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Early Clues to Dyslexia

Sally Shaywitz, MD, lists how parents, teachers and others, using the model that dyslexia is "an isolated weakness in getting to the sounds of words surrounded by an array of strengths in thinking and reasoning" p93, can learn to recognise the signs of dyslexia.

The following is a summary from the chapter, Early Clues to Dyslexia.

Early Clues to Dyslexia.
The earliest and perhaps the most important clues to a potential reading problem are speech related.

A delay in speaking, not beginning to say their first word until 15 months or so and not speaking in phrases until after their second birthday, may not seem important, but may be early warning signs of a future reading problem, especially in a family that has a history of dyslexia.

Difficulties in pronunciation, "baby talk" continuing past the usual time which may include
* leaving off beginning sounds, for example lephant for elephant
* inverting the sounds within a word, for example aminal for animal

Insensitivity to rhyme. By the age of five, children with dyslexia are often unable to tell whether words such as talk and walk rhyme. Children who were most easily able to say nursery rhymes at ages three and four were found to be the top readers three years later.

Talking around a word. If a child has difficulty accessing the sounds of a word they are thinking of, they may say a completely unrelated word that may sound somewhat similar, for example tornado for volcano. They may use general words such as stuff or things instead of the actual name of the object.. This has nothing to do with thinking ability but more with expressive language, the need to produce a word on command. By the way, if the listener becomes irritated by the delay or generality of the word and the child becomes more anxious, word retrieval will become even slower.

Difficulty learning the names and the sounds of the letters of the alphabet - a necessary accomplishment that must be in place in order to read. Mastering letter sound relationships is the focus of activity during kindergarten and failure or delay in acquiring these skills is an early clue to a potential reading problem.

Family history. Having a parent or sibling who has dyslexia increases the probability of another child having dyslexia. Just knowing that means that early monitoring is important in order to build up skills.

Overcoming Dyslexia,
Sally Shaywitz, MD
First Vintage Books Edition New York, 2005

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