Dyslexia In Children – Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Does your child find it a little difficult to read, despite your best attempts to teach him? Are you worried that as your child grows, it will be difficult for him to pursue academics? Do you worry that your child may lag behind his peers because of his reading disorder? If you are looking for ways to understand your child’s condition and want to help him overcome the same, read on to know all about dyslexia.

What Is Dyslexia In Children?

Dyslexia is a very common problem that affects the way your child’s brain can process the written word and the spoken language. In most cases, it is associated with difficulty in reading. The reading disorder and the reading disability are other names for dyslexia. In addition to causing difficulties in reading, it can also affect your child’s ability to write, spell words or even speak properly.

Dyslexia is not a negative aspect of your child’s intelligence. It does not mean that your child is dumb, or that he will not be able to solve any other complex problem at school or in life. A child with dyslexia means that he may take more time to process the information while speaking or reading. In most cases, your child will have only one type of dyslexia, which will either affect his reading or writing capability.

Most children are not diagnosed with dyslexia until they reach their early grades in school. Your child and you may suffer from frustration at his constant inability to learn. In many cases, children with dyslexia often grow up to be smart adults who have successful careers and consider their reading or writing difficulties as a small impairment (1).

What Are The Types Of Dyslexia?

There are two types of dyslexia:

1. Developmental Dyslexia:

It is a type of condition that is congenital.

2. Acquired Dyslexia:

It is a type of condition that may be a result of a brain injury or a specific mental disease, such as Alzheimer’s.

[ Read: Types Of Learning Disabilities In Children ]

What Are The Causes Of Dyslexia?

Research is yet to ascertain the exact cause of dyslexia. Here are some factors that doctors feel can trigger the condition: (2)

• Reading disorders often are part of a family history, where some or the other family member has been through a similar problem.

• One of the biggest causes of dyslexia is the inability to identify and distinguish the various sounds of the language properly. The delay in processing the information can cause difficulty in understanding the sound patterns and learning a language.

[ Read: Causes Of Dyscalculia In Children ]

How To Spot The Symptoms Of Dyslexia In Your Child?

As it is difficult to detect dyslexia in young children, they are unable to get any help that can improve their reading ability. You may think that your child is taking a little extra time to read and that he will improve with time. The symptoms of dyslexia that you should watch out for in your preschooler, include the following:

• Difficulty in speaking.

• Problem with pronouncing long words.

• Inability to rhyme words.

• Difficulty in learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes or days of the week.

• Difficulty in learning phonetics.

• Inability to write his name.

• Inability to learn syllables (such as cow-boy in the word cowboy) or sounds of speech (such as c-a-t in the word cat).

• Difficulty in pronouncing small and simple words.

• Inability to read out words using their correct letter sequence (such as mistaking ‘cat’ for ‘rat’).

• Difficulty in writing or other fine motor coordination.

Here are a few dyslexia symptoms in child that will help you identify the condition in your older child:

• Your child is not able to spell or read as well as other children in his grade.

• He is always trying to avoid reading or writing.

• He has difficulty in completing reading and writing assignments on time.

• Is not able to finish his tests on time.

• Has difficulty in learning a new language, whether reading, writing or speaking.

[ Read: Common Developmental Disorders In Children ]

Diagnosis And Treatment Of Dyslexia In Children:

If you observe the signs of dyslexia in children, you should immediately book an appointment with his doctor. He may recommend consulting a child psychologist or a reading specialist.

Diagnosis:

Here are some common methods used to diagnose dyslexia:

• The doctor will ask your family history and want to know if anyone in the family has had any issues with reading, writing or speaking. Your child may have to undergo some tests to rule out any other health condition.

• A psychologist will assess your child to rule out any emotional or mental health issue.

• Sometimes, your child may simply be facing a learning difficulty due to the stress of adapting to a new culture or environment. A reading specialist will be able to diagnose the same with the help of certain reading tests.

[ Read: Personality Disorders In Children ]

Treatment:

The doctor will advise a treatment plan for your child based on his overall learning ability and the severity of his dyslexia.

• Your child may be recommended one-on-one tutoring or extra help in class to cope with his academics.

• Sometimes, your child may require your help besides that of a reading specialist, a psychologist, and his teachers.

[ Read: Symptoms Of Auditory Processing Disorder In Children ]

Remember, understanding and identifying the symptoms will help to explore the right dyslexia treatment for children and help your child overcome his reading disability at the earliest.

Did your child suffer from dyslexia? What did you do to help him? Please share your experience and advice with other moms here.

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