Your teen may want to get an after-school or summer job. Although you may rightfully be worried about whether the job will cut into time needed for study during the school year, employment offers many benefits for a teen with dyslexia. Talk to your teen about how many hours of working are reasonable. You may find that your child actually becomes more disciplined about studying once he is working; his commitment to his employer will help motivate him to better manage his time.

If your child struggles in school, the job can offer a welcome respite and an environment in which he feels more confident of his abilities. Your daughter will learn new skills through on-the-job training, where she will usually learn through observing others do a task, and then doing it on her own while being supervised. This learning-by-doing is ideal for her learning style, so in the workplace your teen may turn out to be a quick learner who earns praise from her employers. Her social skills play a greater part in success here as well; a winning smile or an eager attitude is a great asset.

Of course, dyslexia can also create problems in the workplace, especially if your child takes on a job for which he is not well suited. His career in a fast-food restaurant may be cut short by a habit of repeatedly mixing up orders or incorrectly counting out change. It is important for you to help direct your child to seek jobs in areas where he has stronger interests or abilities.

Community service or volunteer work is another great way for a teen with dyslexia to build a sense of confidence and self-esteem. Helping others simply feels good, and your child will quickly see that his efforts are needed and appreciated. Volunteer work also often involves hands-on activities which your teen is well able to handle, whether it is preparing meals at a homeless shelter or wielding a hammer for Habitat for Humanity. Volunteering can also help your child meet people or gain skills that will later lead to a paying job.

Keep in mind that your teen's experience in school has been that she is expected to be able to succeed in a wide range of academic subjects, whether she is interested in them or not, and she has generally been graded and measured by comparison to same-age peers. Her sense of her place in the world may be profoundly influenced by the grades she has received in school; she may have gotten the message that she is a C student and therefore cannot expect much out of life.

Through work, she will discover a different reality. Individuals of varied ages and abilities work together, and few employers expect anyone to be a jack-of-all-trades. Rather, in the workplace individuals have the opportunity to specialize based on their interests and inclinations, and nonacademic skills are often very highly valued. Through work, your teen may discover what she is “good with,” and she will also likely receive positive feedback from her employer, coworkers, and customers for a job well done.