Signs Your Child Might Be Dyslexic

Dyslexia is much more than the propensity to mentally flip letters while reading or writing. Sometimes in the case of gifted or extremely bright children, dyslexia might go unnoticed as they learn ways to cheat the system and over-compensate in other areas to hide their embarrassing weaknesses. This is something that parents tend to understand only after their child has been diagnosed. My goal with this column is to shed a little light on what dyslexia looks like in all its facets and what parents can do to detect it early on.

Early signs of dyslexia in your child might include, but are not limited to:

·      Trouble with rhyming

·      Trouble finding words to articulate what’s in the mind

·      Saying things like “whatchamacallit” when not being able to find a word to express

·      Inability to identify letters

·      Trouble spelling his or her own name even after being taught several times

·      Trouble writing numbers

·      Trouble remembering sequences of letters and numbers

·      Not being able to recite the alphabet without the song

·      Challenges with direction – knowing which way is right versus left

·      Challenges remembering rote info like birthdays and days of week

·      Reading slowly even though they demonstrate good mental acuity

·      Challenges with the auditory processing of information when people talk to them

·      Executive functioning weaknesses—difficulty paying attention to a lot of words or more than one person in a conversation at once

·      Exhibiting symptoms of dysgraphia, a visual motor deficit impacting the ability to put words on paper

These signs can sometimes be seen as early as preschool. It’s important to get your child tested when you discover these symptoms. A slew of preliminary tests will assess the situation and then it is important to keep monitoring your child over time. Whether your child is mildly, classically or severely dyslexic, early intervention is key to aiding in the opening of their neural pathways and getting them on an even keel academically.

Dr. Dan Peters, Ph.D., is co-founder of the Summit Center, which provides psychological and educational assessments and counseling for children and adolescents, specializing in the gifted, creative, and twice-exceptional.