Back-to-school preparation for families of children with learning disabilities is gaining attention as the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) launches its Great Read Along event on October 22. The nationwide reading celebration aims to highlight that many students with dyslexia or related challenges can read, but often miss out on the enjoyment that comes with a good book.
Setting routines before the first day
Kim McLean, LDAC’s executive director and a longtime Calgary educator, stresses that preparation starts weeks before school resumes. She advises parents to shift sleep schedules gradually, especially if children have been staying up late over the summer. “If they’ve been allowed to sleep in and stay up late and they’ve got to get up at 7 again, you have to do this,” she says. Practicing the routine is important for kids to feel less overwhelmed and less anxious about going to school again.
Practicing daily habits—packing a backpack, placing shoes by the door, and walking to the bus stop—helps reduce anxiety. She recommends rehearsing these steps in real time, not the night before, because the transition feels less overwhelming when it’s familiar.
When possible, families should visit the school ahead of time. Identifying the main entrance, the location of the playground, the bike rack, and the drop-off zone gives children a mental map they can rely on. Many schools host meet-and-greet sessions; bringing the child to meet the teacher and to locate the bathroom, gym, and library can make the environment feel safer.
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Reading the parent handbook and briefly informing the teacher about the child’s special needs opens a channel for discussing the individual learning plan, which outlines goals, strengths, and accommodations.
For children who struggle to articulate how their day went, McLean suggests reframing the end-of-day question. Instead of asking how their day was, she recommends asking what made them laugh today or what if they could do something differently tomorrow, what would that be? This approach encourages a positive reflection and can reveal specific areas where support is needed.
Students with learning disabilities often label school as “boring” when they feel overloaded. McLean explains that the boredom stems from processing-speed limits; when information moves faster than a child can store it, the lesson loses its thread and the student disengages. The mental effort required to keep up can be draining, leading to a perception that the material is uninteresting.
In practice, this means educators may need to repeat instructions in multiple formats, spoken, written, and visual, so that each learner can access the content. Providing a peer to paraphrase a story or using pictures alongside text can bridge gaps without slowing the whole class.
Family experiences that shaped McLean’s advocacy
McLean’s younger brother was labeled mentally handicapped during the 1960s and ’70s. He left high school early but taught himself to read and later repaired small engines. McLean recalls that he “had a heart of gold,” noting his death and the lasting impact of his legacy, which she describes as humbling. She often reflects on his perseverance.
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Those early family experiences led McLean to volunteer with LDAC as a teenager in an after-school program. While attending university, she assisted in running summer day camps serving students with learning disabilities and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Her involvement deepened during this period, laying the foundation for her later leadership role within the organization.
Classroom strategies and broader implications
A 2025 review in the Annals of Dyslexia found that common classroom routines, such as reading aloud or public correction of errors, cause heightened anxiety for students with dyslexia. The authors note that these practices are rarely questioned, yet they can lead to humiliation and a fear of failure.
McLean points out that teachers face a heavy workload. From a practical standpoint, the emphasis on foundational skills, phonics, basic math facts, and reading fluency, remains essential. Once students master these elements, educators can introduce project-based work and collaborative activities that develop social and executive-function skills.
In the coming weeks, LDAC will host regional workshops that model these strategies for educators and parents.
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Practical tools for everyday learning
Visual cues such as colored labels on folders and step-by-step picture charts help learners anticipate tasks and reduce uncertainty. Sensory strategies that incorporate movement breaks or textured materials give nervous systems a chance to reset, improving focus when instruction resumes.
Interactive approaches, like using manipulatives during math drills or digital timers for reading segments, provide concrete feedback that supports memory formation. When a student hears a concept, sees it written, and then experiences a related activity, the information is encoded through multiple pathways.
Educators who embed these techniques report smoother transitions between lessons. For instance, pairing a short oral explanation with a written handout and a quick visual demonstration creates redundancy that benefits all pupils, not only those with specific challenges.
Peer support also plays a role. Assigning a classmate to paraphrase a story or to model a problem-solving step offers a low-pressure way for learners to receive clarification without public correction. This collaborative model aligns with the organization’s emphasis on inclusive practice.
