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Dyslexia Diagnosis: How to Determine if Your Child Has It

Do you believe that you could determine whether or not your child has dyslexia? Do you think you know the tell-tale signs? The truth of the matter is many people really do not know exactly what the signs are, when looking for dyslexia. Aside from the obvious signs such as mixing up words and numbers, what else can you look for? Well, here’s the scoop on dyslexia in children and how to detect it.

Reading levels that are under the average level in children, for their intelligence and age can be diagnosed as having level of dyslexia. Neuropsychology tests are performed after the general reading issues are indeed identified. This comprehensive set of tests includes speech, hearing, and vision, along with IQ. Many conditions can mimic dyslexia, as the relation of visual, auditory memory problems, sub-normal intelligence issues, or behavioral problems carry the same symptoms. It should, in essence, be noticed by parents, prior to the child entering schooling. If, for some reason they do not, teachers and doctors have the experience to pick out and determine whether dyslexia is an issue. When you view a child using the mirror method of writing, as in the words are backwards, or the reversal of letters, it is an assumption that this may be a sign of dyslexia. This may not be the case, however, as it does take time for young children to develop in their reading and writing skills.

When trying to determine whether or not your child has dyslexia or not, there are a few indicators to look for. These symptoms can include a lowered sense of awareness of sounds, and different noises. They may have difficulty understanding speech, as in spoken languages, and may have delayed speech themselves. The child will definitely have trouble spelling out words or reading single words. The child has great difficulty with printing and handwriting.

The child may have no desire to read, and will avoid it at all cost. Many times, the child will have trouble with localization, such as mixing up the variables of left and right, down and up. Also children will have the confusion of what day it is. A very prevalent sign is the lack of reading aloud to the parents for fear of making the mistakes that will be picked out. When a child normally develops, they acquire what is known as phonological awareness. This is where the child can tell the difference between written symbols and speech sounds, when learning to read.

There are many cases where the child has memorized what they have read, which will not give the parents any indication that there is an underlying problem to begin with, regardless of the child’s success in academics. Many dyslexic people can easily do just fine in the education system, until of course they meet a large work load. This will not really be a large problem until they actually reach secondary school, or college/ university. At that time the underlying issue cannot be ignored. Dyslexia is very treatable prior to the third grade, and this condition is really not an issue as there are many special education classes available. Parents are entitled to have their child or children tested for dyslexia, which is covered under the IEP or individualized treatment plan. The parent must request the evaluation of the child first hand, any subsequent testing will be pre-booked by the specialist, to be on a annual basis. Regardless of the diagnosis, parents do have the last say, where and when if any treatments will start.

The treatment options for dyslexia is growing rapidly and ranges from diets to visual stimulation. This leads to language enhancement education. Most specialists will confer however, that the best method of treatment is clearly the use of special education classes. There is no reason to despair as this is a very treatable condition and the child will easily overcome this disability with the desire of the parents and a great special education program set up at most schools these days. Specialists and teachers alike are very concentrated on beating this condition and helping children live a normal and healthy life. Dyslexia is not a condition that will impede the better way of life.