How do you spot a dyslexic child

[pupuce]

I wondered if someone could give me some pointers...

I read with kids at our school in year 2 and 3... and some can NOT put a word together.... I have raised it a few times and when I did so again yesterday saying that maybe they might be dyslexic I was told that "No! It's because they are never read to at home and are never exposed to books".... I am sure that is true in those particular cases but I read with them every week and so do others and they still don't really progress.... so I'd like to know a bit more before I go back and challenge this.

Thanks

[LaidbackinEngland]

I'm interested in this too. I went to an introduction to reception for DS2 a couple of nights ago and was told by the teacher that there is "no such thing as dyslexia - it's just a missed stage of learning to read which needs to be retaught. " She also implied that many children who have a diagnosis of dyslexia had missed out by being in hospital or not attending school. I was a bit

[Psychomum5]

but how would the teachers know that every child who has difficulty has no exposure to books etc??? that is quite harsh to tar ALL kiddies with the same brush who has difficulty, no wonder there is such a late pick-up on dyslexia!!!!!!

my son is in yr1, and so far has made utterly no progress with reading in the entire time he has been at school (actually, thats not quite true, he does now recognise phonics.) And he has been read to regularly since birth (and before birth in fact as I read to my others from birth too!), and I read lots myself too so there are many many books about.......the only thing I don;t do regularly is get him to read to me each night because of his tears and my frustration. I think he has a problem already (his older sister IS dyslexic, and older brother almost certainly according to his teacher).

If I thought that DS2's teacher thought that about him, just becuase a few did have that background, I would be mortified........many many mums DO try all the time with their DC's, yet they still have issues.....and you saying this kind of proves that some teachers just won;t see it because they find it easier to blame the parents IYGWIM!!!!!!

grrrrr

[Taweret]

""was told by the teacher that there is "no such thing as dyslexia - it's just a missed stage of learning to read which needs to be retaught." She also implied that many children who have a diagnosis of dyslexia had missed out by being in hospital or not attending school".

It is the unhelpful opinions of people like this in the school system, who are not qualified to diagnose dyslexia, and not trained to teach dyslexics, that make school a living hell for so many children with real literacy difficulties.

[LedodgyCheapEasterEggsAreASin]

I'd seriously consider not sending my child to that school with warped opinions like that!

[BundleBrent]

Those with a diagnosis already - at what age is it appropriate to test for it? Do teachers (except the one mentioned above!) know what to look for, or is it down to parents insisting?

[LaidbackinEngland]

Ledodgy ... I walked out halfway through the teachers incoherent ramblings !

[Psychomum5]

for mine, I have been the one fighting!!!!

and again with DS2, I am the one raising concerns.

with DD2, I fought with her first school from yr3, altho TBH I knew there were issues from yr1, and all her teachers could say was "oh, you need to get into the world of DD2"......as if she didn;t even have to TRY to get into our world, even tho our world is the one she needed to enter to be able to read etc...... I pulled her out of that school at the beginning of yr5, as they still had that opinion about her, obviously not helpful!!!! she was finally DX last september as she entered secondary school, and her reading and sequencing ages, along with other tests they did, put her at being 5;9yrs reading age!! Just showed how badly behind she was, and how badly her first school had let her down.

with DS1, he is 7yrs and in yr3, and they have finally agreed with me that he does have obvious dyslexic tendencies, but only since DD2 was officially DX'd, as befoer then they fobbed me off. was only because I was proven right really with DD2 that they feel I am able to have some opinion.

and this is the same regarding DS2 I think......they are only listening to be because of DD2, altho they have flagged that he may have other issue's too.

I guess they must have some age to start worrying at tho, as there are many kiddies out there who DO take time to 'click' into learning.

[ingles2]

re time scale I've been trying to tell our school for 2 years that ds2 has dyscalculic problems. They have completely ignored me. Thankfully my GP agrees with me and is going to refer him on his 7th birthday. I think unless the problems are severe and seriously hindering a child, the LEA waits to see if they are late developers (and also they have no funding)

[zippitippitoes]

it makes me sick that it isnt recognised when a child cant read or write or draw that there is a problem i argued with school and was told that it was because ds was a boy...he was seven when i took him out of that school

he is dyslexic /dyspraxic and we went into private education and specialist teaching

[vixnpips]

Now this is a subject that totally gets my goat. Grrrr
I am dyslexic, my boys dad is severly dyslexic DS1 has already been tested and shown to have tendencies ( when he was 7 but not since) . His problem is that he is bright and therefore doesn't get the help he needs. Grrrr I have countlessly asked to the school to re-test him and there is the sticking point. XIL are retired english teachers, Xdh was not recognised to be dyslexic till he was 16 or so. He has issues with it all so do the XIL. So when I ask for help for DS1.. they step in .. yes all of them! and say " oh DS1 doesn't have a problem.. he is not dyslexic!!" they then re write his homework for him.. correcting everthing he does.. to make it look better.
It is a contsant battle and Xil do not want DS! to be tested again.. ( I know that they have actually nothing to do with this.. but XFIL is quite big on the ofstead and education scene.. and all he has to do is say it and the schools do as he wants!! grrrr)
So it doesn't suprise me that you get schools with the attitudes... and children not being helped.

[vixnpips]

On the how to spot.. I can only say a little about myself and what I have seen in DS1.

As babies both of us didn't crawl.. we went straight to walking running well before a year old.
Neither of us can remember a nursey rhyme, or long lists of orders.
we both had late speach development. Although understood clearly what we were being told.
Both of us are ambidextrous ( both handed).
and we eat with knives and forks in the wrong hands.

are spelling is colourful and often spel the same word differently each time we use it.

neither of us is good at the alphabet ( I'm 33 and he is 13)

both of us have been bought up in a house hold full of books, music and art art. I am from a family where parents have degrees and MAs and so does my son.
Verbally we are very articulate.
Now you could say .. son like mother.. but my other 2 Dc show no signs the same, read beautifully and have no " learning/ reading writing problems at all"

[BundleBrent]

Thank you for those clues as well - it's really helpful. Ds (6) is showing a lot of these tendancies, but school have not mentioned the D word. I don't know if I ask, or wait for them to bring it up with me, or if it's all to early.

I've noticed the confusion of b and d and g etc, and writing numbers back to front, which I think I heard were clues.

[swedishmum]

I had the it's because he's a boy thing from school, then when he was nearly 8 and got him tested privately HT said she'd always thought he was dyslexic and I'd have to mourn the fact he'd never go to university (in the same breath). Needless to say ds is now at a different school!
I'm aware that some people jump on the dyslexic bandwagon, but I'm appalled that schools come out with attitudes like that. Diagnosed dyslexia counts as a disability under the DDA now. My 4 children have been brought up very similarly, around books. I teach and they've seen me suffer through 2 PG courses. Dd1 is very able and could read/write fluently by 4 and ds is bright but despite his and our best efforts, still finds writing in particular very hard work.

[haggisaggis]

dd (5.5) is probably dyslexic. She started school in August and really struggles with recognising letters / numbers. She also has a few memory issues, will use her left hand rather than her right for some stuff, muddles up pronunciation of some words, seems to have difficulty in recognising teh sounds that make up a word etc etc
I contacted the Dyslexia Scotland and they don't advised testing until a child has had a full year at school.

[ingles2]

ds2 6.7
also didn't crawl at all and went straight to walking at 9 months!
had terrible glue ear and didn't speak until 2.5, then came out with whole sentences
can't hold a knife and fork
or blow his nose
his father is severly dyslexic
has a brilliant memory for art and history and fantastic verbal reasoning
he's also a very good reader
but he can't
count, especially backwards
or really grasp maths concepts at all especially x2
write more than 2 or 3 words, his letter and numbers are back to front, and mirror images
his spelling is extremely creative

[pupuce]

"I've noticed the confusion of b and d and g etc, and writing numbers back to front, which I think I heard were clues."

Both my kids did this... D who is 7 does still get B and Ds muddled up but she is not dyslexic. I was told that they can still get that sort of errors until they are 8 by that time it should disappear and it did with DS.

[pupuce]

"I've noticed the confusion of b and d and g etc, and writing numbers back to front, which I think I heard were clues."

Both my kids did this... D who is 7 does still get B and Ds muddled up but she is not dyslexic. I was told that they can still get that sort of errors until they are 8 by that time it should disappear and it did with DS.

[vixnpips]

I would ask, you will probably get the Ds is too young to tell at the moment.. but at least the school will be aware of your concerns.
Kids do mix up their letters sometimes anyway.. but if it goes on to long it could be a sign that ur DS may need a bit more help.
make sure you enjoy books and writing together at home, as this will help making the written word feel more comfortable for him.
You could try learning his spelling with fridge magnet letters.. where he has to actually handle the letters.. I know sometimes this can help.
Personally I learn words by the pattern they make on a keyboard( i remember the key patterns.. not how to spell the word) Doesn't always work tho ;).
But the big thing really is voice your concerns.. and make reading / writing a comfortable thing to do at home ( will mean a lot less stress in later years to come).
being dyslexic isn't the end.. sometimes it's a struggle, but hey we can't be good at everything But in the adult world it has never stopped me from achieving anything. I just see the world a bit differently (and my spelling is cr%p). ( but hey I have learned to skim read faster than anyone else I know!! LOL)

[vixnpips]

^By swedishmum on Wed 19-Mar-08 12:22:01
I had the it's because he's a boy thing from school, then when he was nearly 8 and got him tested privately HT said she'd always thought he was dyslexic and I'd have to mourn the fact he'd never go to university (in the same breath).^

DON'T EVER LISTEN to someone who says that!! I went and so did Xdh!!!!!

[choccypig]

The OP raises an interesting point. Obviously parent helpers in schools are a good thing, and reading with the children helps, but they are no substitute for qualified teachers.
However, it sounds like the qualified teachers in this particular school are a bit dismissive of OPs concerns.
I would say in reception, fair enough, plenty of children might be relatively new to books and reading, or just not ready to read yet. But by Yrs 1 and 2 if they are still struggling with "the cat sat on the mat", they need some extra help, trying different approaches, etc.,

[maverick]

Before you assume that a child is 'dyslexic' please take the time to check if they know the complete alphabet code -there's a simple test chart here:

ontrackreading.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/codeknowledgetest.pdf IMPORTANT: Alphabet Code Knowledge Test. Does your child know the complete Alphabet Code? Do YOU?

As an experienced and specialist remedial reading tutor, to date I have found that ALL the children coming to me have BIG gaps in their knowledge of the advanced code.

[vixnpips]

@maveric.. cool this is what DS2 and DD school use in reception..

DS1 does know it.. but can't join together the information he knows with what is needed to read or write effectivly. and often can't "hear" parts of the words or word sounds to be able to associate which sound is needed to make the word.. his hearing is actually very good tho .
But very very valid point you make.
Dyslexia is a strange old beast and sometimes I do think that it can be misinturpred (SP?) or over used as a label when sometimes a bit of help with the basics would do the trick.

[neolara]

For a school is says a child cannot read because they are not being exposed to books at school, implies that it is up to the parent to teach the child to read. This is clearly ridiculous. It is the teacher's job is to ensure that the children can read, not the parent's. If a teacher has a number of children in their class who are not making progress with teaching then he / she needs to look closely at her teaching methods. Methods that thoroughly and systematically teach children the letter-sounds and also explicitly show children how to blend sounds together can have really excellent results. All healthy children should be able to read well. There is no excuse.

Some children pick up reading very easily. They almost do not need to be taught. However, others have considerable more difficulty. Often this is because they have a specific difficulty with phonological processing. It is possible to be bright and have this particular difficulty. It is possible to be averagely bright and have this particular difficulty. It is possible to be not very bright and have this particular difficulty. The specific difficulty tends to make it hard for these children to learn their letter sounds and to blend. However, they must learn these skills if they are to become competent readers. If they learn by using the look-say method (which they may be good at), they will be completely stuck when they come to a word they have never met before.

As Maverick says, children who have difficulty reading generally have not got to grips with sounds made by individual letters or by groups of letters e.g. ch. It really does not matter if these children have a diagnosis of dyslexia, if they have missed a lot of school or if they have a history of glue ear when they were young. They need the same "treatment" of being taught the sounds and taught how to blend. They need to be taught these skills until they are completely automatic.

[maverick]

www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/IMAGES/kids_to_read.swf Watch a short video clip of kindergarten children learning to read easily, using synthetic phonics

www.dyslexics.org.uk

[vixnpips]

"It really does not matter if these children have a diagnosis of dyslexia, if they have missed a lot of school or if they have a history of glue ear when they were young. They need the same "treatment" of being taught the sounds and taught how to blend. They need to be taught these skills until they are completely automatic."

The problem with this statement is that the truely dyslexic person can't always see the word , part of word to be able to read it. so teaching these skills is the problem.
on the code knowledge.. augh might look like uagh or it might be mirrored , it may for some jump about, be party blurred or mixed up with letters from the line above or below or a combination of all or some.
It can be a misconception that the dyslexic just hasn't "learned" to read.
It comes down to the ability to see what you are reading / writing.