How soon can you tell if a child is dyslexic?

[purpledolphin]

Hi I am concerned that my DD may be dyslexic, I am dyslexic and my niece on my DH's side is and so is he probably.

My DD has no idea about which is b and which is d, she has really struggled with letter formation often because she moved the pen in the opposite direction to that needed she often reads words like saw and was interchangably. I am worried that it might be missed at school because of what I do to help her learn at home - I am seeing her teacher next week do you think I would be treading on their toes if I voiced my concerns directly and is 51/2 to young to tell any way. I don't want a diagnosis for the sake only to ensure she is taught in the best way for her.

I don't think they'll properly diagnose it until a child is around 7 as a lot can change as children mature.

It's good that you are alert to the possibility thoughand definiely worth mentioning to the teacher and looking out for as you have a family history.

Having said all this, my DD wasn't diagnosed till she was 9 but the signs were there from reception onwards. School always dismissed our concerns and refused to test. i wish we'd known earlier as reception is a vital age to get the right methods for teaching dyslexic children phonics etc in place.

I can definitely understand your concerns, particularly with the background.

However, I work in a Y1 classroom and the things you mention are very common at this age.

b and d confusion is normally sorted by 7y.

was and saw is a really common misread word IME. My DD did it dspite reading very well. As is misreading simple words such as the, and, etc. This can become more common when confidence improves and they start reading faster, missing out bits, kind of like skimming almost.

Letter formation again varies massively.

However, because of your background I don;t think it is wrong or inappropriate to highlight your concerns to the lass teacher and see what she thinks.

There is a greater chance your child will be dyslexic given your family history but nothing you describe is unusual for a child her age but definitely worth keeping an eye on. Most of my Y2 class were forming letters clockwise from the bottom reversing b/d when I took over.
Our EP says if a child continues to reverse words/letters in KS2 to test. However I would say it is worth starting now with good practice (for any child not just dyslexic children) - automatic letter formation - repeat a mantra of how to form the letter as it is written - round, up, down and flick - "a"
and good phonics instruction rather than seeing was as a whole word look at the letters - that way it can't be confused with saw

"aw" represents the /or/ sound in saw

"a" following a "w" sometimes represents /o/

Hi purpledolphin,
You may find the following web page helpful -if a bit 'challenging'

Should I have my child assessed?
www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm

This time last year I was the same worried mummy. My sister, my eldest niece, my dad and myself are all dyslexic. My DD was doing letter and number reversals till the beginning of this term when she was 6 years 4 months and now it seems to be nearly gone. Until half term of this term saw and was were interchangable when reading, but again this is gone. I did make the teachers aware of the family history and they took my concerns seriously, whilst reassuring about what is normal.
A pattern my mother has noticed with the dyslexics in our family is that as pre-schoolers the dyslexics are struggle to remember nursery rhymes and one of the education psch. my niece has seen reports this is quite common.

Ds1's teacher has asked for him to be assessed for dyslexia. Apparently round here they're allowed to assess from the start of yr1 (he is in Reception at the mo).

He has only just started to be able to blend sounds, and still can't hear the middle sound in a CVC word. His teacher reckons he is "brighter than average" and trying really hard - but can't do it. No probs with hearing or sight.

If it is a sight word that he knows (e.g. 'the') then he can read it upside-down just as easily as the right way up, or even back-to-front (I used black pen on thin paper and tried to play 'pairs' with him, he read them through the paper). But if I show him 'on' and 'no' he stares for ages but can't tell what they are, or even what the beginning sound is.

If he starts writing at the right, he'll write the whole word backwards, letter by letter, with each individual letter backwards too - perfect mirror writing.

He has a lot of trouble with sequencing and order - he can tell you what happened in a story but not the beginning, middle and end. He never knows whether a meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner, or anything like that.

He doesn't remember nursery rhymes - or days of the week, or numbers, or his middle name ...

Scared myself now, shouldn't have written it out!

Confusing on and no is very very common in reception and year 1 and wouldn't be a cause for concern neither would some letter and word reversal at this age.

Thank you for all your replies. Will speak to the teacher with confidence.