for your athlete.

Here are several approaches that have helped dyslexic athletes find their way back to focus:

Deep Breathing with Intention

This isn’t just “take a deep breath”—it’s structured breathing that gives the brain something specific to track. The 4-7-8 technique works well: Inhale slowly for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, exhale completely for 8 seconds. The counting provides structure, and the extended exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the body and clear the mind.

Some athletes do this once. Others need three or four cycles. The key is making it a practiced routine, not something they’re trying for the first time in a high-pressure moment.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Sensory Technique

This method anchors you in the present moment through your senses: Identify five things you can see, four things you can physically feel (the ground under your feet, the fabric of your jersey, the air on your skin), three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.

This technique is particularly effective because it’s impossible to do while remaining disoriented. By the time you’ve moved through your senses, your brain has naturally reoriented to the present moment. The challenge is that it takes time—maybe a minute or two—which makes it better for timeouts or breaks than for quick mid-play refocusing.

Physical Movement and Body Awareness

Sometimes the fastest route back to orientation is through the body. Light physical activity—jumping jacks, shaking out your arms and legs, doing a quick stretch—reconnects you with your physical presence. This works especially well for kinesthetic learners, which many dyslexic athletes are.

One athlete I worked with would do three quick toe-touches whenever he felt disoriented. The movement, combined with the feeling of his hamstrings stretching, brought him back to focus in seconds. It became his signature move, and his teammates learned that when they saw him do it, he was resetting.

Mindful Touch with a Grounding Object

Holding something with distinct texture—a smooth stone, a stress ball, even a specific spot on your water bottle—and focusing completely on how it feels can pull you out of mental fog. Notice its temperature. Its weight. The texture against your skin. This sensory focus interrupts the disorientation loop.

Some athletes keep a small object in their pocket or bag specifically for this purpose. It becomes a physical tool for mental clarity.

Mantras and Affirmations

Repeating a specific phrase—”I am here, I am ready,” or “Clear mind, strong body,” or even just “Focus”—can help center your thoughts. The key is choosing a phrase that resonates personally and practicing it enough that it becomes automatic.

This works best when combined with another technique, like deep breathing. The words provide mental structure while the breathing provides physiological grounding.

The Challenge: Finding What Works Quickly

Here’s the reality of athletics: You often don’t have two minutes to work through a sensory checklist. You need to refocus in seconds, sometimes while the play is still happening.

This is where the work becomes personal and specific. Your athlete needs to discover which technique works for them quickly and easily.

This discovery process is important:

Try different methods during low-pressure situations—at home, during casual practice, in moments when there’s time to experiment. Notice which techniques bring clarity fastest. Which ones feel natural versus forced? Which ones can be done subtly, without drawing attention?

Once you’ve identified a method that works, practice it deliberately. Not just when disorientation happens, but regularly, so it becomes automatic. The goal is to make refocusing as natural as tying shoes—something your athlete can do without thinking about the steps.

Also teach your athlete to recognize their own early warning signs of disorientation. What does it feel like in their body? Do they notice their thoughts getting fuzzy? Does their vision seem to blur slightly? The earlier they catch disorientation, the easier it is to reverse.

A Focus Technique Designed for Athletes: The String Method

This technique is effective for several reasons:

The physical act of balancing forces orientation. Your brain has to be clear and focused to maintain balance—it’s a built-in feedback system. If you’re balanced, you’re focused.

The visualization is concrete and spatial. Dyslexic thinkers often excel at spatial reasoning. A dot in space, strings holding you up—these aren’t abstract concepts. They’re things your brain can “see” and work with.

It’s quick. Once you’ve practiced this technique, you can return to your focus point in seconds. You don’t need to go through a long sequence or find a quiet space. You can do it standing on the sideline, in the huddle, or even while play is happening around you.

It’s personal and portable. Your dot and your strings are always with you. No equipment needed. No one else even needs to know you’re doing it.

The Bigger Picture: Empowerment Through Self-Regulation

This ability to get focus transfers everywhere. But here’s an important thing to note: dyslexics can have different places to focus for different tasks. For sports, above the head tends to work great. But in the classroom, when looking at 2-dimensional symbols, the focus point will be in a different place. The Davis Methods (programs I facilitate at Learning Tools), teaches how to focus for a classroom and other situations.

Here’s what I want you to understand: Learning to recognize and overcome disorientation isn’t just about sports performance. It’s about giving your athlete a tool they’ll use for the rest of their life.

When your child discovers they can move themselves from confusion to clarity—that they have agency over their mental state—everything changes. They’re not at the mercy of their brain’s quirks. They’re not dependent on others to rescue them from disorientation. They have a technique, a method, a way back to focus that belongs to them.

The athlete who learns to refocus on the field is learning something profound: I can feel lost, and I can find my way back. I have the tools. I have the power.

That’s not just athletic training. That’s life training.

So yes, help your athlete find their focus technique. Practice the marionette method or deep breathing or whatever works for them. But also celebrate what they’re really learning: self-regulation, self-awareness, and the confidence that comes from knowing they can navigate their own neurodivergent brain.

The disorientation will still happen sometimes. Confusion will still arise. But now they’ll have a way through it. And that makes all the difference.

Looking for more support in helping your dyslexic athlete develop self-regulation skills? At Learning Tools for Life, we provide coaching and consultation for parents and coaches working with dyslexic and neurodivergent learners. 

The post Athletics and Dyslexia:  Getting focused appeared first on Learning Tools.

When Your Dyslexic Child Wants to Play Sports: Understanding the Vocabulary Challenge That Changes Everything

As the fall sports season ends and the winter season begins, my phone lights up with calls from parents who sound both hopeful and worried. “My daughter made the basketball team, but I’m concerned,” one mom told me last week. “She’s so excited, but I’ve watched her struggle to follow instructions in school. Will sports be different? Or am I setting her up for another place where she feels behind?”

If you’re reading this, you might be asking similar questions. Your dyslexic child wants to play sports—maybe they’re bursting with enthusiasm, or maybe they’re cautiously optimistic after difficult experiences elsewhere. You want to support them, but you’re not sure how to help them succeed in an environment that moves fast, uses unfamiliar terminology, and requires quick processing of verbal instructions.

Here’s what I want you to know: Sports can be transformative for dyslexic children. But success depends on one critical factor that most coaches and parents don’t realize is the issue—vocabulary comprehension.

Why Vocabulary Is the Hidden Barrier

Let me start with what’s really happening when your dyslexic child stands on the field or court, looking engaged but somehow not executing what the coach just explained.

The coach calls out: “Okay, we’re running a pick and roll! Set up at the top of the key, wait for the screen, then drive to the post!”

Your child nods. They look focused. But moments later, they’re in the wrong position, and the coach is frustrated. “Weren’t you listening?”

Here’s the truth: They were listening. But listening isn’t the problem.

Dyslexia is a specific way of thinking that requires being able to visualize the meaning of a word to understand it fully and to think or perform with that word. Without a clear mental picture, a dyslexic individual might have only a fuzzy idea of the word or concept, which causes confusion and doubt.

Think about what just happened in that coaching moment. The coach used terms like “pick and roll,” “top of the key,” “screen,” “drive,” and “post.” For a neurotypical athlete picturing this doesn’t matter as much, they are following and will ask for clarification if needed and for a neurodivergent athlete who has been playing for awhile they probably already have the vocabulary and experienece that allows them to follow the coach. They see the play unfold in their mind before their body moves.

But for your dyslexic child, if they don’t have a precise visual understanding of what “post” means in basketball, their brain is scrambling. Is it a physical post? A position? Where exactly? By the time they’re trying to decode “post,” the coach has moved on to the next instruction, and they’ve lost the thread entirely.

This isn’t about intelligence. It’s not about effort or motivation. It’s about how information is being delivered versus how their brain naturally processes it.

I’ve seen this play out hundreds of times. The child who can visualize complex spatial relationships struggles because they’re stuck trying to translate abstract sports vocabulary into something their brain can use. And because this happens in real-time during practice or games, there’s no opportunity to pause, clarify, and build that mental picture.

The Confusion Multiplies Across Sports

The vocabulary challenge becomes even more complex for children who play multiple sports—and many dyslexic children do, because they’re searching for the right fit or because they genuinely love athletics.

Consider how the same words mean completely different things depending on the sport:

In hockey, you move the puck up the ice toward the offensive zone. In baseball, a player is next up to bat. In football, you might run up the middle. Each “up” creates a different mental image, a different direction, a different action.

Or take the word post. In basketball, the post refers to specific areas on the court near the basket. In football, a post is a route a receiver runs toward the goal post. In soccer, the post is the physical upright bar of the goal. In gymnastics, you might post your hands on the vault.

Splits in gymnastics are positions with one leg forward and one back. In swimming, splits are the times of individual segments of a longer race. In bowling, a split is when pins are left standing with a gap between them.

For a dyslexic athlete playing basketball in winter and baseball in spring, their brain has to constantly recalibrate what these words mean. While their neurotypical teammates seamlessly switch contexts, your child might experience a moment of hesitation—”Wait, which ‘up’ do they mean?”—that looks like confusion or slow processing.

This is exhausting. And it’s invisible to most coaches, who interpret the hesitation as lack of focus or athletic ability rather than what it actually is: a vocabulary comprehension challenge.

What’s Really Happening in Your Child’s Brain

Let me explain this more deeply, because understanding the mechanism helps you advocate effectively.

When a dyslexic person encounters a word without a clear mental picture attached to it, their brain doesn’t just move forward with partial understanding. It creates doubt, confusion, and sometimes a kind of mental static. They might hear the word, but they can’t think with it or act on it because there’s no concrete image to guide their body.

Imagine trying to follow directions to a house, but instead of an address, someone gives you abstract descriptions: “Go toward the feeling of warmth, turn at the concept of transition, and stop when you sense arrival.” You’d be lost, right? That’s similar to what happens when a dyslexic athlete hears sport-specific vocabulary without having built clear visual definitions first.

For younger athletes just starting a sport, this processing delay is significant. While they’re trying to decode what “transition defense” or “weak side” or “through ball” means, the play has already moved on. They fall behind, not because they’re slow athletes, but because they’re working with incomplete information.

For older, more experienced athletes who’ve been playing their sport for years, this becomes less of an issue—but only for that specific sport. They’ve built up a library of visual definitions through repeated exposure and context. The word “post” in basketball now instantly creates a clear mental image because they’ve seen it, done it, and experienced it hundreds of times. The processing delay disappears.

But introduce them to a new sport with new vocabulary, and they’re back to square one.

The Hidden Strengths Your Dyslexic Athlete Possesses

Before we dive into solutions, I need you to understand something crucial: Your dyslexic child isn’t at a disadvantage in sports. They’re at a vocabulary disadvantage. And once that’s addressed, they often have significant athletic advantages.

I’ve seen it over and over again. The child who struggles with reading comprehension demonstrates remarkable spatial awareness on the soccer field. The student who can’t seem to sequence letters in spelling shows incredible ability to read patterns of play and anticipate what’s coming next.

Here’s what many dyslexic athletes naturally bring to sports:

Exceptional spatial reasoning. Many dyslexic individuals have superior ability to understand space, distance, angles, and positioning. They can “see” the geometry of the game in ways that give them a competitive edge. They know where they are in relation to teammates, opponents, and boundaries without having to think about it consciously.

Intuitive pattern recognition. While they might struggle with verbal play calls, dyslexic athletes often excel at reading what’s happening in real-time. They notice patterns in how opponents move, anticipate plays before they develop, and make split-second decisions based on what they observe rather than what they’ve memorized from a playbook.

Creative problem-solving. Dyslexic athletes frequently find unconventional solutions. They might not execute the play exactly as the coach drew it up, but they achieve the objective through innovative adaptation. They see possibilities that more linear thinkers miss.

Strong kinesthetic learning. Once they feel a movement in their body—once they’ve physically experienced what “post up” or “transition” means—they often master it quickly and retain it deeply. They learn by doing, not by hearing about doing.

Big-picture strategic thinking. Many dyslexic athletes naturally understand game flow and strategy. They see how all the pieces fit together, even if they struggle with the individual verbal labels for each piece.

These aren’t consolation prizes. These are genuine athletic advantages that can make your child an exceptional player—once the vocabulary barrier is removed.

How to Help Your Dyslexic Athlete Succeed

So what do you actually do with this information? How do you help your child build the vocabulary foundation they need while advocating for them with coaches?

Start the Season with Vocabulary Building

The most important thing you can do is ensure your dyslexic athlete begins their season with a thorough, visual understanding of the sport’s specific vocabulary. This isn’t something that can happen on the fly during practice. It needs to be intentional and proactive.

Before the season starts, sit down with your child and identify the key terms they’ll need to know. If you’re not sure what those are, ask the coach for a list of common terminology, or look up beginner guides for the sport online.

Then, build visual definitions together. For each term, create a clear mental picture:

• Watch video clips that show the concept in action
• Draw simple diagrams together – or better yet, create it in clay!
• Act it out physically in your living room or backyard
• Take photos or screenshots they can reference
• Create flashcards with the term on one side and a visual representation on the other

The goal isn’t just recognition—it’s creating a mental image so clear and specific that when they hear the word, they instantly see what it means and what they need to do.

For example, if “transition defense” is a key concept in basketball, don’t just define it verbally. Show them video of teams transitioning from offense to defense. Pause it. Point out what each player is doing. Have them describe what they see. Then go outside and practice it physically—”Okay, we just lost the ball, now we’re transitioning to defense. Show me what that looks like.”

This pre-teaching makes an enormous difference. When the coach uses these terms in practice, your child isn’t hearing them for the first time and trying to decode meaning under pressure. They’re hearing familiar words that already have clear pictures attached.

Opening the Conversation with Coaches

At the beginning of the season, have a brief, positive conversation with the coach. You might say something like:

“My child is really excited about playing this season. I wanted to share that they learn best through demonstration and visual explanation rather than verbal instructions alone. They’re a strong kinesthetic learner, so hands-on practice really helps concepts stick. If you could take a few minutes early in the season to demonstrate and explain key terminology, that would help them tremendously. I’m also happy to work on vocabulary at home if you can share the terms you’ll be using most often.”

Notice what this does: It frames your child’s learning style as information, not a problem. It offers partnership, not demands. It gives the coach a specific, actionable way to help without requiring major changes to their coaching style.

Most coaches respond positively to this approach, especially when they understand that a small investment of time upfront will result in an athlete who processes instructions more quickly and performs more confidently throughout the season.

What to Look for in a Coach

Not all coaching styles work equally well for dyslexic athletes. As you navigate sports programs, here’s what to look for:

• Coaches who show, don’t just tell.
• Coaches who break down instructions.
• Coaches who check for understanding differently.
• Coaches who use consistent terminology.
• Coaches who provide positive, specific feedback.

If your child’s current coach isn’t naturally inclined toward these approaches, that doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause. Many coaches are willing to adapt when they understand why it matters. But if you encounter a coach who is rigid, dismissive of your child’s learning needs, or unwilling to make small adjustments, it might be worth exploring other programs or teams.

Supporting Vocabulary Learning at Home

Beyond pre-teaching at the start of the season, you can support ongoing vocabulary development throughout:

• Create a visual glossary.
• Watch games together.
• Process after practice.
• Use the correct terminology at home.
• Celebrate vocabulary victories.

When Context-Dependent Words Cause Confusion

If your child plays multiple sports, pay special attention to words that shift meaning across contexts. These are the ones that cause the most confusion and processing delays.

Make it explicit: “In basketball, ‘post’ means this position near the basket. In soccer, ‘post’ means the physical bar of the goal. They’re different things with the same word. Let’s make sure you have a clear picture of each one.”

You might even create comparison charts: “Words That Mean Different Things in Different Sports” with visual examples for each context. This helps their brain categorize and file the information correctly rather than creating interference between sports.

The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Your Child

Here’s what I’ve witnessed over years of working with dyslexic athletes: When these young people have coaches who understand how they learn, when vocabulary is taught explicitly and visually, when their unique strengths are recognized and leveraged—something remarkable happens.

Sports becomes more than physical activity. It becomes proof that they can excel. That they can be valued team members. That their different way of thinking is an asset, not a deficit.

The confidence they build on the field or court transfers to other areas of life. They approach academic challenges with more resilience because they have evidence that they can master hard things. They advocate for themselves more effectively because they understand their learning needs and can articulate them. They develop a growth mindset rooted in real experience: “I’ve learned complex things before. I can learn this too.”

Your dyslexic child’s brain isn’t a barrier to athletic success—it’s simply a different operating system that requires compatible input. The vocabulary challenge is real, but it’s solvable. And once it’s solved, you might be amazed at what your child can do.

As you navigate this journey, remember: You are your child’s most important advocate. Your willingness to understand how their brain works, your proactive approach to building vocabulary foundations, and your partnership with coaches will shape not just their athletic experience, but their understanding of themselves.

Sports can be where your dyslexic child discovers they’re not just capable—they’re exceptional. With the right support, the field becomes a place of belonging, growth, and joy.

Looking for Additional Help for Your Child?

At Learning Tools for Life, I work with families to support dyslexic learners in all areas of life, including athletics. The Davis Dyslexia program is a fantastic resource for children and adults that helps them understand how they best learn, provides self-regulation tools, and clears up 218 common trigger words that cause disorientation—many of which are the directional and positional words that create confusion in sports.

If you’re looking for more personalized support in helping your dyslexic athlete succeed, or if you want to explore the Davis program, contact me. Because every child deserves to experience the joy and confidence that comes from athletic success.

Tags: ahtletics and dyslexia, baseball dyslexia, basketball dyslexia, Dyslexia Bothell, dyslexic athlete, football dyslexia, gymnastics dysleixa, hockey dyslexia, seattle, soccer dyslexia, softball dyslexia

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When we are able to predict what will happen in the future, we are able to plan and prepare for it.  This can help us feel more in control and less anxious.  However, when we are not able to predict what will happen, we may feel helpless and powerless.

One of the main reasons why people may not be able to predict the future is due to uncertainty.  If you are neurodivergent and you have missed key life concepts or lessons when you were young (due to being unfocused/disoriented/dreamy/inattentive) you might really struggle with prediction. That predictive ability and skill come into account daily in the choices we make.

Imagine your life without this ability, little decisions we make every day can affect how we feel throughout the day. Do I need a coat? If I go into that classroom what will happen to me? Is that person dangerous?  Why is there so much noise, will it ever stop? When will I eat again?

Learning Tools can help with prediction and thus anxiety.

In a number of the Davis Programs provided here at Learning Tools, we master the core concepts that are needed to predict.  The Davis Programs are brilliant in their simplicity and ability to get at the root cause of an issue.  The concept of consequence (something happening as a result of something else) is pivotal in one’s ability to predict.

Understanding the concept of consequence allows one to understand the potential outcomes of a particular action or decision. This understanding can then be used to make predictions about future events or situations, as one can anticipate how different actions or decisions may lead to different consequences.

For example, if a person knows that a particular decision is likely to lead to a negative effect, they can predict that this outcome will occur if that decision is made.  In this way, understanding the concept of consequence can help one make better predictions about future events, as it allows one to anticipate the potential outcome of different actions or decisions.

Consequence inherently contains the concepts of change, cause, effect, before and after; these concepts clarify the meaning of consequence.   These concepts are core to problem-solving and predicting.  The better you understand them, the easier it is to create the change (cause) that you want to take place (effect).

Predicting requires an educated guess of what will happen. Life experiences provide learning for us, but if the concept of consequence and all those it includes are not clear the learning hasn’t been able to provide an experience that can be decoded and remembered for the future.  People often feel they are victims and have no control.

Learning core developmental concepts gets at the root cause of many executive function activities and can address the issues of anxiety around confusion or not knowing how to predict.

The Davis Concepts for Life and Davis Autism Approach programs both go even further into root concepts providing 40 concepts that also look address motivation, responsibilities, and relationships.   If you want to learn more, I encourage you to give me a call or visit https://www.rdautismfoundation.org/.

The post The Power of Prediction in Relieveing Anxiety. appeared first on Learning Tools.

by Jenny Wise

According to Understood.org, one in five children has a learning disability, and if they don’t get the right support, they are three times as likely to drop out of high school and twice as likely to be jobless as adults than kids who don’t. These sobering statistics show that involving these children in engaging activities outside of schoolwork is essential for their intellectual and emotional development, and the answer may be the arts.

“Involving children with learning differences (at Learning Tools, we prefer difference to disability) in the arts can have several benefits, including improved motor skills, concentration and focus, creative expression, and self-esteem. Learning Tools outlines some arts to consider introducing to your child.

Music

For a child with learning disabilities, music works the areas of the brain that are tied to speech, reading, comprehension, problem-solving, focus, and more. Singing and playing an instrument have especially remarkable benefits for children with learning disabilities, but even the act of listening to music can have a wonderful impact.

Health benefits of singing
How to get child interested in playing a musical instrument
How to set up music room at home
If you have a music background and you’ve considered making some money on the side, consider using ZenBusiness to start your own business and teach other kids, perhaps specializing in instructing children with learning disabilities.

Photograph

It takes a steady hand, concentration, and focus to take a good photograph, not to mention the ability to compose a scene before you snap the shutter. Children with learning disabilities can learn photography to develop these same skills and so many more.

Benefits of photography for kids
It’s not all about camera phones; teach kids to use a DSLR camera
Photography-focused activities kids can do

Painting and Drawing

It doesn’t matter if the child uses colored pencils, markers, crayons, or watercolors; the act of moving something colorful across a blank canvas is a creative way to express emotions. At the same time, it can help a child develop patience, concentration, and problem-solving skills.

Different drawing styles kids can try
12 free online painting and drawing lessons for kids
Benefits of painting for children
Teach children about famous paintings

Regardless of the art form your child pursues, make sure there’s always some fun injected into it. Also be sure to help the child realize every day that the fun he or she is having will boost their focus, improve their schoolwork, and greatly enhance their self-confidence.

About the Author: Jenny Wise created Special Home Educator as a forum for sharing her adventures in homeschooling and connecting with other homeschooling families. She has been homeschooling her four children for many years now, including her youngest daughter Anna who is on the autism spectrum.

Learning Tools assists adults and children attain skills, confidence, and motivation needed to achieve their goals. Our programs are offered for learning and correcting multiple struggles of neurodivergent learners. Reach out to us today! 206-451-7102

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

The post Involving Your Child with Learning Challenges in the Arts appeared first on Learning Tools.

Why do a Dyslexia Program?

A parent recently asked me, “Why should I pay for a program for my son?” She noted that she navigated school and life without such support despite being dyslexic herself, and emphasized that grades matter less than recognizing her child’s intelligence.

Here is my response.

Concrete Methods for Improvement

If your son wants help and wants to improve, a structured program offers concrete strategies to achieve that goal—moving beyond general understanding to actionable skill development.

Restoring Self-Esteem

For many families, self-esteem is the primary concern. I pursued a program for my son because it pained me to hear him call himself “stupid” or compare himself negatively to peers. After completing the program, this behavior diminished significantly. My son began recognizing his strengths and took pride in them—a pattern I consistently observe in follow-up conversations with other parents.

Empowering Student Control

When students understand their own learning process, they gain genuine control over their education. They learn to recognize when they are disoriented or confused and can adjust their approach accordingly.

Many dyslexic students excel at concentration, yet heavy concentration without proper focus often creates confusion, increases effort, and can be frustrating. Understanding the distinction between focused learning and unfocused concentration is transformative—when students learn to focus effectively rather than simply concentrating harder, learning becomes more efficient and less painful.

Recognizing Strengths and Potential

When students grasp how their brain works, they often become energized by new possibilities. They may discover excitement in their creative abilities, their capacity to see problems from different angles, or their talent for noticing patterns others miss. This shift—from viewing themselves as slow or challenged to recognizing their unique strengths—is profound and lasting.

Efficiency and Long-Term Value

A Davis® program works with an individual’s natural learning and thinking style, teaching students to leverage this style to their advantage. Traditional tutoring, by contrast, typically reteaches school material using the same verbal, repetition-based methods employed in classrooms, often at a slower pace.

While some tutors employ multi-sensory approaches, these methods frequently require years of ongoing sessions, ultimately costing equal to or more than a comprehensive program. A structured program aligned with how your child actually thinks delivers faster results and better long-term value.

Tags:Alaska, Davis Dyslexia, Davis Methods, dyscalculia help, dysgraphia help, dyslexia program, dyslexia tutoing, Reading help, seattle, stop the struggle

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Below is Jamie’s account of the day:

• Start off the morning with a check-in, how we are feeling about being there, did we sleep well, do we need a snack or to do some stretching – make sure we are set up to be successful for the day.
• Then we take time to check and make sure our focusing tools is where it needs to be and do any fine tuning if need be. This is as easy as 1,2,3, balance.
• Then we play around with koosh balls (a type of rubbery stringy ball).   From there we are really focused and ready to do some reading.
• We only read for 5-10 minutes depending on how one is feeling. When we work on reading comprehension it might be longer and a good discussion of “the movie” that we have visualized while reading.
• Next, we would do clay work to master words. We talk about the “trigger words”, look it up in a dictionary (it is amazing to see how many different meaning one of these words can have), make all kinds of sentences until that word is really clear to us, then we get to create a model of the word in clay. Creativity is welcome here, but simple models work great. So for the word “on”, while Sophia modeled a child who rode “on” the camel, I modeled a boy flew “on” the plane. This was a bit more challenging then I had thought it would be – but I was happy with the model in the end. {“on” definition used “used as a function word to indicate means of transport“}
• Then we take a break, maybe a 10 minutes break, maybe 15 – just depends on what we together think is needed. “I love how I get to help make the decisions, ‘it is your program, after all, Sophia says’.
• We end our break with koosh balls or start our work session, however, you prefer to think of it. Koosh balls help to ensure we are focused and ready for the next task at hand.
• When we get back to work, we often do another reading exercise. If not reading, we work on spelling words; we tackle another spelling word that has given me trouble in the past. Using the tools, making the word in clay, and then mastering has me spelling the word in no time! The best part is, I remember the word.
• We continue the day in this pattern. The day goes by fast actually, and while it is work, it doesn’t feel like work. The best part was each day I felt proud of the models I did and surprised by how much working with the word helped me, I don’t have problems with these words anymore when I am reading or trying to write and spell them – weird but true.

Spelling word “apologize” learned during the Dyslexia Reading Program.

Clay model showing the meaning of “always” (at all times) done during the Dyslexia Correction Program.

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My son is now in 8^th grade: he is doing very well in language arts, he writes beautifully, he reads well with excellent comprehension and in math, he has been getting high marks.  His math teacher even said to me that my son has a great mind for math; he just needs to believe in himself a little more.

Math Story Words Can Create Trouble

I thought he was on a great academic path and then last weeks’ homework happened. As he was doing homework, he asked his older brother some questions and his brother answered the questions with other questions to try and get him to think through the problem. I was having a proud mama moment; my older son was truly trying to help.

Then all of a sudden, I hear a loud, forceful voice say, “I already told you”.  I gently asked if he was using his tools, which was returned with a glare of an irate teenager full of disgust. Okay, I see that mom needs to stay out of it! I tried, I truly did, but as he was reading the story problem question back to his brother and telling him what equation he made out of it, it was obvious to me that the confusion was due to trigger words, so naturally I had to butt in.

He ended up working through the problems with me making sure he had a clear picture of what the meaning of each of the words were and to be sure he knew what was being asked for in each question. Then I told him we could fix his frustrations by modeling in clay the words that were causing confusion, just like we used to. He was up to it and we spent the weekend playing with clay and cutting up circles of clay into fractions.

Learn the Meaning of Words Through Pictures

Do you know “by” in math can mean to multiply, but it can also mean divide?   During the homework fiasco, it was clear that my son didn’t know the second meaning of “by” meaning divide, which was needed to get the equation correct. The other word that was causing confusion was “of” when working with fractions.

I hadn’t seen him break down into this “self-hate” in a long time; he kept saying how stupid he was under his breath. He could do the math, but translating words into a math problem requires one to have a clear meaning/picture of each word. That is what the symbol mastery does, it gives meaning to words.   So learning the meaning of words that don’t produce a mental picture is extremely important to picture thinkers.

Math has a language of its own, but it is more than just numerals and function symbols, the words we use for math to describe functions are just as important.  By using clay to mold and create the meaning of the word, we get to understand, know and master a word at a very deep level. After doing this work, that word no longer causes a problem.

“by” in math can mean divide

“of” in math can mean a portion or fraction taken from

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The definition of focus when used as a verb means to direct one’s attention or efforts.  

How do you feel when you are unable to focus?

Have you ever felt that you were:

• all “in your head” or so fuzzy and dizzy you just were not able to say what you wanted to say?
• or maybe you just want to concentrate and read the book that you had in front of you because you were exhausted from a busy day? But there’s so much going on that you couldn’t read, instead you heard the birds outside and then the train passed and then kids are playing and screaming and your dog got upset and started barking so there was just no way you could read?
• or how about you have an important paper to write and you know the information but you just couldn’t write what you wanted to write?

Each additional noise, or distraction increases the inability to focus and concentrate. Being able to focus is a skill; a skill that most of us take for granted.

Dyslexics have a low threshold for confusion, so they have a more difficult time focusing. To add to this low threshold of confusion thy have a unique ability of perception that allows them to see and experience things that aren’t common for those who use verbal conceptualization or “words” as their main means of thinking. A dyslexic’s perceptual ability actually creates what we call disorientation as in the senses are not aligned. When in disorientation, the ability to focus can feel unobtainable and usually takes removing oneself from the situation to refocus again.

For me, before I was given specific tools to get myself into a focused state, I needed to feel grounded and then I could focus, but without the feeling of being grounded, my ability to focus was severely handicapped. I would try to focus and remember my mind racing in class to find the words or answers I needed. I would make errors or be confused or was unsure of what I read and the harder I would try, the more frustrated and stupid I felt.

Without specific tools to get focused, one might have to get up and walk away from what they are doing, take a walk, try meditating, or listening to music.   It just depends on the person, but when they are a kid in school, they have to try to concentrate harder, which is exhausting and often doesn’t work. If they look out the window or start doodling on their page, they are given all sorts of labels, like lazy, unmotivated, or ADD/ADHD.

Not being able to focus means not being able to learn. So I believe good focusing tools are the key to success. The Davis® methods do a fabulous job of giving students a quick and easy way to focus. The intensive program is the perfect way to be in a safe place with a facilitator who is an expert on detecting disorientation. The facilitator can point out and help guide the student to times they need to use their focusing tool so they master their ability to focus quickly, easily, and at will.

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I have often referred to my clients and dyslexics as picture thinkers. But what exactly is a picture thinker? A picture thinker is someone who thinks primarily in pictures instead of the sound of words (verbal conceptualization). In the US it is estimated that 20% of the population think primarily in pictures (non-verbal conceptualization). Those with dyslexia, auditory processing, attentions issues like ADD/ADHD are people who are picture thinkers. Picture thinking is evolutionary, meaning it grows as the thought process adds more concepts. It is subliminal, and it is extremely fast, possibly thousands of times faster than verbal conceptualization.

For someone who is a picture thinker and has difficulty with reading, the challenge they face is that the word they are trying to read doesn’t have a natural picture for them, words such as: of, else, it’s, how, and sure. The picture thinker draws a blank and can’t “think” with that word. We call the words with no pictures “trigger words” and there are 217 common to dyslexics.

In this sentence: “The brown llama has gone over the stone fence and left the pasture.” The following words don’t have pictures that come to mind for most dyslexics: the, has, gone, over, and left. What they are then left with is brown, llama, stone, fence, and pasture. Using only these words, the meaning of the sentence is not clear.

With time, the dyslexic might learn how to read the word but the comprehension can become quite difficult. As they continue in school coping methods evolve where the dyslexic can pick up the gist of the meaning, but often really important information is lost. These coping methods might include: guessing or making something up, reading someone’s face and body language if they are reading with them, imagining by looking at the pictures, continuing reading to help with their guess, or giving up reading altogethLet’s

Lets take an example of how a picture thinker who struggles more with auditory processing might have challenges. These are those people who have a really difficult time following directions. Let’s say a mom is with her dyslexic son is at her office and he wants to help her out. She tells her son “Billy, please go get me the tape I was using earlier, it is on the desk in the other room down the hall. He hears: Billy please tape using desk room hall. There are a number of things that he could have thought she meant, but he heads off and comes back a few minutes later looking confused saying “mom, there is no desk in the hall.” He has completely forgotten he was looking for tape and instead searched for a desk in the hall.

As you can imagine, the best way to work with someone who is having a hard time following directions is to ensure you have “painted a picture” for them when asking for directions. But when it comes to reading and I mean reading for comprehension, another approach is needed. The dyslexic needs to first be focused and then they need start coming up with creative pictures for each of the words they do not know. In Davis® dyslexia programs the student “masters” words & symbols” by creating them with clay to make the words clear.

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