Understanding Dyslexia

Understanding Dyslexia

I recently learned that a child is not diagnosed with dyslexia until the age of eight, due to it being developmentally appropriate to read numbers and letters backwards prior to that age.  My son is almost five years old and I noticed that he often times reads numbers backwards; over time I became progressively concerned.  I decided to check into dyslexia so I could better understand what it means.  It was interesting to met hat recognizing the signs of dyslexia are relatively tricky, and perhaps difficult to distinguish.  “Dyslexia” refers to an overwhelming difficulty in learning to read, write and use language.  Possible signs of dyslexia are as follows: your child is late in learning the letters of the alphabet, your child is confused about how letters are written, your child has great difficulty blending letter sounds, your child has difficulty copying information, and interestingly, one or both parents have a learning disability.  Though it is a comfort for me to know that a child with dyslexia is not diagnosed until a later age, I still wonder if he falls into any of those warning signs.  I have two very close friends who were diagnosed with dyslexia as a child; one has more difficulty than the other.  I remember my childhood friend traveling to the nearest urban area (Nashville TN) for classes once a month- I believe this was something additional she did outside of school accommodations.  My adult friend still has a great difficulty reading.  She enjoys it very much, but has to read very slowly and becomes easily frustrated.  I cannot imagine a child with dyslexia, who is undiagnosed.  Imagine the frustration on the child’s end, as well as the parent or teacher.  It was interesting to know that it “doesn’t work for a dyslexic child to simply try harder.”  I did find several creative ways to engage a child with dyslexia which I found to be heartening: 1. Encourage your child to write in cursive style (with letters connected).  It is more difficult to reverse letters when writing in cursive, 2. Teach your child to use a keyboard.  It is often easier for children with dyslexia to type their papers. Computers also allow them to use a spell-checker.  This is a real lifesaver for children with dyslexia, 3. Play picture and word matching games, 4. Find books with large print. They make it easier for your child to read, 5. Have your child to be the teacher.  You be the student.  By teaching you, he’ll be learning the material.  Ultimately, dyslexia requires team effort between parent and school.  The sooner you can identify dyslexia, the better.