Diagnosing dyslexia

You think your child may be dyslexic - but how can you really be sure when he's still quite young? Teacher and parent coach Glynis Kozma gives a few pointers for early identification and symptoms of dyslexia

Your seven-year-old is struggling to fasten his laces - again. Sometimes he still puts his shoes on the wrong feet. ‘Why can't he just get the hang of it!' Even his teacher complains about the time it takes him to change for PE. In fact, his teacher seems to be irritated by lots of things: the untidy handwriting, reluctant reading, not being able to learn his times tables (if only she knew how often you practise with him!) - and still not grasping his phonics.

But you know your child is bright. I mean, he never stops talking about the world around him; he's good at drawing and telling you amazing stories. And anyway, children all develop at different stages, so you aren't worried... are you...? Should you be?

Dyslexia affects at least one person in ten; that is approximately three in every class of thirty children. The sooner dyslexia is identified, the easier it is to overcome the problems.

Symptoms of Dyslexia

Children can show dyslexic tendencies at an early age, long before they begin to read or write. Signs include pronouncing ‘muddled words' long after they should know them, difficulty remembering rhymes, late speech development, unable to learn the names of everyday objects, poor coordination - such as being unable to catch a ball, skip, clap a rhythm, hop - and confusion with right and left when putting on shoes, or with directions. For some reason, many dyslexic children miss out the crawling stage and go straight from shuffling to walking. At school, children can have poor concentration, find it impossible to learn times tables, often reverse letters or numbers, write words back to front, such as ‘was' for ‘saw', and find reading very hard.

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is often perceived as the inability to read - this is a narrow perception of the condition. It affects many aspects of behaviour, including short-term memory, organisation, sequencing skills, speech and language skills, and motor skills.

Scientists are still researching the condition, but it is thought to occur when there is an imbalance in functioning between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, at a neurological level. It is not acquired: dyslexics are born with the condition. In non-dyslexics, the right and left sides of the brain work in harmony, but in dyslexics, one side - the right - tends to be more dominant. The left hand side of the brain controls language and speech, whereas the right side of the brain controls our more creative processes; probably why many great artists, architects and designers are dyslexic.

Like many conditions, dyslexia is hereditary, and it is found more often in men and boys. It can skip a generation, but families can discover that grandparents, cousins, aunts or uncles have dyslexia-type problems. It is not linked to intelligence; most dyslexics are average or above-average intelligence.

Identifying dyslexia

Before you panic, remember that children do develop at different stages; nearly all children have initial difficulty with something. You are the expert on your child. But if you are worried, early identification is important as a child's self-esteem suffers the longer they are left struggling. There is nothing worse for a bright child than being made to feel they are lazy or stupid, simply because their dyslexia has not been identified.

Sadly, very few teachers know anything about dyslexia. Incredibly, it is not a part of their training. Out of 500,000 teachers, only 18,000 have any training in dyslexia.

So if you are worried, what next? The best option is to arrange for your child to have a full educational assessment by an educational psychologist, such as those at Dyslexia Action. This assessment should include recommendations that the school should implement, such as some one to one support, ideally from a specialised teacher, as well as making lessons more dyslexia-friendly.

Many parents seek help outside of school, such as a tutor who is trained in dyslexia. There is no ‘cure' for dyslexia - but with the right sort of teaching and support children can achieve academically, and have happy futures as successful adults.

Glynis Kozma has over 25 years' teaching experience in state and private schools and is the parent of a dyslexic, diagnosed at seven and now at university. She runs her own parent coaching company, at aspire-coaching.co.uk, and also assesses, teaches and advises dyslexics and their families.