Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that affects the ability to read and wright. Preschool children who have a phonological language disorder (read more about it here) have an increased risk of developing dyslexia. Dyslexia cannot be linked to intelligence level. Dyslexia cannot grow away or be cured by practicing, but the difficulties can be alleviated by the right adaptations and aids, and to some extent by reading training.
Dyslexia can also affect other language areas and can make it difficult for the person to find the right word, even easy words that the person use frequently. Dyslexia can also occur along with working memory dificulties.
Signs of dyslexia:
– The child does not start reading at expected age despite extra reading efforts in the school.
– The child show little or no interest in books.
– The child has a hesitant reading and lack of reading flow.
– The child does not recognize common words.
– The child does not understand what he or she just read.
– The child has spelling difficulties
– The child confuse letters that are similar in sound (eg p-b, r-l-j, t-d).
How to think and act:
– Introduce a computer or tablet with a keyboard early as a tool for both writing and reading.
– Use spelling programs and speech synthesis.
– Read aloud together with the child.
– The child may need more breaks than others.
– Switch between reading, listening and listening and reading texts simultaneously.
– Make sure to get texts for exams well in advance.
– Find books that the child finds interesting and inspiring.