Learn the Signs of Dyslexia in Kids and Your Options for Expert Testing and Instruction
If you’ve recently discovered that your child has dyslexia, or you suspect that they may be experiencing this challenge, you may feel a great deal of worry. Most parents of children with dyslexia feel this way at some point. These feelings are not unusual at all.
Fortunately, making an effort to gain an understanding of dyslexia will provide relief and offer a clear path forward for how to navigate this challenge with your child. You want the best for them. You want to see them thrive academically and in their professional future. You don’t want to see their life affected by a difficulty with reading.
However, without effective instruction, children may never learn to love reading, and they may experience professional and academic limitations due to a lack of instruction early in their schooling. Find out more below to better understand dyslexia and what you can do to help your child get them the very best support possible.
A Clear Definition of Dyslexia
Simply put, dyslexia is a difficulty with reading. Dyslexia makes it hard for a child to read fluently and automatically. Children with this challenge may also find it challenging to see a mental image of the words on the page.
Dyslexia is the most common learning difference that a child can experience, affecting 1 in 5 people. Although there are different types of dyslexia, children diagnosed with it generally struggle with similar reading challenges, including processing letters and words on the page.
It is important to dispel myths and anxieties about what dyslexia means for a child. The challenges do not have to be permanent. Children with this learning difference can learn to read, especially when they receive appropriate early support, including testing for dyslexia and meaningful, targeted instruction.
Dyslexia is not an indicator of a child’s intelligence, their upbringing, or their future success. Countless children who receive excellent instruction for dyslexia succeed at a high level at school and in their future careers.
What Are the Most Common Signs of Dyslexia in Kids?
There are several signs you can look for to determine whether your child needs to be tested. Typically, children don’t exhibit the symptoms of dyslexia until they reach their preschool years, when the basics of reading, like the alphabet, are introduced.
Early signs include:
- Trouble learning new words
- Confusion with similar sounding words
- Difficulty remembering nursery rhymes or rhyming games
By kindergarten through second grade, the signs of dyslexia in kids become more apparent:
- Reading below grade level.
- Difficulty recalling the right words in response to a question.
- Challenges with recalling sequences and spelling.
- Trouble with sounding out words.
- Avoiding reading activities.
- Taking a significant amount of time on reading assignments.
- Struggles with word problems in mathematics.
If you or your child’s teacher have identified any of these signs, it is important to get testing for dyslexia, as well as targeted instruction. Your child will learn instructional strategies that address what they are experiencing and help them learn to read effectively.
Are There Different Types of Dyslexia?
Children with dyslexia have different processing abilities when it comes to reading. These abilities define the types of dyslexia that children experience.
Common types of dyslexia include phonological (or auditory) dyslexia, where children have difficulty processing the individual sounds that make up words. Surface dyslexia causes children to struggle with words that are not spelled like they sound, and rapid naming dyslexia creates challenges for children when they are asked to retrieve and communicate information like the names of letters or numbers.
The best way to determine your child’s needs is to get testing for dyslexia. An accurate, research-based test can determine the most useful instructional approaches and strategies for that child, as some signs of dyslexia may be more prevalent than others.
What Kinds of Instruction Are Available for Children with Dyslexia?
Resources for children with dyslexia include both testing and instruction. Ideally, parents should choose highly accurate testing methods and research-based instruction with an excellent success rate.
- In-school reading intervention: If your child is identified as needing reading support for dyslexia by their classroom teacher, special education teacher, or reading interventionist, their school may provide reading interventions throughout the school year. Your child may be asked to visit the reading interventionist’s classroom for individualized or, in some cases, small group lessons.
- Classroom accommodations: Reading is a necessary skill for more aspects of a student’s school day than it may seem. When your child isn’t meeting with a reading interventionist, your child’s classroom teacher can modify assignments and make accommodations to support your child’s growth, including large print instructions and audio versions of assignments. While these are helpful and inclusive, it is important to remember that these accommodations are forms of support, but do not necessarily lead to reading growth.
- Expensive dyslexia reading programs: Dyslexia reading programs seem to be everywhere marketing their methods and charging exorbitant fees for their services. In addition, these services may require you to drop your child off for tutoring after school or on the weekend on a potentially inconvenient schedule.
- Completely virtual one-on-one instruction: An exceptional program delivers testing, instruction, and results that meet your child’s needs, as well as yours. One-on-one customized instruction targets your child’s specific reading challenges and provides the support they need to overcome them. The virtual one-on-one setting makes these lessons convenient and manageable for families.
How Do I Find Proven Testing and Instructional Methods to Help My Child with Dyslexia?
As you search for instructional support for your child’s dyslexia, you have the opportunity to vet programs for dyslexia testing and instruction to ensure their effectiveness for your child.
There are highly effective methods for helping children to improve their reading. There are also approaches that don’t get results. Some programs have their finger on the pulse of the leading research, and others rely on methods that can cause more harm than good.
Ask the following questions as you make important decisions about your child’s academic and emotional welfare:
- Is this program’s testing exceptionally accurate?
- Is instruction based on scientific research and experience?
- Does the program help with different types of dyslexia?
- Can this program catch the early signs of dyslexia in kids?
- Is the instructional method individualized, ensuring my child gets targeted instruction?
- Does the program have instructional opportunities for parents and children with busy schedules?
If you can answer these questions with a solid “yes,” you’ve likely found a method that will help your child learn to read – a skill that will benefit them academically, socially, emotionally, and even economically as they grow up.
Your choice to find the most effective instruction for your child will benefit them for their entire life. What you do now will make a significant difference, and both you and your child will notice this as their first lessons begin. Hope and optimism are important motivators for your child’s growth as a reader. With the right program, your child will experience these feelings right away.
Learn more about exceptional dyslexia resources that can help your child right away.
