Recognizing dyslexia

Diagnosed or undiagnosed can make a big difference for the dyslexic, being diagnosed can prevent a lot of frustration for the dyslectic and his environment.

An undiagnosed dyslexic is misunderstood therefore will frustrate his environment and himself.

 "To find out that I was dyslexic was a relief. I had thought I was merely stupid. It made others patient with me and, more significantly, perhaps, it made me patient with myself. I recall that almost physical sensations of mist clearing, and of a comb being drawn through a tangled skein." Matthew Sturgis – Journalist

The sooner we recognize learning disabilities/differences the better, so we can prevent frustration for the child and its surroundings. By knowing the symptoms or signs, we can recognize the possibility of having dyslexia at a young age. This allows us to concentrate on the strengths of the child, not their weaknesses, and look for a learning style that suits their abilities.

"It is a lonely existence to be a child with a disability which no-one can see or understand, you exasperate your teachers, you disappoint your parents, and worst of all you know that you are not just stupid" – Susan Hampshire, Past President, The Dyslexia Institute

There is a list of several symptoms for dyslexia. Not every dyslexic has them all, in fact, most have only a few of them, and not everyone has the same ones or in the same degree. Therefore, each dyslexic is different.

Although the left-brain weakness has always been there since birth, it pops up visibly when starting school and learning to read and write, and so it is mostly during this time that the dyslexic child gets attention and probably (and hopefully) diagnosed.

I did not find a standard method to diagnose dyslexia. Methods range form very complex to rather simple approaches.

Let’s keep in mind that we’re testing a child that already has some unpleasant experiences with school tests and/or has a feeling of “is there something wrong with me?” When tests are too complex or one is treated like some kind of a zombie, it will not contribute to their self-esteem, on the contrary. Inform yourself about how the test will be conducted, what will happen and why. Then explain it to the child such as what the purposes of those tests are, how the test is conduct so he or she understands what’s going on.

On the following page you find some tips on "How to detect dyslexia yourself and what next?".