With expert help from a specialist tutor we here at uni-ball bring you the ten warning signs that your child might be dyslexic and how you can help manage if they are.
Is your child dyslexic? The ten warning signs of dyslexia . . .
• A child that is initially slow at learning to read
• An inconsistency with spelling. Children may practise spellings correctly one day and then get them wrong the next
• Confusion of letters when reading, particularly “b, d, p and q” or “n, h and m”
• Messy handwriting, (despite lots of practise)
• Leaving words out of sentences
• Severely dyslexic children may have trouble spotting they have missed out words when they are asked to look back at their work
• Vision disturbances, your child may report seeing letters and numbers moving around on the page
• They may rub their eyes when reading or say that the glasses they wear “don’t work”
• Dyslexic children may appear brighter in conversation than they do on paper. When discussing a topic they will be able to tell you the answers, but they might struggle to put this down on paper
• Writing numbers and letters backwards.
What you should do if you think your child is dyslexic
Don’t panic immediately . . .
Dyslexia tutor Penny Hale from Kin Learning told us that dyslexia is hard to diagnose and sometimes problems with writing and reading could be down to lack or practise, or your child not understanding something properly.
She told us: “Regardless of the child’s age, try to hear them read on a nightly basis, if they appear to be struggling.”
Speak to their teacher
Penny says: “If after practising reading and spelling regularly you still think that your child may be dyslexic, then go to their teacher.”
“Due to class sizes many teachers can fail to spot dyslexia on their own but, once the issue has been highlighted, they will be able to look out for warning signs.”
Penny adds: “If a teacher feels that a child is dyslexic, then they can refer a child for an assessment through the school”.
If your child is dyslexic we would like to hear from you, what were the warning signs that your child had a problem? Tweet us at @uniball_uk, hopefully this will help other parents in a similar situation.
