Reading problem - could it be dyslexia?

[quandry1]

I wasn't sure which board to put this on but hope this is the right place.
My eldest DS is 9 and is a good reader and he writes well, and is ahead of his age for both according to his teachers, but he's recently been struggling with reading and saying he thinks he needs glasses. So I took him to the optician (a well regarded one) and they did various tests and I was reassured that his vision is normal and that he doesn't need glasses at this point, however my DS burst into tears after we left as he was upset that he didn't need glasses as he wanted something to help cause he said he was finding reading some books so difficult.. 😢 I had no idea it was bothering him so much or I'd have said more to the optometrist at the time, and we were in a rush ti get back for my younger DC, so couldn't go back then, but we had a long chat later on when we got home and looked through a few books and he told me the ones he struggled with reading and ones he said were fine. He says it's not that they are blurry, just 'hard to read' but the words don't jump about or anything.

What I notice about them is that the ones he struggles with all have relatively tight line spaces (for example 'fellowship of the rings' which is probably as it's so wordy it needs to squeeze them all in) but he's fine with books with the same text size, as long as the lines are spaced further apart? I checked with various books and it's not that he's just struggling with bigger/more unusual words, it's definitely to do with how they are laid out. He also seems much better when there's less contrast - so a yellowish page is better than a pure white one (even with the line spacing wider).

I have good eyesight and have never needed glasses, so I don't know if this is just that actually he might need glasses after all or if it's something different like mild dyslexia, but I have never even considered it before as he's never struggled before but I guess I'm questioning it now as am not sure how to help him and I really don't want to put him off reading as he's always been so keen.

Im sorry if I'm being paranoid and this sounds all v normal and nothing to worry about, I'm just thrown by the fact he was so upset NOT to need glasses when I'd have thought he'd be pleased that everything is fine.

Sorry this is very long - thanks if you e read this far! Any help appreciated!

In a word - yes.

Two things that make things dyslexia friendly are off-white or coloured paper and 1.5 spacing.

So what can be done?

• Inform the school SENCO of your suspicion and the reasoning behind it
• Look for suitable books
• Overlays. Coloured overlays are a little contentious as some say they should only be used after a diagnosis, but you could try an overlay to see if it would help. You can buy multicolour packs online. Some also block out all but the current line, which would overcome the spacing issue
• Diagnosis is possible via a dyslexia assessor. A few schools have them but this is very unlikely at a primary. More often, diagnosis comes through privately and can be expensive. But diagnosis isn't needed if strategies can be applied as above.
• Be open and honest with your child. They sound bright enough to have a gentle explanation of dyslexia to help them understand their needs

@Anothernameanother thank you for replying! I was actually expecting to be told that it was very unlikely..! Yikes.

He's just always been such a good reader and his spelling is good and he's a good writer (although not that neat, but fairly standard for a 9 yo boy I think) and he wants to be an author, so it would be quite a big deal to him I think. His school have done various lessons on SEN and he knows of dyslexia and when I asked him if words moved about or anything he was 'no, I'm not dyslexic' and I did say that it's not an issue if he was as there's so much that can be done to help now and he's obviously getting on v well anyway... but I think he would be resistant to it tbh 😬

I will mention to school though, thanks. Apologies for my ignorance but is it common to be doing well with reading writing and spelling but still have dyslexia? I had thought there'd be signs before now, but it's only a relatively recent thing. But then I am wondering what the issue is if it isn't..!

Thanks so much

If he is, it could be a sign that he's even brighter than you think! As he's doing this well despite it.

There's definitely no reason dyslexia would stop him being an author. He just needs to keep reading widely. If some books are harder to read, find a version that's easier to read, or use overlays etc. Or a kindle (non-led) - you can change line spacing and contrast easily.

You don't need to be overly open too soon. Maybe even avoid the word but tell him you want to try a few things.

There are different areas of difficulty with dyslexia and not everyone has the same issues. Have a look at the British dyslexia association for more info.

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/

My children were excellent readers and yet my older DD struggled in 6th form when she had to read older text books - small font size, serif fonts, little line spacing. As pp said, speak to sendco - they often have basic overlay packs to see if that helps ( it may well do as you say he struggles with contrast). Some primaries can do screening tests but they are not always reliable, particularly with bright children who find coping strategies to compensate.

In our county there is no support for dyslexia assessments or interventions. This is quite unusual though.

My daughter was assessed by a dyslexia specialist who noted that she has difficulties following with her eyes (it is called tracking). I had not noticed and neither has her school teachers. She reads well, 2 years above her chronological age but is not a keen reader - because it is physically tough for her.

She is being assessed by a behavioural optometrist - he is coming up with a treatment plan (eye exercises). A standard optician is not able to assess for this.