Dyslexia is real!

I only say this because I've met plenty of teachers and principals who dispute this fact! 

It is often an inherited condition, meaning that often (but not always), someone in the child's immediate or extended family will also show signs of dyslexia.

Dyslexia symptoms can begin in infancy, long before a child picks up a book to read!  Although there are also children who show no signs until they reach school age. 

Signs of dyslexia in infancy may include:

  • Muscle co-ordination issues and problems learning skills like using cups and utensils, they may even struggle to sit still.
  • Balance issues, taking longer to ride a bike or walk up and down stairs unassisted.
  • Early speech issues, many children with dyslexia have delayed speech or pronunciation problems before they get to school.  Many children with dyslexia visit speech therapists.
  • Possible lack of interest in books, drawing or learning to write. 
  • Memory and attention skills, many infants with dyslexia will find it difficult to remember strings of multiple instructions, so if you ask them to go to their room and get their shoes they're very likely to get to their room and start playing with their toys because they've forgotten the second instruction! 

 

Signs of dyslexia in primary school may include:

  • Difficulty following instructions (often related to memory).
  • Difficulty maintaining attention on desired learning.
  • Unable to remember sounds, letter names or simple sight words (although some dyslexic children learn a great deal of sight words early on and mask their dyslexia, only to have great difficulty with later reading which involves more decoding of multisyllable words!)
  • Difficulty remember sequences like the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year or timestables! 
  • Difficulty organising their space, keeping tidy work areas.
  • Difficulty planning work, particularly writing.
  • Handwriting may suffer if a dyslexic child has a muscle co-ordination problem too. 
  • Mathematics can also be challenging for some dyslexics.
  • Dislike of school or an unexpected change of attitude towards school.

 

Dyslexia is a life long condition and there are no cures!  The good news is that children who have been diagnosed as dyslexic or are showing signs of dyslexia can be helped, and they can succeed at school!  Individualised multisensory intervention is the key to success and this is exactly what I can offer to my students!