As a preschooler, a child with dyslexia may exhibit confusion between different sounds and may not yet have developed a preference for being left or right-handed. They may enjoy being read to, but show little or no interest in letters or words. They may also struggle with learning rhymes and other phonological skills, and have difficulty acquiring letter names and sounds.
When in kindergarten or primary school, a child with dyslexia may have difficulty with reading. They may read slowly and hesitantly, sometimes with little change in intonation, and have difficulty tracking the text, resulting in missed words or skipped lines. They may also read from the middle of words and make numerous errors while reading.
Some common reading errors that a child with dyslexia may exhibit include confusion of short vowel sounds, transposing letters, misreading words of similar visual appearance, omitting or adding in little words, reversing letters or whole words, and struggling to sound out or blend unfamiliar words. They may also substitute words of similar meaning and tend to mumble when reading multi-syllabic words. As a result, they may have slow, laborious reading with poor comprehension or difficulty following the sequence of the text.
Spelling can also be a challenge for children with dyslexia. They may have difficulty with spelling and writing, including bizarre spelling, phonetic but incorrect spelling, and poor auditory discrimination of vowels. They may omit letters, insert letters, transpose letters, reverse letters, or invert letters in their spelling. They may also have difficulty matching letters to their sounds, and their spelling may remain poor or unreliable often into adulthood.
Writing can also be a struggle for children with dyslexia. They may have difficulties with expressive writing, organizing thoughts and ideas into words, finding the right words, and with grammatical structure, punctuation, and handwriting. They may have illegible handwriting with various sized letters that float between lines, and have difficulty writing within margins. Copying from the board may also be a challenge. Children with dyslexia may be scolded for untidiness, carelessness, or inattentiveness as a result of these struggles.
If you or someone you know is experiencing these symptoms, it is important to seek help and support. Dyslexia is a chronic condition that can impact a person’s daily life and self-esteem, but with the right resources and support, it is possible to overcome the challenges associated with it. Don’t hesitate to reach out and access the support that is available. With the right resources and support, people with dyslexia can succeed in school and beyond.
