October is International Dyslexia Month. Many believe that dyslexia is writing backwards and an inability to read. But this limited view distorts the real picture. Dyslexia certainly affects a person’s ability to read and write with ease, but it can also affect their memory, coordination, and organisational skills.

Every person who does dyslexia experiences it in a way that is unique to them. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is this variance that can make identifying dyslexic tendencies difficult.

However, there are common signs that can help parents and other caregivers to identify persistent difficulties that may indicate dyslexic tendencies. Dyslexia doesn’t just exist in the school environment, but it is usually there that it becomes more problematic. Therefore, knowing the signs that would suggest early investigation and assessment could be beneficial to both the child and the school.

Common Signs of Dyslexia

The following indicators may suggest that a child has a tendency towards a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia. However, most young children will, as some stage, have these behaviours and make these mistakes, e.g. mixing up ‘b’ and ‘d’.  It is part of their development and most grow out of them over time. The vital clues suggesting dyslexic tendencies are not so much the existence of the indicator but the severity of the behaviour and the length of time it persists.

• A history of slow speech development
• Difficulty learning rhymes
• Finds colouring tricky in comparison to peers
• Difficulty keeping rhythm e.g. clapping along to a song or playing a marching game
• Problems recalling the names of relations, friends, things etc
• Matching the sounds of letters (phonics) to the letter is difficult
• Loves listening to stories but shows little interest in learning to read
• Difficulty following instructions
• Poor coordination (dressing, sports, often trips over)
• Mixes up words
• Can be ‘off-form’ for no apparent reason

Dyslexia is a wonderful way to experience the world and many of the inventions and thinking that has propelled humans forward has come from people who do dyslexia. However, it can hold children back in reading and writing, but it doesn’t have to! 

For more information on how our programs can help people of all ages with dyslexia, call now on 087 2996054 or email elaine@hummingbirdlearning.com