Culturally-Responsive Reading Starts at Home: 3 Things to Try This Week

By Ivory Duncan

As a mom to a neurodiverse son and an educator who’s spent over a decade designing learning experiences, I’ve come to understand something deeply: reading isn’t just about letters and sounds, it’s about identity, belonging, and connection.

For families raising neurodiverse children, the early literacy journey can feel overwhelming. You’re told to focus on phonics, but not given tools that reflect your child’s culture, rhythm, or learning style. You’re navigating IEPs and progress reports, all while wondering if your child sees themselves in the stories they hear.

You don’t need fancy degrees or hours of free time to make literacy more inclusive and joyful at home. You just need intention, presence, and a willingness to meet your child exactly where they are.

Here are 3 simple, culturally-responsive practices you can try this week to support your neurodiverse child’s reading journey:

1. Read Stories That Reflect Your Child’s World

Representation matters, especially for neurodiverse kids of color. When children see themselves in the pages of a book, it sends a powerful message: I matter. My story is worth telling.

Choose books featuring characters who look like your child, speak like your family, or reflect your cultural traditions. Prioritize stories where children are curious, joyful, brave, and simply being themselves, not just overcoming trauma.

Let your child choose the book, even if they pick the same one over and over. Repetition builds confidence and strengthens neural connections.

2. Move While You Read

Neurodiverse children often learn best when they can move their bodies.

Sitting still for story time isn’t a requirement for comprehension, it’s a cultural expectation.

And it doesn’t serve all brains.

 Turn reading into a whole-body experience. Let your child bounce on a ball while listening. Clap out syllables. Act out the story. Use silly voices or rhythm to keep it engaging.

Use the Phonics Flow Sound Movement Cards (coming soon!) to connect letters and sounds with gestures and music, perfect for active learners.

3. Celebrate the Effort, Not Just the Accuracy

It’s easy to get caught up in "getting it right." But for many neurodiverse children, the real win is trying again. It’s speaking a sound they struggled with yesterday, pointing to a word they remembered, or staying present through a whole page.

When reading together, praise specific effort-based actions:“You kept going even when that word was tricky!”“I noticed how you used the picture to figure that out: wow!” Keep a “Reading Wins” journal to track moments of progress, no matter how small.

Over time, your child will start to see themselves as a reader not because they’re perfect, but because they belong to the reading world.

Want more tools designed with your child in mind? Explore the Phonics Flow curriculum, a joyful, inclusive, Science of Reading–aligned program created especially for K–2 neurodiverse learners of color.

You don’t have to do it all. You just have to begin. And this week?

That’s enough.