Is My Child Dyslexic?
Dyslexia is a common concern among parents and teachers, so what identifying factors should you look for when determining if your child could potentially be dyslexic?
Most people think that children with dyslexia read and write backwards. However, that is not often the case (though their writing may appear to be disorderly and unorganized). There are numerous causations of dyslexia including developmental “wiring” in the brain (especially areas that impact language), trauma, genetics, and neurological processing deficits. Often, dyslexia is comorbid with other neurological disorders such as Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Dyslexia is very complex, involving various pathways in the brain, and there are several varieties dependent on the areas impacted.
Children who are dyslexic are not all the same and may not share identical deficits with reading, spelling, writing, or spoken language. Some forms of dyslexia include: phonological, surface, comprehension, and combined. Phonological dyslexia refers to the difficultly of breaking down words and decoding sounds when reading words. Surface dyslexia occurs when students have difficulty with remembering and recalling sight words (words that do not meet the phonological rules of decoding and/or words that are frequently used in text) when reading passages. Students can have one of the previous subtypes or they can have a combination of various types. Additionally, it is a common characteristic for students to have difficulty with rapid naming of letters and/or numbers, which is a processing speed skill deficit. This may make it difficult for the student to fluently read.
Common misconceptions, in the school system, is that a student will automatically be evaluated for dyslexia and/or receive Exceptional Student Education (ESE) services if diagnosed with dyslexia. The commonality of dyslexia is 1 in every 5 students (20% of students), according to the Dyslexia Center of Utah. Therefore, many students receive response to intervention (RtI) to help improve their weaknesses in reading. If a student does not improve with interventions in their targeted area of need, then they may be evaluated in the school system for a learning disability. However, if improvement is shown then the student may go through their entire school career with dyslexia and may never be evaluated. (Response to Intervention and Multi-Tier Level of Support (MTSS) will be reviewed in a later blog)
Students are not evaluated for dyslexia in the school system, instead they are evaluated for a Specific Learning Disability in Reading, which is one of the 13 categories that falls under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If found eligible, they may receive additional support in reading to help them close the achievement gap, compared to their peers, based on goals on their Individualized Education Program (IEP).
According to the International Dyslexia Association the following are 9 problematic areas associated with dyslexia:
- Learning to speak
- Learning letters and their sounds
- Organizing written and spoken language
- Memorizing number facts
- Reading quickly enough to comprehend
- Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments
- Spelling
- Learning a foreign language
- Correctly doing math operations
What can parents/guardians do at home to help?
- Keep reading and writing assignments fun and engaging at home
- Try not to get frustrated with the child, as the work may be extremely challenging for them
- Remain positive and support your child
- Read with your child often
- Give praise to the child for their accomplishments in not only reading but other areas
- When reading, have your child underline any words they may not know. Review the word(s) with them and then have the child read the passage fluently.
- When your child is reading, have them predict what may happen next.
- To ensure comprehension of the text, ask the child questions to assist with engagement of the text.
- Sight words on flash cards to assist with memorization may be beneficial
- Florida Center for Reading Research (www.fcrr.org) website has many additional reading interventions available
Resources:
https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Dyslexia-Information-Page
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dyslexia/symptoms-causes/syc-20353552
References:
If Your Child Has Dyslexia: Tips for Parents, (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.webmd.com/children/helping-children-with-dyslexia#1
International Dyslexia Association -…until everyone can ready! (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2018 from https://dyslexia.org/
Statistics. (2014, February 05). Retrieved January 21, 2018, from https://www.dyslexiacenterofutal.org/dyslexia.statistics/
