WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?

Recent research has proved that dyslexia is certainly a difference in the way the brain works.

Dyslexics have strengths in areas other than literacy. They may be exceedingly creative and artistic, excellent engineers and scientists or have great entrepreneurial skills (including the 'gift of the gab').

Dyslexia does not 'go away', but strategies can be successfully learnt to overcome the problems it causes. If not helped, these people do not reach their full potential. What a waste of this country's most precious resource!

There are many reasons why a child does not succeed at school, and dyslexia is just one of them. A professional diagnosis is always necessary.

INDICATORS OF DYSLEXIA

• The child has always seemed to be of at least average intelligence outside the school situation.

• S/he has a far greater difficulty than other children in learning to read and write.

• Teachers and parents are puzzled by the apparent gap between the child's innate ability. and the lack of ability to read and/or get things down on paper.

• Older children may read adequately, but always seem to have more knowledge in their heads than they can commit to paper.

• The child has trouble with sequencing - which leads to difficulties with multiplication tables, remembering days of the week, months of the year etc.

• The child has a problem with a string of commands, often only remembering the first one or two.

• S/he had trouble learning to tell the time, tie shoe laces and riding a bike.

• S/he had trouble learning to talk. If a good speaker, then may sometimes stumble with the pronunciation of multi-syllable words.

• The child has word finding difficulties, e.g. s/he can describe an object, but cannot remember what that object is called.

• S/he reverses letters and numbers for far longer than expected.

• There is a family history of difficulties with reading and spelling.

• Slow reading and need to re-read several times before understanding

• Misreads small words

• Missing out lines and confuses words that are similar

• Making spelling mistakes

• Dreads giving and receiving complicated instructions

• Problems with personal organisation

• Difficulty planning and writing essays

• Trouble with short-term rather than long-term memory 

• Poor confidence and low self-esteem

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