Does my child have dyslexia?
A formal assessment by an Educational Psychologist can determine whether or not your child has a learning disability, but you may have observed some of these signs of dyslexia in your child:
In the early years, your child may have had trouble learning to sing the alphabet song or not remembered rhymes despite hearing them many times. They may be unable to recognize rhyming words (sun, fun, run, bun) when they hear them.
Most children recognize the letters in their name first, your child may not have been able to do that.
Your child may have used more “invented” words than other kids (“ferator” for “refrigerator”) and may have many mispronounced words.
In kindergarten or first grade, your child has difficulty sounding out simple words like sat, pin, or run.
Your child simply does not like reading or complains that it is very hard.
If one of your child’s parents or siblings had trouble learning to read, they may be at higher risk, as dyslexia can run in families.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious, and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It just matters that you don’t give up.”
— Professor Stephen Hawking, Theoretical Physicist and Dyslexic
Dyslexic Strengths
Dyslexic brains are just different than neurotypical brains, and they can come with an impressive array of strengths. You may have noticed some of these in your child.
Creativity and curiosity
Spacial reasoning - an ability to put things together and take them apart, and to create things in three dimensions such as puzzles and models
Strong listening comprehension and an above-average vocabulary
Abstract thought
Deep empathy
