Let’s be honest: exam season is no Gen Z-er’s idea a good time.
But for those of them with dyslexia? It can often feel like climbing a mountain in flip-flops: scary, slippery, and deeply uncomfortable. There’s reading fatigue to contend with, working memory overload, and even just the “where-do-I-even-start?” anxiety… and as a parent, watching your child go through all that can be tough.
That’s why support matters more than anything, now more than ever. Because while exams might be temporary, confidence and self-belief? That’s the stuff that sticks.
Managing GCSE season with the right exam stress resources matters. So if you're wondering how to help – without waving a revision timetable in their face – here’s a little explanation of why you’re one of the best exam stress resources they’ve got on offer, practical tips for supporting learning and revision as a parent, and a handy list of where to turn when things feel rough or if learners need extra support.
Exams can be a real struggle for some dyslexic students. Not just because of the content: although that’s always a consideration, and relay relies on a set of memory skills that a dyslexic learner might find challenging to leverage – but also due to the way assessments are structured.
The traditional exam format (timed, handwritten, and heavily reliant on reading and writing) puts a majority of dyslexic learners at a disadvantage due to difficulties with reading accuracy and speed. It makes it harder to process questions quickly or understand complex wording when they’re under pressure, and spelling and grammar errors are more likely when working against the clock.
These challenges mean dyslexic students may not be able to fully demonstrate their knowledge, even if they understand the subject well. And on top of it all, the emotional toll of exam season is significant: the pressure to remember a whole year’s worth of learning combined with a history of academic setbacks can lead to heightened anxiety.
But that’s not all. Even long before they get into the exam hall, revision can overwhelm feelings. The fear of underperforming can overshadow the learning process for months before exam season, and make the prep feel like an uphill battle. So for dyslexic students, exams often become less about showing what they know and more about battling the format and their own nerves.
💡What can we do?
When you hear the phrase ‘exam stress resource’, you’ll likely tend to think of a fact sheet, YouTube tutorial, or a helpline. And that’s right: these resources are so important, but they’re not the only resources that dyslexic students have on-hand during the revision period to help them manage their stress. And it’s unfortunately true that one of the best exam stress resources ones is the one that’s the most commonly forgotten: it’s you.
Whether you’re the type of parent who largely takes a free-range approach to exams and revision or if you’ve been there pushing revision guides under their bedroom door since early February, you’re one of the most vital things that any dyslexic student has in their corner to help them manage stress and ensure that the revision process goes as smoothly and as calmly as possible.
For the purposes of this blog, we’ll be splitting our exam stress resources into two practical lists: Type I, things that you can do as a parent – and Type II, where you and the learners in your life can turn for support and guidance when the sea feels a little stormier than usual.
Let’s get to it!
1. Celebrate the process, not just the results 🎨
Forget cramming and colour-coded calendars: what they really need right now is exam stress resources that make a practical difference, and feeling like their efforts count.
Got through 10 minutes of reading? That’s a win. Tried a new way of tackling a topic? Huge. So talk about it: make sure that the learners in your life know that you’re aware of the effort they’re putting in, and that you’re proud of the steps they’re taking, not just the results email that’ll drop into their inbox in a couple of months.
2. Make their study space feel safe and comfy 🛋️
Not every brain thrives on beige study chic. Some students focus better with soft lighting, favourite textures, or calming music in the background, and some prefer to revise in bed, on the couch, in the garden, in a coffee shop, or even sitting in the bath.
So help them create a space that feels like theirs. Ask: “What makes you feel calm when you’re learning?” Whether it’s beanbags, blue overlays, or lo-fi beats, it’s not about perfection – it’s about comfort, control, and feeling at ease… and a great excuse for a trip to IKEA.
3. Stuff is important
Sometimes it’s about what they’ve got in their pencil case, too. Seriously: if they’re a learner who responds more to colour-coding, mind mapping or representing things in a visual way, having the right stationery at their disposal means that revision can happen in a more functional way and it can break the monotony and brain drain that staring at a wall of text can prompt.
4. If you’re dyslexic too, you’re a great resource 🧠
Like hair colour, eye colour and all sorts of weird and interesting things, dyslexia often runs in families. So if you found a study hack that really worked for you back in the dim and distant past, share it – just beware that if you have to mention recording anything onto a cassette as a revision aid, they are going to make you feel old.
(…We’re not old, right?)
5. Take a break ⏳
Burnout is real. Sometimes, although it seems counterintuitive, the best thing students can do for an afternoon is step away from their revision desk and get out and about. Encourage rest, and suggest outings or events, even if it’s just a garden picnic or mooch around a favourite place: you need to trust them to say yes or no according to their workload, not impose a blanket ban on anything that isn’t revision during exam season.
6. Offer your services as quizmaster and learner!
Many learners with dyslexia find that one of the most useful practical exam stress resources is just… having another person to bounce their ideas off. When students learn multi-modally, and add other learning mechanisms like speaking and listening to the mix, they’re more likely to be able to recall that information when they get to the exam hall as well as reduce the reading pressure that revision often entails.
So offer your services as quizmaster, or even ask them to teach a topic to you – anything that keeps it verbal and consolidates their knowledge might be super useful in revealing how well a topic has gone in, and where there’s still work to do.
7. Be their number one hype guy! 🎉
Above all, be the voice that lifts them up. Exams might not measure their creativity, empathy, or big-picture thinking… but you can.
So when it gets tough (and it’s exam season – it probably will), remind them that they’re more than the grades that these exams return. Celebrate the grit that got them here and shout about the wins. And let them know – loudly and often – that you’re proud of who they are, not just what numbers they end up achieving.
Sometimes, even with the best efforts in the world, a supportive revision environment and access to all the practical exam stress resources they need, the dyslexic student in your life may find themselves needing a little extra help this exam season. It’s natural: it’s a stressful period in their lives, and it’s likely like nothing they’ve ever experienced before.
But they don’t have to go it alone. That’s why we’ve put together a handy list of exam stress resources for students (and parents) who might be feeling the pressure ⬇️
➡️ For students
Managing exam stress - Student Minds
The British Dyslexia Association helpline
Dealing with dyslexia and exam anxiety – The Studying With Dyslexia Blog
Managing exam stress for students with dyslexia – Dyslexia UK
Exam stress: a guide for students – The Charlie Waller Trust
➡️ For Parents
Supporting children and young people with exam results anxiety – SHOUT
Navigating exam season: supporting your child – Place2Be
Exam stress and failure – Parentkind
How to de-stress your teenager before exams – Priory Group
💡And don’t forget: when things feel a little too much, or if they’re looking for a more structured kind of support, students can also seek support for their mental health or exam anxiety from their primary healthcare professionals, like GPs and therapists.
It’s… a tricky time of year for many students with dyslexia. The stakes are high, and the only way out is through the exams that are causing all the pressure.
But even as exams come and go, the way children and young people feel about themselves is more permanent. The wins and losses here can shape their learning confidence for years. So make sure they’ve got the prep and the materials they need, skip the revision reminders sometimes, and be the safe space, the cheerleader, the calm in the storm.
They’ve got this, and you’ve got them.