Perhaps you have found your child reaching developmental milestones averagely well, but when he starts school, you wonder why he suddenly seems to have trouble. By this point, you may be wondering if he is simply stubborn, doesn’t like school for some reason or another, such as bullying, or if he genuinely has a learning disorder.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that affects school children immensely, particularly since it affects one’s ability to read letters in the correct sequence when they form words. This is because dyslexia is a problem with visual-motor integration, resulting in poor reading and even writing skills. Unfortunately, dyslexia affects more than just reading and writing, as the disability typically also causes directional confusion and makes it difficult for a person to memorize sequences. This results in difficulty with tying shoelaces, doing long division, which includes several steps, or even touch typing. They may also have trouble memorizing facts that do not seem to have any personal relevance, such as multiplication tables, science facts, and history dates.
This is why it is crucial to detect dyslexia at an early age, in order for the parent to find the proper intervention to help the child learn the basic concepts he needs in life. Of course, for young children, it is quite normal for them to reverse the letters when they are learning to write, which is no cause for alarm. This is perhaps why many teachers shrug off the possibility of dyslexia at preschool age. But there are still some symptoms you might want to look out for, as children who have three or more of these signs typically should be tested for dyslexia by five years of age:
1. Does the child suffer delayed speech, such as not being able to speak any words by his first birthday?
2. Does the child frequently mix up sounds in words with multiple syllables? For example, he might pronounce spaghetti as “bisghetti,” or hamburger as “hangaberg.”
3. Does he stutter at an early age?
4. Does he frequently have ear infections?
5. Does he have trouble mastering tying shoelaces?
6. Does he have confusion about left and right, over and under, before and after, as well as other directional words or concepts?
7. Is he late in establishing a dominant hand?
8. Does he have difficulty learning letters and their sounds? Does he have difficulty writing the alphabet in order?
9. If you have frequently read him stories with rhyming words, like Dr. Seuss’ “Cat in the Hat,” does he have trouble telling you what words rhyme with what by four and a half years old?
10. Does he have trouble pronouncing L’s and R’s, N’s and M’s?
If your child shows at least three of these warning signals, you might do well to have him undergo testing for the learning disability. Take note, though, that dyslexic people do not typically make reading errors at random. There are specific types of errors that they make both for reading and writing. For example, dyslexic kids tend to be able to read a word on one page but fail to recognize it on another. They may also know phonics, but have trouble sounding out an unknown word. They may also have labored reading of single words when shown in isolation.
Of course, strangely, despite these troubles, dyslexic people have been found to be often gifted in math, as three-dimensional skills in visualization allow them to “see” math concepts unlike non-dyslexic people. But they remain challenged with rote memorization and sequencing, which might hinder their gift in math. They may also show great talent in terms of art, athletics, music, mechanical things, people skills, and being overly creative.
In any case, you need to understand that every case of dyslexia may be unique, and if you suspect your child to have it, just have him tested early, as the earlier you can have intervention, the greater chance he has of coping with this learning disability. It might help you to note that many dyslexics have gone on to become very successful people, not in spite of the condition, but rather thanks to their dyslexic gifts. As such, you would do well to have early intervention in order to highlight your child’s gifts as well!
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