Dyslexia symptoms

Dyslexia or specific learning difficulties are widely recognised among educationalists and parents but are still not fully understood. It seems likely though, that it is an organisational problem that is linked to the way that some individuals perceive and process the sounds of language and their written symbols, such as alphabetic letters and numbers. As you can imagine, this can soon cause problems for a child once he enters school, so it obviously makes sense to identify the condition as early as possible (By the way, it is usually "he" as dyslexic boys outnumber dyslexic girls by four to one).

Experts agree that given access to the right kind of teaching, a dyslexic child can make the same kind of progress as his non-dyslexic peers, but what exactly defines a dyslexic child? Unfortunately, in the pre-school child, the condition is not easy to spot as the usual give aways can easily be confused with the normal maturation of childhood development.

1. Late walking and talking. Children vary enormously at what age they begin to walk and talk, the normal range considered anywhere between 12 months - 2 years for walking and anywhere up to three years for talking. Some dyslexic children may not crawl, but shuffle around on their bottoms or wriggle on their tummies.

2. Clumsiness and poor co-ordination. This is a difficult one as all young children show these symptoms as they struggle to master the motor skills necessary to walk, feed themselves and play with toys. It only worth noting if there is a marked lack of progress and other symptoms are present.

3. Difficulty with buttons, laces, learning to ride a bike, swim, or catch a ball. Again a very young child will have trouble acquiring these skills, but usually a non-dyslexic child gradually becomes more adapt. The child with specific learning difficulties however, makes very slow progress and sometimes never masters some of these skills.

4. Problems with speech. As children grow older their speech usually becomes clearer and more distinct. The dyslexic child however often has a long lasting speech problem. Look out for prolonged confusion of words such as hopsital for hospital and tebby-dare for teddy-bear. They may also substitute words.

5. Difficulty sequencing. All children love nursery rhymes and songs sung to them and quickly learn to sing them for themselves. The dyslexic child will have great difficulty with this. No matter how often they hear the rhyme they will be unable to remember the order of verses or even the lines within the verse. Clapping out a rhythm will also cause problems as will the construction of simple rhymes like cat, mat, sat. Days of the week and when they start school, multiplication tables will also be difficult to memorise.

6. Uncertainty over left and right. Interestingly, studies show that a high proportion of dyslexic children tend to be left handed and sometimes ambidextrous. Why this should be experts have yet to come up with an answer. When linked to other factors, this left handedness or ambidexterity could point towards a problem.

7. Poor listening abilities, limited concentration span and tiring easily. This kind of behavior is often mistaken for hyperactivity as the child seems incapable of sitting still and paying attention for any length of time. The trouble stems from poor short term memory which means the child has to concentrate hard causing him or her to either tire very easily or just opt out through bad behavior. Of course a noisy rumbustuous toddler isn’t going to remain calm and patient for long periods of time, but be alert if he or she gets bored quickly when you try to read a story or interest him or her in something intriguing.

8. Writing and drawing. Watching your pre-school child’s first attempts at writing and drawing can give valuable insights into any possible problems with dyslexia. Be alert for difficulties holding pencils or crayons, large amounts of poorly formed letters, especially when shown many times how to write them. Look for a tendency to write or draw from right to left and watch out also for letters written backwards. If this behavior persists and shows little sign of improvement then think dyslexia.

9. Other family members. Since studies show that dyslexia tends to run in families, be on the look out for signs if there is another close member of the family who has difficulties with reading and writing or performed badly at school.

10. Telling the time. The concept of time can present great difficulties to dyslexic children and using a clock can be a major problem. Most children seem to gradually acquire this skill, but a dyslexic child struggles long after his or her peers have mastered it.

It cannot be stressed enough that all pre-school children will show some of these symptoms as they grow from babyhood to maturity, but the dyslexic child will exhibit more of them and for much longer.

Indeed, some dyslexic people never fully master some of these skills at all, which is a pity as there is a great deal that can be done to help them to fullfil their potential. The actors Tom Cruise, Susan Hampshire and multi-millionaire Richard Branson are all dyslexic, but have gone on to lead very successful lives.

The good news is, the vast majority of dyslexic children are of at least average intelligence. Many are above and a few have extremely high IQs.

Most of the problems associated with the condition result from low self esteem caused by subjugation to the wrong teaching methods and by teachers who have little understanding of how the dyslexic child thinks.