The Anatomy of a Reading Disorder: Students with Dyslexia

Many children are embarrassed to read in front of other classmates or avoid reading because of difficulties caused by dyslexia. This can cause problems in other areas for the child when class work or homework time rolls around. Avoidance of reading only makes the situation worse for the child and can make it harder for the problem to be detected. Dyslexia doesn't have anything to do with the intelligence of a child and it is important to let the child know that. Many children with dyslexia have special talents.

Most warning signs of a reading disability happen early on in life when the child is first learning to speak. Development during this time should be watched closely especially if the parents have reading disabilities themselves. Many parents do not notice signs and symptoms associated with a reading disorder until the symptoms have been going on for a long time. This is usually by the time the child is already learning to read, around kindergarten or later. Early warning signs can be late talking in toddlers and also poor pronunciation of words in children that are able to talk. Children that are easily distracted when being read a short story, and are unable to answer simple questions related to the story or remember or repeat events from the story may have difficulties with reading later in life as these are early signs.

Children of kindergarten age should be able to point out letters of the alphabet without having to sing the alphabet song or following a special order of naming the letters. It is important that they know the sounds each letter of the alphabet makes and be able to catch on and be familiar with the letters when learning how to spell and write their name.

There are 44 signs and symptoms of dyslexia that are related to language, learning skills, math skills and other important contributors of learning. Signs of difficulty in reading in school age children can involve odd sounding out of words. A child may read a word out loud and pronounce the word entirely different from how the letters would be put together and properly sounded out. The child is basically guessing because they do not understand the way letters are put together when a word is built. Spelling of words that are very far off the correct spelling may also be a trait of a dyslexic child. Once again, not understanding how letters are put together to make certain sounds can cause the child with dyslexia to make these mistakes. The child may also mispronounce very small words like, "to" , "and" and "the" that other children their age are able to read very easily.

If you suspect a child you know has a reading difficulty because of frequent reading mistakes, frustration or loss of interest during reading time, they may need an evaluation so they can get the help and attention they need. Early intervention is key in minimizing the problem and preventing the child from failing in other classes because they are having problems understanding what is in front of them. An IEP can be helpful in identifying the problem as many disorders exhibit the same symptoms. This evaluation is available at request and free of charge at your local school district.