RECOGNIZING
DYSLEXIA SYMPTOMS IN A PUPIL OR STUDENT
A
short list of possible signs of dyslexia would include some, but not all,
of these: •
difficulties with spelling;
•
a noticeable difference between the pupil's ability and their actual
achievement;
•
a family history of learning difficulties;
•
confusion over left and right;
•
writing letters or numbers backwards;
•
difficulties with math/s;
•
difficulties with organizing themselves;
•
difficulty following 2- or 3-step instructions.
POSSIBLE SYMPTOMS IN MORE DETAIL
 Difficulties
with spelling
Spelling is the activity which causes most difficulty
for dyslexic children. The observation of spelling errors in short, simple words
is the way in which most dyslexic children first come our attention. Examples
of words which cause particular difficulty are: any, many, island, said, they,
because, enough, and friend. Other words will sometimes be spelt in the way that
you would expect them to be spelt if our spelling system were rational, for example
does/dus, please/pleeze, knock/nock, search/serch, journey/jerney, etc.
Dyslexic children also experience difficulties
with 'jumbled spellings'. These are spelling attempts in which all the correct
letters are present, but are written in the wrong order. Examples include dose/does,
freind/friend, siad/said, bule/blue, becuase/because, and wores/worse. 'Jumbled
spellings' show that the child is experiencing difficulty with visual memory.
Non-dyslexic children and adults often use their visual memory when trying to
remember a difficult spelling: they write down two or three possible versions
of the word on a spare piece of paper and see which spelling 'looks right'. They
are relying on their visual memory to help them, but the visual memory of a dyslexic
child may not be adequate for this task. A
discrepancy between the pupil's ability and their actual achievement
If you notice that a child who appears to be average or bright when they
are talking to you is struggling to read, spell or cope with math/s, this may
be the strongest clue that something is wrong. It is very common for dyslexic
children to be quite able, especially in the areas of creativity (art, drama,
drawing, etc) and physical co-ordination (physical education, swimming, sports,
model-making, etc.). However, there are differences in the neural links in their
brain that makes it hard for them to deal with text (and often with numbers) without
extra support. A reading age or grade level of two years below what you would
expect from them is a sign of possible dyslexia. Obviously, this could also be
caused by other factors such as lengthy absences from school due to illness.
A family history of learning difficulties
Dyslexia is inherited
through the genes. It can be made worse by early ear infections which make it
harder for a young child to be able to distinguish the difference between similar
sounding words. Dyslexia has been found to be equally common in boys and girls.
 Confusion
over left and right
A fairly quick way to establish this type of
confusion is to ask a child to point to your left foot with his or her right hand.
If you try similar instructions - in a non-threatening environment - you will
soon be able to see if this causes difficulties or not. (Try it on a colleague
- who is not dyslexic - and you can see how a non-dyslexic person is able to sort
out the left and right elements quite readily.) You may also notice difficulties
with east and west, or in following directions like 'Go to the end of the road
and turn left, then right, etc'.
Writing letters or numbers backwards
You will have noticed some children who mix up 'b' and 'd', or even
'p' and the number 9. These letters are the same in their mirror image, and cause
regular confusion for a dyslexic person. Some pupils make a point of always writing
the letter 'b' as au upper-case or capital 'B', as they find this much easier
to remember in terms of the direction it faces.
Difficulties with
math/s
One feature of dyslexia is difficulties with sequencing -
getting things in the right order. Math/s depends on sequences of numbers - 2.
4. 6. 8. etc. Whilst many people are aware that dyslexic children and students
have problems with reading and spelling, they do not know that math/s can also
be a real challenge. This is mentioned quite often in Dot's
Diary.
 Difficulties
organizing themselves
Some of the signs of dyslexia are unexpected. Whilst you may quite reasonably think that
all children live their lives in a mess, this is particularly so for dyslexic
children and students, who may have genuine difficulties with planning and thinking
ahead to when a book or pen might be needed next. They can really benefit from
help with organizing papers and folders under a simple color-coded system. (See
Finding
My Own Solutions.)
Difficulty following 2- or 3-step instructions
'Go to Mrs. Brown and ask her if Peter Smith is in school today. Oh,
yes, and ask if I can borrow her dictionary' - such an instruction is just too
much! It involves both sequencing and memory skills, and you would be very surprised
to see a dyslexic child return with the dictionary and information about Peter
Smith! Dyslexic children love to take messages as much as any other child, but
it has to be a less complicated instruction, e.g. 'Ask Mrs. Brown if I can borrow
her stapler'.
IF
A CHILD PRESENTS WITH A NUMBER OF THESE SYMPTOMS
No
two dyslexic children are exactly alike, and the above signs of dyslexia are just the more
common ones. The list is not exhaustive, and few children would show all of these
signs. However, if a child is having difficulties with spelling and writing, and
has some of these signs, it may be time to think about the possibility of a professional
assessment.
 •
David's
difficulties - one dyslexic child's difficulties with self-confidence and
writing.
• Lowered
self-confidence in one girl - Alice, who does not want to go to school, and
who is getting bad reports.
•
A
Description of One Dyslexic Child's Symptoms - detailed outline by a teacher
of one dyslexic child's difficulties with reading, spelling and copying from the
board. |
