How Can You Tell if Your Children Have Dyslexia? Testing and Evaluation

Dyslexia (or dysgraphia) is a learning disorder that can affect how individuals read, spell, and write. Early recognition of dyslexia symptoms in your child is vital for providing support and interventions. This article aims to guide parents, teachers, or caregivers on how to test a child for dyslexia.

Understanding Dyslexia

Dyslexia impacts the person’s ability to process phonological information. This is important for reading and spelling. It does not mean that a person is stupid, as people with dyslexia are often gifted and have special talents. Dyslexia has a range of severity and can change as children grow and develop.

Recognizing the Signs

Each person’s dyslexia will present differently, but there are signs and symptoms common to all children. These symptoms may appear in pre-schoolers and increase as the child moves into school. The following are early dyslexia signs:

1. Rhyming Difficulty: Your child may have trouble with rhyming.
2. Language Challenges: Need help pronouncing words you know or having confusion with words that sound similar.
3. Reading below Grade Level: Reading that falls behind peers.
4. Reversing of Letters and Numerical Values: A common mistake is to transpose or reverse letters and numerical values (e.g. by putting “b” in place of “d”)
5. A Slower Reading Pace: Compared with peers, is reading at a significantly slower rate.
6. Spelling Difficulties: Frequently misspelling words and needing help remembering them.
7. Trouble with Sequencing: Need help with sequences like days of weeks or alphabets?
8. Avoidance: A strong distaste for reading or a lackluster interest in books.

Trouble Following Instructions:

The Assessment Process

Initiating the assessment is crucial if there are any suspicions about your child’s dyslexia. You can do this in a few ways:

1. Consult Your Child’s Teacher or School Counselor: These educators can provide valuable information and may be aware of specific reading challenges.

2. Request a Comprehensive Examination: To determine whether your child has dyslexia, you should arrange an evaluation by a qualified specialist. This professional could include a school psychologist or pediatrician.

3. Assessments Included: A series will be conducted during the assessment. These usually include:

• Assessment of Cognitive Abilities: Measures your child’s intelligence, memory, and processing rate.
• Testing Phonological Awareness: This test evaluates your child’s ability to work with sounds and spoken language.
• Reading & Spelling Assessments: Measuring fluency, reading accuracy, comprehension, and spelling ability.
• Visual Processing Assessments: How your child processes audio-visual information.
• Observations: Observing behaviors and responses from your child when they are reading.

4. Review the Results:

Once you have completed the assessments, it will be easier to determine if your child has dyslexia. This is why it’s so important to go over the results with the evaluating specialist to ensure a clear understanding.

5. You Should Seek A Formal Diagnosis:

Although it is not necessary to receive educational intervention for dyslexia, a diagnosis can assist in gaining access to specific services and accommodations. Discussion with the professional about the possibility of a formal diagnostic.

Conclusion

Recognizing dyslexia and supporting your child will help them succeed academically and boost their self-confidence. You can empower your child by following the assessment and intervention process outlined here and helping them overcome dyslexia. Early identification and interventions are crucial to helping dyslexic students succeed at school and in their daily lives.