Is this dyslexia?

[minceorotherwise]

My husband is dyslexic so have been expecting one of my DC's to maybe be too and looking out for signs. DS2 is 4 and really isn't that interested in writing his name or letters at all, really needs to be bribed to do it at all. Was noticing tonight that if you show him words and ask him to spell them out he always reads them backwards, unless you specifically say 'no, what's the FIRST letter' and then he will do it. He can't sound out at all and just guesses words, but as he's still little and not that interested I haven't bothered pushing him into doing anything anyway.

Anyone!???

It might not be. Writing and reading backwards is a perfectly normal phase. My DS is 5 and he occassionally still writes backwards. He's left handed. Is your DS left handed?

Oddly enough I thought he was up until a few months ago, but now he seems to prefer right. He rarely holds pencil properly thought, prefers fist and scribbles. He doesn't really like drawing either, he can but seems to find it hard...maybe he's just lazy, that would certainly be something inherited from his father anyway !!
Are there any particular early signs ?

Is he in school yet? There is no logical reason why a 4 year old should be interested in letters or writing their name. Also writing letters back to front is not unusual at this age. If he holds a pencil in a fist, it must make it feel like very hard work, so it is not surprising that he doesn't like drawing. So, to sum up, he is not showing any early signs of dyslexia.

I wouldn't have thought you could diagnose dyslexia until much later on, so don't worry about it.

Thanks, am probably over thinking it.
No he's not in school yet, he doesn't write letters at all really, it's spelling out words he does it with.
So if I asked him what the letters were in cat, and showed him the word cat, he would say 't a c'

Most 4 year olds cannot spell words out or read. It is also normal for young children to write or read backwards.

Way to earlu to tell, I have DS who is nearly 10 and is dyslexic, school don't screen until 6/7.

I'd leave him well alone and wait till he gets to school, they learn well and in the right way at school, pushing and forcing now will do nothing other than piss him off to be frank abnd make him scared/anxious of letters, words and reading.

And FGS sake don't calll of say he is lazy, the worst thing you can do.

I work as an educational psychologist, so i test children for these sorts of learning issues day to day and i also have dyslexia myself. Four is too young to tell, what you may see as signs may just be down to his learning style. The earliest age you could test for it would be seven, and then you should take him to an educational psychologist like myself - try the Dyslexia Action - they will do thorough and respected tests. If they decide he is dyslexic they will provide you with the advice you need and the educational psychology report would mean he would get sufficient help in school. Bear in mind with a dyslexic parent, he may just have aspects of dyslexia that will disperse as he gets older, may just take him a little longer to read/write and may mean he is more of a visual learner. Nothing to be worried about and wait till seven before investigating.

i understood that lack of a dominant hand or being cross lateral can be early signs but as you have dyslexia in the family your ds could have inherited some of the traits and may be able to overcome them. Lack of dominant hand delayed my DC drawing.

In my opinion useful to be aware of signs and to try to ensure best learning styles are used such as visual actions to accompany phonics etc even if you cant diagnose properly until 7. Just keep reading books to him to create a love of them and relax.

And no getting an educational psychologist reports done does not gaurentee in any way extra help for your child in school, that is most definately not the way the system works and although the post contains very good advice, that point is misleading I'm afraid. I know because I've been through it all with my own DS now 10.

carocaro, i am sorry to hear that even after an educational psychology report you did not manage to get the extra help your son requires. Generally when an educational psychologist assesses a child they should put in place a sort of action plan as part of that, this is what my organisation requires us to do. However at secondary school level a well funded SEN department should respects an educational psychology report and with some pressure your child should be offered support, it may not always be exactly what you need (the local councils are quite stingy with the resources these day) but it should the process of education easier for the child.