If your child is a late reader, should you relax and give them more time—or could waiting make reading struggles harder to overcome?

In this episode of The Homeschool Sanity Show, I talk with Faye Bankler Casell, a Certified Academic Language Therapist and dyslexia specialist, about one of the most debated questions in homeschooling: When should parents be concerned about a child who isn’t reading?

Faye shares why reading struggles can often be identified before a child is actually reading, why dyslexia is frequently missed, and what parents can do at home to help. We also discuss the popular homeschool philosophy of delaying formal reading instruction and how parents can balance respecting a child’s developmental timetable with recognizing signs that intervention may be needed.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why “wait and see” may not be the best approach for every late reader
• Early signs of dyslexia parents can watch for
• Why speech and language delays can signal increased risk for reading difficulties
• How bright children sometimes mask dyslexia by memorizing and guessing words
• A simple way to determine whether your child is actually decoding rather than relying on memorization
• Why spelling can be especially challenging for students with dyslexia—and why improvement is still possible
• What the Orton-Gillingham approach is and why its explicit, sequential, multisensory instruction can help struggling readers
• Why repetition is so important for dyslexic learners
• How homeschool parents can provide effective reading support at home

Faye also explains her Reading Breakthrough program, which gives parents access to dyslexia-therapy techniques they can use with their children at home, along with teaching videos, parent instruction, activities, and materials.

Resources mentioned:

The Dyslexia Roadmap for Families — Faye's free mini ebook covering signs of dyslexia and resources for families.

Reading Breakthrough — Faye's program designed to help parents use dyslexia-therapy strategies with their children at home.

Learn more about Faye's resources at Home Reading Coach:
https://homereadingcoach.com

Other Episodes You May Enjoy

Help for Distracted and Struggling Readers

How to Help Struggling Readers

What do you think? Have you had a late reader—or a child whose reading struggles turned out to be dyslexia? Share your experience in the comments.