Dyslexia Treatment: What Works And What Does Not

Treatment for dyslexia means teaching, which researchers and schools call intervention. The two tables below sort the common offers by what reviews of controlled studies have found. A parent can use them to judge any program, product or tutor.

What the evidence supports

Approach	What reviews found	Source
Explicit, systematic phonics: the links between sounds and letters, taught in a set order	A 2014 analysis of 22 randomised controlled trials found phonics instruction was the only approach whose effect on reading and spelling was statistically confirmed. A 2018 Cochrane review of 14 studies concluded that phonics training can improve literacy in English-speaking poor readers, with evidence rated low to moderate.	Galuschka and colleagues, 2014; Cochrane, 2018
Spelling taught through sounds, spelling patterns and word parts	A 2020 review of 34 controlled trials found that teaching phonics, spelling patterns and word parts each improved spelling in learners with dyslexia. Memorising words did not show a confirmed benefit.	Galuschka and colleagues, 2020
Teaching that is explicit, step by step and checked often	AUSPELD describes successful programs as teaching content clearly and directly, one step at a time, with regular checks of what has been taught.	AUSPELD guide for parents
Adjustments at school, such as extra time and text read aloud	Adjustments do not treat dyslexia. They let a child learn and show what they know while reading and spelling are being taught. healthdirect lists them beside phonics.	healthdirect

What the evidence does not support

Approach	What reviews found	Source
Coloured overlays and tinted lenses	The 2014 analysis found no significant effect on reading. healthdirect says coloured glasses and overlays do not treat dyslexia. More in the guide to coloured overlays and dyslexia glasses .	Galuschka and colleagues, 2014; healthdirect
Eye exercises and vision therapy	A joint statement from paediatric and eye medicine bodies says the evidence does not support eye exercises or behavioural vision therapy, and that vision problems do not cause dyslexia. An ordinary eye test is still sensible, to rule out a child who simply needs glasses.	Joint statement on dyslexia and vision
Special dyslexia fonts	Controlled studies found children with dyslexia read no faster and no more accurately in purpose-made fonts than in ordinary ones. AUSPELD notes that any benefit seen came from wider letter spacing. More in the guide to dyslexia fonts.	Wery and Diliberto, 2017; Kuster and colleagues, 2018
Medicine	No medicine treats dyslexia. In the 2014 analysis, medical treatments did not show a significant effect on reading or spelling.	Galuschka and colleagues, 2014
Listening training, movement programs, memory training and special diets	The 2014 analysis found listening (auditory) training did not significantly improve reading or spelling. AUSPELD reports no scientific evidence that exercise programs or changed diets improve reading, and limited evidence that memory training carries over to schoolwork.	Galuschka and colleagues, 2014; AUSPELD research summary

A product that promises to cure dyslexia, or to fix reading without teaching reading, belongs in the second table until it has controlled studies behind it.

Who can deliver dyslexia treatment?

Dyslexia treatment can be delivered by a learning support teacher, a trained tutor or a speech pathologist. healthdirect lists all three. What matters more than the job title is that the person is trained in explicit, structured teaching of reading and spelling and follows the method as designed. A formal diagnosis is a separate step, usually made by a psychologist. The page on who does what, tutor or speech pathologist compares the professions.

Dr Lauren Crumlish (PhD) is a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist. She assesses reading, spelling and the spoken language skills underneath, and teaches children and teenagers up to 18 by video, across Australia. She does not diagnose dyslexia. Her dyslexia tutoring and her dyslexia therapy are one service, there is a page on her work with teenagers, and the steps are set out on how online dyslexia therapy works.

How much dyslexia teaching, and how often?

No review of dyslexia teaching gives a number of weeks that works for every child. AUSPELD's guide says new material should be reviewed and taught in frequent sessions, preferably daily, and that most students with a learning disability need a considerable period of intensive teaching. In practice that means lessons with a trained person and short, regular practice between lessons. Be wary of any program that promises a result in a set number of weeks. Starting sooner gives more time for that practice, which is the subject of the guide to early intervention for dyslexia .

What is measured, and how is progress reviewed?

Progress in dyslexia treatment is reviewed by measuring the same skills again and comparing the results with the starting point. Reading and spelling are measured separately, because a child can improve in one before the other.

• Reading. Accuracy on real words, accuracy on made-up words (which shows whether a child is decoding or remembering), reading pace on a passage, and understanding of what was read.
• Spelling. Spelling of dictated words that use the patterns taught so far, and spelling in the child's own writing.

These are the outcomes the Cochrane review counted, and AUSPELD's guide calls for regular checks with the teaching adjusted to how a child responds. Ask anyone who teaches your child three things: what was measured at the start, what will be measured again, and when. With Dr Lauren, every child starts with an assessment, and that assessment is the starting point later reviews are compared against.

When should you change approach?

Change the approach when repeated measures show little movement, and change it by asking questions first. Is the teaching aimed at the skill that is holding your child back? Is there enough practice between lessons? Is something else in the way, such as a spoken language difficulty, attention, hearing or eyesight? A review with the person teaching, or a fuller assessment, answers these.

Two situations call for a change sooner: the program is one of the approaches in the second table, or nobody is measuring anything. Slow progress on its own is not a reason to swap explicit teaching for an unproven product.

• AUSPELD, Understanding Learning Difficulties: a guide for parents
• healthdirect, Dyslexia (last reviewed December 2024)
• Galuschka and colleagues (2014), treatment approaches for reading disabilities , PLOS ONE
• McArthur and colleagues (2018), phonics training for English-speaking poor readers , Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Galuschka and colleagues (2020), spelling interventions for learners with dyslexia , Educational Psychologist
• Joint statement: learning disabilities, dyslexia, and vision (2009)
• Wery and Diliberto (2017) and Kuster and colleagues (2018), Annals of Dyslexia