Did you know that every class has approximately one student with a learning disability such as dyslexia?
When I was teaching I thought I was quite lucky because I never came a across a student who had dyslexia. What I didn’t know at the time was that I very likely had taught students with a learning disability, but unfortunately these students had fallen through the gap and had never been identified as having a learning disability.
If you suspect a student in your class has dyslexia but you are unsure of what to look for, then these tips will help you begin the identification process.
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What’s the earliest grade or age that dyslexia can be recognized? Sometimes I wonder abt my kindergartner:(
Hi Cassandra,
Thanks for your question. It’s important to remember that a child does not need a diagnosis of Dyslexia in order to benefit from intervention. If you suspect there is a problem with a child (or children in your class), such as he/she is losing interest in reading and lacking in confidence, then early intervention is a great idea. Generally speaking though, children should have near perfect skills of blending, segmenting and manipulation by age 7. These skills can definitely be improved with high quality tuition and repeated practice. You can read more about these skills and pick up some easy to implement activities to try with your class from the below links.
https://topnotchteaching.com/lesson-ideas/help-students-improve-the-skills-needed-for-reading/
https://topnotchteaching.com/lesson-ideas/teach-children-to-read/
Cheers
Mel
Hi Mel,
This is your first post that I find a little difficult to accept. I have had certified dyslexic kids who had come to me for tuition over the past 11 years. I have read widely on dyslexia.
Now, I do not like to use that term at all as over time some people with vested interest appear to include many ailments/conditions that were not originally included.
Dyslexia is one of the list of learning disabilities as defined by the Learning Disabilities association of America.
The Dyslexia Association, on the other hand, include everything under the learning disabilities list as dyslexia.
A definition of dyslexia that has been there for about 30 years is that dyslexics have a phonological awareness deficit. I teach dyslexics 3 languages which all use the same 26 alphabets. When my students first come to me they are able to read well in 2 of the languages but not in English. Very often they are unable to read even one sentence in English.
Now, if dyslexics have a phonological awareness deficit, how in the world are they able to read in two of the languages?
You said:
1.Have difficulty naming the letter names and sound.
2.Have trouble knowing that sounds can be represented by letters or group of letters.
They write this all over the internet and they are incorrect. All my students can name letters and their sound in 2 of the languages but not in English.
They also know that sounds can be represented by letters and group of letters.
Write to me and I’ll elaborate.