Dyslexia: Signs To Look Out For*

*This is a collaborative post*

Dyslexia is a language based disability which affects oral and written language. You might be surprised to know that around 15-20% of the population suffer from some form of reading disability. The fact is that these days with the correct help, children can become successful readers and beyond that, they can become successful people in life in general. If you have a child who you suspect may be struggling with Dyslexia, then keep an eye out for some of the signs which can vary depending on the age of the child:

A pre-school infant may start talking later than most children, or they may be slow in adding words to their vocabulary; they might find it difficult to interact with their peers or in some cases their fine motor skills may also develop a little slower than in most children or he/she might really have a hard time trying to write his/her own name. There are a few other signs besides these and all are well documented online.

With children slightly older, around Nursery/Kindergarten to six years of age, the signs can be a little different, a few examples of signs to look out for are: One might confuse small words such as it/at/to; When writing they might write certain letters back to front or confuse letters such as 'd' and 'b', so they might write bog instead of dog for instance. Similarly they might also invert certain letters, so that the letter 'm' becomes 'w' or 'u' becomes 'n' or vice versa. Some children with dyslexia also struggle with rhyming. Another noticeable sign of dyslexia in children of this age could be that they struggle to learn to tell the time or may show difficulty in planning.

Dyslexia is a common learning issue and affects males and females equally and as mentioned, many successful people do indeed have dyslexia. It will re assure you to know that there are proven strategies for teaching children with dyslexia and with the correct accommodations being made, children can actually become good readers. It does of course help the earlier a child with Dyslexia is diagnosed. With the right help they can overcome the difficulties of Dyslexia more easily and comprehensively than when found say in children who are already seven or eight years of age. Children of this age might find it a little more hard going in overcoming the difficulties, but it still can be done.

There are companies who are doing everything they can to raise awareness of Dyslexia while also offering free Dyslexia courses. There is training available for teachers, tutors and others in leadership roles in how to recognise and to better deal with people who suffer with Dyslexia. Did you know that these insanely successful people all have Dyslexia? Pablo Picasso, Whoopi Goldberg, Sir Richard Branson, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Aniston and Steven Spielberg all have Dyslexia. So when we say children with Dyslexia can be successful the evidence is already available.

There is a plethora of information and advice and help available online for free. A quick search will come up with page after page of information, no longer is Dyslexia a mystery, children are being treated in record numbers and children with dyslexia have gone on and will go onto to be some of the most successful people on Earth. 

*Written by Michael David

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