A reading and learning disorder - dyslexia is a brain-based learning difference that makes it difficult for individuals to read, write or identify speech sounds.
According to The Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity, “Dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in learning to read. Dyslexia takes away an individual’s ability to read quickly and automatically and to retrieve spoken words easily, but it does not dampen their creativity and ingenuity.”
According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 15-20% of the global population has a learning disability – occurring in males and females almost equally, and the most common learning disorder is dyslexia.
Dyslexia can be inherited and often runs in the family. Signs of dyslexia can be seen in a child as early as the preschool years.
Common signs of dyslexia during preschool include:
• Difficulty learning and remembering common nursery rhymes
• Difficulty learning and remembering letters of the alphabet
• Difficulty remembering the letters in their name
• Regularly mispronouncing familiar words
• Trouble with rhyming words such as, “Cat, mat, rat, bat” etc.
Although every child learns at their own pace, and some may be slower to learn than others - if a child is struggling with reading, rhyming, or spelling, it could be early signs of dyslexia.
Remember, dyslexia is not just a struggle with reading, but a struggle with language, making it difficult to see the signs.
How to support a child struggling in your classroom:
• Remember that the earlier a learning difficulty is diagnosed, the better the chances are that intervention strategies will be effective.
• Communicate clearly and often with the parents or guardians of the child. Interventions that are practiced at home as well as in the classroom are more likely to be successful.
• Be sure to identify and support the child’s strengths and interests as well their difficulties.
• Meet regularly as a team to update progress and celebrate advances the child is having.
Remember, dyslexia is not associated with intelligence and that people with dyslexia can learn to read well when provided with appropriate reading instruction.
References:
Use the term “dyslexia.”The International Dyslexia Association Ontario Branch. (2022, January 27). https://www.idaontario.com/use-the-term-dyslexia/
“Dyslexia Basics.”Dyslexia Canada, www.dyslexiacanada.org/en/dyslexia-basics/
“Signs of Dyslexia.”Yale Dyslexia, dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/
