Could My Child Have Dyslexia? Special Needs Families.com

If your child is struggling with reading, and seems to fall below her peers in writing ability, it’s a reasonable question to ask. However, some children who initially have difficulty with reading and spelling soon catch up to their peers, with encouragement and more exposure to books. If your child does have dyslexia, the sooner you intervene the better. So it’s a good idea to understand the condition and recognize the symptoms.

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability, which is biological in nature. It is neurological, meaning that it comes from faulty brain functioning. It is genetically inherited. Dyslexia causes a person difficulty with language decoding, which means he or she will likely have a hard time with reading, writing, and spelling. Dyslexics also have problems with rapid visual/verbal response, and phonological processing (manipulation of sounds). In the majority of cases, children with dyslexia have average intelligence. They come from all races and social classes.

Here are some specific symptoms to look for when observing your child. The dyslexic child may have a few or many of these:

The child is articulate and on-target with peers in most ways, but has an inexplicable difficulty with reading that doesn’t make sense when compared to his other abilities.
He doesn’t like reading, and seems frustrated by it.
Her writing contains numerous spelling errors, with switched, backwards, or missing letters.
The child reads slowly, haltingly, and hesitantly.
There is a family history of dyslexia or reading difficulties. (In other words, you, the child’s other biological parent, or a relative probably has had reading difficulties.)
In normal activities, the child frequently confuses left from right, and gets directionally disoriented.
When reading, your son or daughter “guesses” at big words, sometimes reading wildly while inserting incorrect words in a bizarre way.
He might be able to decode the larger words, but frequently trips over and mixes up simple small words.
The child often omits prefixes and suffixes, like “re” in “remind.”
Sloppy handwriting often accompanies dyslexia.
The child has sequencing difficulties, and gets the order of events, parts, or concepts confused. This may cause problems with following complex directions.
He often loses his place, skips lines, and loses track of the words he’s reading.
The reading and spelling difficulties have been observed by your child’s teacher, and are affecting his ability to succeed in school.

I’m concerned my child may have dyslexia. What should I do?

It’s important to remember that all children who are first learning to read will have problems mixing up letters, omitting words, and will read hesitantly. The key is whether the child’s reading difficulties are age-appropriate.
Purchase a language workbook at your child’s grade level. You can find these at Walmart, Kmart, Target, and many supermarkets. This will give you an idea of the reading level for your child’s age. How does your child handle the materials?
Have your child read to you occasionally, instead of always reading to her. What do you notice about her reading ability?
Call your child’s school teacher, and bring up your concerns. If she has noticed similar problems, schedule a meeting. Compare samples of your child’s work with a random sampling of students in the class. Discuss what subjects give your child the greatest challenges, and why.

If dyslexia seems a possibility, an assessment should be arranged through the school district. It may be referred to as a “psychological assessment” but learning disabilities will be ruled out. If your child is diagnosed with dyslexia, he will be eligible for special education services, like special tutoring, specialized instruction, or alternate teaching methods. These services should be provided while keeping your child in his regular classroom setting, amongst his typical peers.