# 10 Tips for Creating a Positive Learning Environment for Students with Dyslexia

November 18, 2025

When you’re teaching students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, creating a positive and supportive learning environment is essential. Adapted from the Brookes book [**Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, OWL LD, and Dyscalculia**](https://products.brookespublishing.com/Dyslexia-Dysgraphia-OWL-LD-and-Dyscalculia-P892.aspx), here are 10 things you can do to strengthen your students’ readiness for learning and support their academic success.

## 1. Provide emotional safety  
Encourage students to take risks and allow them to make mistakes. Make it clear that the freedom to make mistakes is necessary for learning. Build the concept that an error is not failure by helping students self-correct and discover the correct response.

## 2. Praise hard work as well as accuracy.  
Students with dyslexia appreciate when adults understand the effort it may take for them to learn to process, pronounce, and spell written words. Promote self-esteem by acknowledging and celebrating evidence of thinking and problem-solving ability. Offer praise for good effort judiciously; students know when praise is false.

## 3. Work in student interests.  
Link instruction in basic reading, writing, and oral language skills to students’ interests. This helps students sustain hard work. ([**This book by Paula Kluth**](https://products.brookespublishing.com/Just-Give-Him-the-Whale-P100.aspx) is a fantastic resource.)

## 4. Guide students through the steps to success.  
Give information necessary for students to perform accurately. For example, if a student misspells a word, repeat the word clearly and ask them to repeat it as well.

## 5. Find the balance between challenge and overload.  
When tasks do not demand much intellectual energy, students may become bored. However, tasks that are too difficult can discourage and frustrate students. Consider whether behavior might be a signal that the student is frustrated.

## 6. Prioritize multiple exposures.  
Students with learning disabilities may need repeated exposures and practice to acquire mastery. Provide repeated practice over time to help them apply learning to various situations.

## 7. Consider using a team approach.  
This minimizes stigma around not knowing a word instantly and fosters an atmosphere of support and acceptance, especially when students can work together to solve challenges.

## 8. Offer visual learning supports.  
Use visual aids such as an alphabet, prefix and suffix charts, and vowel pattern charts to support students with encoding and decoding tasks.

## 9. Work with students to determine the best seating option.  
Help students recognize their own needs in terms of seating to minimize distractions and promote focus. Students can often judge what settings work best for them.

## 10. Stay flexible and don’t push.  
Know when to let go of a strategy and try another. If a student doesn’t grasp concepts right away, reintroduce them on another day.

By recognizing effort, staying attentive to student needs, and building a spirit of support, you can promote your students’ self-esteem and help improve their academic outcomes. For more guidance on supporting students with dyslexia and learning disabilities, get the book behind today’s post!

### Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, OWL LD, and Dyscalculia  
**Lessons from Science and Teaching, Second Edition**  
By Virginia W. Berninger, Ph.D., & Beverly J. Wolf, M.Ed.  
This book prepares K–12 educators to deliver explicit and engaging instruction customized to the needs of their students. [GET THE BOOK](https://products.brookespublishing.com/Dyslexia-Dysgraphia-OWL-LD-and-Dyscalculia-P892.aspx)