Word or story problems are very difficult for children with dyslexia, even when they have a strong understanding of math concepts. To start with, the problem requires reading, which is an effort for your child. Word problems also require highly accurate reading; a missed or misunderstood word can change the entire meaning of the problem. Many of the words used in story problems are also confusing; your child may understand how to “subtract” but be confused by the use of words like “less” or “from” to describe the same concept. Your child may also be confused by the use of pronouns in a story problem — the question “How many of them did he have left?” may leave your child scratching his head wondering what “them” refers to and who “he” is. Finally, your child may be confused by extraneous information in the problem used to describe the setting — the problem may be asking for a calculation of the amount of change to be given for buying movie tickets, but your child is trying to guess from the illustration in the book what movie was playing.

Help your child visualize the problem by imagining or acting out the scenario depicted. Explain that an arithmetic problem is a puzzle that always requires her to figure out a piece of missing information. Have your child read through the problem — or read it to her — and then ask her if she knows what information the problem calls for her to figure out. (For example, the number of cookies that each child will get.) Then, ask your child what information she will need to figure out the answer; guide her, as needed, to look for the specific information in the problem (the total number of cookies and the total number of children). Allow your child to explore the possible ways that she can figure out the answer; there may be more than one acceptable strategy.