DYSLEXIA - SPOTTING THE SIGNS EARLY

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Like other learning disabilities, the sooner a child is diagnosed with dyslexia the sooner appropriate supports can be put in place which increase the chances of a child's academic success.  Pediatric neuropsychologist Nichole Dawson tells parents to watch their children for difficulty with:

• Learning the alphabet, identifying letters or processing letter-sound relationships
• Learning nursery rhymes, preschool songs, the days of the week or the months of the year
• Learning to count and recognize numbers
• Reading out loud: slow, choppy and error-prone
• Learning vocabulary or names of people and places

She recommends having your child evaluated as soon as possible if your child has difficulty with any of the above actions.

The British Dyslexia Association provides the following information about signs of dyslexia in primary school children:

General

• speed of processing: spoken and/or written language slow
• poor concentration
• has difficulty following instructions
• forgetful of words

Written Work

• has a poor standard of written work compared with oral ability
• produces messy work with many crossings out and words tried several times, eg wippe, wype, wiep, wipe
• is persistently confused by letters which look similar, particularly b/d, p/g, p/q, n/u, m/w
• has poor handwriting with many ‘reversals’ and badly formed letters
• spells a word several different ways in one piece of writing
• makes anagrams of words, eg tired for tried, breaded for bearded
• produces badly set-out written work, doesn’t stay close to the margin
• has poor pencil grip
• produces phonetic and bizarre spelling: not age/ability appropriate
• uses unusual sequencing of letters or words

Reading

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• makes poor reading progress, especially using look and say methods
• finds its difficulty to blend letters together
• has difficulty in establishing syllable division or knowing the beginnings and endings of words
• pronunciation of words unusual
• no expression in reading comprehension poor
• is hesitant and laboured in reading, especially when reading aloud
• misses out words when reading, or adds extra words
• fails to recognise familiar words
• loses the point of a story being read or written
• has difficulty in picking out the most important points from a passage

Numeracy

• shows confusion with number order, eg units, tens, hundreds
• is confused by symbols such as + and x signs
• has difficulty remembering anything in a sequential order, eg tables, days of the week, the alphabet

Time

• has difficulty in learning to tell the time
• shows poor time keeping and general awareness
• has poor personal organisation
• has difficulty remembering what day of the week it is, their birth date, seasons of the year, months of the year
• difficulty with concepts – yesterday, today, tomorrow

Skills

• has poor motor skills, leading to weaknesses in speed, control and accuracy of the pencil
• has a limited understanding of non verbal communication
• is confused by the difference between left and right, up and down, east and west
• has indeterminate hand preference
• performs unevenly from day to day

Behaviour

• employs work avoidance tactics, such as sharpening pencils and looking for books
• seems to ‘dream’, does not seem to listen
• is easily distracted
• is the class clown or is disruptive or withdrawn (these are often cries for help)
• is excessively tired due to amount of concentration and effort required

©Mary M Conneely T/A Advocacy in Action