Why can’t my child read?                  

D y s l e x i a

(Common, unknown and misunderstood)

 Dyslxia a word that cannot legally be mentioned in most school systems because it’s a medical term and evaluation. 

  Dyslexia: Is It All in Your Mind? describes the physical differences that develop in the brain of the fetus that results in dyslexia. Html version  www.interdys.org

 www.dyslexia-information.com/whatisit.html

Type of Special Need  

D y s l e x i a

School Term :(SLD - Specific Learning Disability) or

Specific Literacy Difficulties SLD/ (Dyslexia)

·  Three times as many males as females affected

·  Three types of dyslexia; motor, visual and auditory

It is likely that there will be marked deficits in their achievements despite being of average or above ability.

SLD causes significant problems with reading writing and spelling, and sometime maths.  Short-term memory, concentration, personal organization and sequencing can also be affected.  In other respects many people with SLD are very creative.

Things to look out for:  problems with phonics, poor short term memory and problems with distinguishing right and left.  The child might seem bright in some ways but with a ‘block’ in others.  The child may have difficulty with carrying out a sequence of three or more instructions.  He/she may write letters and numbers the wrong way round, e.g. 17 for 71, 9 for 6, b for d etc.  He/she may write a word in several ways without recognizing the correct version.  There can be confusion with left and right and he/she may have a poor sense of rhythm.  Learning about time and tense can also cause problems.

In older children he/she may make unexpected errors reading aloud, have difficulty copying and taking notes and spelling.  He/she may have problems planning and writing essays and with mental arithmetic.  It might take him/her a very long time to read a book with understanding.  A lack of self-esteem is often apparent.

Further Information

Dyslexia Checklist (pdf)

Identifying Dyslexia (In Touch June 2003)

Teaching Strategies

www.socsci.ulst.ac.uk/education/scte/sen/types/dyslexia.html