Dysorthographia: how to improve spelling at home?
Speech and language therapy is essential — but it amounts to one to two hours a week at best. The rest of the time, it is at home that progress is built. Here is how to create an environment that supports better spelling without turning the house into a Saturday school.
The golden rule: work in liaison with the speech and language therapist
All exercises practised at home should be validated and guided by the speech and language therapist. This professional knows the child’s specific profile and knows which activities are beneficial at this stage — and which may be counterproductive or premature. Do not choose exercises at random on the internet: ask the speech and language therapist for a list of specific activities to practise between sessions.
Regularity above all
10 to 15 minutes of daily spelling exercises produce better results than a two-hour intensive session at the weekend. The brain consolidates learning during sleep — regular, spaced exposure is far more effective for embedding rules and words in long-term memory.
Prepared dictations: an effective and supportive method
Unlike the surprise dictation — a source of stress and failure for the dysorthographic child — the prepared dictation is an effective tool. The child studies the text in advance, identifies the difficult words, memorises the rules that apply, and then takes the dictation. This method reduces anxiety while strengthening spelling memory in a context of gradual success.
The visualisation technique for spelling
To memorise the spelling of a difficult word, visualisation is particularly effective. Ask the child to look at the word, close their eyes, picture it mentally in its written form, and then write it from memory without looking. Repeated over several days with the same words, this technique considerably strengthens spelling memory.
Training apps: practice made fun
Apps such as Ortho+, Révise ta grammaire, or the interactive exercises from the Bescherelle allow spelling to be practised in an enjoyable and motivating way. Gamification — points, levels, rewards — keeps the child engaged over the long term, whereas traditional paper exercises can quickly discourage.
Do not correct all the mistakes at once
Correcting every error in a text at once is counterproductive — the child is overwhelmed and retains nothing. It is better to choose 2 or 3 priority types of error to work on at a given time — in line with the speech and language therapist’s goals — and to temporarily set the others aside. This targeted approach produces much better results over the long term. For practical sheets on improving spelling at home, aidtoi.fr offers downloadable resources for parents.
