For some, summer brings to mind sunny, carefree days of playing, reading, and swimming. For others, summer is the black hole where the past academic year’s learning and language progress goes to die. 

Whether you’re excited about summer, dreading it, or somewhere in between, it’s important to be intentional with summertime as a parent of a child with dyslexia. This valuable time can be used to build skills and progress without academic distractions. It’s also important to balance this time with a much-needed break from the stress of the past nine months.

There are lots of options for dyslexia training to meet your availability, budget, and level of need. 

At Home

• Read a book together as a family. You can take turns reading a chapter aloud each morning or evening. You can also download an audiobook to do the reading, but be sure to get an actual hard copy of the book to follow along. If it’s a book-turned-movie, have a family movie night to watch after you’ve read it. You can even do themed snacks if you want to get really creative.
• This may seem simple, and that’s the point! If it’s a “regular” stop, then ask them to choose an alternative in case the location is out of their favorite food.
• Pick up a summer workbook with a daily worksheet. Reward kids for completing their daily work (points, money, treats) and have a larger reward for completing the whole week. All About Reading & All About Spelling were designed with the dyslexic student in mind.
• Incorporate reading into your regular outings.
  • Encourage your child to read menus at restaurants and order their meal.
  • Take a walk in the neighborhood and read letters and signs.
  • Go to the grocery store, give them a list, and have them help you with finding items.

Summer Camps and Services – Waco

• *Camp Success – Camp Success is an intense, summer, language and literacy intervention program made possible by a partnership between Baylor University and Waco Scottish Rite. Participants receive both individual and group treatment over a period of four weeks along with a lot of fun.
• Cates Academic Services – Summer is a great time for students to be assessed and begin therapy without the stress of daily academic obligations, and Cates Academic Services can help.
• Therapy Group of Waco
  • Camp Read – Camp Read  is an intensive four week summer reading camp for children grades PK-3rd and targets reading fluency, phonological awareness, decoding, academic vocabulary and reading comprehension which are essential components for reading success. 
  • Camp Kindergarten – Camp Kindergarten will provide children who are entering or just completing kindergarten an opportunity to develop and strengthen their social, vocabulary, math, pre-reading and listening skills.

Summer Camps – Beyond Waco

• Dyslexia School of Houston – Personalized teaching sessions include four, 45 minute rotations, “camps,” to help your student conquer spelling, composition, grammar, cursive writing, reading and more. The 6:1 student/teacher ratio ensures your child is receiving the educational support they need. This year’s Summer Literacy Camp will be held from June 5 – June 30, 2023.
• Parish School (Houston) 
  • Camp Acorn is a summer day camp held at The Parish School to provide a therapeutic boost for children ages 2-12 who have communication delays and learning differences.
  • Kaufman-Apraxia Boot Camp: A speech-language group therapy program designed to increase speech formulation, automaticity, language content and structure for children who have apraxia of speech or a severe phonological processing disorder.
  • Camp Super Writers: A two-week camp utilizing the Handwriting Without Tears® method, which helps develop handwriting skills through multi-sensory, play-based instruction
• Rawson Saunders School (Austin) 
  • Jumpstart Summer Program – (students entering 1st grade in 2023) – Helps students entering first grade to strengthen their emerging language arts and math skills while developing independence. Students participate in small group, hands-on activities in STEM, math, reading, spelling, handwriting, and oral expression. 
  • Summer Term Program – (students entering grades 2-5 in 2023) – Multisensory learning experience will help students entering grades 2-5 strengthen their reading, writing, and math skills while having fun. Guided by specially trained staff, Summer Term students re-engage as learners in small group, hands-on lessons and activities in math, Academic Language Therapy, written expression, science, engineering, art, organized games/movement, and creative problem solving.
• The Winston School (San Antonio) – Summer at Winston offers a variety of academic and enrichment courses, art programs, and athletic camps for students ranging from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The Summer Program features The Winston School San Antonio’s (WSSA) unique instructional approach, including small class sizes, close monitoring of student progress, and a concentration on student strengths. Summer at Winston is open to Winston and non-Winston students with average to above-average intelligence who may or may not have a learning difference.
• School of Lexia (Masfield) – School of Lexia provides small group environments with specialized instructors ​that will facilitate progression during the summer. Language Classes cover competency and proficiency skills such as Phonemic awareness, Phonics instruction, Increasing Sight Words, Decoding in text, Fluency, Increasing Vocabulary, and Comprehension.
• Texas Elks Camp (Ottine) – Texas Elks Camp provides children with special needs (including dyslexia) and children in foster care an opportunity to try new things, meet new friends and make memories that will last a lifetime. Campers are encouraged to make their own decisions, become more independent and accept new challenges. Parents often notice dramatic positive changes and improved self-esteem after only one week at camp.

Summer Camps – Beyond Texas

• Camp Spring Creek (North Carolina)  
• Gow School Summer Program (New York) 
• Landmark School – Summer (Massachusetts) 
• Lindamood-Bell Learning Camps (Global & Online) 
• Brehm Summer School (Illinois) 
• Durango Mountain Camp & Rocky Mountain Camp (Colorado)  
• Camp Dunnabeck ( Connecticut) 
• *Potter’s Ranch Summer Dyslexia Camp (Kentucky) 
• Forman Summer School (Connecticut) 

*We have personal experience with this camp, so I’m happy to chat about it more!

Summertime can be a crucial period for students with dyslexia, as it provides an opportunity to build skills and progress without the usual academic pressures. Parents can encourage their children to read, pick up summer workbooks, or participate in various summer camps and services to help them make progress. It’s important to find the best fit for your child – mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially. With the right approach, summertime can be a time for growth, learning, and fun for students with dyslexia.