Recognising Dyslexia
How can I tell if my child is dyslexic?
There are many symptoms of dyslexia including the following:- He seems more intelligent than his reading suggests (both boys and girls can be dyslexic, but boys tend to outnumber girls by approximately 3 or 4:1, so the term ‘he’ is used throughout).
- Typical dyslexia reading errors include:
- Reads very slowly and hesitantly.
- Reads words backwards – ‘on’ for ‘no’, ‘was’ for ‘saw’, etc.
- Reads letters in the wrong order – ‘left’ for ‘felt’, ‘act’ for ‘cat’, etc. - He seems more intelligent than his written work suggests.
- Typical dyslexia writing errors include:
- Reverses letters – ‘b’ for ‘d’, ‘p’ for ‘q’, etc.
- Turns letters upside down – ‘n’ for ‘u’, ‘m’ for ‘w’, etc.
- Writes letters in the wrong order – ‘chidl’ for ‘child’. - He has difficulty with rhyme.
- He may have been a late or poor talker and may still have immature speech.
- He may have been a late walker and may still not be well coordinated.
- He may have been a late walker and may still not be well coordinated.
- He may have difficulty with short-term memory.
- He may have been late learning to tell the time or tie his shoelaces.
- He may have difficulty putting things in the right order.
- He may have difficulty knowing left from right.
- He may not be able to concentrate well.
- He may be poor at copying from the board.
- He may be poorly organised.
- There may be a family history of late reading or poor spelling.
Parents can gain useful pointers as to whether their child might be dyslexic in an assessment of a child as young as 4½.
The dyslexic child can often have other associated difficulties.